Suikoden I & II HD Remaster Review – Review
An all-time great comes to Switch saddled with its less impressive predecessor.
Putting Suikoden I and II together in the same package seems like Konami was contractually obligated to include the mediocre first game to justify spending resources on remastering the excellent second game. As I’ve played through the two games over the last few weeks, I have discussed with multiple people how the Pro for this package could simply be “Suikoden II” and the Con for this could simply be “Suikoden I.” Naturally, it’s not quite as simple as that, but the fact of the matter is Suikoden II is one of the best RPGs of its era (and possibly all time) and its predecessor is a flawed half-step in the right direction. That all being said, if you love ‘90s-era RPGs, Suikoden II is a masterpiece well worth the price of admission for this remaster, even if the first game is just okay.
Suikoden I originally came out PlayStation back in 1996 and was the first game directed by the late Yoshitaka Murayama (who last worked on the Suikoden spiritual successor Eiyuden Chronicles before his passing in 2024). In a lot of ways, it swings for the fences with 107 other recruitable characters, a variety of different battle systems, and a relatively intriguing story. It’s a cool concept, but overall it didn’t coalesce for me. The pacing of the story (even over a brisk 20-ish hour game) was all over the place. The turn-based battling is good but not great, faring best in the more traditional six-player battles while not exploring the war and duel battle systems to their fullest extent. Some of the changes in the HD Remaster help out with some of my complaints. In general, everything runs smoother than the PlayStation original and you can also speed up battle animations for when you grind. The soundtrack is solid and a lot of the visual changes do a great job of enhancing the original art closer to modern expectations while not losing the distinct look of the original game. This is a good remaster of an alright game.
Suikoden II, on the other hand, is a good remaster of an incredible game. I played the two games in order and after wrapping Suikoden I, I was worried I was going to come in here and just drag two RPGs I hadn’t touched in 20+ years before 2025. Thankfully, Suikoden II has an excellent intro and manages to keep up the pace and intrigue over a game that is nearly double the length of the original. All the rough edges that stood out in Suikoden I are more or less washed away in the 1999 sequel. The story is more focused, doing a great job of crafting a heartbreaking personal story in front of the backdrop of a country-altering war. Your silent protagonist is fated with his best friend Jowy early on, kicking off a well-told plot dotted with other memorable characters like childhood friend Nanami and all-time RPG villain Luca Blight.
Numerous winks and nods to the previous game are included, with returning characters (and even your protagonist from the original game if you completed it before starting the sequel) that deepen the lore. The battle system remains relatively the same with some smart upgrades. The magical rune system is more versatile, allowing you to equip characters with up to three runes at once. A grid system for the turn-based battles gives you a little bit more tactical control over your party. The war and duel battles aren’t wildly different, but the implementation of them throughout the game have far more impact.
The overall remaster package is good, including some concept art and other goodies. The 2D visuals are upgraded for HD in a way that’s respectful of the original work but also not distractingly an RPG from 25+ years ago. Gameplay-wise, this is a relatively light touch remaster, with the biggest alterations being three difficulty settings and the option to speed up battles. This is not a dealbreaker, but especially in games with random battles, it’d be nice to have the option to turn them off at times.
If you’ve never played Suikoden II and consider yourself a lover of Japanese-made RPGs, you should already have this game pre-ordered. This is a game that belongs on the podium near the ‘90s classics from Square Enix. I’m not nearly as hot on Suikoden I, but the first game is more like the NES Final Fantasy entries to Suikoden II’s SNES Final Fantasy entries. It’s cool to see the evolution, but we all know what game has ascended to all-timer status.
