Konami had a pleasant surprise at their NYC fall preview today in an early build of Suikoden: Tierkreis, the recently announced seventh game in the twelve year-old RPG franchise, and first original handheld entry in the series. Tiekreis, weird name aside, looks like a solid 3D role-playing game on the DS, easily the technical equal (and possibly even superior) to Matrix Software’s Final Fantasy III and IV remakes. While the brief demo on display couldn’t show if Tierkreis lives up to Suikoden’s grand tradition of great storytelling, it did make me wonder if the handheld entry isn’t something of a missed opportunity.
It’s well known that sprite-based 2D games have a better chance of success on handhelds, particularly Nintendo’s dual-screened juggernaut. Suikoden hasn’t sported sprite characters since its first sequel, and while its successors’ 3D character models and environments have been nothing to sneeze at, they were never as memorable as those found in the first two games. As you can see from these screens, Suikoden: Tierkreis is a looker, and the play looks just as good even though parties are limited to four characters and not the traditional six. But I can’t help but wonder if the game wouldn’t have been better served by returning to the series’ graphical roots.
What do you think, dear reader? I know you, 61 FPSers are JRPG hounds! Let me know in the comments section.
Related links:
Are You Buying Final Fantasy IV DS? Huh? Huh? Huh??
Gaming on a Train: Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV DS: Love, Hope and Betrayal For the Busy Commuter