Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:04 pm
Posts: 13452
Location: Highland Kingdom
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So... I know there's like two or three other Suikoden nuts here, with awesome Suiko avs & signatures. This little section is for discussion about everybody's favorite under appreciated and unknown RPG franchise!!!!!
My favorites are as follows:
Suikoden II, Suikoden V, Tactics & Suiko 1 are tied, Suikoden III, Suikoden 4. I'm sure Suikogaiden would be in the top 3 though if I had a chance to play it. 
My favorite all time character is:
Nash Latkje, the ultimate spy/assassin/lady's man. Not because of Suikoden III, but more so because of his role in Suikogaiden and his behind the scenes role in Suikoden II. He's a very intricate character that I hope they bring back again.
PS. Nominate Luca Blight for the character battles in the 'general discussion' stickied topic!!!!!!  Luca Blight needs to be a participant!!!
NEW: QUESTION & ANSWER PART OF THE POST!!!!
Q: "What the hell is Suikoden?"
A: Suikoden is a very unknown RPG, and it went entirely under the radar. Many people consider Suikoden II to be in the top tier of RPGs that were on the PSX, or even top RPGs/games ever. It's made it into a few top 100 games ever listings in magazines and websites.
Suikoden is a game that usually involves a war/conflict where a single character obtains a 'true rune', these true runes are what make the world go round in this universe. Some controling elements like fire, water, wind, earth, etc. Others having the power of protection or destruction. They're very sought after and powerful relics that have embedded themselves into the main hero's body (usually their hand) and grants them immortality. This hero is then destined (by the stars) to gather 107 other individuals for their army to help protect the innocent and overthrow the evil army/kingdom that is oppressing them. These 108 people are ALL characters with storys, backgrounds, and histories. The game goes into VAST detail with certain character lineages or relations to other characters from previous games.
In each game the characters will either change, or a character will return to fill his role as that 'star of destiny'. The game series does a wonderful job of making all of these characters useful and/or detailed. It's not like Chrono Cross where people just join and have almost no purpose and/or background. Some characters are obviously more prominent than the others however. Some characters (usually up to half or more) are playable characters for your party (you usually have a 6 character party size.) So, you have a LOT of room for experimenting and trying out various teams/combinations and finding characters that you like. The other half usually help maintain your castle and run various mini-games/shops/features for your castle. You can spend hours at a time playing around in your castle, so, it's actually VERY cool and intricate. As an additional bonus fact to all of this, Suikoden has a multitude of battle systems, not just your typical turn based. It goes into RTS, SRPG, 1 on 1 duals (almost like a Fighting Game), and so on. It's always being creative and new, instead of rehashing an old system and throwing it at you. The runes and such also allow a lot of customization amongst characters for battle, sort of like how Materia operated in FF7, but on a larger more unique scale.
Overall though, what separates Suikoden from other RPGs has already been stated, but I'll restate it again. Suikoden stands out from other RPGs not because of the 108 characters, but because of it's AMAZING character development, storyline, well thought out timeline, and all the such. It REALLY goes the extra mile to make it a universe that you can truly sink your teeth into, unlike the quick and fast RPGs. Even with a SINGLE sequel to the franchise (Suikoden II) the game literally exploded with multiple backstories and plots all going on at once during an epic war. Each game taking place during various points in the timeline, you may glimpse one character when they're just a child, and in another game they're a 40 year old man wielding a broadsword and having a complete change in personality/character. Hints are dropped here and there and you piece the puzzles together. The unimportant nobodies have just as prominent of a role as the main characters do in terms of the storyline. A main character in one game, may be a side character or even a villain in another game.
That, in not so much of a nutshell, is what Suikoden is all about. The grey area of good vs. evil, the side your fighting for perhaps not always being right, the main character featured ALONGSIDE his companions instead of being the star of the storyline and the entire show.
Q: "What order do you play these games in?"
A: Suikoden has a lot of cross-referencing and multiple plots. It MAY seem daunting at first, but there's a nice little streamline of things, and I'll throw out the timelines here.
The Overall Timeline is:
First Stages of Tactics ----> IV ---> Tactics ----> V ----> I ----> Suikogaiden 1 & II ----> Suikogaiden 2 ----> III
Suikogaiden isn't available in America, so don't worry about it. You can read the plot and such at suikosource.com, the best Suikoden resource website ever.
Immediate Timelines:
These are the timelines for the games, in terms of 'direct' sequels that actually tie in a lot and lose significant meaning when not played in order.
IV ----> Tactics
Tactics is a direct sequel to IV, with a weeeeee bit of prequel thrown in.
V
Suikoden 5 is practically stand alone. It has some minor references to Suikoden 1, and a non-primary character from Suikoden II in it, but... nothing you'd miss out on.
I ----> II ----> III
2 is a direct sequel to 1 more or less, and a LOT of characters from 1 come into play in 2. 3 takes a handful of years after 3, but has a lot of characters/references to II that it isn't as enjoyable if you don't play the first 2.
Q: "Which one is the best?"
A: This varies, here is a brief description of the games themselves.
Suikoden 1 - PSX - The original game, it's got a 20 hour play time, and you should still be able to find it cheap used. You can't go wrong with playing the original.
Suikoden 2 - PSX - 50 hour or so playtime, as much as or more expensive them a new current gen game. It's usually considered the best out of the entire series. But, shouldn't be played without playing Suikoden 1.
Suikoden 3 - PS2 - You either love it or hate it, you can play it without having played the others, but you do miss out on a lot of cool references and other such to the other games. Not too pricey used.
Suikoden 4 - PS2 - This is generally considered the worst of the lot. It has some cool ideas, but the world itself feels small and confined compared to the others. The game also goes by very quickly, or at least it feels that way. Easy to find used. You can play it without having played any of the others but has a bonus reference to Suikoden 1 in it.
Suikoden Tactics - PS2 - It's a strategy RPG, so it's different from the other games, but really expands the lackluster plot of Suikoden 4. If you buy 4, you should buy tactics.
Suikoden 5 - PS2 - Standalone in terms of plot, and easy to find. It's usually considered in the top 3 of the series in terms of quality where many argue III & IV took a nosedive for the series. Since it's the most recent, you may even be able to find the game 'new'.
Q: "I heard stuff about Data Transfers, explain this."
A: Not a question, but I'll explain it. 
If you have a 'perfect game' file of Suikoden 1 at the final save point, you can transfer bonus stuff to Suikoden 2, such as the name of your main character, the name of your castle, stats of returning characters, etc.
If you have a 'perfect game' file of Suikoden 2 at the final save point, you can transfer data/stats/names to Suikoden 3.
If you have a 'perfect game' file of Suikoden 4 at the final save point, you can transfer data/names/unlock a character for Suikoden Tactics.
Q: "Who is Luca Blight? Why do you make a big deal about him?"
A: Luca Blight is one of the primary villains from Suikoden II. He's a vile and evil man, he does things on par to the twisted bullshit that Kefka pulls in FF6. He murders the innocent, he destroys anything in his path, and is called 'The Mad Prince' for a very obvious reason. However, that in itself isn't why I make a huge deal about Luca Blight. He's quite honestly one of the most intimidating boss fights you'd ever encounter in an RPG. Imagine this if you will:
- Phase 1, you encounter Luca in a strategy RTS/SRPG style battle.
- Phase 2, you then fight Luca in THREE waves, each party consisting of 6 members. Meaning you must have 18 characters tricked out and prepared to encounter a boss who can very easily beat their ass into the ground with a single 'Target All' spell.
- Phase 3, you THEN fight Luca one on one with the main character.
After all of this, you're STILL not done, but I'll refrain from saying anymore as to avoid spoilers. Needless to say, Luca Blight is a badass amongst badasses, and is DEFINITELY one of the more memorable battles in RPG history.
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Listen to YIBR... I'm listening to it now... and it's not completely horrible... - (Not So) Jolly Roger
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. Also, everyone seems to love the V, but I just didn't get into it as much as the others... dunno why.
