The first and last time I played this game I just cried! Seriously! It’s not a girly game but the story is so good! Released by Konami for Sony Playstation, a sequel of the first Suikoden story (that I couldn’t remember the story).
The Story:
The story revolves around ‘Riou’ a silent protagonist who later holds one half of the beginning rune, one of the 27 True Runes. The other half of the rune is held by his best friend Jowy. The two best friends are separated by fate, Riou became the leader of the Jowston City-State and Jowy, marrying Princess Jillia, became the king of Highland. These two countries are currently at war and though they are best friends and leaders of the opposing countries they cannot easily stop the war.
The Gameplay:
In regular battles you can control 6 characters picked from over 60 characters against 1-6 enemies. You can attack, use rune(magic), items, escape etc. Upon defeating these enemies you gain experience points, potch(money) and items.
In Duels or the one on one battle, you can attack, defend or use a wild attack. This is kinda like rock-paper-scissors but if you read the quotes told by the enemy you can easily manipulate the game to win.
In war mode, this is kinda like tactics (which I’m really bad at). You can attack, wait or use special ability. You can personalize the groups in your army by talking to Apple (a strategist in the game). Some of the characters you became allies with have special abilities and you can mix them with other characters to make their attack and defense stronger.
The Characters:
There are over 60 characters to choose from, having their own fighting style and abilities and some of these characters possess their own runes. You can also match them with others characters and let them use their joined ability. This is one of the unique features of the game.
The Graphics:
It’s in 2D but it’s still good. When you use runes or scrolls there are also specific graphics and effects for that.
The Ending:
There are 4 ending in the game. And to accomplish a particular ending you must meet the requirements of the ending. Hmm… I won’t tell you on how to do that or the ending! I just want to say the ending A is really good, it made me cry.
Other features:
There are also Side Quests that you can play to gain more allies. My favorite is Hai Ho's cooking challenge. So dramatic, reminds me of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America complete with host and judges!
If you have played and saved the game from Suikoden 1. You can use this save to unlock and use the McDohl, the hero from the first Suikoden.
orginally posted: August 18, 2007
