SO-SO SUIKO

SUIKODEN's HD remaster is polished to a high shine-in some places

- By Kerry Brunskill

Almost 30 years later, Suikoden 1 and 2 are marvellous adventures that expertly combine supernatural shenanigans with the more worldly horrors of bloody war and the politics behind them, sprinkling the experience with just enough silly minigames and collectibles to give them balance. These remasters remain so close to the originals I can follow old walkthroughs find and the same friends in the same places.

Even today, these stories stand out. Sometimes the greater good must be fought for at any cost, and sometimes it’s worth throwing it all away for a childhood friend. The retro-blunt nature of the text, everything short and to the point, only enhances these dramatic scenes.

My allies don’t just fight alongside the lead characters in battle, they can also add new features to my home base, even providing my own personal teleportation services. There’s always someone new to recruit just around the corner—or someone new to fight. Regular fights are snappy and chaotic, often showing multiple characters from my team of six leaping into the fray at once. The view constantly shifts as this goes on, offering an exciting close-up view of a sneaky counterattack, or pulling back to give a powerful spell room to show its full effect.

New to this collection is the ability to speed up the encounters