Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Release: 03/06/25 Genre: RPG
Also on: Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, Playstation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Suikoden has had a rough go of it. From getting caught in the wake of Final Fantasy VIII’s release to its original creator moving on and the creative limbo left in his absence, this venerable series has had to fight to make an impact. Unfortunately after Suikoden V’s release things were rough. The PSP spinoff Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki never left Japan and fans basically assumed we would never see the series again. But with every publisher reaching in to their back catalog there was hope. Konami did us a solid with Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars. More than just a simple re-release this is a full HD remake of both titles. While there are a few quality of life improvements missing this remains an excellent way to experience these two classics on modern platforms.
Suikoden I & II HD Remaster as the name suggests is a remaster of the first two games in the series. Story wise the two games take place in different regions but are related. You can play each title standalone but will get so much more by playing them sequentially as there are connections. While the main purpose of this release is to make the two games more widely available Konami have added many subtle features as well as providing a visual overhaul. Speaking of which….
Visually the HD graphics are uneven. Suikoden needed the makeover the most and unfortunately this one is inconsistent. On the PlayStation Suikoden was a bit gritty, with ugly character portraits and a seeming layer of grime in every environment. The portraits were redrawn by original artist Junko Kawano and look much better. However the rest of the art looks too clean. Technically the new art in towns and dungeons looks better. But it has the squeaky clean look of a mobile game. It also clashes with the old pixelated sprites which look hideous. The spell and environmental effects such as water and fire look spectacular. But damn if I wish the overall package for this game were cohesive.
It is obvious the majority of work went in to the seminal second game. Suikoden II was already visually spectacular. The art direction was superb with every individual town sporting a distinct look with a ridiculous number of unique assets. The remaster goes above and beyond to take it to the next level in almost all aspects. The many redrawn backgrounds are beautiful with many ambient lighting and shadow effects. Because Suikoden II already looked great most of the environments are simply now in HD. They do not suffer the mobile look of the first game in this collection as a result. Magic plays a bigger role in this game and has seen a similar level of attention. The effects are spectacular and look modern. While I wish they did a pass on the sprites they blend with the backgrounds better. Overall Suikoden II is the gem of this collection.
The localization for both games has been lightly polished. They still use the original localization as a starting point but correct grammatical errors and update terminology to be more consistent with later titles. To be fair Suikoden had a perfectly fine localization. It is the second game that was in desperate need of a second pass. The circumstances surrounding the translation of that game were less than ideal to say the least. But considering that the tale of political intrigue and betrayal still came across. Now it is much better in all regards, with many subtleties now being much more coherent. They still slip in modern slang here and there but it is not to the extent of Working Designs. The script cleanup makes already great games that much better.
Konami introduce a number of quality of life improvements to bring the gameplay somewhat up to modern standards. This is the one area I wish they went further. The biggest improvement is 8-directional movement and the ability to sprint without a rune or Stallion in your party. It sounds minor but is colossal in terms of getting around. Speaking of speed you can increase battle speed up to 3 xs although it distorts the music. Suikoden is relatively quick in battle in general so this is unnecessary, especially with auto battle. But cool nonetheless. There is a dialogue log to keep you on track which is convenient.
The one area that was desperately in need of improvement is inventory management. To an extent the second game improved in this area by including a separate bag to hold items as well as sell items directly from the vault. These features should have been back ported to Suikoden. Instead it is still a nightmare switching items around on the seventy plus characters you can take in to battle. The menus go four or five layers deep; it was a problem then and remains so now. This is one of the game’s biggest missed opportunities unfortunately. I also question why the game auto saves whenever there is a save point in a room. It is useful I guess but not as much as allowing you to save anywhere. Once again, missed opportunity.
In Closing
Suikoden I & II HD Remaster is an excellent, modern window in to two RPG classics. If you are discovering Suikoden for the first time, especially Suikoden II, this HD Remaster offers unbeatable value. The visuals, quality of life features, and refined script make the 2nd game shine in particular. While they miss the mark in a few key areas like inventory management overall that does little to dull the shine on this package. I would have recommended this collection if it were a straight ROM dump on all platforms. The fact they added features and redid the visuals is icing on an already delectable cake.
