![]() Nanami, Riou’s sister, is the comedic relief and her tomboyish, over-the-top antics lead to laugh out loud moments. Riou and Nanami fleeing the Highland Army. Jowy, instead, decides to perform political subterfuge and actually joins Luca in an attempt to build up enough political power within the Highland army to overthrow him. Riou takes the moral path of uniting the city-state to raise an army to defeat Luca Blight. What makes the game special is the split that Riou and Jowy take. Luca Blight, the main antagonist of Suikoden II. Luca Blight, Son of the Emperor, is a bloodthirsty tyrant who reneges on promises to set up opportunities to invade for the sport of killing. Their country, Highland, is at war with a neighboring city-state, but they soon learn that their side isn’t politically pure. It revolves around the three childhood friends of Riou, Nanami, and Jowy. JRPGs have an odd trajectory: you start the game by defeating enemies with the strength of field mice and end it in a battle against god for the future of humanity. Completing a mission and returning to your castle is the highlight of the game - these people really become your friends! You’ll find yourself spending more time just walking around HQ then actually progressing the main story. ![]() It is amazing how much was packed into this fifth generation console game. This could go on forever with 108 characters. I found an item called chick, and it did not disappoint. Throughout the game, you find items that you can actually place in your hot bathes to decorate. Staying in the hot bath long enough will get you the “toasty” status effect which automatically heals HP. You can recruit Tetsu, master of hot baths, and get this location unlocked in your castle. ![]() The game is also quirky and full of hidden things. Annallee will sing any song from the game’s music catalog. Taki, the granny, just provides one-off fun facts. Yuzu, a Little Bo-peep incarnate, takes care of all of your livestock after you find her three missing sheep. It ranges from being a formidable fighter, augmented abilities, store owner, or just plain silly. What’s fun about recruitment is you never know what the person is going to provide. My slight crush on Kinnison made me want to find out everything about him to only find there wasn’t much to know. For a small fee, he will find out about potential recruits or investigate your current team members revealing secrets about them. If you are having trouble figuring out how to get someone to join, Richmond is a recruitable private investigator. Anyone with a portrait is a possible recruit, and you will be racking your brain to figure out how to get everyone to join. New, recruitable characters are layered in as the game continues. Until you recruit people into your army, they live in towns or countrysides. This makes Suikoden II feel extremely alive. Overtime, they move around to new locations, reminiscent of running into someone in town unexpectedly. As you walk through the castle, you see old friends and chat with them to see what they are up to. It is this symbiotic circle which drives the entire game: by recruiting more characters, it unlocks more things, which propels you to get more characters. Now being able to read them, I learned more secrets about the game which prompted me to go out and recruit more characters. Here, I could store away ancient texts I collected. This then helps you in the game itself, further pushing you to recruit more people.įor instance, I remember returning from another continent to see that the people I recruited had built a library. With each pass through HQ, you notice new buildings, areas, or social circles. Everyone has some role to play, big and small. These characters turn your dormant, abandoned castle into a vibrant community. The central mechanic that succeeds so well is the ability to recruit 108 characters. It is a game and a franchise that needs more attention. It’s hard to get a physical copy (only selling for around $500 dollars at the moment ☠️), and its release on the PS Store is limited to the PS3, Vita, and PSP. Even though it is considered one of the best games for the PS1, far too many people still haven’t played it. ![]() Suikoden II should still be considered a hidden gem. How does a forgotten JRPG from the forgeone PS1 era manage to make it onto so many “best of all-time” lists? Because few games evoke what Suikoden II does. Full of Characters with Heart, 108 of them to be exact.
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