Suikoden Creator hints at making a new IP targeted for the West.

[Wolf Kanno]

The good people at Suikoden Revival Movement got a nice chance to sit down and interview Yoshitaka Murayama who was the creator of Suikoden and wrote and directed the first three games along with the two SuikoGaiden games. Though he doesn't actually talk about coming back to finish Suikoden, he is apparently working on a new game that is meant for the Western fans.

Here's the full interview. https://www.facebook.com/notes/suikoden-revival-movement/interview-with-yoshitaka-murayama/619511931478328

Let's discuss Suikoden!

[Pumpkin]

MAKE MOAR SUIKODENS MAKE MOAR

[Shauna]

*Shauna Intensifies*

[VeloZer0]

I can't help but feel when a JRPG makers says 'Western Fans' it is a code word for 'we are going to be making something for a market we don't understand in a way that plays to none of our strengths'.

[Quindiana Jones]

I have never played a Suikoden game. :(

[Wolf Kanno]

I have never played a Suikoden game. :(

57650

[The Man]

Suikoden I & II are on PSN. You really have no excuse :monster:

[VeloZer0]

Suikoden I & II are on PSN. You really have no excuse :monster:
Suikoden II is on PSN? When did this happen and why can't I find any reference to it.

[The Man]

it was announced a few months ago. Pretty sure Wolf Canoe made a thread for it. It might not be past pre-orders stage yet but I'd be surprised.

[Shauna]

Suikoden I & II are on PSN. You really have no excuse :monster:

Depends what PSN he's on. EU doesn't have access to them.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

The ESRB rated Suikoden II for the PS3, but nothing else happened with it yet.

[The Man]

Oh, that's stupid. Why haven't they gotten that sorted yet? And why isn't it available for the EU?

[Shauna]

I wish I knew, man. I would buy the heck out of them immediately, despite already owning them.

[The Man]

Konami must hate money. :doublecolbert:

[Wolf Kanno]

Konami seems to ignore any property they own that isn't Metal Gear, or one of their sports or music franchise. Though that's because most of their other famous properties are cult fan favorites that often get creamed in the marketplace despite their rabid fanbases.

[Skyblade]

I can't help but feel when a JRPG makers says 'Western Fans' it is a code word for 'we are going to be making something for a market we don't understand in a way that plays to none of our strengths'.

This was my immediate reaction.

[Jibril]

I can't help but feel when a JRPG makers says 'Western Fans' it is a code word for 'we are going to be making something for a market we don't understand in a way that plays to none of our strengths'.

This was my immediate reaction.

Yeah, although sometimes you get something great like Dragon's Dogma.

Konami's not doing anything with Suikoden and that's really sad. I always thought the only reason it wasn't successful in the west was because they didn't understand how to market it. Westerners are ho-hum about JRPGs featuring teenage protagonists, but they eat up bloody warfare and political intrigue. Suikoden had both. Don't know why they never saw that.

Whatever Murayama is planning on doing, I'm interested so long as he doesn't try too hard to make a "western" game. The three Suikodens he directed were on a level above every other Japanese game at the time... the storytelling hasn't been surpassed imo, even with the bad translations on the first two. The worldbuilding/lore was pretty similar to what The Elder Scrolls did/is doing. Was some innovative trout. Mixing strategy gameplay into a fairly traditional JRPG, the leveling soft cap eliminating grinding. All those characters and minigames. Suikoden 3's story structure was groundbreaking too.

Makes me sad when I think about the crazy stuff they could be doing nowdays if they had just kept doing it. A Dark Cloud-esque city-building system would have been a natural progression from 3. They had some great combat ideas in 3 that never got fleshed out enough, too. Oh well.