>>3834606
I finished the game yesterday and yeah the game gets a lot more interesting toward the end once you actually get into Luc's motives and stuff starts happening, but by god were the first 3 chapters and shifting perspectives badly executed.
I've only heard bad things about 4 but honestly a brisker pace sounds like what the series needs. Probably Suiko 1's greatest quality, the story isn't amazing but it's consistently engaging and always moving

>>3834737
Having just played both: I kinda thought it was worse in every way, but it is a much more ambitious game that just falls short of its ambitions. Still has some cool ideas and I would say worth a play if you can stomach an early PS2 3D RPG with all that entails.
Also recommend playing the Suikogaidens first they're short and pretty fun.