Suikoden 5 Review

The verdict

Suikoden V takes far longer than it should to show its full strength. Its opening involves court ceremonies, constrained travel and extensive political preparation. Stay with it, though, and it becomes one of the finest large-ensemble political RPGs on PlayStation 2, bringing back six-character battles, the 108 Stars of Destiny and a headquarters that gradually becomes a community.

The long beginning, frequent loading and some difficult-to-find recruits are significant obstacles. They make the game harder to recommend to someone seeking immediate action, but the eventual payoff is tremendous.

Falena and the cost of power

The prince's story unfolds within the queendom of Falena, where royal succession, noble families and the use of ancient authority create lasting tensions. Early visits to places such as Lordlake establish that government decisions have consequences for ordinary people. The conflict becomes personal because the game has spent time making its ruling family and closest allies feel real.

Lyon, Georg, Sialeeds and the wider royal circle give the narrative its emotional weight. The game is interested in loyalty, duty and political legitimacy rather than only a procession of villains. The early scenes are laying groundwork, even when the amount of guided conversation feels excessive.

The 108 Stars build a home

Recruitment is the soul of Suikoden. Soldiers, merchants, scholars and eccentrics may join the cause, contributing combat abilities, services or useful facilities to the headquarters. Watching rooms fill and shops appear turns progress into something you can physically explore. You are building a community rather than merely filling out a character list.

Some recruitment conditions are difficult to discover, and missing a narrow window can be especially frustrating to completionists. But even without every recruit, the growing headquarters beautifully links optional exploration to the story's political struggle.

Six-person combat and warfare

Normal battles restore the six-member party, with attack ranges, Runes, skills, formations and Unite attacks encouraging experimentation. Seeing relationships influence special attacks is especially satisfying. The main story is rarely brutally difficult once you find effective combinations, although random encounters can interrupt the flow of exploration.

Personal duels and strategic army battles add different scales to the conflict. Duels ask you to read an opponent's intent; real-time army clashes put recruits and their unit strengths into a broader confrontation. Neither system needs to be a grand strategy simulator to make the war feel bigger than one party.

Final thoughts

Suikoden V is a return to what makes the series special: an emotionally grounded political crisis, a cast you recruit rather than simply meet, and a home base whose growth tells its own story. The distant camera, original loading times and lengthy prologue remain frustrating. Yet few RPGs reward that patience with such a convincing sense of building something worth defending.