Suikoden Tactics Preview

Here’s something that got me hyped and enthusiastic. No, really. Contrary to my habit of not being too thrilled about tactical games, I’ve however always been a huge fan of Final Fantasy Tactics, from a few years ago, when I was running amok trying to find a PSX imported from the USA because the only version of the game I had found was the US one, to fondly getting my CD out again from time to time nowadays. So what did I think when I saw this article at Gamespy featuring a preview of Suikoden Tactics? Well, I thought: “Me must have! Mine! Mine!”

*coughs* Alright, I need to calm down. Nevertheless, a FF Tactics-style game would be something I’d really like to get my hands on once it goes live by November of this year (I’m also quite fond of the Suikoden series, that is).

The gameplay, again, will be largely familiar to fans of tactics games. Character turns are taken based on stats; Suikoden Tactics is not a “you go then they go” type of game. Turn progression for player characters and enemies is individually determined. Physical attacks, of course, require you to be in range of the enemy; here’s one place where the game’s new system of “balloons” (think speech bubbles from a comic book) helps out the player: if an enemy is in range to attack you on its next turn, a sword icon will appear in a bubble over it; whereas if you’re in range to attack it on your current turn, a teardrop (a typical Japanese signifier of anxiety as seen in anime, manga, and games) will appear over it. This saves you from having to manually check movement range, as in other tactical games. These balloons can also show status ailments (poison, etc.). Characters who are hurting bad will call for healing in their balloons, too. The system is designed so that the player can easily see what needs to be done in any given gameplay situation.

And I really don’t care if the graphics looka bit goofy.