Suikoden I is the Best Suikoden
Laying the groundwork for a legendary series makes the very first game the best of the bunch
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Where I come from, them’s fightin’ words.” But hold on hold on, just hear me out. I love Suikoden. It’s my favorite game series and the one I return to time and again when I’m looking for something to hook my interest and inspire my fanfiction. And readers, I have Opinions about the series. Some fairly common, some decidedly unpopular. But they are mine and I hold them rather closely. What’s more, I’m fresh off a complete play through of the series, and I am here to render my thoughts onto the internet! So buckle up while I introduce my thesis and then walk you through the whys and why nots, in all their meaty goodness. So…
Suikoden I is the Best Suikoden!
This might be something of a controversial statement (though seriously, saying any of the games is “The Best” is a controversial statement as far as Suikoden is concerned). The first game in the series is often heralded as a wonderful introduction, but few people really prop it up as the top of the pile given the quality of the series as a whole. Why should people rethink that?
It Paved The Way
The game does get points for doing it first. I mean, other games have fairly large casts, and being able to shift characters in the active party isn’t exactly new. But Suikoden took it to a whole other level, introducing 108 Stars of Destiny that can be recruited throughout the game, each bringing both combat power and utilities to a growing army and castle that expands to fit your wonderful found family. The elements that anchor the series — the castle, the shops, the combination attacks, the runes — everything that makes Suikoden, well, Suikoden, was developed here, and it’s a fantastic experience.
Argue all you want which game does it best, but they wouldn’t be possible without the groundwork that Suikoden I puts down, and that’s definitely something in its favor.
There are mini games (that, okay, are largely frustrating as hell), there are bonus materials (the paints, the music, the sound effects), there are tons of places to explore and enemies to battle. The three-pronged gameplay, too, is original and engaging. On top of the regular party battles there are one-on-one duels and strategic army battles. The army combat especially creates a truly impressive scope and scale that I had never seen in a game before, at least not integrated into a more classic fantasy storyline. Argue all you want which game does it best, but they wouldn’t be possible without the groundwork that Suikoden I puts down, and that’s definitely something in its favor.
It’s Built On Grief and Tragedy
Yes, the world building can seem a bit like a grab bag of fantasy tropes, from elves and dwarves to dragons and evil witches. The tale of a young boy having to rise as a Hero to Defeat The Evil Emperor isn’t new, either, and the fact that he’s the son of a prominent general doesn’t exactly mean that he’s the least Establishment character in history. But for all that there are some slight pacing issues throughout, Suikoden I boasts perhaps the most tragic storyline of any of the games in the series, anchored by the hero’s Soul Eater rune — arguably the most compelling of the True Runes in the game. It’s a force that feeds on the souls of those whom the bearer is close to. And just fucking let that sink in a bit. It’s a rune that works by making the bearer as hurt as possible, stripping them of the people they love and depend on. First a new mentor. Then a trusted and loyal servant (and possible true love). Then with a father and a best friend. It’s a brutal process, and something the game drives home again and again. The hero is thrust into power and has to make the choice to work for what’s right, even as it systematically tries to deconstruct and destroy him.
Despite graphics that might seem juvenile these days, this is very much a game that’s for more than just kids.
The wider story, too, is one of loss and grief. The Emperor is not exactly a mad king, but a man driven to desperation and abuse by his own loss and inability to face that loss. The game draws the differences between the hero and Emperor Barbarossa in how they face grief. Barbarossa retreats and lets his fear and anger corrupt him. The hero must push forward, seeing his personal loss as less important than the stability and safety of the citizens of his nation. He has to exercise compassion by not having the enemy generals (who are under a kind of mind control) brutally murdered (though kudos on making that an option). And he has to contend with being betrayed, with the mixed loyalties of those around him, in order to try and prevent an even larger tragedy from unfolding. Suikoden I has the biggest deaths, the most gutting moments, and it only undoes…one of them.
And the side characters are all wrapped up in their own feelings and fears. From Futch losing Black to the enemy generals struggling with the ways the great promise of their war fighting with Barbarossa has turned to dust, from the destruction of the elf village to the attempted genocide of the kobolds, there’s a whole lot to process, and it certainly proves that despite graphics that might seem juvenile these days, this is very much a game that’s for more than just kids.
A Real Revolution
More than any of the other games (with the possible exception of Suikoden IV), Suikoden I contains an extended cast that mostly feels like they really belong on the battlefield. There are a few exceptions, but the Stars of Destiny includes brigands and pirates, criminals and sleazeballs. You literally have to recruit a man who drugged you and was going to kill you for your belongings before discovering that oh wait, you’re actually famous. Your allies steal and lie, they brawl and gamble and swindle. And it’s exactly the kind of band that feels genuine. Seeing the “noble” generals having to cavort with the unsavoriest of elements of the country is great, and it underlines how conflicts develop, and how criminal elements can get caught up in them, because fighting a regime doesn’t always mean fighting for justice for everyone. Sometimes it’s fighting for profit, or freedom to commit crimes. The game does a great job of complicating the fact that the hero is a noble himself, upper class and pampered, but willing to do anything to help his nation, to end the tyranny he sees.
Fighting a regime doesn’t always mean fighting for justice for everyone. Sometimes it’s fighting for profit, or freedom to commit crimes.
And it begins a rather queer tradition of focusing on found family and community that bridges demographics. The hero might lose his family, and might fear for those who remain because of the nature of the rune he carries, but that doesn’t stop him from always reaching out in understanding and compassion, working to overcome the intolerances and biases that keep the nation fractured and angry. And there’s a sort of recognition of the cyclic way that power is abused, where Barbarossa goes from liberator to oppressor, something that the hero must seek to avoid by not relying only on a small group of generals, but by being accountable to his entire army and, by extension, to the people of his nation.
It’s Fucking Hard
No joke, Suikoden I is one of the hardest games of the series. There’s really no amount of leveling up that will make a lot of the boss fights easy, and that’s saying something given the way that the later games in the series reward level grinding. The combat system allows for a good amount of customization without really ever allowing the game to become too unbalanced or easy. And the bosses are For Real. From the zombie dragon guarding what will become your castle to Neclord to basically every boss in the game, there is a very real sense that you might get wiped out at any moment, and that you have to plan accordingly and really leverage what elements the game gives to customize strategies.
And that’s where combination attacks and runes come in. Unlike most of the other games in the series, here characters are allowed only one rune each, so the decision of what rune to assign each character is very important, where there’s even a decision at all (many have runes that can’t be removed, after all). Needing to max out weapon strength, needing to get items and the right balance of characters to suit your play style, becomes not just another option but a necessity. The one-on-one duels as well can be brutal. Having to keep Pahn alive against Teo can be an exercise in restarting as a single mistake can end in FUCKING BULLSHIT. And while this might seem like a complaint, there’s something to be said for a game being difficult. Some of the games can become a little too easy, but that’s not a problem with this first game in the series.
And Okay, It’s Not Perfect
There are certainly some complaints that can be laid at the feet of Suikoden I. A lot of the characters are just sort of…there, without a great motivation for why they want to fight. And as I said before, the pacing can be a little uneven at times. It’s also a much shorter game than the rest of the series (mostly), though that might speak to the limitations of the hardware rather than anything else. The character designs are also a bit lacking when compared to the rest of the series. The portrait art runs from okay to kinda awful, and there are a lot of sprites that are just color swaps. Compared to the rest of the series, too, it’s easy to see what this first iteration is missing (recipes, recruitable monsters, fishing, etc).
But It’s Still Awesome
Look, the legacy that Suikoden I left is…the rest of Suikoden. If it hadn’t built an amazing game and world, none of the rest of the games could have built on top of it. It’s got Ronnie Bell, it’s got Viktor at his trashy gayest, it’s got man-eating spores (GREMIO NOOOOOOO!). It truly built something new and glorious, and nothing can take that away. It might not be the prettiest game in the series, and it might not be the longest, but it can certainly be the best.
