How was this a PS1 game? It’s so packed with content that it’s mind boggling to me. What do AAA games provide that isn’t already satisfying here? Cutscenes? Voice acting? Those are the only things I can think of. What’s stopping those companies from making games like this instead of wasting billions on ridiculous shit like hair physics? Gaming as a medium didn’t really progress despite the improvements in technology, I just realized that.

The photorealistic graphic arms race and its consequences have been a disaster for the video game industry.

literally the last jrpg i ever played. i still prefer the first game just for how short and fun it is to complete everything, but 2 is a better game overall. stuff like realistic 3d graphics, cut scenes, voice acting, etc is why i dropped the genre

>>11879958
Suikoden 1 is shorter but really nothing happens most of the time. But I agree that completing everything was way easier, Suikoden 2 is a nightmare, it’s impossible without a guide.

>OP plays his first video game ever

>>11879958
>stuff like realistic 3d graphics, cut scenes, voice acting, etc is why i dropped the genre

Yeah the JRPG genre is best in 2D without voices (beyond possibly just a few little clips that play like sound effects - that type of voice inclusion is fine in my opinion). FMV cutscenes are acceptable I think, as long as they are rare and not very long.

>>11880513
Japanese voice acting is good, it’s never bad to include it

>>11879958
>stuff like realistic 3d graphics, cut scenes, voice acting, etc is why i dropped the genre
Shame, because ff13 is one of the best games in the genre after the first 40 hours.

>>11880513
>FMV cutscenes are acceptable I think, as long as they are rare and not very long.
yeah i like them in games like ff7 and wild arms. sort of pseudo-3d games that still had lots of charm.

>>11879902 (OP)
>Gaming as a medium didn’t really progress despite the improvements in technology, I just realized that.

We know, that's what we keep telling the summerfags who insist that 7th gen should be retro.

>>11880736
Well I can't evaluate how good it is since I don't know the language but I agree that it generally sounds good to me, for what that's worth. It's just that it conflicts with more important things. It makes development more expensive, changes in script far more difficult, and gameplay slower and less interactive. It encourages developers to leave out character customization features and to keep the player on rails. It punishes people who can read fast. It's moviegame stuff.

I do like sometimes when just a few lines per character are voiced, like maybe a few flavorful catchphrases and a few especially weighty one-off lines associated with specific plot scenes, to provide a really strong splash of color to each character. But I wouldn't want even that much in every JRPG, because it clashes too much with fully customizable parties, and I want at least SOME games to feature those.

If all lines are voiced, then the game is too slow and movielike and unless its story is EXTREMELY good (which it surely isn't) I'd rather just watch a movie.

Content in Suikoden 2:
>Good story
>good gameplay
>Multiple characters to recruit
>multiple runes to diversify your playstyle
>extra battle system where you can arrange units and fight in a war like Fire Emblem
>big world map where you can go anywhere
>your own HQ
>side quests that expand the lore of the game like Clive’s quest
>farming
>raising animals
>multiple mini games, yes even a cooking game
>baths
>furniture
All this in a PS1 game.

>>11880738
>it gets good 40 hours in
Then it sucks? A good game is good from the very start.

>>11881448
It’s good

>>11882859
Mmmm autobattling optional bosses and 20 hours farming turtles

>>11881159
>>extra battle system where you can arrange units and fight in a war like Fire Emblem
except this is just smoke screen, they're all scripted. nothing you alter or do in this mode matters, except that one rescue and putting oulan in your party to get killed.

>>11885008
The result is indeed scripted but not the process itself. I tested it many times. The enemy units move differently, you can nearly beat everyone or lose all your units before the scripted result happens, or it happens immediately. It seems to me they didn’t have enough time to flesh it out, which is why it’s half baked. Unfortunately it was then entirely ditched out in Suikoden 3.

>>11884909
Farming is harmless just listen to music or podcasts

>>11880736
This was especially rough during the PS2 era. Hope you like Pretty Sammy in all your games.