Suikoden Tactics
Ages: Teen

Suikoden Tactics is a popular strategy role playing game. This was the first of the Suikoden titles that I have played, and the fact that I could get into the game makes me believe that it was made to seduce new players into the series. Given that, I wish that the manual had more general information. Charts and lists are good when you are already familiar with the game. Brady publishes a Strategy Guide for the game that can be a big help for novices.

I found the number of characters involved to be quite unusual, and they had more detail than some of the other RPGs. The voices contrast disconcertingly with the doll like characters on screen, though some are better than others. The background and sets are interesting and shore up the story: a darkened town, lights in the distance, a sea battle places the decks of the ships next to each other in preparation for battle. There are always bits of business that make the game more compelling and pull you into the next round of battles.

The quest, to find the Rune Cannons, powerful magic which changes humans into evil fish men, will take you over land and sea. You will have interactions with a quest guild, the rune master and the weapon maker. The Caravan is where you find new items, skills, lists cooperative attacks and information about the characters.

There is a cooperative battle play that takes place after two characters talk to each other. It took me awhile to realize that being friends meant that they could battle together. The ground on which the fights takes place is imbued with magic. You strengthen a character's hits if he/she is fighting on a square that matches their magic. It's a nice concept and easy to use since the characters and squares have different colors. Let me tell you, it's a relief from all the button mashing I've done this season.

The game comes with a CD of musical themes so you can play and listen. The music was much more "Hollywood" than I expected. Suikoden is such a mood game, I expected the music to be more exotic.

Reviewed by: Editor - 12/05