Introduction Genso Suikoden V is the fifth installment in the series (bet you didn' t know that!), the time when the game takes place is unconfirmed, although it seems that it takes place a few years before the original Suikoden. The game takes place in the Queendom of Falena to the south, a nation ruled by an evil(?) queen that bears the Sun true rune.
Prologue (from suikosource.com)
By the blessings of the Sun Rune and the Faytus River, lush expanse enriches the great power in the south, the Kingdom of Falena.
Since times past, this nation, which has always been swayed by wars fought over the Queen' s order of succession and aristocratic leadership, finally appears to be enjoying a peaceful and prosperous reign starting with Queen Arshetat’s righteous government.
Until an inexplicable insurrection springs from the territory of the nobles said to be most loyal to the Queen.
And two years later…
The company of a ship, having completed the mission conferred upon them by the Queen, go upstream the Faytus River on their way back to Sol Falena.
Aboard that ship, is the figure of the young Prince.
Story Not much is known about the story, but what is known that it involves the queen using the Sun rune for evil purposes, the nobles fighting over the rune and how it should be used, the hero having to form an army to restore balance to Falena.
The story is written by the guy who wrote the story for Skies of Arcadia. The main theme is ' bonds' , stuff like friendship, love, hate, etc. Each character is connected to other characters in a way. The producer also said that this game is the " deepest in the series" , and that it' s the longest Suikoden game.
Characters Hero
The prince of Falena, he has no default name and no dialogue, but you could pick his battle voice from 2 voices. He weilds a three-piece-rod.
Rionne
A knight in training who also serves as the hero' s bodyguard. She is seen following the hero in gameplay in some of the trailers.
Queen Arshetat
The queen of Falena, and the hero' s mother. She bears the Sun Rune and has a unique evil laughing ability.
Syaries
Queen' s sister and hero' s aunt. She joins the hero' s party as he investigates Lordlake town at the begining of the game. Looks a bit like Jeane..
Felid
Hero' s father and leader of the Queen' s Knights. He is known for defending the Queendom against enemies for years.
Georg Prime
The strong fighter from Suikoden 2. He arrived at Falena and joined the queen' s knights by request of his old friend Felid.
Limslair
The heir to Falena' s throne, queen' s daughter and prince brother. You don' t play many games where the hero has a father, mother, sister, and bodyguard who weren' t killed when the hero' s village was burned to ashes~
Miakis
A member of the queen' s knights and also Limslair' s bodyguard.
Kyle
A flirtatious queen knight who shouldn' t be taken lightly?
Dzerassa
A mysterious character seen in various trailers.
Lucretia
Every Suikoden has a strategist, and Suikoden 5 has Lucretia.
Fwalafwal
Suikoden likes introducing weird races. Kobolds, ducks, lizard men, neykobolds, etc. For Suikoden 5 we have Beavers, and it seems that Fwalafwalawalfawathingie is their leader.
Lorelai
The Sindar ruins hunter from Suikoden 1 and 2. She uses a whip this time, and probably won' t join you until you have a big HQ.
Viki
The teleportress that appeared in all Suikoden games is back! (duh)
Killey
Another returning ruin hunter from Suikoden 2. From the information collected by Richmond in Suikoden 2, it seems Killey has an important role in the story... at least I hope so!
Gameplay 
In battle you assume control of 6 characters like earlier games. Different characters have different ranges which in combination with the row they stand in affectenemies they can attack (for example, Georg prime is short ranged so placing him in back row would render him unable to attack enemies at all).
Suikoden V introduces new battle formation, instead of characters just standing in 2 rows, they can now have different formation such. The combo system is also present.
The tactical battles look very similar to the ones from Suikoden 2, you control small icons on a 2D battlefield, and when 2 troops attack, you see a 3D cutscene of them rushing into eachother in 3D graphics. The duel system is also back, but not much is known about it. Most likely it still follows the rock, paper, scissors formula.
Suikoden V reintroduces the skill upgrade system from Suikoden 3 and Suikoden Tactics, but it seems this time you can spend skill points directly on attributes, like increasing attack or magic stats.
The world map resembles the top view map from Suikoden 1 and Suikoden 2. On other maps, the view is isometric and zoomed out as apposed to the follow-hero camera from Suikoden 3 and 4. Graphics are cel shaded and smooth, giving the game an atmosphere similar to the first two games in the series.
Screenshots 
Trailer