One of the most beautiful games I've ever played. Great humor, extremely well-written, very knowledgeable on fringe internet communities without coming across as preachy or annoying. One of those games (or books) where you just feel "this guy gets it." I mention books because this could be a novel (or short story) and really hold its own, which is something you can't say for the writing in most games. That's not to say the beautiful pixel art doesn't add a ton to the game. Great characters, great plot. Melancholic humanism at its finest.

This is a great game. The story and characters are much better than you might think from the demo. The strategy combat is extremely fun and rewarding, with many well-made and interesting maps (Ch.16 is my favorite I've played in an SRPG). The ending I got made me cry and I'm already looking forward to doing it over again to go down a different path.

Reasons you might not like this game:
- Lack of class / build customization:
Every character has a defined role they fill, that they can't really step outside. The customization is in your composition: what characters you bring to a map. But if you like SRPGs to customize and tailor individual characters, it's almost wholly absent from the game. I think the game works fine without it, but I understand it's a dealbreaker for some.

-Very wordy, some bad pacing:
If you hate reading in games and just want to get to the combat, this might not be for you. You can just skip everything, but so much of what makes this game great is the politics of the story and how the characters react to the tragedy of this erupting war. Also the impact of the branching paths basically requires you pay attention. If you're all in on combat and don't want to sit through a bunch of (good) dialogue, there's maybe better strategy games for you. Still, you could really gel with the combat so its worth giving the demo a shot. Anna's a super fun character to play, for example.

Fuck dude, this fuckin sucks. I love Suikoden, and I know this is just an introductory game before the REAL, BIG game. But the writing is so mediocre, I'm worried about the real Eiyuden. Playing this is like being in purgatory. It's like a fake mobile game. Total slog. Total waste of time. Honestly, this is the type of game that stumps me. How was it made? I guess the playtesters are just afraid to say "this fucking sucks and is boring as hell." You're probably wondering why this has 1.5 stars instead of 0.5. Well, there's probably some weirdos out there who will find the characters, story, or world charming or nostalgic. There's definitely much better stuff they could play, but if you like it, you like it.

Really great gameplay. Works so well, I'm surprised this isn't a subgenre that's already emerged. If you're into the quirks of FPS movement (rocket jumping, bunny hopping, exploiting momentum), this is a must-play. Music is amazing, huge plus. The dialogue and story is a little weak but its ok, its not really what the game's about. Its easy to ignore and skip through if it's not your thing. Some people will like the characters and find it humorous. Despite rolling my eyes at most of it (cough Violet cough), I did find things funny or endearing once in a while. Yellow's exaggerated bro persona and Mikey's scenes were something I would look forward to between missions. Steve Blum voice-acting is a nice cherry on top.

I was a bit surprised by how good this one is. The amount of unique scenarios you can reach in the mid to late game by combinations of multiple small, niche decisions in the early game is really impressive. I got a death scene for a major character that only 3% of people saw, which required me making two unorthodox choices in previous flashbacks (relating to two different characters) and then failing multiple quicktime events intentionally. If you're into stuff like that, you've gotta check this game out.

Beyond that, the writing and characters are pretty good. Not amazing, but not offensively bad. I'd definitely say better than quantic dream and supermassive.

The art style is hard to get used to. I found it pretty funny at first, I couldn't stop thinking of Tom Goes To The Mayor. I did get used to it. It's not as bad as it looks at first. Still, for some players, they'll never get used to it and it'll always be a turnoff.

The game is pretty short, but I consider that a plus. I've already beat it twice, which I never do for narrative games because I don't want to run another 10 hour campaign after finishing one and view a lot of redundant content I've already seen. I'm already thinking about different routes I can take for my third playthrough.

When I started replaying this game, I was impressed by how good it was. I couldn't figure out why I put it down. The start was so strong, already exploring mature themes with interesting writing. These characters talking about time and regret and what could've been hit so much harder as an adult who can feel life rapidly passing me by. Ironically, that feeling is what would push me towards putting it down. The game starts so strong and then just meanders for hours and hours and hours. It's charming, with unique characters and a beautiful world. The soundtrack will remain one of the greatest of all time. I can totally understand why it's one of the best games to some people. It's just so unrefined. There is A LOT of chaff you have to chew through to get to the cream of the crop. For me, it just wasn't worth it. I couldn't justify what felt like a waste of time with not enough payoff.