Software:Suikoden Tactics

From HandWiki
Short description: 2005 video game
Suikoden Tactics
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Director(s)Osamu Komuta
Producer(s)Junko Kawano
Designer(s)Osamu Komuta
Artist(s)Junko Kawano
Writer(s)Junko Kawano
Composer(s)Norikazu Miura
SeriesSuikoden
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: September 22, 2005
  • NA: November 8, 2005
  • EU: February 24, 2006
Genre(s)Tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)Single-player

Suikoden Tactics, originally released in Japan as Rhapsodia (ラプソディア, Rapusodia), is a tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 console as part of their Suikoden series. Initially released in Japan and North America in late 2005, the game was later made available in Europe and the PAL region in early 2006. It is the first strategy-based installment of the series, using tactical, grid-based combat instead of the turn-based battles employed by previous games in the series. The game's music was composed by series veteran Norikazu Miura and features the opening theme "Another World" performed by Japanese vocalist yoshiko.

The game's fantasy story is told in two parts, taking place both before and after the events of Suikoden IV released one year earlier, and features appearances by characters from the title. Players assume the role of Kyril, a young man investigating the power of mysterious weapons called "Rune Cannons," which hold strange powers of transformation.

Gameplay

A battle sequence

Suikoden Tactics is a tactical role-playing game and thus shares many traits with the genre. The player controls a young man named Kyril, and advances the plot by completing tactical battles and talking with other characters. The player can also recruit new characters to his cause, which often involves a short sidequest. In towns, the player can gather information, sharpen character's weaponry, learn new skills, and buy equipment. Each character may use special "Runes" or items to imbue terrain squares with various elements. Characters each have a particular element on which their attack and defence is boosted by a significant amount when they occupy a space with the corresponding element, and the reverse is true if the character occupies a space with an element the character is weak to.

Another feature of the battle system in Suikoden Tactics is its use of supporting characters. Such characters have no offensive value, as they can not attack, but impart various effects on the playing field such as healing, stealing, digging, and stat buffing.

Aside from that, the elemental runes and weapon runes from previous games return. Elemental Runes all have as their level 1 spell, a magic that turns an area of the playing field of a certain element. Weapon runes in Suikoden Tactics operate differently from previous Suikoden games. Instead of a single attack with infinite uses, weapon runes impart three different attacks that operate similarly to spell runes, as each attack is defined by a certain number of charges before it can no longer be used, although all MP would be recharged upon a level-up.

Story

The story of Suikoden Tactics begins about seven years before the events of Suikoden IV, and establishes the reason why Kyril is determined to search out and destroy the Rune Cannons. The prequel part of Suikoden Tactics ends with a traumatic event for Kyril, and how Brandeau gains the possession of the Rune of Punishment.

The game leaps forward about three years after the events of Suikoden IV takes place. From here on, Kyril begins his investigation on Rune Cannons and eventually leads him north into the Kooluk Empire. Kyril meets a mysterious man, Iskas, who hints at a connection between Rune Cannons and Kooluk. From there, Kyril investigates further about connections between Kooluk and Rune Cannons, and soon leads Kyril to Kika and her pirate crew. Clues turn Kyril's journey north, first to the fortress of El Eal, then finally into the Kooluk Empire itself.

During his investigation in the Kooluk Empire, Kyril and his company meets up with a young aristocrat girl named Corselia, who is later revealed as the granddaughter of the Emperor of the Kooluk Empire. It is also here that Iskas finally reveals his real intentions and begins a plot to antagonize Kyril.

Soundtrack

The music for Suikoden Tactics was composed and arranged by Norikazu Miura, who would go on to also compose the soundtrack of Suikoden V. The opening theme "Another World" was performed by yoshiko. The music was released first as the Rhapsodia Privilege Collection was released on September 22, 2005. It is a single CD containing selected tracks from the game as well as remixes from other Suikoden soundtracks. It also features a preview of "Castle of Dawn," the music for the Ceras Lake castle in Suikoden V, which was at the time unpublished. A week later on September 28, the Rhapsodia Original Soundtrack was released as a full compilation of the music in the game over 2 CDs.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic68 / 100[1]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM7.33 / 10[2]
Eurogamer5 / 10[3]
Famitsu31 / 40[4]
Game Informer6.75 / 10[5]
GameSpot7.6 / 10[6]
GameSpyStarStarStar[7]
GameZone6.6 / 10[8]
IGN7.3 / 10[9]
OPM (US)StarStarStar[10]
X-PlayStarStarStar[11]

Suikoden Tactics was met with a fairly positive response in Japan, selling approximately 64,472 within its first year, enough to qualify it for a re-release under Sony's "PlayStation the Best" distinction in November 2006 at a budget price.[12] Famitsu gave it a score of two eights, one seven, and one eight for a total of 31 out of 40.[4]

In the west, the game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[1] GameSpot praised the game's user-friendliness and battle design, stating that the game was "fun for veterans and newcomers alike", yet found the game's "weak story and characters" and "spotty voice acting" to be its low points.[6] IGN also found the game's battle system to be engaging, but ultimately declared the game's plot to be "paltry", urging the player to "[e]xpect more from battles rather than plotlines."[9] Conversely, Game Informer found the game too confusing with haphazard battle scenes, stating, "I'd rather have a simple and well-balanced game than a complicated and lopsided one, and Suikoden Tactics definitely has too many short legs."[5] Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine stated that the gameplay "works when it's not broken", but was hindered by "boring" story sequences and "awful" graphics.[10]

Eurogamer found the game to be lackluster when compared to other tactical-based role-playing games, particularly those developed by Nippon Ichi Software, declaring that Suikoden Tactics's "[b]attles are fun and fairly compulsive but this is a game we've played many times over, usually presented better, executed more beautifully and intertwined with a far superior story."[3] G4's X-Play echoed their sentiment, stating that "despite some interesting play mechanics, it's not nearly as deep as some of the other games on the market right now."[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Suikoden Tactics for PlayStation 2 Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/suikoden-tactics/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. 
  2. ↑ EGM staff (December 2005). "Suikoden Tactics". Electronic Gaming Monthly (198). 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Parkin, Simon (March 28, 2006). "Suikoden Tactics". http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_suikodentactics_ps2. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Famitsu scores". NeoGAF. September 14, 2005. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63016&page=1. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Juba, Joe (December 2005). "Suikoden Tactics". Game Informer (152): 174. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mueller, Greg (November 14, 2005). "Suikoden Tactics Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/suikoden-tactics-review/1900-6139766/. 
  7. ↑ Fischer, Russ (November 23, 2005). "GameSpy: Suikoden Tactics". GameSpy. http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/genso-suikoden-tactics/670495p1.html. 
  8. ↑ Grabowski, Dakota (November 30, 2005). "Suikoden Tactics - PS2 - Review". GameZone. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/suikoden_tactics_ps2_review. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dunham, Jeremy (November 7, 2005). "Suikoden Tactics". http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/11/08/suikoden-tactics. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Suikoden Tactics". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (96): 118. December 2005. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sewart, Greg (January 31, 2006). "Suikoden Tactics Review". X-Play. http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/features/53335/Suikoden_Tactics_Review.html. 
  12. ↑ "Suikoden sales figures". Gensopedia. July 3, 2008. http://gensopedia.duefiumi.com/index.php?title=Suikoden_sales_figures. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Suikoden_Tactics&oldid=3961350"