Current Events > are the suikoden games good? and if so, which should I start with?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've never played the suikoden series (or a majority of the RPGs on the PS1) but it's a name i've heard often enough to stick with me. Are they worth playing? Which should I start with, or is it not like final fantasy and you have to play them all in order? Anything special I should know going in?
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I think people always recommend the second.

You should try to play them in the release order, but I found Suikoen III to be an awesome way to get introduced to the series as it was my first. Loved that game on the PS2.
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Suikoden 2 is great, but you may as well play chronologically. The first entry's pretty short; the fifth is fairly easy.
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play 2 and 5, 1 is kinda dated but still cool. forget 3 and 4.

Yeah, they're good. Play them in release order, if only because having save data of the previous entry to load tends to give you bonuses in the next entry.

For example, playing Suikoden 1 to the final save point will give you bonuses in Suikoden 2. If I recall:

- Returning characters who were over level 60 when you finished Suikoden 1 will start Suikoden 2 at higher levels. Based on what level they finished S1 at.
- The highest level returning character vets a flat +5 bonus levels to start in Suikoden 2.
- Returning characters who had their weapons upgrades to over +12 in S1 will start S2 with a higher level weapon.
- You unlock a secret character that can't be recruited without uploading S1 save data. It's one of the best characters in the game too. Plus a cameo of abother character
- One character (Humphrey) will start S2 with Windspun Armor if he ended S1 with that equipped. It's better than the Knight Armor he would usually start with.

So, yeah, it's worth it to play the first game before the second.
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The Suikoden games are all fairly strong titles, and I would heavily recommend playing them all. Four is arguably the weakest in the series, but they're all quality titles.
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They are all good with 2, 3 and 5 being amazing.

2 is my favorite game and I play it once a year.

The only issue you'll find is getting a copy of 5, it's pricey.
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The storyline is a bit of a cluster fuck when trying to connect everything, though.
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