It can almost be considered a retro RPG game these days where you have a top down view and walk around in the cities buying items, talking to citizens, and furthering the story and getting attacked constantly by enemies once outside the cities.
With all the attention Namco's fighting games have been getting recently, one might forget the fact that they actually make games other than fighters and racers.
This time around, instead of following three separate stories joining into one plot, _Suikoden IV_ takes a more traditional approach to plot development.
It is a video game platformer and the final release of the Mugen Senshi Valis series in North America. Unlike its predecessors, it wasn't released on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in any form