Finally finished Suikoden IV and have entered Suikoden Tactics. ST has proven to be a real interesting game so far. The story still has some pacing issues but it has brought some much needed background information to SIV including fleshing out several characters and finally explaining what was up with SIV's final boss. The gameplay is an odd mix of FFTactics/Tactics Ogre and bit of Fire Emblem (permanent character death) all utilizing the Suikoden gameplay mechanics (Unite Attacks, Rune Slots, MP System, collecting lots of characters) the elemental field mechanics is largely what really sets this game apart from other games of the genre, as it really makes controlling your environment very important. I'm not terribly far in but so far this game has been a vast improvement over SIV. I'm even beginning to wonder about the game's origins and if SIV's development was marred by more issues than people first thought.