Suikoden IV -- Initial Impression.

Still trying to climb out from under the mountain of PlayStation 2 RPGs I've managed to collect, next up for me is Suikoden IV. I've spent about five hours on Suikoden IV and my initial impressions are of a game that's graphically a little less than Suikoden III. Musically the game retains its world music vibe the series is known for. The battle system allows for four of the one-hundred-eight stars of destiny to be used in battle at one time. It would seem the one-on-one duels of the earlier titles have returned to a more prominent role compared to Suikoden III. The army battles this time are naval battles as the story of Suikoden IV seems to be focusing on the Island Nations. The story also seems fully entrenched in Suikoden tradition with you playing the hero who stumbles into some major event that thrusts him into a massive tale of politics and intrigue. New to the series are sequences where the characters are voiced. Gone from this entry is the traditionally stunning FMV intro. Suikoden II used the save file from Suikoden, and in turn Suikoden III used the save file from Suikoden II. That's something also not in place for Suikoden IV. The game doesn't make use of the save data and that's most likely due to the fact that Suikoden IV takes place before Suikoden chronologically and there wouldn't be any information to carry over. Hopefully the story will live up to the series history. We'll have to see what further changes have been made to the battle system and how they'll change things up. Suikoden IV has returned to a single point of view narrative from Suikoden III's multiple main character perspectives. While I fully enjoyed Suikoden III's story, I'm glad to see Suikoden IV return to the older style. It's just easier to follow the story this way. Things are looking good five hours in. Hopefully it stays that way.