Suikoden MegaThread!

[Wolf Kanno]

Since I mentioned I wanted to discuss the series more.

Favorite Entry:
Favorite MC:
Favorite Tactician:
Favorite True Rune:
Favorite Skill Rune:
Best Castle/Base:
Favorite Minigame:
Top Five Favorite Female Characters:
Top Five Favorite Male Characters:
Top Five Favorite Non-Humans:
Favorite Character with a crush on the MC:
Favorite Legacy Character (must appear in a minimum of three entries):
Favorite Temporary Party Member (Ex: Ted, Jowy, Lulu...):
Favorite Companion who almost never leaves your party:
Favorite Villain:
Favorite Duel:
Favorite Boss Battle:
Favorite War System:
Favorite Country:
Favorite Town:

[Bubba]

Congrats to all the winners

:monster:

[Pumpkin]

Favorite Entry: II with V a close second
Favorite MC: Tir
Favorite Tactician: Lucretia
Favorite True Rune: Soul Eater
Favorite Skill Rune: The cool ones >.>
Best Castle/Base: SUIKODEN III!!!!!!!
Favorite Minigame: Probably the plays with the chef game in a close second
Top Five Favorite Female Characters: Viki, Kika, Miakis, Iku, Jillia
Top Five Favorite Male Characters: Tir, Luc, Riou, Hix, Viktor
Top Five Favorite Non-Humans: Gabocha, Dupa, Fubar, Gadget Z, Black
Favorite Character with a crush on the MC: Faylen
Favorite Legacy Character (must appear in a minimum of three entries): Luc
Favorite Temporary Party Member (Ex: Ted, Jowy, Lulu...): Ted
Favorite Companion who almost never leaves your party: Lyon
Favorite Villain: L... Masked Bishop
Favorite Duel: meh
Favorite Boss Battle: meeeeehhh
Favorite War System: III
Favorite Country: Harmonia
Favorite Town: Sol-Falena
[/QUOTE]

[Fynn]

Wait, there's a character called Dupa in these games?

That's the word for ass in Polish. and not the donkey kind.

[Wolf Kanno]

Wait, there's a character called Dupa in these games?

That's the word for ass in Polish. and not the donkey kind.

Not sure if that is what they are going for but yes, Dupa is a character. A seven feet tall Lizard Man and Chief of his Clan.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/suikoden/images/3/33/Dupa01.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100408231923

[Fynn]

Holy crap that is hilarious

[Raistlin]

Favorite Entry: II
Favorite MC: Geddoe, with Tir and Riou tied for second
Favorite Tactician: I think I have to say Shu, but Elenor Silverberg (partly due to the hilarity she causes in The High Seas journal) and Lucretia (total lesbian) are also great.
Favorite True Rune: Soul Eater
Favorite Skill Rune: I assume you're referring to things like command runes, that add an ability? Active ability: the Falcon rune is a cool mainstay of the series. Passive ability: Fury runes are utter devastation for every game that's not S5.
Best Castle/Base: II
Favorite Minigame: Tie between SIII's theater and that goddamn cooking game
Top Five Favorite Female Characters: Viki, Kika, Chris, Sierra, and... I'll say Miakis to give S5 some representation (honorable mention: Lorelai)
Top Five Favorite Male Characters: Jowy, Geddoe, Ted, Flik, Viktor
Top Five Favorite Non-Humans: Ridley, Fubar, Black, Sierra, Star Dragon Sword
Favorite Character with a crush on the MC: Kasumi
Favorite Legacy Character (must appear in a minimum of three entries): Luc (honorable mention: Star Dragon Sword)
Favorite Temporary Party Member (Ex: Ted, Jowy, Lulu...): Jowy
Favorite Companion who almost never leaves your party: Lyon
Favorite Villain: J... Luca Blight's successor (followed closely by Luca)
Favorite Duel: eh, most of the duels from S1-4 weren't that interesting, so I guess a duel from S5. Maybe Childerich?
Favorite Boss Battle: Luca Blight, hands down. One of the best JRPG boss battles.
Favorite War System: S3, followed by S5
Favorite Country: Toran
Favorite Town: Muse (Sol-Falena gets nudged out due to S5's load times)

[CimminyCricket]

I have never played a single Suikoden game. I owned IV at some point for the PS2, though.

[Wolf Kanno]

Favorite Entry: Suikoden I&II
Favorite MC: Tir McDohl followed by Geddoe and Chris
Favorite Tactician: She, followed by Elenor Silverburg and Mathiu Silverburg
Favorite True Rune: Soul Eater
Favorite Skill Rune: Falcon Rune and the Werewolf Rune in SII
Best Castle/Base: Suikoden II and III
Favorite Minigame: Iron Chef, Plays, and rITAPON
Top Five Favorite Female Characters: Viki, Kasumi, Valerie, Sierra, and Cathari
Top Five Favorite Male Characters: Georg Prime, Viktor, Flik, Reinbach III, Nash
Top Five Favorite Non-Humans: Sgt. Joe, Unicorn, Star Dragon Sword, Chiepoo, and Bright
Favorite Character with a crush on the MC: Kasumi
Favorite Legacy Character (must appear in a minimum of three entries): Viki
Favorite Temporary Party Member (Ex: Ted, Jowy, Lulu...): Ted and Jowy
Favorite Companion who almost never leaves your party: Nanami or Geddoe's crew.
Favorite Villain: Luca Blight
Favorite Duel: Teo McDohl, either of them.
Favorite Boss Battle: Luca Blight
Favorite War System: Suikoden V
Favorite Country: Toran/Scarlet Moon Empire
Favorite Town: Iksay Village

[Raistlin]

How did I completely not even think of Viki for Legacy Character? She's an obvious favorite.

Speaking of obvious favorites, "Favorite True Rune" might need to be "Second-Favorite True Rune" in order to get any variety. Mine would probably be the Black Sword Rune.

I love the Star Dragon Sword, but I hate his goddamn dungeon and I especially hate having to do it all over again to get Pesmerga (see also: Tinto mines).

Also, Sierra and Nash are both great. If you haven't already, in S3 I highly recommend casting Nash in Sierra's role in the Neclord script.


I have never played a single Suikoden game. I owned IV at some point for the PS2, though.

That sounds like something you need to fix.

[Wolf Kanno]

Yeah Viki was the first character to come to mind when I thought of the question besides Jeane.

[CimminyCricket]

I have never played a single Suikoden game. I owned IV at some point for the PS2, though.

That sounds like something you need to fix.

Well I googled it to see what the game play was like and come to find out I also owned Suikoden Tierkreis for the DS. I've owned two games, but have no idea what the game is like.

[Wolf Kanno]

Combat and gameplay is mostly standard RPG turn based affair while exploring world maps and fighting random encounters in dungeons and on the field. Characters equip between one to three Runes to utilize magic, skills, or support abilities. Magic runes have four spells a piece and use D&D style casting charges instead of standard MP. Skill Runes can be used indefintely but can sometimes cause the character to lose a turn to charge or recover an ability. Support runes have no issues. Parties mostly use six people with the exception of IV and possibly Tiekeris, which use standard four.

There are two unique battle types in the series: Duels and War battles.

Duels are one on one affairs that play rock/paper/scissor style combat where you choose attack, defend, or special based on your opponents dialogue. In a fun subversion of these types of alternate combat syles, your characters levels and equipment actually do determine damage algorithms.

War Battles vary from entry to entry:

Suikoden - Rock/Paper/Scissor mechanic with Calvary/Troops, versus Mages versus Archers. You can also utilize special troops like Ninjas to learn what your opponets next move is for a guaranteed win, Merchants to bribe the enemy on your side, or Dragon Knights to bombard the field with fire. Each army has a set amount of troops and when one side loses all of them the other team wins.

Suikoden II - Turn Based Strategy, Unit type is determined by the character assigned as leader but still follows the lineup from above. You can assign up to three characters per unit which will add to the units stats or give them unique skills like Critical or Evade. You can also cast rune spells to heal units or soften the enemy units up.

Suikoden III - Turn Based Strategy with units built up by allies, but unlike SII, battles are played as as normal battles, but with the A.I. doing most of the heavy lifting. Since the battles do utilize your characters, their levels, gear, and set-ups do matter.

Suikoden IV - Turn Based ship battles where you either exploited elemental weaknesses with Rune Cannons or boarded the ship with party members.

Suikoden V - Real Time Strategy battles with a similar setup as Suikoden II but with the addition of ship battles.

I don't know if the DS or PSP games retain either of these features.

Another feature of the series is castle building. There are 108 characters (sometimes more) to collect in each game and they will bring in new features to the castle like shops or minigames. The real challenge of the series is actually trying to collect the 108 party members as you sometimes have to undertake quests or fulfill certain requirements before the characters will give you the time of day.

[CimminyCricket]

I remember reading about 108 characters way back when and thought it was cool.

Here's a follow on question - is it like Fire Emblem where when they die I'm out of luck?

Also, should I play them in release order, or in order of timeline?

[Wolf Kanno]

I remember reading about 108 characters way back when and thought it was cool.

Here's a follow on question - is it like Fire Emblem where when they die I'm out of luck?

Also, should I play them in release order, or in order of timeline?

Yes and no about perma-death. Characters can die in major battles if you screw up or the RNG just really hates you, but it becomes increasingly rare as the series goes on. You are more likely to lose a character through poor choices within the story. For instance, you can execute a few of them instead of forgiving them if they were former enemies, making a poor choice in battle can sometimes send a character into a suicide mission, etc... It's more common in the first two and final entry than III and IV. There are also some characters who do die in the plot regardless of what you do, but the game makes it obvious that there is nothing you can do about it.

The lone exception to all of this is Suikoden Tactics, a spin-off entry connected to Suikoden IV. It does actually have perma-death for the recruitable characters, but in an really bad case of hindsight, the game also gives you plenty of story characters who don't have this issue and can never die, making the whole issue kind of moot.

I would honestly play them in release order first and then chronologically. Technically the first three entries are in chronological order, it's not until the last two entries that the series goes into prequel mode. Even then the major references may be lost on you if you don't have knowledge of some of the other games. To be fair, while the games are interconnected politically and geographically, all of the stories are fairly self-contained. More importantly, it's more interesting to watch the game mechanics evolve in order as oppose to starting with the later entries and then getting plunged back into the earlier games mechanics. Even with the balancing issues the game has, I feel it would be jarring to go from SV's real in-depth battle system to S1's bare bones mechanics, and S2's less refined version of SVs.

******************************************************************************************
More Questions!


Who was your final team in each entry?
Who do you consider to be the hardest character to recruit?
Did you ever complete Clive's Quest in SII?
Favorite Scenario in SIII?
Which game had the best overall cast?
Favorite Unite Ability from each game?
Who has the better version of Soul Eater, Ted or McDohl?
Which is your favorite of the Five Elemental True Runes?
Which optional set of characters were your favorite to collect? (Flying Squirrels, Dogs, Mermaids, DoReMi Elves)
What do you believe is Jeane's true form?
What do you think is the relationship between Yuber and Pesmerga?
Is Nash a vampire or just has really good genes?
Do you believe the Beast Rune may have been affecting Luca Blight?
Is the leader of Harmonia still around?
What is up with Viki?
Which is the more cursed Rune, the Soul Eater or Rune of Punishment?
Did you ever wish you coudl use the Rune of Beginnings or Sun Rune?
What do you think is Leknaat's Ultimate Goal in the series?

[Pumpkin]

Who was your final team in each entry?
It changes but usually something like this:
SI - Tir (shock), Lotte, Luc, Viktor, Hix, Ronnie Bell
SII - Riou, Millie, Hix, Viktor, Sierra, Meg
SIII - Chris, Yumi, Elaine, Sharon, Futch, Lilly
SIV - Lazlo, Gretchen, Kika, Jeane
SV - Prince, Miakis, Nikea, Faylen, Sagiri, Hazuki

Who do you consider to be the hardest character to recruit?
I can't think of a specific but I know V has given me a fair few headaches


Did you ever complete Clive's Quest in SII?
Lol no


Favorite Scenario in SIII?
MASKED BISHOP
And Chris


Which game had the best overall cast?
I'd say II probably


Favorite Unite Ability from each game?
S1 - Pretty Girl Attack
S2 - Five Squirrel Attack
S3 - Tinto
S4 - Allure Attack
S5 - Pretty Girl


Who has the better version of Soul Eater, Ted or McDohl?
Can't decide


Which is your favorite of the Five Elemental True Runes?
Wind


Which optional set of characters were your favorite to collect? (Flying Squirrels, Dogs, Mermaids, DoReMi Elves)
DOGGIES and then mermaids


What do you believe is Jeane's true form?
A S3 dog :3

What do you think is the relationship between Yuber and Pesmerga?
Past lovers until Pessy left Yuber and Yuber now wants to hunt him down in revenge

Is Nash a vampire or just has really good genes?
Hmm... vampire


Do you believe the Beast Rune may have been affecting Luca Blight?
Yes


Is the leader of Harmonia still around?
I don't think so. Or maybe like *technically* around but not really


What is up with Viki?
She's cute


Which is the more cursed Rune, the Soul Eater or Rune of Punishment?
Soul Eater


Did you ever wish you coul duse the Rune of Beginnings or Sun Rune?
Lol no

What do you think is Leknaat's Ultimate Goal in the series?
To advance civilization to the point of Chinese food delivery so she doesn't have to leave her tower

[Raistlin]

I would also recommend playing the games in release order, even though I played S2 first by happenstance.

I am on vacation, but I like all the new questions. I'll post my answers when I get home in a few days.

[Rez09]

Favorite Entry: Suikoden 1

While 2 is better in basically every way, the first game has this odd, fantastic feel to it that I haven't gotten from any other entry in the series. Maybe its the art, or the dwarves and elves, or the dragons, or giant poisonous plants, or . . . I dunno. I just love it.

Favorite MC: Geddoe

I like his design and personality, and his group is much more memorable than Chris', who would be my second pick.

Favorite Tactician: Shu

Dear sir, I have set this forest on fire. With both of us in it. k, thanks.

Favorite True Rune: Sovereign Rune

I love the idea that, in a world so rife with powerful magic, there is a straight 'screw you' Rune that outright negates all of the other ones. Oh, and it turns you into a Hydra, which is pretty sweet as well.

Favorite Skill Rune: Falcon

Stab-stab-stab-stab-stab

Best Castle/Base: Suikoden 1

I love the idea of this run down, useless tower on a lake being rebuilt as a massive resistance fortress, not to mention that you win it from a dragon. >: D I also greatly appreciate how quickly you can get to anyone in it, since pretty much everyone is only a screen away from your elevator.

Favorite Minigame: Suikoden 3 plays

Probably the greatest idea ever, unless paying detectives to investigate your army members counts as a mini-game, in which case that is the greatest idea ever and my choice instead.

Top Five Favorite Female Characters: Mina, Tengaar, Sierra, Chrodechild, and Luserina

I love Mina's design and she is one of my primary mages in the first game; Tengaar and Hix are adorable together, I love her design, and she is my primary mage in S2; Sierra has one of the series' best backstories and her responses to the world amuse me; Chrodechild is probably the sole redeeming factor in Tierkreis; and I love Luserina's design, levelheaded nature, and the fact she is the only redeemable person in her whole family.

Top Five Favorite Male Characters: Pesmerga, Flik, Richmond, Georg, and Crowley

I played the first Suikoden when I was pretty young, and Pesmerga is, like, Ultimate Badass Black Knight: The Character, and I've pretty much liked him ever since; Flik is one of the most likable characters in the series, with great stats and visual design to boot, and I love that he is one of those characters whose tragic past you both see, and see him get beyond; Richmond is Columbo, and Columbo is the best TV detective evah; S2 Georg is pretty bland, or at least as much so as a person who comes equipped with cheesecake can be, but S5 makes him a lot more like Flik, having a great stat spread and visual design while also being super likeable; Crowley is a pretty nuts mage in the first game, especially lorewise, and I'd love to have seen him appear again with skills and multiple rune slots.

Top Five Favorite Non-Humans: Stallion, Byakuren, Gadget, Siegfried, and Sergent Joe.

I use Stallion all the time in the first two titles, both as a utility character and because he is surprisingly decent in combat -- he also, somehow, has the distinction of being the only person with better art in the first game; Byakuren is a super adorable Falena-form Arbok who might be just a little bit cranky someone moved an army into her house; Gadget is a Snuffit someone stuck in a barrel that turns into a super-robot later on; Siegfried is straight baller, going from living alone in the woods waiting for people to bring 'maiden's to visit him to just hanging out in the female side of the bathhouse; and Sergent Joe is one of the best examples of an animal-person being a believable person I've ever encountered.

Favorite Character with a crush on the MC: Eilie

It's too bad she doesn't have more confidence, because she's a pretty nice lady and I'm sure Riou would have noticed her if she were a bit more aggressive. :(

Favorite Legacy Character (must appear in a minimum of three entries): Lorelai

I generally always like her design, and she's very usable in each game, too. :D

Favorite Temporary Party Member (Ex: Ted, Jowy, Lulu...): Jowy

Buddy Attack ftw, and then the Matilda stuff happens and oooooooooooooooooooooh, it is on!

Favorite Companion who almost never leaves your party: Lyon

I like her. :D

Favorite Villain: Luca Blight

He does a great job keeping up tension through the game, and, barring a fire sealing rune, his boss fight and the scenes that go with it are among the best in the series.

Favorite Duel: Teo 2

The first game has a major problem with gravity, so this never really feels like it should, but a father-son fight to the death is a hell of a thing. :'(

Favorite Boss Battle: Ain Gide

"But just as some things can be right and useless at the same time, can't something be wrong . . . and priceless?"

Favorite War System: Suikoden 3

While I find Suikoden 1's war system the most enjoyable, that is because of the silly animations and people running around in a panic before exploding into angels; Suikoden 3's war system is both unique and enjoyable, and I look forward to most of the battles.

Favorite Country: Scarlett Moon

It has my favorite layout, dwarves, elves, dragons, and ninjas. >: D

Favorite Town: Griegminster

I love how the music and visuals change when you come back at the end of the game; it has a great full-circle feel to it.

Who was your final team in each entry:

S1: Pesmerga, Flik, Viktor, Mina, Tir, Crowley
S2: Pesmerga, Flik, Viktor, Tengaar, Riou, Mazus
S3: I don't remember my first party, but Chris and Geddoe were in it.
S4: Never finished
S5: Belcoot, Richard, Eresh, Zerase, Prince, and . . . Georg? Maybe Kyle.

Who do you consider to be the hardest character to recruit?

Leon or Crowley in S1 without a guide; the window for Leon is super small, though Mace's isn't much better, and I don't have the slightest clue how you are supposed to even FIND Crowley without help. I know there is a book that hints at Pesmerga and Clive, but I don't remember what / if it says about Crowley.

I'd say the Octopus family is rather hard to fully recruit in S2 if you want all 108 stars.

I seem to remember some lady in SV being super easy to miss, but I don't remember who or where she was. O_ oa

Did you ever complete Clive's Quest in SII?

Absolutely! Poor Elza, I wanted her in my party. T_T

Favorite Scenario in SIII?

Geddoe's, for his likeable band of friends, followed by Chris' and her forgettable knights, and then Seargent Joe's, who's scenario is unfortunately mislabeled and drug down by Hugo.

Which game had the best overall cast?

Suikoden II; I find it has the most interesting scenario overall, and the most interesting characters to go along with it.

Favorite Unite Ability from each game?

S1: Talisman Attack; reliable damage and easy to activate
S2: Five Squirrel; those squirrel's straight adbuct people. D:
S3: The only unite I remember from this game is two kids running at the enemy with their arms flailing wildly, because it was hilarious, so that one.
S4: Didn't play enough to remember any
S5: Oops!; I love Genoh just stares at Viki afterwards.

Who has the better version of Soul Eater, Ted or McDohl?

I haven't played enough of 4 to see Ted's Soul Eater in action, but Tir's is pretty damn solid, so I'll stick with his.

Which is your favorite of the Five Elemental True Runes?

Lightning. I like runes that do damage, the True Lightning Rune likes to do damage; we are friends. :nod:

Which optional set of characters were your favorite to collect? (Flying Squirrels, Dogs, Mermaids, DoReMi Elves)

While the Squirrels aren't especially fun to collect, they are my favorite of the bunch for reasons of furry abduction.

What do you believe is Jeane's true form?

A large breasted, scantily clad woman.

What do you think is the relationship between Yuber and Pesmerga?

Based on Yuber and Pesmerga appearing to be ageless super-human entities in eternal conflict with each other, I've just assumed they either the original bearers of the Rune of the Beginning, or fragments of it formed when it split into the Shield and Sword runes, similar to how the Dawn and Twilight runes formed, that chose to take on human forms.

Is Nash a vampire or just has really good genes?

I think Nash has a thing for a certain vampire, but I don't suspect he was himself ever transformed.

Do you believe the Beast Rune may have been affecting Luca Blight?

His superhuman strength and attuned personality support the idea.

Is the leader of Harmonia still around?

If he is, it isn't in an active capacity -- I can't imagine him letting his True Rune puppets walk around as freely as they do if he were, and it seems unlikely the Circle Rune would have allowed him to hide away and let civil wars occur.

What is up with Viki?

It depends on your perspective, but Viki is either the series true protagonist or antagonist, using her knowledge of the future to hop through time and insert herself into various important rune wars, changing their outcomes and both where and in what 'state' the Runes end up. If one considers what Luc says in S3, there is an inherent chaos / dharma conflict in the universe due to the runes, with the eventual outcome being one of absolute order -- the dharma side -- with no more conflict, progress, or humanity. It will, effectively, be the same world that existed before the splitting of the Rune of the Beginning. Since the runes are responsible for this conflict, be it from things like the Sun or Beast Runes driving people mad, the Soul Eater or Punishment Runes sparking conflict around themselves, or whatever else, this final dharma state cannot exist while the true runes themselves are in their unbalanced / unsatisfied states. Looking at what Viki is doing, and noting that the games follow her travels rather than its own internal chronology, we can see that each conflict she inserts herself into results in at least one of the True Runes balancing and removing itself from the cycle of chaos. The first game sees the balancing of the Soul Eater with Tir, as well as the possible reunification of the Gate Rune (unlikely) and potential resolution of the Sovereign Rune's conflict, depending on what its conflict actually was (likely endless conflict over the throne and personal determination; Barbarossa's throne is never claimed and his life ends by his own choice). Suikoden 2 sees the end of the Rune of the Beginning's conflict, as well as Moon Rune's, which was already at peace with Sierra and is returned to her; the Beast Rune may be balanced as well, if all it wanted was a royal ass whoopin'. Suikoden 3 sees the end of Luc's plan, which would have completely prevented Viki's goal, though I don't remember the final outcome of the other true runes here -- considering the trend, it likely results in the end of the conflict they create. It is also notable that a much more serious Little Viki first shows up here on some kind of unspecified mission, and from some unknown point in time, quite possibly sent to derail Luc successfully completing his mission and destroying the possibility of the rune's desired end. Suikoden 4 sees the resolution of the Rune of Punishment's conflict, and the Soul Eater returning to world so it can continue its journey towards eventual balance. Suikoden 5 sees the Sun Rune sealed, preventing the madness and conflict it causes. And Suikoden 6 shows us nothing, because with 5 Viki completed her quest and the rest of the Runes fell into balance on their own and humanity ceased to exist, so now we have to play side games instead. D:

Which is the more cursed Rune, the Soul Eater or Rune of Punishment?

Well, the Rune of Punishment kills you, and the Soul Eater kills your children, parents, friends, ect. while leaving you alive to live with it. I'll vote for the Soul Eater here.

Did you ever wish you could use the Rune of Beginnings or Sun Rune?

Er . . . not especially. I'd like the True Wind rune though, 'cause I love windstorms. >: D

What do you think is Leknaat's Ultimate Goal in the series?

You know, I really don't know, but she does refer to herself as the 'executor of Balance' and is aiding people in the balancing of their runes, not to mention she seems resigned to fate, so I suspect she seeks to reach that dharmic state the world is slowly returning to.

I have questions to add!

What is your favorite intro?

What are your favorite songs?

What True Rune(s) would you have liked to see Suikoden VI about?

[Wolf Kanno]

Who was your final team in each entry?

Suikoden I - McDohl, Viktor, Flik, Pesemerga, Clive, and Luc
Suikoden II - Riou, Viktor, Flik, McDohl, Georg, and Luc
Suikoden III - Hugo, Chris, Geddoe, Sasarai, Emily, Edge
Suikoden IV - Lazlo, Kika, Ted, and Snowe
Suikoden V - Prince Freyajdour, Lyon, Belcoot, Mathias, Isabel, and Viki



Who do you consider to be the hardest character to recruit?
Leon Silverburg in the first game, The Flying Sqirrels in SII, The Wingly dude in SIII, The mermaids in SIV, and Oboro in SV.



Did you ever complete Clive's Quest in SII?
No, but I'm thinking of attempting it.


Favorite Scenario in SIII?
Thomas surprisingly enough.


Which game had the best overall cast?
Probably Suikoden III since the scenario system gave a good chunk of them decent screentime. Suikoden I is my next favorite.


Favorite Unite Ability from each game?
McDohl and Kai's Unite
Riou and Nanmi's Unite
Geddoe's Team attack
Lazlo and Kika's Unite
Isabel and Mathias, though the one between Viki, Ridley and Lorelai is hilarious.


Who has the better version of Soul Eater, Ted or McDohl?
I like the healing factor with Ted's but McDohl's is still the best.


Which is your favorite of the Five Elemental True Runes?
True Wind Rune followed by the True Lightning. It's versatility and access to the higher Wind spells makes it great.


Which optional set of characters were your favorite to collect? (Flying Squirrels, Dogs, Mermaids, DoReMi Elves)
The DoReMi Elves, just because the composer guy is hilarious, you mediocritys!


What do you believe is Jeane's true form?
Not human.


What do you think is the relationship between Yuber and Pesmerga?
I think they are one person whose True Rune split them in half. Pesmerga is probably a physical embodiment of what's left of Yuber's good side and is hunting him down to slay the demonic influence he has.


Is Nash a vampire or just has really good genes?
Probably just good genes since he was pretty young in Suikogaiden.


Do you believe the Beast Rune may have been affecting Luca Blight?
Oh yeah.


Is the leader of Harmonia still around?
Very likely, though I wouldn't be surprised if he was completely overtaken by his True Rune.


What is up with Viki?
I like the theory she's a historian from the future who is suffering side effects from the Blinking Rune.


Which is the more cursed Rune, the Soul Eater or Rune of Punishment?
Probably Soul Eater.


Did you ever wish you could use the Rune of Beginnings or Sun Rune?
Hell yeah, I would love to see the type of BS the combined powers of the Bright Shield and Dark Sword runes would have together.


What do you think is Leknaat's Ultimate Goal in the series?
See Rez09's entry for Viki but replace with Leknaat and drop the time travel stuff for the ability to read the future. If anyone is fighting for absolute order in this franchise besides Harmonia's emperor it's very likely her.

[Rez09]

What do you think is the relationship between Yuber and Pesmerga?


I think they are one person whose True Rune split them in half. Pesmerga is probably a physical embodiment of what's left of Yuber's good side and is hunting him down to slay the demonic influence he has.

This . . . is a really good theory; Yuber having a True Rune was always one of the tripping points in my rune fragment theory, but this would explain everything pretty perfectly.

[Raistlin]

Who was your final team in each entry?
This changes most playthroughs, but a generic list would probably be:
SI - Tir, Luc, Flik, Viktor, Crowley, Pesmerga
SII - Riou, Flik, Viktor, Luc, McDohl, Humphrey/Pesmerga/Georg
SIII - This one changes the most. I think my last one was Hugo, Geddoe, Chris, Juan, Sasarai, and probably Emily.
SIV - Standard: Lazlo, Ted, Kika, Jeane
SV - Frey, Miakis, Lyon, Zerase, Isabel, and... maybe Mathias or Belcoot.

Who do you consider to be the hardest character to recruit?
Leon in S1, Oboro for all the future games. Also that guy in S5 whose recruitment is dependent on trading events was very frustrating to recruit the last time I played.


Did you ever complete Clive's Quest in SII?
No, I get too caught up in doing everything in SII to have a shot at that.


Favorite Scenario in SIII?
Geddoe


Which game had the best overall cast?
III should get credit for just the sheer number of characters with quality development, though II has the best core group of characters.

Favorite Unite Ability from each game?
I rarely use unites, though there are some situations where they're more useful.
S1 -- Tir and Kai have a particularly strong attack
S2 -- Jowy/Riou, just because I used it early on
S3 -- that stupid one with the kids, because it was amusing and useful during their sidequest. Although after reading WK's responses, I did also use Geddoe's team unite.
S4 -- Lazlo/Kika
S5 -- Viki/Genoh

Who has the better version of Soul Eater, Ted or McDohl?
McDohl, the OG Soul Eater


Which is your favorite of the Five Elemental True Runes?
Lightning is just so cool to completely blow trout up with when you first get access to it


Which optional set of characters were your favorite to collect? (Flying Squirrels, Dogs, Mermaids, DoReMi Elves)
I never cared much about most of them, but the Mermaids were interesting


What do you believe is Jeane's true form?
I always thought she just had a True Rune.

What do you think is the relationship between Yuber and Pesmerga?
I also thought at least Yuber had a True Rune, but I like WK's theory.

Is Nash a vampire or just has really good genes?
I don't think he's a vampire.


Do you believe the Beast Rune may have been affecting Luca Blight?
Absolutely.


Is the leader of Harmonia still around?
Probably "around" in some sense, but at this point succumbed entirely to the Circle Rune


What is up with Viki?
I read somewhere that one theory is that she's aging backwards -- hence, little Viki in S3 is more mature and recognizes herself. But I think Young Viki just hadn't been driven crazy yet by all the time-traveling and her rune, which eventually turns her into the crazy ditz we all know and love.


Which is the more cursed Rune, the Soul Eater or Rune of Punishment?
Soul Eater


Did you ever wish you could use the Rune of Beginnings or Sun Rune?
The combined Rune of Beginning would be awesome.

What do you think is Leknaat's Ultimate Goal in the series?
I agree with WK re: order in the universe. Leknaat shows up when there's major upheavals, and it seems like the purpose of a leader bringing together the 108 stars of destiny is to stop that upheaval and restore peace and balance. Leknaat is like The Watcher from Marvel; she generally has a rule of non-interference, but will step in with words of wisdom or advice during Major Events. She might even be the one who selects who the Tenkai star is.

[Shauna]

I am currently playing S3.

It's good! But also everything takes forever. Travelling takes up so much time. When do I get Viki? *cries*

[Raistlin]

It's one of the main complaints about S3, and everything is slower than in other games. That the clunky camera are the biggest signs that the transition to 3D was not exactly seamless. Viki takes a little while too; I am always the happiest to get her in S3. Everything else about the game is great.

It's interesting that in S4, everything is lightning fast and super easy and streamlined (with the sole exception of the encounter rate while sailing, ugh), but literally everything else is worse.