gensoSuikoden by Konami
gensoSuikoden is an RPG game developed by Konami, inspired by the original tale of the 108 heroes in the Chinese history. It is a very narrative game, with very deep emphasis on the story development. Gameplay wise, it is considered to be an easy game to complete with average hours between 20-30. What makes this game very interesting is how it has been developed up to 7 series at the moment, with story line that connects to each other. It is also interesting to see different style being adopted by Konami and platform which has improved from Playstation to PS2 to PSP to NDS and now to PS3. This game is all about narrative and development, whether it is in-game or the physical improvement in itself.
One important thing that I find in game-making from this game is narrative. gensoSuikoden may not provide players with the challenge of defeating super-ultra difficult lv.999999 monsters or secret bosses, but it depends on the story line. Adopting one of the most favored plot of war, this game interestingly adapts to the main theme but at the same time, branches out into highlighting social, economical and political issues, which can be reflected today. In terms of narrativity, this game seems to excel.
Another interesting factor is the idea of recruiting 108 characters, which up to 60% are useable in battlefields. It is challenging, at least for me, to gather the characters and to see how each develops as the game progresses. Again, Konami inputs the narrative factor into each characters, as if they are creating a history by itself.
One weakness which players often find in this series is the rather inconsistent difficulties in the game. Up to date, the 4th series of the game has received more thumbs down as it has the shortest gameplay of average 15hours but the richest narrative. In contrast, the 5th installment has the longest gameplay of average 35hours but among the simplest story. I find that when a title has a huge fan base, it is important to maintain the consistency of the gameplay. Unlike any single titled games, a continuous game like this have a bigger responsibility to deal with.
In conclusion, narrative is indeed an important factor a game, esp RPG, since the genre itself says so.
kelvin
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