Subm:Suikoden

[TorontoReign]

Suikoden, 1995
Konami
PSX, Playstation Store

I haven't even beat this game yet, but I can tell you already it has the most satisfying combat of any JRPG on the PSX. As with most games like this the plot is fairly typical almost Game of Thrones-esque in execution, with several backstabs - much like Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactic Ogre actually. The simple fact that you can recruit over 108 characters, and make choices that change the story along the way, makes the replay value well worth the price to get it on the Playstation Store. People say the sequel is the best, but I will leave this here for posterity until I can flesh the review out more thoroughly.

.

The game series is loosely based on the classical Chinese novel Shui Hu Zhuan by Shi Naian.[1] Shui Hu Zhuan is rendered as 水滸伝 in Japanese, and read phonetically as Suikoden. Each individual game in the series centers on relative themes of politics, corruption, revolution, mystical crystals known as True Runes and the "108 Stars of Destiny"—the 108 protagonists who are loosely interpreted from the source material.

Fun Fact: This came out the same year as my favorite JRPG - Earthbound.