Konami announced remasters of classic RPGs Suikoden 1 and 2 this morning at a presentation at the Tokyo Game Show.
Called “Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars,” it’s set for a 2023 release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and Steam.
A Steam page is already up for the remaster, with localization into English, French, Italian, German and Chinese confirmed.
Konami ported the first Suikoden, named Gensou Suikoden, to the Sega Saturn in September 1998 about three years after making the game for the PlayStation.
The Saturn version was never localized outside Japan, but the PS1 original was brought to North America in 1996 and Europe in 1997. It was later re-released on the PS3’s PlayStation Network in 2008 in North America and 2015 in Europe.
It’s unclear whether the remaster will be based on the PS1 or Saturn versions. While the PS1 version is the most likely, with the Saturn’s unique architecture remaining a stumbling block for many modern remasters and remakes, it remains to be seen whether the Saturn port’s many exclusive features will be added.
According to fan website Suikosource, those Saturn-exclusive additions included new items (Silver Armor and Darkness Rune) that are obtained in a new area (Eikei’s Arena), two new story events (having a pet cat and getting attacked by pirates), an expanded story event (Gremio’s resurrection) and three new minigames that replace the ones Marco, Tai Ho/Gaspar and Georges play.
The second Suikoden game was never ported to the Saturn, although the Silver Armor and Darkness Rune items did appear in the sequel when it released for the PS1 in December 1998.
The Steam page for the remaster touts several features:
- All background illustrations have been upgraded to HD.
- Updated effects breathe new life into the pixel art animation.
- New environmental sounds effects to immerse yourself in this fantasy world.
- Battle SFX are also now HD and add a new level of realism.
- Newly added auto-save.
- Battle fast forward.
- Conversation log.
Here are a couple pairs of comparison screenshots, with the remaster on the left and the Saturn version on the right (Saturn screenshots courtesy of Moby Games):
Judging by one set of comparison screenshots, the localization script is being touched up, too.
Danthrax is a contributor to the Shiro Media Group, writing stories for the website when Saturn news breaks. While he was a Sega Genesis kid in the ’90s, he didn’t get a Saturn until 2018. It didn’t take him long to fall in love with the console’s library as well as the fan translation and homebrew scene. He contributed heavily to the Bulk Slash and Stellar Assault SS fan localizations, and has helped as an editor on several other Saturn and Dreamcast fan projects such as Cotton 2, Rainbow Cotton and Sakura Wars Columns 2.
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