Suikoden Tierkreis

Suikoden Tierkreis (幻想水滸伝 ティアクライス, Gensōsuikoden Teiakuraisu) is the twelfth game of the Suikoden series and the first main game to explicitly take place outside of the continuity of the previous games. It was designed and released for the Nintendo DS.

It tells the story of the struggles of the region's peoples against the Order of the One True Way, a quasi-religious organisation orchestrating the return of the One King, who wishes to merge all worlds into one unchanging world, devoid of time and meaning.

In Japan, the game also saw the release of a spin-off title that was only released for mobile devices, Genso Suikoden Tierkreis Hoshikuzu no Shiro.

Name
Tierkreis is German, meaning zodiac. This is a reference to the twelve False Chronicles which play a crucial role in the plot of the game. Also, lots of names of characters and places are of German origin (e.g. Tsaubern, Buchse, United Kingdom of Ritterschild).

Cover artwork
The Japanese, Korean and European (with the exception of Germany) versions of the game use the same artwork. In contrast to the Suikoden main titles which depict a huge selection of the cast on the front cover, only the main group consisting of the hero, Liu, Marica, Jale and Dirk is shown. The group is standing in front of what seems to be Flesaria Forest. The same artwork is used for the cover of the Genso Suikoden Tierkreis Official Standard Guide.

The US cover is slightly different, using different poses for the characters and lacking Dirk, and is also set on a different background (presumably the Gateway in the Fortress Ruins). The German version features a different cover, with only the hero set against the background of the Citro Plains.

Reception and legacy
Suikoden Tierkreis would earn a 34/40 score from Weekly Famitsu on its release, giving the game a Gold Hall of Fame status as a result. This is the highest score given by the magazine to any game in the Suikoden series.

Nintendo Power would preview the game in February 2009. Nintendo Power was encouraged by the game's announced Wi-Fi features and hoped the game would show why the series had "been going strong for more than a decade".

The review by the magazine in May 2009 was more muted. While the game's story was praised, it was also accused of "pulling its punches" by keeping its story light in tone. The game was also criticized for having so many characters when there was little to do with them in a game with no tactical battle elements unlike its predecessors.

The game's backgrounds and soundtrack were highly praised and overall, the game's narrative was stated to overcome its flaws, despite not being a 'real' Suikoden VI. The magazine would score the game at 7.0 out of 10.