Konami has shown off a direct comparison between the upcoming Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster and the original PlayStation games respectively released in December 1995 and December 1998 in Japan. Posted on the official Twitter account for the Suikoden series, two side-by-side, before-and-after screenshots show the extent of the changes the developer is making to the backgrounds.
Suikoden remaster upgrades illustrations to 16:9 HD resolution
Here is a before and after shot of Suikoden I&II HD Remaster in development compared to the original PlayStation version from 1995!??
The completely redesigned graphics allow players to fully immerse themselves in the world and storyline.?#Suikoden pic.twitter.com/F1wHGAByMO
— @Suikoden (@Suikoden) September 19, 2022
As revealed on Friday at Tokyo Game Show 2022, the Suikoden 1 and 2 remaster plans to upgrade all the background illustrations to HD and add new effects to “breathe new life into the pixel art animation.” Konami, in the tweet above, believes that “the completely redesigned graphics allow players to fully immerse themselves in the world and storyline.” And looking at the screenshot on the right, it seems that the developer is, perhaps surprisingly, right on track.
Compared to the screenshot on the left, the cliffside has been entirely revamped with a soft light bloom and lovely hues in blue and purple highlighting the stones. Several pine trees pepper the landscape, giving dimension to both the foreground and background. A shooting star and a full moon have been added to the sky with their light reflecting off the waterfall. It’s unclear if the water is animated in any way, but we imagine that it will sparkle beneath the moonlight. Altogether, the widescreen screenshot looks like it would fit nicely in other modern pixel-based JRPGs like Octopath Traveler, whose sequel was announced last week as well.
Some fans reacting to the comparison screenshots are shocked that Konami seems to delivering a proper remaster and not just a port with HD resolution, given the low expectations from the publisher over the last several years. The Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars is slated to release in 2023 for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam.
In other news, the massive GTA 6 leak has been confirmed to be real and Rockstar has addressed the leak, saying that a delay is not expected.
