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30 years after the release of the original PS1 game and 19 years after the launch of the final main series entry on PS2, Suikoden is back in the form of a highly anticipated remaster collection. Sure, Suikoden 1&2 HD Remaster might just be a re-release of some classic JRPGs, but even publisher Konami is hopeful this revival can become something more.
"We hope that it will become a huge title that can rival other AAA titles," series producer Rui Naito tells Bloomberg. "We hope to take it one step at a time." Besides the new remaster, those steps have included the announcement of an anime adaptation of Suikoden 2, and the launch of a new mobile game that adds new story elements to the series for the first time in decades.
As the story expands, Naito says that Konami kept "all of the paper notes that the original creators were making" for the original games, and are "referencing those, and we are discussing how to expand on the series based on the notes that they left behind.”
That's particularly notable since Yoshitaka Murayama, the original creator of the Suikoden series, died last February, shortly before the launch of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, spiritual successor he directed. Naito says he and Murayama had discussed how to "expand" the Suikoden series even after the latter dev left Konami, and adds that "Right now my main goal is to make Murayama proud. And I do hope we can expand the series beyond where it ended."
Suikoden launched on PS1 as a fast-paced take on JRPG adventuring whose standout feature was its massive cast of collectible party members. Its sequel, Suikoden 2, has come to be regarded as one of the best RPGs ever made, but at the time its pixel art failed to impress compared to the ever-advancing 3D tech being pushed forward by JRPGs like Final Fantasy. While the PS1 entries are broadly regarded as the series' best, three more follow-ups landed on PS2, each of which certainly have their share of fans.
Konami is working to bring back many of its franchises in a big way, as evidenced by the Silent Hill 2 Remake and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. With all that, JRPG have more reason than ever to hope Suikoden might finally make a proper return.
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