Suikoden Tierkreis
Encyclopedia
Suikoden Tierkreis, originally released in Japan
as , is a role-playing video game for the Nintendo DS
developed and published by Konami
as part of their Suikoden
series. Originally released in December 2008 for Japanese audiences, the game was made available in English in Europe and North America the following March. The game's development was led by project head Osamu Komuta, who had previously been a planner for Suikoden Tactics
, with a music staff composed of Norikaku Miura, Yoshino Aoki
, Masaharu Iwata
, and Kaori Komuro. The game features the opening and ending theme songs "Tears in the Sky" and "Tierkreis" respectively, each performed by Japanese pop idol
Satomi Takasugi.
Created as a spin-off of the main series of games, Suikoden Tierkreis was made to explore one of the myriad of worlds that exist in the Suikoden metaverse. Following the game's main theme of "the infinite possibility of future", players must assume the role of an unnamed young male protagonist
to gather the combined forces of 108 heroes and defeat a powerful villain known as The One King, leader of The Order of the One True Way, who seeks to control the world by spreading his doctrine that all fate is predetermined and all people have no control of their lives.
Suikoden Tierkreis is a traditional console role-playing game where the player must navigate through three-dimensional environments and complete story-based objectives to advance the narrative. Taking advantage of the Nintendo DS
' dual screens, gameplay, text, and menu options are often displayed on the bottom screen. On the field, the top screen shows a landscape image of the player's current location, along with the name of that location and season information. During battle the top screen also displays character information such as hit points, magic points, etc. Players move their character through the game using either the directional pad or the stylus
wand to take advantage of the DS' touchscreen function. While advancing through the game, the player must interact with non-player characters to move the story forward and allow new scenarios to become available for play, as well as to discover new items and areas.
During gameplay, players will randomly encounter enemy creatures every few steps while in hostile areas. Battles in Suikoden Tierkreis use a turn-based
approach where players input commands for all active characters in their party before each combat round, with the corresponding actions taking place in accordance with each character's "speed" rating. A player's party may consist of up to four characters at a time, with special combination skills becoming available depending on which specific characters are included. When a player defeats a group of enemies, they are awarded experience points that go toward increasing their party member's levels, thereby making them stronger and able to use more special skills in battle. Defeated enemies may also provide trade items that can be sold for money to purchase goods in-game such as restorative items and better equipment that will allow the player to battle even stronger enemies. By using the DS' Wi-Fi
function, two players each with their own game card can connect to each other to exchange characters and items, as well as gain access to unique battle scenarios.
The game opens as the leader of 108 heroes engages the main antagonist known as "The One King" in battle. It is currently unknown whether the defeat shown in the introduction precedes the game or if the game is actually a flashback
leading to that scene. The game is set in a parallel world to the main world of the series, which is one of the many worlds in the Suikoden multiverse, known collectively as the Infinity.
The protagonist is an energetic young man from Citro Village who eventually ends up fighting a mysterious organization that preaches a fatalist philosophy in which the future is predetermined.
The concept of the Infinity has been previously explored in other Suikoden games: monsters from another dimension are summoned by Windy and Leknaat in Suikoden I
, and by Luc and Sarah in Suikoden III
; Nash Latkje, Humphrey Mintz, and Futch visit The World of Wings and Scales in Suikogaiden II, a parallel world where only dragons exist, while dragons are only able to exist in the main Suikoden world via the Dragon Rune, one of the 27 True Runes; the Fog Ship Guide, who appears in Suikoden IV
, hails from another world; and the final battle of Suikoden Tactics
takes place in the World of Emptiness, a parallel world from which monsters are summoned. Additionally, it is implied that recurring characters Viki, Yuber, and Pesmerga likely come from parallel worlds.
No characters from previous installments of the Suikoden series return for Tierkreis.
and a planner in Suikoden Tactics
. Kazuyoshi Tsugawa, who had penned Suikoden V
, also served as head writer. Takahiro Sakiyama, the director of Suikoden V, took part in this game's development as the lead planner.
awarded the game a 34 out of 40 score, finding the game's story "fascinating" and finding the game to have no real shortcomings, stating "from the way the story unfolds to the battle system, there are no obvious flaws to be found."
The English version met with a similar response, with IGN
awarding the game with an Editor's Choice award and an 8.8 out of 10 average score. Although the website found the game's overall presentation and production to be good, they felt longtime fans of the series may find it too different, commenting that "Suikoden Tierkreis may not be a pocket-sized representation of what hardcore series fans have grown to love, but it’s still one of the deepest and fully produced RPGs on the system, and a serious showpiece." Editors at Nintendo Power
conversely found fault with the game's core gameplay and simple battle system, but still found it to have a good storytelling technique, remarking that "As much as [I] grumble about its flaws, Tierkreis's epic scope and engaging narrative did keep [me] playing, eager to see what would happen next." GameSpot
called the game "a brisk, beautiful role-playing experience", commenting on the game's "fantastic" visuals and music but panning the main character's "atrocious" English voice acting and lack of initial Wi-Fi support until the player is well into the game.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a role-playing video game for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
developed and published by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
as part of their Suikoden
Suikoden
is a role-playing game series originally created by Yoshitaka Murayama. The game series is loosely based on the classical Chinese novel, Shui Hu Zhuan by Shi Naian and Luo Guanzhong. Shui Hu Zhuan is rendered as 水滸伝 in Japanese, and read as Suikoden...
series. Originally released in December 2008 for Japanese audiences, the game was made available in English in Europe and North America the following March. The game's development was led by project head Osamu Komuta, who had previously been a planner for Suikoden Tactics
Suikoden Tactics
Suikoden Tactics, originally released in Japan as , 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 American in late 2005, the game was later made available in Europe and...
, with a music staff composed of Norikaku Miura, Yoshino Aoki
Yoshino Aoki
is a Japanese video game music composer. She began her career with video game company Capcom and later became a free-lance composer.-Life and career:...
, Masaharu Iwata
Masaharu Iwata
is a Japanese video game composer. After graduating from high school, where his musical projects included composing on a synthesizer and playing in a cover band, he joined Bothtec as a composer. He composed the soundtrack to several games there, beginning with 1987's Bakusou Buggy Ipatsu Yarou, and...
, and Kaori Komuro. The game features the opening and ending theme songs "Tears in the Sky" and "Tierkreis" respectively, each performed by Japanese pop idol
Japanese idol
In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
Satomi Takasugi.
Created as a spin-off of the main series of games, Suikoden Tierkreis was made to explore one of the myriad of worlds that exist in the Suikoden metaverse. Following the game's main theme of "the infinite possibility of future", players must assume the role of an unnamed young male protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
to gather the combined forces of 108 heroes and defeat a powerful villain known as The One King, leader of The Order of the One True Way, who seeks to control the world by spreading his doctrine that all fate is predetermined and all people have no control of their lives.
Gameplay
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
' dual screens, gameplay, text, and menu options are often displayed on the bottom screen. On the field, the top screen shows a landscape image of the player's current location, along with the name of that location and season information. During battle the top screen also displays character information such as hit points, magic points, etc. Players move their character through the game using either the directional pad or the stylus
Stylus (computing)
In computing, a stylus is a small pen-shaped instrument that is used to input commands to a computer screen, mobile device or graphics tablet...
wand to take advantage of the DS' touchscreen function. While advancing through the game, the player must interact with non-player characters to move the story forward and allow new scenarios to become available for play, as well as to discover new items and areas.
During gameplay, players will randomly encounter enemy creatures every few steps while in hostile areas. Battles in Suikoden Tierkreis use a turn-based
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
approach where players input commands for all active characters in their party before each combat round, with the corresponding actions taking place in accordance with each character's "speed" rating. A player's party may consist of up to four characters at a time, with special combination skills becoming available depending on which specific characters are included. When a player defeats a group of enemies, they are awarded experience points that go toward increasing their party member's levels, thereby making them stronger and able to use more special skills in battle. Defeated enemies may also provide trade items that can be sold for money to purchase goods in-game such as restorative items and better equipment that will allow the player to battle even stronger enemies. By using the DS' Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
function, two players each with their own game card can connect to each other to exchange characters and items, as well as gain access to unique battle scenarios.
Plot
The game is set in a world with several diverse nations and tribes and inhabited by a range of creatures including humans, Roar (similar to the Kobolds and Nay-Kobolds of previous games), Porpos-kin (small, penguin/dolphin like creatures), and Auster (a race of horned giants).The game opens as the leader of 108 heroes engages the main antagonist known as "The One King" in battle. It is currently unknown whether the defeat shown in the introduction precedes the game or if the game is actually a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
leading to that scene. The game is set in a parallel world to the main world of the series, which is one of the many worlds in the Suikoden multiverse, known collectively as the Infinity.
The protagonist is an energetic young man from Citro Village who eventually ends up fighting a mysterious organization that preaches a fatalist philosophy in which the future is predetermined.
The concept of the Infinity has been previously explored in other Suikoden games: monsters from another dimension are summoned by Windy and Leknaat in Suikoden I
Suikoden (video game)
is a role-playing game published by Konami as the first installment of the Suikoden series. Developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, it was released initially in 1995 for the PlayStation in Japan. A North American release followed one year later, and a European release came the following...
, and by Luc and Sarah in Suikoden III
Suikoden III
is a console role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console, and the third installment in the Suikoden video game series. It was released in 2002 in Japan and Notrth America, with a manga version published in 2004...
; Nash Latkje, Humphrey Mintz, and Futch visit The World of Wings and Scales in Suikogaiden II, a parallel world where only dragons exist, while dragons are only able to exist in the main Suikoden world via the Dragon Rune, one of the 27 True Runes; the Fog Ship Guide, who appears in Suikoden IV
Suikoden IV
is a console role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console and the fourth installment of the Suikoden video game series...
, hails from another world; and the final battle of Suikoden Tactics
Suikoden Tactics
Suikoden Tactics, originally released in Japan as , 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 American in late 2005, the game was later made available in Europe and...
takes place in the World of Emptiness, a parallel world from which monsters are summoned. Additionally, it is implied that recurring characters Viki, Yuber, and Pesmerga likely come from parallel worlds.
Characters
The player takes on the role of an unnamed character from Citro Village. Events in the game lead to the hero working to assemble the 108 heroes to oppose the powerful, cult-like society called The Order of the One True Way, which tries to force its principles on other nations under the mantra of "One World! One Future!" The leader of the Order intends to summon the being known as The One King with the power of the Chronicles, memories of different worlds, in hopes of becoming part of The One King's world, where everything is predetermined.No characters from previous installments of the Suikoden series return for Tierkreis.
Development
Suikoden Tierkreis was directed by Osamu Komuta, who had previously served as a programmer in Suikoden IVSuikoden IV
is a console role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console and the fourth installment of the Suikoden video game series...
and a planner in Suikoden Tactics
Suikoden Tactics
Suikoden Tactics, originally released in Japan as , 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 American in late 2005, the game was later made available in Europe and...
. Kazuyoshi Tsugawa, who had penned Suikoden V
Suikoden V
is a console role-playing game developed by Konami and Hudson Soft and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console and the Suikoden video game series...
, also served as head writer. Takahiro Sakiyama, the director of Suikoden V, took part in this game's development as the lead planner.
Reception
Suikoden Tierkreis was well-received in Japan, selling an estimated 40,000 copies in its first day, and over 150,000 lifetime. Famitsu WeeklyFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
awarded the game a 34 out of 40 score, finding the game's story "fascinating" and finding the game to have no real shortcomings, stating "from the way the story unfolds to the battle system, there are no obvious flaws to be found."
The English version met with a similar response, with IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarding the game with an Editor's Choice award and an 8.8 out of 10 average score. Although the website found the game's overall presentation and production to be good, they felt longtime fans of the series may find it too different, commenting that "Suikoden Tierkreis may not be a pocket-sized representation of what hardcore series fans have grown to love, but it’s still one of the deepest and fully produced RPGs on the system, and a serious showpiece." Editors at Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
conversely found fault with the game's core gameplay and simple battle system, but still found it to have a good storytelling technique, remarking that "As much as [I] grumble about its flaws, Tierkreis's epic scope and engaging narrative did keep [me] playing, eager to see what would happen next." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
called the game "a brisk, beautiful role-playing experience", commenting on the game's "fantastic" visuals and music but panning the main character's "atrocious" English voice acting and lack of initial Wi-Fi support until the player is well into the game.