A new Suikoden game was announced during the first Suikoden ‘Special Program’ Broadcast, which streamed live on YouTube on March 3rd. The broadcast aired the first trailer for the game, giving fans an early look at the upcoming HD-2D JRPG, and it’s absolutely stunning. Just one thing: it’s a free-to-play mobile game.
Suikoden: STAR LEAP is a fully fledged mainline entry
The game was introduced by producer Nobuya Fujimatsu and Takahiro Sakiyama, IP Supervisor on the series. Fujimatsu immediately addressed the elephant in the room: free-to-play mobile game. The two expressed that they were aware of audiences’ apprehension and assured viewers that this is a fully fledged entry. To support this, they cited the game’s massive 150-track soundtrack, fully voiced story, and the development team’s attention to detail in crafting the visuals. When asked if players could enjoy the game without gacha, Fujimatsu answered, “There are events and gacha as well, but think of them as additions.”
A brand-new plot with a new cast of characters
Suikoden: Star Leap will feature a brand-new plot with an all-new cast of 108 Stars, though set within the same world and time frame as previous games in the series. According to Fujimatsu, the story takes place just a few years after Suikoden V and shortly before Suikoden I. This sets the narrative firmly within a timeline familiar to fans. Fujimatsu also added that players would definitely run into familiar faces and even fight alongside a few of them.
The broadcast introduced the game’s main protagonists:
- In keeping with series tradition, the Hero’s name is of the player’s choosing. He’s the son of the village chief and a stalwart youth skilled in battle.
- Hisui is a cheerful and kind-hearted young woman and a servant in the hero’s household. She has a tendency to suppress her negative emotions. According to Fujimatsu, she is the most important character in the game’s narrative.
- Hou is the hero’s father and chief of the village, which he built years back alongside his band of outcasts. He has a past shrouded in mystery, yet somehow has strong ties to notable figures from various nations.
- Shirene is a fiery, sharp-tongued young woman and the hero’s childhood friend. Her father raised her on his own, and she resembles him in manner and temperament.
- Shapur is the hero’s mentor and steward of the household. He is a former general who, for reasons unknown, is satisfied serving in a servant role in a small village.
Base building and large-scale battles will return
The series’ famous base-building mechanic will be making a comeback. According to Fujimatsu, the story begins when the hero’s home village is destroyed. Then, later on, the player will use it as their base of operations. This would include rebuilding and expanding it by adding allies to their roster. The base-building was one of my favorite parts of Suikoden II, and I’m happy to see it back. However, considering KONAMI’s history with in-game shops and excessive monetization (e.g., eFootball—RIP Pro Evolution Soccer), it’s probably wise to keep expectations tempered.
While not specifically mentioned during the broadcast, a shot in the reveal trailer does depict a top-down tactics mode. This confirms that we’ll be getting the larger-scale battle mechanics of previous titles in the series on top of the typical party-scale JRPG turn-based combat.
Suikoden: STAR LEAP’s release date is TBC
No release date was announced. However, we were promised that later episodes of the Special Program would cover the game’s development as it progressed. Hopefully, a future broadcast will expand on the community’s largest concern: the gacha mechanics and how large a role they’ll play in the game’s balancing and story.
Genso Suikoden: Star Leap will be the first brand-new entry in the series since Gensō Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki landed on the PlayStation Portable in 2012.
