Suikoden (PlayStation) review "The duals are extremely challenging indeed, and I found myself getting very frustrated over them! It is also a challenge to recruit all 108 party members; it was fun doing it. Most party members require you to do some sort of ''chore'' before you get them."

I'd have to say that this game brought RPGs to new heights! It had average graphics but great sound, gameplay, and a storyline that made up for it. The difficulty is just about my level, if not a bit easy. The best part about this RPG is the 108 playable characters! They are totally optional, but put a new twist to the RPG genre, and quite a bit of replay value. Nice.

There's nothing new in the graphics area. This stuff is pretty much SNES style. All 2D stuff, but it has that ''Playstation touch'' to it, much like the graphics found in Alundra. But, then again, this was one of the first RPGs for the PSX. The graphics didn't amaze me, or leave me gasping for more, but they are good enough so that everything is clear, and somewhat easy to see.

The sound in this game is quite good! Lots of myserious, exciting, joyful, sad, songs that show a lot of emotion. Fairly catchy as well. Late in the game, you can go to a certain place and listen to all the music that you've heard so far in the game, which is very cool.

The story in this game is good! There is the liberation army, which you command and control. You are the leader. I love the idea of how you can recruit 108 characters and have them fight. There are three types of fighting in this game:

1. The regular old turn-based fighting found in most RPGs with spells, armor, etc...
2. Army battles, where you fight army vs. army
3. Duals. One-on-one battles which are usually very difficult, and use a different fighting engine

Having three different types of battles really put a new twist to this game. As you progress in the game, your army gets larger, and they each have their own special part in your castle (you get one of those too).

This game is just about right for me as far as the level of challenge. Or at least it was when I first played it--oh, so many years ago. The duals are extremely challenging indeed, and I found myself getting very frustrated over them! It is also a challenge to recruit all 108 party members; it was fun doing it. Most party members require you to do some sort of ''chore'' before you get them. Some you simply have to have reached a certain level. Either way, it's fun.

In fact, this whole game is fun. Quite addicting. I beat it in about 2 months (playing on and off, and getting all the characters). I found that most of it is quite fun, and there weren't many boring parts at all.

This game is easily one of the better RPGs for the Playstation. While its graphics aren't anything great, everything else about it is wonderful. The best feature is easily the 108 characters. If you're looking for an RPG that is for intermediate gamers, and features an arsenal (literally) of deep characters, run to the shop to buy Suikoden (due to its age, it's only $20 or less now).

Staff review by James Gordon (Date unavailable) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.