Suikoden

[Ushiku]

I'm a huge fan of the Suikoden RPG series by Konami.

The game is roughly based on the 108 bandits of the water margin or Suikoden as it is known in China.

The concept of the game is gathering 108 stars of destiny for a cause as the leader of the army being the main character, the main character is usually the Tenkai star, however this was not the case in Suikoden 3 due to the Trinity Sight System and the ability to have 3 main characters who were not the Tenkai star.

I've played all Suikodens available on the PAL format so far, but regret that Suikoden 3 wasn't released in the PAL regions. However Suikoden, Suikoden 2 and Suikoden 4 were great games and I enjoyed them thoroughly. Suikoden 2 is my favourite game in the series.

The Suikoden world was created as the legend says by the fight between Sword and Sheild, this creation story is consistent in the old books of every Suikoden game.

"27 True Runes
In the beginning, there was "darkness."
Then, the "darkness" shed a "tear."
From that "tear," the brothers Sword and Shield were born.
Shield claimed it could defend against any attack.
Sword claimed it could slice through anything.
The brothers began a legendary battle.
At the end, both Sword and Shield shattered.
Sword became the sky, Shield became the earth, and the sparks from the battle became the stars.
As for the jewels, they fell to the ground and became the True Runes--The runes that all other runes were born from."

The True Runes are integral to the Suikoden series and each game has at least one new True Rune revealed.

[T.G. Oskar]

Darn, Suikoden. I must say, Konami outdid themselves on it, what with making a game with such a story, and many ways to do combat. And the Runes? Few games' spells can make a person cower more than simply mentioning the Soul Eater Rune. That and Bright Shield are between my fave Runes (kill? or protect? that, is the question). I only played the first, and I'm crazy enough to pay a bit extra for the second game, which they say is far better than the first.

On other terms, I've heard either Suikoden 3 or 4 really sucked, and was way under par with the rest (I think it was the 4th, not sure).

One more thing: is it the Charm Rune, or Jeane was meant to be really hot? Just look at the first three games: she gets hotter every new game, and the game is time-advancing at most (Suiko 4 being the exception).

[Ushiku]

I like how Suikoden games are interlinked, what with characters such as Jeane, Viki and Leknaat appearing in every game, and how there are also numerous references to other locations or events from other games, as well as a historical context from characters in the game, NPC's and even old books.

Suikoden 1 definiately set the tone for the Suikoden series, with 6 True Runes revealed - Gate Rune, True Wind Rune, Rune of Life and Death, Eightfold Rune (Soul Eater), Dragon Rune and Sovereign Rune. There was plenty of love and betrayal, and the curse of the Soul Eater was depicted well as the lives of those close to Tir McDohl were taken, the greatest feeling is when Gremio is revived with the power of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

Suikoden 2 had plenty of returning characters, the best thing was the McDohl sidequest with Suikoden 1 saved data, with 108 stars of destiny it in the first game and a saved file it was possible to have a side quest with McDohl, extra scenes could be unlocked more so when you had Viktor, Flik, Humphrey (he talked for a change heh) and Kasumi in your party. The most interesting one was with Kasumi as it is revealed that Kasumi had met with Tir McDohl regularly and that her affections as shown in Suikoden 1 aren't exactly unrequited, further scenes similar to this are seen in the Japanese Suikogaidens, but not being Japanese or having any knowledge of Japanese language, I've only been able to read from sources on the internet about it.
Suikoden 2 also had 2 new True Runes - The Rune of Beginning (split into Bright Sheild and Dark Sword) and the Beast Rune. It also had the return of Luc with his True Wind Rune, and as mentioned above, with saved data you could also play as Tir McDohl with the Soul Eater.


Suikoden 3 was different in that it played different than other Suikoden titles and it used the Trinity Sight System as previously seen in Legend of Kartia where you play different chapters of different characters which interlink, and then for chapters 4 and 5 you choose the hero you think should become the Flame Champion, the Suikoden mangas depict it as Geddoe retaining his True Lightning Rune, Hugo bearing the True Fire Rune and Chris bearing the True Water Rune.
Suikoden 3 also let us go into Harmonia for the first time, it was only a border town with Grasslands called Caleria, but it was something which was much appreciated given the coolness of Harmonia what with the Howling Voice Guild, their mysterious leader Hikusaak who wants all the 27 True Runes, and their huge territory to explore.
It was revealed that the thing mentioned in Richmond's investigation from Suikoden about a disturbance at Crystal Valley's Circle Palace was that Luc found out that he was a clone created by Hikusaak for the purpose of bearing the True Wind Rune as his puppet. We also found out that Sasarai from Suikoden 2 who was seen as the leading Harmonian general and ally of Highland is Luc's clone twin brother and bears the True Earth Rune.
Also the power of Yuber's True Rune the Eightfold Rune was finally seen in battle, both as an enemy and also in the unlockable Point of View of Luc where you could play his chapters after completing the game with 108 Stars of Destiny.
With all these revelations and the different plot twists, not to mention the different view points, I think that Suikoden 3 is the best Suikoden despite not being able to play it due to there never being a PAL release.
I loved the fact that it interlinked with the Suikoden 1 opening sequence where a young Luc is heard saying to Leknaat "Tell me, is fate unchangeable?" since Luc wants to change his fate as Hikusaak's puppet in a world dominated by Supreme Order by destroying the True Wind Rune.

Suikoden 4 was great in that it again introduced a cursed True Rune much like that of the Soul Eater, although instead of killing those close to you, the Rune of Punishment (also known as the Rune of Atonement and Forgiveness) instead drains the life of the bearer, they must first atone for the sins of past bearers, and the forgiveness stage had never been seen before, Lazlo En Kuldes was able to combat the curse with the help of his mother, the Queen of Obel who died protecting the Obel Royal Fleet from the Kooluk fleet, as well as the power of the 108 stars of destiny, the forgiveness of Snowe led to the forgiveness stage of the Rune of Punishment being activated.
The Soul Eater returned, this time being borne by Ted, and we got to see the Fog Ship Captain who people speculate to be a Sindar due to the fact he wanted to bear the Rune of Punishment whilst he was bearing Ted's Soul Eater in return for freeing Ted from his cursed True Rune. Only Sindarians and Windy know how to bear more than 1 True Rune at once so far in the games series, however no Sindarians have been outrightly seen, only Sindar Ruins. However the fact that Leknaat told the Fog Ship Captain to return to his Eternal Capital has also led to the speculation that he was a Sindar, along with the ability to bear more than 1 True Rune at once. Since the Sindar are said to have journeyed from North to South with their leader cursed by the Rune of Change, leaving ruins wherever they went, however they eventually settled in their Eternal Capital.

Other True Runes with little known about them are the Circle Rune which Hikusaak bears other than it governs Order and Stagnation, the Rune of Beginning that judges war (since in the official ending Riou and Jowy are free from the curse and its never seen in game play, not even in the bad ending), the Gate Rune since its never seen in its full form (only in the two halves split by Windy and Leknaat), the Night Rune (although in Suikoden 5 it is revealed that it was once bonded with the Sun Rune, split its bond, and that split created the unique runes which aren't True Runes called the Twilight Rune and the Dawn Rune which when also borne with the Sun Rune allow the Sun Rune's bearer to escape the Sun Rune's curse of insanity. However it is revealed that the Night Rune is the Star Dragon Sword/Zodiac Sword as seen in Suikoden 1, 2 and 3.

I don't know that much about the Sun Rune or Night Rune since I haven't played Suikoden 5 due to the PAL version not being released yet, but from what I've read a woman called Zerase who has connections with Leknaat and Jeane is concerned with them having "worthy bearers" and she also has the Star Rune which was given to her by the Night Rune, it is speculated to be a rune stemmed from the Night Rune.

In Suikoden 5 it is revealed that Jeane is infact older than the Sindar, and that she knows of the Ancient Armes Dynasty (which used to control all of the Southern Continent) and that she "left something behind" in the Ancient Armes Ruins, leading some to believe that her agelessness is due to her being from a race which predates the Sindar, that plus the fact that Koroko in Suikoden 3 saw her "true form" and that in Suikoden 5 a person who hears the sounds within people said that Jeane has a "unique sound", and her connections with Leknaat and Zerase are mysterious. It is also revealed that she's friends with a women called Eresh who is parasitic and lives in host bodies, which further adds to the mystery of Jeane.
Her Charm Rune isn't a True Rune, but its a rune that's personal to her. It makes everybody attracted to her whatever their race, sex or even if they're monsters. It isn't known yet why Jeane has lived for so long, especially since Konami have said that the source of her long life isn't a True Rune.

Other things which are unknown and speculated include why Pesmerga is chasing Yuber, the interesting thing is that in Pesmerga means "He who chases death" in Kurdish, and Yuber causes death and destruction due to his love of Chaos.
Another of those things is why Hikusaak wants True Runes and what he would do if he had them all, fans speculate that the final Suikoden game will take place in Harmonia with all of the 27 True Runes and their bearers present.

[T.G. Oskar]

Lol, I amaze by your knowledge. Now, if you'd only could play the Suikogaidens, that would make you the uttermost master of Suikoden. That is some deep investigstion on the matter (so far, i always thought the Charm Rune was in fact a True Rune). I assume then that a proper question would be: is the True Holy Rune, in fact, a True Rune? I mean, Stallion, the world's fastest individual, always wears it, and reappeared in the second installment, plus the fact the rune has the "True" before it...eerily suspicious.

Also, you do mention the Eightfold Rune as being the Soul Eater...is that true? Because that would mean McDohl would have perished during that time, in order for Yuber to hold it. Maybe the Eightfold Rune has similar powers...

Besides, there's a big confusion around there: as far as I know, Neclord had the rune that controlled the undead, which formerly belonged to a woman. And Viktor almost always tends to use the Night Rune as the Star Dragon Sword. What rune, then, is Neclord controlling? I heard of a Moon Rune, which I seem to recall being Neclord's rune.

Also, how about the sub-stories? Like the Warrior's Village? That gives an idea on how deep is the story.

[Ushiku]

Heh, thanks but I know nothing in comparison to a guy called SARSadmin, he's a human Suikoden encylcopedia.

Konami have always stated that the charm rune is not a True Rune and that Jeane's agelessness doesn't stem from a True Rune.

The True Holy Rune isn't a True Rune, the translators just screwed up, in the newer Suikoden games they've finally made it right by naming it the Godspeed rune. It's not a unique rune, just a rare rune like the falcon rune.

The Eightfold Rune isn't the Soul Eater, its a different True Rune that Yuber has. He uses it in Suikoden 2 at Greenhill to summon the Bone Dragon and he uses it in battles in Suikoden 3, though I haven't played that game myself being in PAL region and all.

Neclord stole the Moon Rune, a True Rune with powers of the undead, he stole it from the altar at the Village of the Blue Moon which Sierra established so that she could use her True Rune to control the bloodlust of the other vampires, however some vampires decided to become nomadic and live on blood because of the Moon Rune being stolen.

In Suikoden 2 Kahn Marley, Viktor with the Night Rune and Sierra all get their revenge, with Sierra reclaiming her Moon Rune.

The warriors village was founded in the Lorimar region of Toran by a paladin called Klift, he was given autonomy from the Scarlet Moon Empire when he was able to resist a Harmonian invasion and beat Harmonia. Zorak and his daughter Tengaar are both descendants of Klift.
Flik was originally from the warriors village but never completed his journey of manhood because he became in love with Odessa and decided that she was more important than the Lorimar tradition.

However Hix on the other hand did do his journey of manhood and it is completed in Suikoden 2.