Genso Suikoden Card Stories

Genso Suikoden Card Stories (幻想水滸伝カードストーリーズ, Gensōsuikoden Kādosutōrīzu) is the fifth game of the Suikoden series and the third side-game to be released between Suikoden II and Suikoden III. It was designed and released for the Game Boy Advance.

The game retells the story of Suikoden II, with significant simplification of the plot, with battles replaced with card duels using the rules of the Genso Suikoden Card Stories TCG.

Development
Previously when concept work began on Genso Suikogaiden Vol.1, the idea of a card game was first mooted. When a game was to be developed for the Game Boy Advance, the concept was returned to, partly because of the perceived difficulty of creating a full adventure game with the required depth on the handheld device.

As the player demographic for the Suikoden series to this point skewed older than average, part of the reason behind the development of the title was also to expand the player base. The story of Suikoden II was taken and edited to fit the gameplay of the title as well as the technical restraints of the hardware.

Reception and legacy
Genso Suikoden Card Stories would earn a 25/40 score from Weekly Famitsu on its release, marking it as the lowest rated game in the Suikoden series, tied with the Sega Saturn version of the original Suikoden, as well as Genso Suikogaiden Vol.2.

Trivia

 * Genso Suikoden Card Stories is the only game in the Suikoden series with competitive multiplayer. Two players can engage in a card duel with the use of the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable. It would be the only game in the series with any form of multiplayer until 2008's Suikoden Tierkreis.