Suggestion for the Future: Less Random Recruit Locations

[Neonivek]

So this obviously has 2 solutions...
1) For the love of all things holy make the hint system actually useful. She is COMPLETELY useless! to the point where the only point in using the hint system is just the comedy of how vague she is. "Someone else is looking for her"... OHH THANK YOU! that totally tells me exactly where it is.

or

2) Stop making characters just appear in old locations unless there is something that needs to be done there. I hate that every single time I touch the story I suddenly have to trot around the entire world.

I understand that there are two reasons for this... 1) You don't want to overload the player on future recruits especially if they are vague... 2) The character recruitment is basically all secrets. They WANT it to be difficult to find all the character.

---

Note: I use a character recruit guide at this point... As soon as I found out the hint system is hot garbage I stuck to it.

Also yes I know in Suikeoden 1 and 2 had extremely vague hint systems (though a bit more useful)... I think Suikoden 3 had it perfect.

[Zy Soua]

1) this whole thing was supposed for player to use own brain not to serve it on a platter
2) you said it yourself - it wasn't supposed to be easy and recruitment was supposed to be a another part of a game

And using the guide is the best thing you can do right away for games like this. Yes, it is cool that they have B'baba and all, but her hints are hot garbage indeed. I for example almost missed one character myself from 119 that I actually could pick up almost in the beginning of the game, but just didn't check one building.

[kcolloran]

It's just one of the many things this game does that makes the game for masochists. The design choices in this game are just baffling in every direction. The fact I've enjoyed it still makes me sad for what could have been an all time game if they didn't just punish players at every turn.

[Zy Soua]

Originally posted by kcolloran:

It's just one of the many things this game does that makes the game for masochists. The design choices in this game are just baffling in every direction. The fact I've enjoyed it still makes me sad for what could have been an all time game if they didn't just punish players at every turn.

This game is just trying to replicate retro mechanics of a 30 year old game series. That is why it feels masochist in modern game perspective. Because in modern games there are many quality of life aspects added. This game just didn't add them as a purposeful choice.

[tankanidis]

Old locations (or when you're done with a location to return to it to pick up a character) is a nod to old Suikoden

Like Pesmerga in the Vampire Castle in Suikoden 1

[Neonivek]

Originally posted by Zy Soua:

This game is just trying to replicate retro mechanics of a 30 year old game series. That is why it feels masochist in modern game perspective. Because in modern games there are many quality of life aspects added. This game just didn't add them as a purposeful choice.

Here is why I don't exactly accept it... Because we have had over 6 of these games and they fixed a LOT of these problems overtime.

The Hint System for recruitment being so vague as to be useless? Suikeoden 3.

The Location of characters not being random Story checks or obscure enough to be a secret? Suikeoden 3 (ok sort of... there were a few ones that were... a bit... HUH? to get even with the actually good hint system).

Big characters being useless? Suikoden 3 and 6 fixed that. (by removing them)

It feels like we asked them to make a Classical Final Fantasy game and instead of chosing elements from 1-6... they instead stuck to the worst aspects of 2.

[iameatingjam]

And the later Suikoden games didn't sell so well, while 2 is held up as one of the all time greats. I mean... its kind of what people asked for.

[Zy Soua]

Originally posted by iameatingjam:

And the later Suikoden games didn't sell so well, while 2 is held up as one of the all time greats. I mean... its kind of what people asked for.

Suikoden 2 was and always will be the best Suikoden for me without a doubt.

[iameatingjam]

Originally posted by Zy Soua:

Originally posted by iameatingjam:

And the later Suikoden games didn't sell so well, while 2 is held up as one of the all time greats. I mean... its kind of what people asked for.

Suikoden 2 was and always will be the best Suikoden for me without a doubt.

Me too but full disclosure its actually the only one I finished XD

[Do It For Hargon]

ive used only b'baba and no other guide and haven't had really any issues so far.............so i legitimately don't understand why you're saying it's difficult?

[evnant]

Originally posted by Do It For Hargon:

ive used only b'baba and no other guide and haven't had really any issues so far.............so i legitimately don't understand why you're saying it's difficult?

same, just finished the last battle and am at the castle and only used baba or just reexplored stuff while hunting tops and have all of them.

[Neonivek]

It isn't that it is particularly hard it is that it is outright tedious and has no real story implications or story beats.

"Alright, major upgrade... where are you?... Baba what is the clue?"... Baba: "Let your heart guide you"... Me: "Thanks... Wait... Heart... Home is where the heart is... But it isn't in my home it must be where the game started!"

Person: "Yep, I am here halfway through the game for no raisin... Now... hunt down this creature for me"
Me: "where is it?"
Person: "Not here... In fact you could have done this much earlier in the game had I appeared earlier"
Me: "Baba, do you have a hint so I don't have to farm random encounters across the 7 continents? No?... Alright"

It is just so tedious...

Finish story beat? Revisit all towns, go in all locations. If Baba gave better clues (or clues period in some cases) it would have been fine.

If the recruits followed the story or were simply THERE albeit non-recruitable until certain obvious events unfolded... it would have been fine.

Instead it copied one of the few flaws of Suikoden 2. Which only existed because they sold you guides.