Few RPGs, or video games, deal with war and hope in the face of tyranny like the Suikoden series. Konami’s prime RPG series, created by the late, great Yoshitaka Muriyama, is beloved by those who have played them – particularly the first two. They’re about the underdogs, about those who want better for their country, and not at the cost of a life. In the face of war, we push back against tyrannical empires and oppressive governments in order to give the people, and the oppressed, hope and a better life.

But Suikoden isn’t just about war. As is written in the Chinese epic The Water Margin, on which Suikoden is loosely based: “A close neighbor means more than a distant relative.” These games are all about interpersonal relationships and conflicts between friends and family, and they never shy away from the morally grey. But when ideals are challenged and faith is shaken, how does one maintain those bonds? Suikoden manages to balance topics of oppression, racism, politics, and familial relationships and friendships with delicacy and heart.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Released on the PlayStation in 1995 and 1998 respectively, there’s a timelessness and relevance to Suikoden I and II that still feels important. These are two excellently-paced, snappy RPGs that go by in the blink of an eye. And with Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars, they feel smoother and snappier than ever before.

The HD Remaster is based on the Japan-exclusive PSP port of the first two games, and includes all of the bug fixes and improvements there, such as eight-directional movement, widescreen support, movie galleries, and a place to listen to both games’ beautiful soundtracks. And you can also dash right from the get-go without the need for the Holy Rune.

These are, largely, the very same games from the '90s, but that’s by no means a bad thing. Auto-battle and (later on) fast travel come as standard, but the Remaster adds a few new features to the package. You can speed up combat at the press of a button – or two presses once you’ve recruited a certain character. The menus have all been tidied, it’s much easier to compare characters’ equipment when buying new gear, and both games' localisations have been cleaned up, particularly notable in Suikoden II, which suffered from some often-criticised mistranslations.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

The visual department, however, is where both Suikoden I and II have received the biggest glow-up. All of the backgrounds — from battle arenas, towns, and even the world map — have been improved dramatically, and everywhere looks fantastic. This hasn’t come at the cost of the beautiful sprite work either, which the improved lighting and colours have enhanced. These are not the vaseline-filtered sprites we’re used to seeing in some other HD Remasters. And all of the character portraits have been improved, too, most notably in Suikoden I, where character artist Junko Kawano has returned to breathe new life into her work.

Both games look absolutely fantastic on Switch, particularly on an OLED. This is the way to play them, in our book, even if the Switch versions run at 30fps. And there are very few performance issues, though only in Suikoden II in scenes where there’s lots of fire or some extremely long spell animations.

There are a couple of baffling changes (or lack of changes) that are either present or missing in the HD Remaster. First, inventory management in Suikoden I is a chore. Every character has their own inventory, most of which will be taken up by equipped armor and accessories, and there’s no shared inventory for items or spare equipment like in the sequel.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Less annoyingly, though still notable, fast-forward in combat also speeds up the battle music, something we hope Konami will fix. And fast-forward is only available in standard combat, meaning if you want to run on the world map, you still need to add a certain Star of Destiny to your party.

But perhaps the weirdest thing is the addition of autosave, which you’d think is a godsend but is actually pretty poorly implemented here. Autosave only activates when you walk into a screen with a Journeyman’s Orb, a save point. With a few long stretches of battles and dungeons, and some particularly finicky character recruitments in Suikoden II, this can actually hinder progress. It’s only useful in a few instances where you can’t reach the save point on a screen before a forced battle, but these are few and far between.

These issues don’t really take away from the games themselves, however, and both play excellently to this day. Suikoden’s simple turn-based combat is elevated by its speed and its variety of characters, and you’ll need to select just where in your lineup each character stands. Short-ranged characters can only attack in the front row, while Medium and Long-ranged can go from the back. Certain combinations of characters have Unite Attacks, which use both characters' turns but also allows them to do devastating attacks to either a single foe or enemy group.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

The Runes also have multiple uses – some give characters access to magic or special attacks that allow them to hit multiple times, while others provide them with status effects that enhance attack or deal poison or elemental damage. Not all characters can equip Runes, and in Suikoden II, multiple characters get access to multiple Rune Slots, allowing you to customise your party in multiple different ways.

Turn-based combat isn’t the only way to do battle. In both games, you’ll also need to take part in one-on-one duels where you have to learn how to react to your opponent depending on what they say in a rock-paper-scissors style format. Attack beats Defense, Defense beats Special Attack, Special Attack beats Attack. These are incredibly cool and always come at poignant moments in the narrative, adding to the weight of the story.

Then there are the Army Battles, which vary between Suikoden I and II. In I, that rock-paper-scissors formula carries over, but with Attack, Ranged, and Magic. Some characters have abilities that allow you to see what the opposing army is going to do next, or you can use other characters to buff certain attacks. It’s simple, but effective.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Suikoden II’s army battles, however, play out like a miniature strategy RPG. Many of these are scripted, with most fights highlighting the sheer gulf between your own rebel army and the Highland Kingdom’s forces. That can be pretty frustrating, and some of these battles are a little slow, but narratively, they work.

Then there’s also the series’ defining trait, the 108 Stars of Destiny, which embodies the series’ focus on communities and the power of unity. Once you get a castle, you can start recruiting an army of characters to either help you in combat or live at your base to help out in other ways, such as running shops, opening a bath house, growing crops, or even running a restaurant. Some of the event triggers for these, mostly in Suikoden II, are frustratingly vague, so without a guide, you'll struggle to get all 108. But it still never gets old watching your base expand and fill up over time.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

What impressed us most about revisiting these games isn’t just how well they’ve both stood the test of time, but just how ambitious they are, and how effectively both games fulfill that ambition. Suikoden might be simplistic on the surface, but it laid the foundation for the rest of the series that was largely unshaken for five mainline entries. Suikoden II then took that formula and ran with it, improving it in almost every single way. It truly deserves its status as one of the best RPGs of all time.

Conclusion

While not as feature-rich as some collections, Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars proves that these RPGs have largely stood the test of time. While the issues with this remaster don’t take away too much from the original games' brilliance, we think these classics deserve the very best. Boasting ambition, narrative stakes, and heart that few other RPGs of the time can muster, Suikoden burns bright in its origins, and we hope Konami sees just how important this series is to many and makes a handful of tweaks.

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