Suikoden Tactics - Reception

Reception

Suikoden Tactics was met with a fairly positive response in Japan, selling approximately 64,472 within its first year, enough to qualify it for a re-release under Sony's "PlayStation the Best" distinction in November 2006 at a budget price. The game received a 31 out of 40 score from Famitsu Weekly magazine.

Reviews of the English version were mixed, but generally positive. GameSpot praised the game's user-friendliness and battle design, stating that the game was "fun for veterans and newcomers alike", yet found the game's "weak story and characters" and "spotty voice acting" to be its low points. IGN also found the game's battle system to be engaging, but ultimately declared the game's plot to be "paltry", urging the player to "xpect more from battles rather than plotlines." Conversely, Game Informer found the game too confusing with haphazard battle scenes, stating "'d rather have a simple and well-balanced game than a complicated and lopsided one, and Suikoden Tactics definitely has too many short legs." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine stated that the gameplay "works when its not broken", but was hindered by "boring" story sequences and "awful" graphics.

Eurogamer found the game to be lackluster when compared to other tactical-based role-playing games, particularly those developed by Nippon Ichi Software, declaring that Suikoden Tactics's "attles are fun and fairly compulsive but this is a game we've played many times over, usually presented better, executed more beautifully and intertwined with a far superior story." G4's X-Play echoed their sentiment, stating that "despite some interesting play mechanics, it's not nearly as deep as some of the other games on the market right now." Suikoden Tactics maintains a 69% average from aggregate review website Game Rankings, as well as a 68% average from Metacritic.