Post by wafflerevolution on Sept 8, 2013 20:09:13 GMT
by wafflerevoultion
Suikoden games have been around since December 1995 with the release of Suikoden on the Playstation. This article will give some insight (and possibly spoilers) into every Suikoden from Suikoden to Suikoden V, as well as the side stories of Suikoden Tactics, Suikogaiden Volume I: Swordsman of Harmonia and Suikogaiden Volume II: Duel at Crystal Valley... as well as a short look at alt-universe games like Suikoden Card Stories and Suikoden Tierkreis.
The Suikoden series prides itself on being an atypical RPG/strategy game hybrid. Though games like Suikoden Tactics(PS2), the Suikogaiden series and most recently take a break from this pattern... the hybrid elements are what makes them most unique... second only to their party character collection system known as the "108 stars of destiny".
The Suikoden universe is bound together with the 108 stars of destiny and the 27 true runes mythos. Without those, the series would have nothing really in common other than the games that directly impact each other story-wise.
The RPG elements of the main 5 vary only slightly per game. the amount of the 108 you are allowed to have on a party at one time for example is 6 (humanoids) in most of the games but in IV for example, it's only 4. They also have a combo attack system which is actually two or more party members doing a special attack together not a multi-attack like most games call a combo system.
The other unique or semi-unique stuff stays relatively the same throughout. Weapons need to be forged to get stronger, runes need to be equipped to use magic or skills, armors and accessories need to be equipped and items used.
Also, all the games let you name your army and base of operations... and all of them except Suikoden III let you name the main character.
Another unique thing throughout the series was a dueling system where a character (usually the hero) would duel another character... in the early games it was just a one on one fight... but it evolved into using a "rock/paper/scissors" style fight except you'd chose between "attack", "defend" or "special".
Each game allowed, but didn't require you to recruit 108 characters... though some allowed you to recruit more than that which didn't count towards the 108. the motivation to collect all the characters is to get a "good" ending. Not collecting all 108 would result in a "bad" ending. Getting the characters was often one of the most frustrating, difficult or absurd things imaginable .I'm really not sure how anyone could find them all without a guide as most of them don't even give you a clue as to how or where... or even when to get them... or get them by. Some characters needed to be recruited by a time in the game or meeting criteria or just encountered in the wild and some are recruited through decisions that you make... but most are recruited through talking with them and doing as they ask.
The strategy elements were played out through "war battles" and each game varied the design of how they played out. however, all the games allowed you to use all the characters you recruited so far in the current war battle.
Here's a brief summery of the gameplay types of each war battle
Suikoden I - was like "rock/paper/scissors" with little tiny SD army men. Choosing the right action would beat out the enemy or cause you larger loses. First side to lose all troops (or meet criteria) would lose.
Suikoden II - this played out like an old Romance of the Three Kingdoms game; choose units, place them, hope you win.
Suikoden III - they tried something different... used a gameboard with set movement areas and faces of the leaders for units... and you actually fought the battles like a semi-normal battle in the game... seemed bland to me...
Suikoden IV - used ship battles. Played like a typical turn-based RPG. But with the ol' "rock/paper/scissors" game but with "rune cannons"
Suikoden V - used RTS (real-time strategy) that's harder to describe the style of... but "rock/paper/scissors" does seem to fit...
There are only 3 characters that manage to be in every game; Viki, the teleporting ditz, Jeane, the slutty Rune Sage and Leknaat, a mysterious watcher of all things pertaining to the destiny of the 108... and the 27 true runes... However, there is a family who is always involved in the games, the Silverburgs; A famous (or infamous) family of military statigists/tacticians, always have a family member or two in every game.
But for now, I'll get into the games themselves... but, before we get started I'll explain why I am doing this out of order.
I'm going to discuss them in the timeline order, not release order or game order.
*Suikoden IV - released in 2004 in Japan and 2005 in the US for the PS2*
This game takes place (an untold) many years before all the other Suikoden games. The setting is in the Island Nations; mostly Kingdom of Obel... and focuses on a young, recent graduate of the Knights of Razril, a group of Knights whom protect the seas of the island nations. The story plays mostly on the events of and centering around the cursed true rune; "The Rune of Punishment", rune cannons, the Kooluk Empire, the Cray Trading Company and the friendships and relationships of all involved. It's a very character-driven game.
The battle system uses only 4 party members; the lowest amount in the Suikoden series.
Like all the other Suikodens, the encounter battles were random... also unlike all the other Suikodens, they were FAR too frequent.
Since the game took place in "the island nations", most of the map was water... so all movement was done... slowly... via boat. The town and dungeon movement was on foot. In my opinion, both had too many random encounters.
The game itself was beautifully rendered 3D graphics all the way and a great RPG soundtrack. The cut scenes were amazing as well. The voice-overs... were for the most part dodgy... but mostly just when in a conversation with your character as they never say his name... even when it's in the dialog... and he never talks... even though there are a few dialog choices... he might as well be a mute... who just shakes his head a lot.
Even though this game is placed many, many years before the others, a few familiar faces manage to make an appearance.
Cameo's list -
Viki (first appearance Suikoden 1) (blinking rune keeps her everywhere at once, teleporting through time and space)
Jeane (first appearance Suikoden 1) (how she lives forever is unknown... she's a rune sage... maybe she has a hidden true rune?)
Leknaat (first appearance Suikoden 1) (Blue Gate true rune; like all true runes grants immortality.)
Ted (first appearance Suikoden 1) (assuming the events in the part of Suikoden one involving Ted's past happened before this his possession of the Souleater true rune; like all true runes grants immortality.)
*Suikoden Tactics - released in 2005 in the US and in Japan as "Rhapsodia" for the PS2*
*-*This game allows you to load your Suikoden IV data into it for bonuses to the story, characters, items and events*-*
This game's prologue takes place BEFORE Suikoden IV and clears up a lot of missing pieces to the plot there before jumping ahead to a short time after the events of Suikoden IV. Still focused mainly in the Kingdom of Obel which now consists of the entire Island Nations area.... But this time we venture a little into the Kooluk Empire.
This game was NOT a normal Suikoden game. there was no recruiting 108 people... the were people to recruit.... But no stars of destiny. And there wasn't any military battles... as there wasn't a military. This games main focus was on turn-based strategy RPG elements.
Suikoden Tactics used a gameplay system not wholly original but not bad either. Pick characters to put on the field of play, take turns moving, try to win... and occasionally pick up chests or items... or talk to someone to build a combo attack or better friendship.
Most everything else worked the same as the other Suikodens. Weapons need to be forged to get stronger, runes need to be equipped to use magic or skills, armors and accessories need to be equipped and items used.
The best part for me is that there were no random battles. That and I love TBS games ^_^
The game focused around a boy and his father's friends who were trying to unravel what rune cannons were and how they destroyed his father and countless others. Lots of plot twists to be had... and a lot of answers to questions left from the previous game.
The graphics were nice and crisp. The soundtrack was great as usual and the effects the same as always. The voice-overs were the same as the previous game... but with less holes as the main character came pre-named. In other words, they were great.
I would list the cameos but it's mostly almost everyone from IV...
*Suikoden V was released in 2006 worldwide on the PS2*
This game's story begins roughly 142 years after the end of the Island Liberation War events of Suikoden IV and focuses on a young prince of a queendom; The Queendom of Falena (Falena means "Moth" in Italian which, I'm assuming is why the biggest boss monster in the game is a moth) trying to recapture his homeland from an extremely well-planned coup and rescue his family (mainly his sister). The plot mostly follows the events around the true runes in the game; The Sun Rune, The Twilight Rune and The Dawn Rune.
The battle system is a 6 person team, but this time you also have 4 support slots. Those slots can hold people you may want to switch to or people whom have a power you need... or even people you need to trigger an event of some kind.
Most of the other gameplay is back to classic Suikoden. The map movements, battles, forging, runes, random battles, etcetera. However, in this game now implements a skill point system... which is extremely tough on you... especially later on when you start finding new skills to give points to... and find the items you need to be able to give points to the skills... complicated...and there never seemed to be enough skill points to go round... certainly not to 108 people...
The unique feature of the movement in this game was the rivers. You could go place to place via river boats... often you were required to even after recruiting our favorite ditz, Viki.
The graphics were lovely. Stunning at times... especially during cut-scenes.
The sound for the game was typical Suikoden. Perfect music (they even threw in a track from an older Suikoden game in one area just for an easter egg or nostalgia or something). The effects were the usual Suikoden stuff... and the voice work was good... but again, it had holes whenever someone would talk to or about the hero... and the hero never said anything... though he had more dialog options than the hero of SIV.
Cameo's list -
Viki (first appearance Suikoden 1) (blinking rune keeps her everywhere at once, teleporting through time and space)
Jeane (first appearance Suikoden 1) (how she lives forever is unknown... she's a rune sage... maybe she has a hidden true rune?)
Leknaat (first appearance Suikoden 1) (Blue Gate true rune; like all true runes grants immortality.)
*Suikoden I - released 1995 in Japan, 1996 in the US on the Playstation and 1998 on the Saturn and PC in Japan and in 2006 in Japan on the PSP *
This game, the Suikoden that started them all; has a powerful and emotional story. Set in The City-States of Jowston an unknown amount of time AFTER the events of SV and features a story centered around young Tir McDohl (yes, his name is officially Tir McDohl) and his friends... and their time spent battling against the forces of evil at every turn... epic.
The battle system is 6 (humanoid) characters V enemies and is standard RPG take turn choosing attacks or magic then enemies do it.
The battles are random both in map and dungeons and the duels are grand.
The graphics are standard 2D RPG but look a lot better than you'd expect.
The music is great and the effects get done what they need to.
* Suikoden II - released 1998 in Japan and 1999 in the US on the Playstation and in 2006 in Japan on the PSP*
*-*This game allows you to load your Suikoden I data into it for bonuses to the story, characters, items and events*-*
In this installment, which takes place a short time after the events of SI; you play as Riou, A soldier of the Highland Unicorn Brigade; A soldier group made entirely of kids. The story also centers on Riou's best friend Jowy and Riou's sister Nanami... as well as a few others... but at its depth... this game is a heart-wrenching tale... absolute emotional rollercoaster.
The battle system is again; the 6 v enemies setup, though you can also have 1 animal character in place of 2 human ones or 2 animals in place of 4. The magic via runes and weapons are still there. The main character from S1 is an uber-powerhouse though.
The graphics for Suikoden II... though 2D are the best you're going to see on a PS1. the pushed the graphics card to its limit.
The sound... both in music and effects are great.
A lot of characters from S1 make a re-appearance in the game... especially if you loaded your data. Too many to list outright though... sorry
*Suikogaiden Volume I: Swordsman of Harmonia was released in Japan in 1999 on the Playstation*
This game... was more or less not a game... more like a text adventure... or.... a chose your own ending book... with lots of pictures... that move... technically it takes place DURING Suikoden II so it's hard to place it...
The game places you as Nash Latkje, an agent of Holy Harmonia's Southern Border Defense Force. The story consists of Nash's adventures in Jowston on an assignment from Harmonia to find a true rune. Along the way he meets and befriends... and beds... a vampire woman who travels with him for a time. You also run into characters from SII as well as SI DURING the events of SII. This game and it's sequel are classified as a side stories for that reason.
The graphics and sound... well... amazing. Amazingly better then the near-absent gameplay.
*Suikogaiden Volume II: Duel at Crystal Valley released in Japan in 2001 on the Playstation*
This game... was more or less not a game... more like a text adventure... or.... a chose your own ending book... with lots of pictures... that move... much like its predecessor. However, this game takes place after SII. And about a year before SIII. And it fills in a LOT of gaps for SIII that went unanswered.
The game places you as Nash Latkje, an agent of Holy Harmonia's Southern Border Defense Force. The story consists of Nash's attempt to return home after his time in Jowston. He, of course gets side-tracked and ends up in the Grasslands on his way back to Harmonia and sets up most of the story for Suikoden III.
The graphics and sound... well... amazing. Amazingly better then the near-absent gameplay.
*Suikoden III - released in 2002 in Japan and 2003 in the US on the PS2*
*-*This game allows you to load your Suikoden II data into it for bonuses to the story, characters, items and events*-*
This installment into the series went and tried something new... a triad of PoV... which, if done correctly, ends up being more of a 5and 1/2-PoV. Playing the story from the eyes of...
Chris, a female Knight and her fellow Knights.
Hugo, A boy from the Grasslands and son of the village chief (who made an appearance in an earlier Suikoden, the chief not Hugo).
Geddoe, a merc who's lived far too long and seen far too much... thanks to his True Rune...
Tomas, A bastard child of a rich and powerful guy whom gets control of a castle in need of LOTS of work.
Luc, the bad guy of the game... as well as a character from a previous Suikoden.
And the 5th PoV is somewhat of a joke... it's just a cute scene with the optional recruitable dogs.
The story itself centers on the story of "The Fire Bringer", the 3 True elemental runes; Fire, Wind and Water and the evil plots and deeds perpetrated by government officials.
This is the first and only Suikoden where the story choices impact so very much of the rest of the game... and yet at times it feels like they left the game somewhat unfinished storyline wise... though the development team did get... changed around a little during the development... so, that very well may be.
The sound is decent enough. No voice-overs to speak of. But the sound effects and music are typical Suikoden. Not exactly outstanding though.
The graphics are decent... though they do scream "early PS2 game" and the characters seem more SD than they should...
*Suikoden Card Stories - released in 2001 in Japan on GBA*
This game... for the life of me... I can't figure out how to do much of anything in... but, it has nothing to do with the Suikoden games... it's based on a Suikoden CCG that's based on the Suikoden games' characters, events, and other Suikoden universe things.
It's beautiful in both sound and graphics... but the gameplay seems tedious... and boring... and I'm not just saying that because it took me forever to translate enough of the menus to get anywhere in it...
*Suikoden Tierkreis - released 2008 in Japan and 2009 in the US on the Nintendo DS*
I have NOT played this... and probably never will due to current circumstances... but from what I've been told by those who have, it's an alternate universe and does NOT contain military battles... and plays more like a typical RPG than previous Suikoden games.
As for things to come out of Suikoden...
There are several novels written by the teams the wrote the games. most focus on the first two games and characters. It's where Tir was revealed to be McDohl's first name.
There was a whole CCG game based on it... that spawned a game of its own (see above)
Suikoden; a series overlooked by most gamers... perhaps due to the second game's rarity... perhaps not... with the rumors circulating about the first two coming to the PSN for download perhaps we may see a surge in new fans of this series yet.
As an added bounus...
A little about the 27 true runes (thanks to suikosourse and me decribing where the stuff came from)
27 True Runes (the actual description given in almost every game)
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.
Being the backbone of the Suikoden World that allows the existence of the universe, True Runes are the Gods of the Suikoden world. Wholly sentient with its own will, each True Rune holds immeasurable power and has been the cause of many wars in the past. True Runes are often sought by those in power due to its power of granting agelessness to its bearer. All bearers of True Runes stop aging and become immune to disease and all other natural causes of death, although they could still die from physical causes, such as accidents or murder. (an Old Book in one of the games)
No one knows for certain where True Runes came from, but legend tells that the 27 True Runes were created when the brothers, "Sword" and "Shield" fought against each other, shattering itself into 27 pieces. (an Old Book in one of the games)
All True Runes represent a certain power, and bring both benefits and curses to its bearer, such as agelessness, which could be a great benefit and a great curse. Furthermore, a True Rune's sentience, or ego, could often overwhelm novice bearers who do not know how to dominate True Runes. This often results in the reversal of the "master-servant" relationship, reducing a True Rune's bearer into a mere vessel that the True Rune controls to achieve its own purposes. (an Old Book in one of the games)
All True Runes hold a purpose, and this purpose tends to be pursued with no moral consideration due to the fact that True Runes are forces of nature. True Runes may cause its bearer to save lives, but also may force its bearer to kill thousands of people against the bearer's will if it serves the rune's purpose. (an Old Book in one of the games)
True Runes could be quite fickle, and could abandon its bearer in favor of another, and when its bearer dies, it tends to vanish and remain hidden (within the earth or at the bottom of the ocean) until it feels like reappearing. One person can not bear more than one True Rune, but it is said that a secret exists that allows one person to bear more than one True Rune. (an Old Book in one of the games)
Suikoden games have been around since December 1995 with the release of Suikoden on the Playstation. This article will give some insight (and possibly spoilers) into every Suikoden from Suikoden to Suikoden V, as well as the side stories of Suikoden Tactics, Suikogaiden Volume I: Swordsman of Harmonia and Suikogaiden Volume II: Duel at Crystal Valley... as well as a short look at alt-universe games like Suikoden Card Stories and Suikoden Tierkreis.
The Suikoden series prides itself on being an atypical RPG/strategy game hybrid. Though games like Suikoden Tactics(PS2), the Suikogaiden series and most recently take a break from this pattern... the hybrid elements are what makes them most unique... second only to their party character collection system known as the "108 stars of destiny".
The Suikoden universe is bound together with the 108 stars of destiny and the 27 true runes mythos. Without those, the series would have nothing really in common other than the games that directly impact each other story-wise.
The RPG elements of the main 5 vary only slightly per game. the amount of the 108 you are allowed to have on a party at one time for example is 6 (humanoids) in most of the games but in IV for example, it's only 4. They also have a combo attack system which is actually two or more party members doing a special attack together not a multi-attack like most games call a combo system.
The other unique or semi-unique stuff stays relatively the same throughout. Weapons need to be forged to get stronger, runes need to be equipped to use magic or skills, armors and accessories need to be equipped and items used.
Also, all the games let you name your army and base of operations... and all of them except Suikoden III let you name the main character.
Another unique thing throughout the series was a dueling system where a character (usually the hero) would duel another character... in the early games it was just a one on one fight... but it evolved into using a "rock/paper/scissors" style fight except you'd chose between "attack", "defend" or "special".
Each game allowed, but didn't require you to recruit 108 characters... though some allowed you to recruit more than that which didn't count towards the 108. the motivation to collect all the characters is to get a "good" ending. Not collecting all 108 would result in a "bad" ending. Getting the characters was often one of the most frustrating, difficult or absurd things imaginable .I'm really not sure how anyone could find them all without a guide as most of them don't even give you a clue as to how or where... or even when to get them... or get them by. Some characters needed to be recruited by a time in the game or meeting criteria or just encountered in the wild and some are recruited through decisions that you make... but most are recruited through talking with them and doing as they ask.
The strategy elements were played out through "war battles" and each game varied the design of how they played out. however, all the games allowed you to use all the characters you recruited so far in the current war battle.
Here's a brief summery of the gameplay types of each war battle
Suikoden I - was like "rock/paper/scissors" with little tiny SD army men. Choosing the right action would beat out the enemy or cause you larger loses. First side to lose all troops (or meet criteria) would lose.
Suikoden II - this played out like an old Romance of the Three Kingdoms game; choose units, place them, hope you win.
Suikoden III - they tried something different... used a gameboard with set movement areas and faces of the leaders for units... and you actually fought the battles like a semi-normal battle in the game... seemed bland to me...
Suikoden IV - used ship battles. Played like a typical turn-based RPG. But with the ol' "rock/paper/scissors" game but with "rune cannons"
Suikoden V - used RTS (real-time strategy) that's harder to describe the style of... but "rock/paper/scissors" does seem to fit...
There are only 3 characters that manage to be in every game; Viki, the teleporting ditz, Jeane, the slutty Rune Sage and Leknaat, a mysterious watcher of all things pertaining to the destiny of the 108... and the 27 true runes... However, there is a family who is always involved in the games, the Silverburgs; A famous (or infamous) family of military statigists/tacticians, always have a family member or two in every game.
But for now, I'll get into the games themselves... but, before we get started I'll explain why I am doing this out of order.
I'm going to discuss them in the timeline order, not release order or game order.
*Suikoden IV - released in 2004 in Japan and 2005 in the US for the PS2*
This game takes place (an untold) many years before all the other Suikoden games. The setting is in the Island Nations; mostly Kingdom of Obel... and focuses on a young, recent graduate of the Knights of Razril, a group of Knights whom protect the seas of the island nations. The story plays mostly on the events of and centering around the cursed true rune; "The Rune of Punishment", rune cannons, the Kooluk Empire, the Cray Trading Company and the friendships and relationships of all involved. It's a very character-driven game.
The battle system uses only 4 party members; the lowest amount in the Suikoden series.
Like all the other Suikodens, the encounter battles were random... also unlike all the other Suikodens, they were FAR too frequent.
Since the game took place in "the island nations", most of the map was water... so all movement was done... slowly... via boat. The town and dungeon movement was on foot. In my opinion, both had too many random encounters.
The game itself was beautifully rendered 3D graphics all the way and a great RPG soundtrack. The cut scenes were amazing as well. The voice-overs... were for the most part dodgy... but mostly just when in a conversation with your character as they never say his name... even when it's in the dialog... and he never talks... even though there are a few dialog choices... he might as well be a mute... who just shakes his head a lot.
Even though this game is placed many, many years before the others, a few familiar faces manage to make an appearance.
Cameo's list -
Viki (first appearance Suikoden 1) (blinking rune keeps her everywhere at once, teleporting through time and space)
Jeane (first appearance Suikoden 1) (how she lives forever is unknown... she's a rune sage... maybe she has a hidden true rune?)
Leknaat (first appearance Suikoden 1) (Blue Gate true rune; like all true runes grants immortality.)
Ted (first appearance Suikoden 1) (assuming the events in the part of Suikoden one involving Ted's past happened before this his possession of the Souleater true rune; like all true runes grants immortality.)
*Suikoden Tactics - released in 2005 in the US and in Japan as "Rhapsodia" for the PS2*
*-*This game allows you to load your Suikoden IV data into it for bonuses to the story, characters, items and events*-*
This game's prologue takes place BEFORE Suikoden IV and clears up a lot of missing pieces to the plot there before jumping ahead to a short time after the events of Suikoden IV. Still focused mainly in the Kingdom of Obel which now consists of the entire Island Nations area.... But this time we venture a little into the Kooluk Empire.
This game was NOT a normal Suikoden game. there was no recruiting 108 people... the were people to recruit.... But no stars of destiny. And there wasn't any military battles... as there wasn't a military. This games main focus was on turn-based strategy RPG elements.
Suikoden Tactics used a gameplay system not wholly original but not bad either. Pick characters to put on the field of play, take turns moving, try to win... and occasionally pick up chests or items... or talk to someone to build a combo attack or better friendship.
Most everything else worked the same as the other Suikodens. Weapons need to be forged to get stronger, runes need to be equipped to use magic or skills, armors and accessories need to be equipped and items used.
The best part for me is that there were no random battles. That and I love TBS games ^_^
The game focused around a boy and his father's friends who were trying to unravel what rune cannons were and how they destroyed his father and countless others. Lots of plot twists to be had... and a lot of answers to questions left from the previous game.
The graphics were nice and crisp. The soundtrack was great as usual and the effects the same as always. The voice-overs were the same as the previous game... but with less holes as the main character came pre-named. In other words, they were great.
I would list the cameos but it's mostly almost everyone from IV...
*Suikoden V was released in 2006 worldwide on the PS2*
This game's story begins roughly 142 years after the end of the Island Liberation War events of Suikoden IV and focuses on a young prince of a queendom; The Queendom of Falena (Falena means "Moth" in Italian which, I'm assuming is why the biggest boss monster in the game is a moth) trying to recapture his homeland from an extremely well-planned coup and rescue his family (mainly his sister). The plot mostly follows the events around the true runes in the game; The Sun Rune, The Twilight Rune and The Dawn Rune.
The battle system is a 6 person team, but this time you also have 4 support slots. Those slots can hold people you may want to switch to or people whom have a power you need... or even people you need to trigger an event of some kind.
Most of the other gameplay is back to classic Suikoden. The map movements, battles, forging, runes, random battles, etcetera. However, in this game now implements a skill point system... which is extremely tough on you... especially later on when you start finding new skills to give points to... and find the items you need to be able to give points to the skills... complicated...and there never seemed to be enough skill points to go round... certainly not to 108 people...
The unique feature of the movement in this game was the rivers. You could go place to place via river boats... often you were required to even after recruiting our favorite ditz, Viki.
The graphics were lovely. Stunning at times... especially during cut-scenes.
The sound for the game was typical Suikoden. Perfect music (they even threw in a track from an older Suikoden game in one area just for an easter egg or nostalgia or something). The effects were the usual Suikoden stuff... and the voice work was good... but again, it had holes whenever someone would talk to or about the hero... and the hero never said anything... though he had more dialog options than the hero of SIV.
Cameo's list -
Viki (first appearance Suikoden 1) (blinking rune keeps her everywhere at once, teleporting through time and space)
Jeane (first appearance Suikoden 1) (how she lives forever is unknown... she's a rune sage... maybe she has a hidden true rune?)
Leknaat (first appearance Suikoden 1) (Blue Gate true rune; like all true runes grants immortality.)
*Suikoden I - released 1995 in Japan, 1996 in the US on the Playstation and 1998 on the Saturn and PC in Japan and in 2006 in Japan on the PSP *
This game, the Suikoden that started them all; has a powerful and emotional story. Set in The City-States of Jowston an unknown amount of time AFTER the events of SV and features a story centered around young Tir McDohl (yes, his name is officially Tir McDohl) and his friends... and their time spent battling against the forces of evil at every turn... epic.
The battle system is 6 (humanoid) characters V enemies and is standard RPG take turn choosing attacks or magic then enemies do it.
The battles are random both in map and dungeons and the duels are grand.
The graphics are standard 2D RPG but look a lot better than you'd expect.
The music is great and the effects get done what they need to.
* Suikoden II - released 1998 in Japan and 1999 in the US on the Playstation and in 2006 in Japan on the PSP*
*-*This game allows you to load your Suikoden I data into it for bonuses to the story, characters, items and events*-*
In this installment, which takes place a short time after the events of SI; you play as Riou, A soldier of the Highland Unicorn Brigade; A soldier group made entirely of kids. The story also centers on Riou's best friend Jowy and Riou's sister Nanami... as well as a few others... but at its depth... this game is a heart-wrenching tale... absolute emotional rollercoaster.
The battle system is again; the 6 v enemies setup, though you can also have 1 animal character in place of 2 human ones or 2 animals in place of 4. The magic via runes and weapons are still there. The main character from S1 is an uber-powerhouse though.
The graphics for Suikoden II... though 2D are the best you're going to see on a PS1. the pushed the graphics card to its limit.
The sound... both in music and effects are great.
A lot of characters from S1 make a re-appearance in the game... especially if you loaded your data. Too many to list outright though... sorry
*Suikogaiden Volume I: Swordsman of Harmonia was released in Japan in 1999 on the Playstation*
This game... was more or less not a game... more like a text adventure... or.... a chose your own ending book... with lots of pictures... that move... technically it takes place DURING Suikoden II so it's hard to place it...
The game places you as Nash Latkje, an agent of Holy Harmonia's Southern Border Defense Force. The story consists of Nash's adventures in Jowston on an assignment from Harmonia to find a true rune. Along the way he meets and befriends... and beds... a vampire woman who travels with him for a time. You also run into characters from SII as well as SI DURING the events of SII. This game and it's sequel are classified as a side stories for that reason.
The graphics and sound... well... amazing. Amazingly better then the near-absent gameplay.
*Suikogaiden Volume II: Duel at Crystal Valley released in Japan in 2001 on the Playstation*
This game... was more or less not a game... more like a text adventure... or.... a chose your own ending book... with lots of pictures... that move... much like its predecessor. However, this game takes place after SII. And about a year before SIII. And it fills in a LOT of gaps for SIII that went unanswered.
The game places you as Nash Latkje, an agent of Holy Harmonia's Southern Border Defense Force. The story consists of Nash's attempt to return home after his time in Jowston. He, of course gets side-tracked and ends up in the Grasslands on his way back to Harmonia and sets up most of the story for Suikoden III.
The graphics and sound... well... amazing. Amazingly better then the near-absent gameplay.
*Suikoden III - released in 2002 in Japan and 2003 in the US on the PS2*
*-*This game allows you to load your Suikoden II data into it for bonuses to the story, characters, items and events*-*
This installment into the series went and tried something new... a triad of PoV... which, if done correctly, ends up being more of a 5and 1/2-PoV. Playing the story from the eyes of...
Chris, a female Knight and her fellow Knights.
Hugo, A boy from the Grasslands and son of the village chief (who made an appearance in an earlier Suikoden, the chief not Hugo).
Geddoe, a merc who's lived far too long and seen far too much... thanks to his True Rune...
Tomas, A bastard child of a rich and powerful guy whom gets control of a castle in need of LOTS of work.
Luc, the bad guy of the game... as well as a character from a previous Suikoden.
And the 5th PoV is somewhat of a joke... it's just a cute scene with the optional recruitable dogs.
The story itself centers on the story of "The Fire Bringer", the 3 True elemental runes; Fire, Wind and Water and the evil plots and deeds perpetrated by government officials.
This is the first and only Suikoden where the story choices impact so very much of the rest of the game... and yet at times it feels like they left the game somewhat unfinished storyline wise... though the development team did get... changed around a little during the development... so, that very well may be.
The sound is decent enough. No voice-overs to speak of. But the sound effects and music are typical Suikoden. Not exactly outstanding though.
The graphics are decent... though they do scream "early PS2 game" and the characters seem more SD than they should...
*Suikoden Card Stories - released in 2001 in Japan on GBA*
This game... for the life of me... I can't figure out how to do much of anything in... but, it has nothing to do with the Suikoden games... it's based on a Suikoden CCG that's based on the Suikoden games' characters, events, and other Suikoden universe things.
It's beautiful in both sound and graphics... but the gameplay seems tedious... and boring... and I'm not just saying that because it took me forever to translate enough of the menus to get anywhere in it...
*Suikoden Tierkreis - released 2008 in Japan and 2009 in the US on the Nintendo DS*
I have NOT played this... and probably never will due to current circumstances... but from what I've been told by those who have, it's an alternate universe and does NOT contain military battles... and plays more like a typical RPG than previous Suikoden games.
As for things to come out of Suikoden...
There are several novels written by the teams the wrote the games. most focus on the first two games and characters. It's where Tir was revealed to be McDohl's first name.
There was a whole CCG game based on it... that spawned a game of its own (see above)
Suikoden; a series overlooked by most gamers... perhaps due to the second game's rarity... perhaps not... with the rumors circulating about the first two coming to the PSN for download perhaps we may see a surge in new fans of this series yet.
As an added bounus...
A little about the 27 true runes (thanks to suikosourse and me decribing where the stuff came from)
27 True Runes (the actual description given in almost every game)
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.
Being the backbone of the Suikoden World that allows the existence of the universe, True Runes are the Gods of the Suikoden world. Wholly sentient with its own will, each True Rune holds immeasurable power and has been the cause of many wars in the past. True Runes are often sought by those in power due to its power of granting agelessness to its bearer. All bearers of True Runes stop aging and become immune to disease and all other natural causes of death, although they could still die from physical causes, such as accidents or murder. (an Old Book in one of the games)
No one knows for certain where True Runes came from, but legend tells that the 27 True Runes were created when the brothers, "Sword" and "Shield" fought against each other, shattering itself into 27 pieces. (an Old Book in one of the games)
All True Runes represent a certain power, and bring both benefits and curses to its bearer, such as agelessness, which could be a great benefit and a great curse. Furthermore, a True Rune's sentience, or ego, could often overwhelm novice bearers who do not know how to dominate True Runes. This often results in the reversal of the "master-servant" relationship, reducing a True Rune's bearer into a mere vessel that the True Rune controls to achieve its own purposes. (an Old Book in one of the games)
All True Runes hold a purpose, and this purpose tends to be pursued with no moral consideration due to the fact that True Runes are forces of nature. True Runes may cause its bearer to save lives, but also may force its bearer to kill thousands of people against the bearer's will if it serves the rune's purpose. (an Old Book in one of the games)
True Runes could be quite fickle, and could abandon its bearer in favor of another, and when its bearer dies, it tends to vanish and remain hidden (within the earth or at the bottom of the ocean) until it feels like reappearing. One person can not bear more than one True Rune, but it is said that a secret exists that allows one person to bear more than one True Rune. (an Old Book in one of the games)