Suikoden V: Final Opinion.

The after the credits save puts my total time in Suikoden V at seventy hours and change. It was clearly time well spent. The game is very much a return to Suikoden and Suikoden II and that's a welcome return by me. But there is more to the title than just a return to the original battle system and the return of the true overworld. There are more important things than the exceptionally clean graphics and great Suikoden style music. Of course the real reason to play an RPG is for the story being told. And Suikoden V delivers a great story. A story enhanced by having played the other four games in the series. Suikoden V takes places eight years before the events of Suikoden II. And many characters from the other games show up or are referenced. Just like Phantasy Star, Suikoden isn't Final Fantasy in that you sort of need to have played the other games in the series to fully understand and get the most reward out of the story. The Suikoden series tells the story of one world. Each game telling the story of a different country in said world. And just like the Suikoden games before it, Suikoden V is a tale of politics and nations and the scheming of it all. And just like the other Suikoden games, the hero unites the one-hundred and eight Stars of Destiny and forever changes the world. Suikoden V also delves a little deeper into the overriding tale of the True Runes. It gives a bit more insight in both Harmonia and the Sindar and hints at what may come.  All of this is done against a more personal Suikoden story. It never leaves the human element while painting the broader picture. I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I'm giving Suikoden V a 9.