Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster – Everything You Need to Know

Konami’s gradual return to core gaming has had a great start, thanks to the excellent Silent Hill 2 remake, and the company has several more projects waiting in the wings. Alongside Silent Hill and Metal Gear, Suikoden is another beloved and long-dormant franchise that’s set to return to the limelight. After a bit of a delay, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster is set to launch soon, and is promising to bring the original two RPG classics to modern platforms in enhanced and remastered form. Ahead of that looming release, here, we’re going to talk about some key details that you should know about the two games themselves, as well as what to expect from their remasters- starting with the latter.

GRAPHICAL UPGRADES

Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster is obviously going to feature visual enhancements – it is a remaster, after all, as it says on the tin – and the difference is quite noticeable. Both games will boast redone backgrounds and environments, lighting improvements, and more. Thankfully, it looks like the old school 16-bit pixel art aesthetic you’d expect from Suikoden will remain intact, even with all of the graphical upgrades.

MORE GRAPHICAL UPGRADES

Beyond the headlining visual improvements we’ve already touched on, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster is promising some other notable changes in that area as well. For instance, you can look forward to new character portraits, all drawn by Suikoden veteran Junko Kawano, who worked on both original titles as well. Additionally, Konami says the remaster will also tout enhanced battle effects, making for exciting battles (hopefully).

AUDIO IMPROVEMENTS

The remaster is going to take similar strides in the audio department as well. The music is being brought over exactly the way fans of the originals will remember it, but all audio effects have been polished up, with the goal being to heighten players’ immersion in the environments. You can also expect new touches and effects (like footsteps).

UI IMPROVEMENTS

As you’d expect, given how old the original two games are, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster will also bring several quality-of-life improvements to the table. Chief among them will be the overhauled UI in both games. Not only will has it been revamped with new and sleeker layouts, it’s also making improvements to features such as changing equipment, to make for a smoother gameplay experience.

QoL UPGRADES

Another major QoL upgrade players can expect is the ability to fast forward battles. Meanwhile, you’ll also have the ability to move faster with a button press right off the bat. There’s also a new conversation log, and, of course, autosave functionality. In a nutshell, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster is promising all the QoL improvements you’d expect to see in a remaster of games that are 30 and 27 years old.

SUIKODEN 1 STORY DETAILS

Let’s hit the pause button on the remaster talk and speak about the original games themselves. For those unaware, Suikoden 1 takes inspiration from classic Chinese novel Water Margin, telling the story of an empire (called the Scarlet Moon Empire) caught in the grips of its corrupt ruler. Players play as the son of a General who embarks on a quest to topple the incumbent regime and restore peace and stability to the land.

SUIKODEN 2 STORY DETAILS

Suikoden 2, meanwhile, picks up three years after the events of the first game. It’s set in the same world, but focuses on an entirely different conflict. This time, trouble arises when the City-States of Jowston are invaded by the encroaching armies of the Kingdom of Highland. Amidst this conflict, you play as the adopted son of the hero who previously fought for and saved the City-States against Highland in a past war. Also central to the story is a mysterious and powerful rune that could change the course of the war.

COMBAT

Suikoden games are classic RPGs to their very core, so yes, they feature turn-based combat. As you’d expect, party composition plays a huge role, with different characters having different ranges to their attacks. Enemies stand before you in every battle in two rows, and which of the two rows one of your party members is capable of attacking will depend they’re an short, medium, or long range character.

MORE COMBAT DETAILS

In addition to using a variety of melee and ranged weapons (which will determine their aforementioned range), characters will also be able to use magic through runes. Usage of runes requires spell slots, with each character having a different amount based on their magic stat, which means magical attacks and abilities can’t be endlessly spammed.

DUELS

In addition to regular battles, Suikoden 1 and 2 both also feature special battle types known as duels, which see two characters taking each other head-on. Both have access to three possible actions, with each being strong against one and weak against another. This rock-paper-scissors system determines who deals more damage. Enemies will often telegraph their moves, so paying attention is key to winning duels.

WAR BATTLES

Another special battle type, war battles are larger-scale fights, as the name suggests. Similar to duels, the outcome of a war battle is determined by a rock-paper-scissors systems. In Suikoden 2, meanwhile, war battles are heavily changed, taking on the form of grid-based tactical fights with different units and characters offering their own advantages and boosts. What’s more, in Suikoden 2, characters who die in war battles don’t just die, they permadie.

BUILDING AN ARMY

The backbone of both Suikoden 1 and 2 is the quest to recruit the 108 Stars of Destiny, an army of 108 fabled figures who can together change the fate of the world. Travelling the world, meeting new characters, and adding them to your ranks forms the heart and soul of the experience. And though a large portion of your recruits are capable of accompanying you into battles, many still are useful in entirely other ways.

HEADQUARTERS

Suikoden 1 and 2 both task players with managing an headquarters- which is really more like an entire castle in both games. Newly recruited characters are sent to HQ, and many of them spruce up your home in different, tangible ways- such as making new facilities available to you. Base building is, in fact, one of Suikoden’s biggest strengths. Newcomers have every reason to be excited, while returning fans are, of course, going to continue having a blast (or that’s the hope, at least).

PC REQUIREMENTS

Unsurprisingly, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster’s system requirements on PC are quite reasonable- again, these are 30 and 27 year-old games. At minimum, players will require a 3.30Ghz Intel Core i5-4440 processor, a eForce GTX 1050, 8 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of free storage space. Thus far, the game hasn’t yet been given a Steam Deck Verified tag, but hopefully that’ll change before too long. Currently, the game does at least have a Playable tag for the portable device, so there’s that.

SWITCH FILE SIZE

On the Nintendo Switch, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster’s file size is going to be 6.8 GB. As evidenced by the game’s PC requirements, that’s lower than the size requirements on other platforms, though that is, of course, the way things usually go with the Nintendo Switch.