<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Grinding Down]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Paul]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/author/mylifecomics/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Suikoden IV has joined its brothers and sisters in my Suikoden&nbsp;collection]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="4150" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/suikoden-iv-has-joined-its-brothers-and-sisters-in-my-suikoden-collection/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208.jpg" data-orig-size="500,330" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="suik 4 now mine 6-s4-42-208" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208.jpg?w=500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4150" alt="suik 4 now mine 6-s4-42-208" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208.jpg?w=500&#038;h=330" width="500" height="330" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208.jpg 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208.jpg?w=150&amp;h=99 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/suik-4-now-mine-6-s4-42-208.jpg?w=300&amp;h=198 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>So yeah, the big news was that <a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/take-me-away-on-a-voluptuous-jetpack-joyride/">I bought a PlayStation 3 over the weekend,</a> but there was another purchase that really, for me, hit it big, and I&#8217;ve been saving the reveal for its own post. Like this one. Uh yeah, onwards&#8230;</p>
<p>My local GameStop in Pennsylvania is probably one of the last to still sell PlayStation 2 games, and because of this, I&#8217;m constantly sifting through their standalone shelves for goodies before the store simply stops selling them, and then that&#8217;s that. In the past, I&#8217;ve found a number of gems, such as <strong><a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/a-shortened-but-solid-adventure-in-ratchet-clank-size-matters/">Ratchet &amp; Clank: Size Matters</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/how-i-finally-found-you-suikoden-iii/">Suikoden III</a></strong><a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/how-i-finally-found-you-suikoden-iii/">,</a> as well as some real duds, like <strong><a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/monster-rancher-evo-is-for-circus-freaks-only/">Monster Rancher EVO</a></strong><a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/monster-rancher-evo-is-for-circus-freaks-only/">,</a> but regardless, it&#8217;s helped me fill out my collection nonetheless. Over the weekend, before I asked the dude behind the counter for the &#8220;Classic White&#8221; PlayStation 3 bundle, I made my way over to the PS2 section and noticed that they were &#8220;buy-two-get-one-free&#8221; for the time being, a type of sale that I just can&#8217;t ignore. And I hadn&#8217;t even scanned more then <em>five</em> covers before I saw it, just sitting there all nonchalant, waiting for me to pick it up: <strong>Suikoden IV</strong>. I found <strong>Wild Arms 4</strong> and <strong>Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny</strong>, thus snagging <strong>Suikoden IV</strong> for free. Whoop <em>whoop!</em></p>
<p>I understand that, for many, it&#8217;s considered the worst in the series&#8211;or is that <strong>Suikoden Tierkries</strong>?&#8211;but this isn&#8217;t actually about the gameplay, but rather finding <em>the game.</em> A physical copy of it. See, <strong>Suikoden II</strong> is one of my favorite RPGs, with both <a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/30-days-of-gaming-9-–-saddest-game-scene/">the saddest scene</a> and <a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/30-days-of-gaming-21-–-game-with-the-best-story/">best story,</a> and I find the series as a whole really enjoyable, especially once you get to your castle headquarters and can begin recruiting <del>locals</del> 108 Stars of Destiny to see how they affect everything. It&#8217;s a series that I&#8217;ve wanted to have as a whole, and once I got <strong>Suikoden V</strong> I was determined to eventually find the <strong>III</strong> and <strong>IV</strong> to round out the numbered entries in the series. That task&#8230;is now complete.</p>
<p>And here they all are, one happy family:</p>
<p><img data-attachment-id="4151" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/suikoden-iv-has-joined-its-brothers-and-sisters-in-my-suikoden-collection/attachment/005/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg" data-orig-size="1600,1200" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1359508522&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;800&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="005" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg?w=1024" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4151" alt="005" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg?w=1024&#038;h=768" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=768 1024w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg?w=150&amp;h=113 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg?w=768&amp;h=576 768w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/005.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"   /></p>
<p>Mmm. Love it. Now to figure out if I&#8217;m determined enough to pick up the <em>non</em>-numbered spinoffs in the <strong>Suikoden</strong> franchise and really call myself a diehard fan. Currently, there are three:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Suikoden Tactics</strong> (PS2)</li>
<li><strong>Suikoden Tierkries</strong> (DS)</li>
<li><strong>Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century</strong> (PSP)</li>
</ul>
<p>Well, the chances of me getting a PSP are 0.000002%, so there goes that, and I feel like <strong>Suikoden Tactics</strong> is the rarest of the PS2 bunch. Chances are high I can find a used copy of <strong>Suikoden Tierkries</strong> though it sounds like a far cry from a traditional experience. Still curious about it though.</p>
<p>Either way, this is exciting. I&#8217;m still working my way through <strong>Suikoden III</strong> and amazing myself over <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/pabba/duck-village-has-plenty-of-great-ingredients/30-97745/">the hilarious dialogue,</a> but I will test out <strong>IV</strong> some day soon. I wonder if my PlayStation 3 is backwards-compatible. Probably not&#8230;</p>
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