#24 Analysis in Game Balancing: Suikoden V (PS2, RPG)

Positives:

+The game starts off with informing players the game is set in Queendom. This balances the game because it doesn’t let the citizens sympathize with the Prince as he runs and he has to earn trust and prove himself. Yet at the same time it allows him a chance to prove he isn’t like the bad guys that took over the Queendom.

+There are 108 stars players must get to get the best ending. To keep an overload of characters from needing a lot of information and stats there are only around 60 playable characters. But every character is vital to get the best ending.

+ Some characters are locked on the team for most of the game. To balance this out players are able to rearrange positions of players and change out the others whenever they are talking to Lucernia.

+ Even each ending has a balance. In one ending the Prince’s bodyguard and love interest dies. She held one of his family’s runes and when she dies he gains it giving him two. To prevent fear of him over throwing his sister and other people from gaining the runs he leaves with them.

Negatives:

- It would be too easy to be able to gather all of the characters through the whole game. So to balance the influx of members they have to be recruited in certain chapters of the game or they are lost.

-Again it would be too easy to just walk up to characters and say hey join me. Players have to complete tasks to get many to join but some are affected by actions and events from early in the game and how the player responded.

- Even after the players get required characters they have several chances of losing them thus preventing the perfect ending. This makes it so players have to work for the best ending.

- The castle expands as characters are gained but when this happens then already settled characters could move location.

Thoughts

~ Players have to go through trial and error with characters and obtaining them. Finding them isn’t always easy and if players don’t ask around then they can over look characters.

~An interest for the game would be a rank or percent bar that would show the player just how close they are to reaching the perfect ending.

~  Some characters that could really help with the game are found only at the end of the game. People want time with them and to learn about them.

~ Going to new locations is hard enough but when players go to several it can get confusing. So a map would be helpful. It would balance the effort of exploring.

Would Like:

* More hints on character locations.

* A percent bar of sorts to show progress.

*A map of the castle to show who is in what room and of each town.

* Get all characters before final chapter.