The first two classic Suikoden RPGs are coming to PC as an HD remaster

Journeys to Steam in 2023

Old-school PlayStation RPG series Suikoden is making a comeback in 2023, with fancier graphics and an extraordinarily long name. Konami announced Suikoden I & II HD Remaster Gate Rune And Dunan Unification Wars at Tokyo Game Show earlier today, and it’ll be the series’ first time on PC outside of China. You can take a look at the trailer below.

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster is bringing the classic RPGs to PC in 2023.

Immediately noticeable is the fairly big difference between how the original Suikodens look compared to their newly announced remaster treatment. The overworld’s been given some particular attention, and now has lovely clouds hovering above. Konami say they’ve zhuzhed up the sprites and environments with new effects such as lighting, flickering flames, smoke effects, moving flora and fauna, and animated shadows.

All of the games’ character portraits have been given HD makeovers, with the first game’s portraits redrawn by original character designer Junko Kawano. Konami insist it’ll sound better on your ears as well, thanks to a bunch more environmental noises ranging from running water to insects making whatever sounds insects make. They’ve also added more realistic battle sounds. The devs seem to have learned from Square’s rereleases of their older RPGs too, as the Suikoden HD Remaster features a conversation log, auto-battling, and double-speed battles.

Suikoden was originally released on PlayStation back in 1995 and never made it to PC in the West. It’s based on the Chinese novel Water Margin, following the son of a general as he searches for 108 Stars of Destiny and allies to strike back against an evil empire. While definitely a JRPG, Suikoden also featured base management and army battles to manage. Suikoden II turned up in 1998, and carried on developing its predecessor’s systems and story. That’s the one JRPG fans seem to really, really like.

I never imagined anything could top Ryu Ga Gotoku’s reveal of Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name this week, but Suikoden I & II HD Remaster is certainly giving it a good old go. What makes anyone think it needs all the extra gubbins after the HD Remaster part? It can’t be confused with any other Suikoden I & II HD Remasters. Oh well, as someone who’s never got round to playing the series, I’m still happy enough that it exists.

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster Gate Rune And Dunan Unification Wars, phew, releases for PC on Steam in 2023. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PS4 too. I hope it turns out to be as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as the screens suggest.