Okayy, well I finally got Suikoden II and I've been playing it nonstop today, and I just met Leknaat to get the True Runes, but I'm PSYCHED about this game so far, so I thought I'd create a thread for anyone to just bring up discussions bout favorite characters, favorite scenes, strategies, things to watch out for, etc etc.

I mean, I'm impressed so far with the characters, they COULD be a little better, but I LOVEEE the way they've set up Riou and Jowy's friendship, very touching so far.

AND I'm convinced that Luca Blight is the best video game villain ever. Hands down. Definitely. No question in my mind.

AND two of hte funniest video game scenes I've ever seen:

"Riou... would you like my carrots?" - Jowy HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA



"Let us fight for the pride of the lion on our flag! (Or somethign like that)
**Camera moves to the flag, and shows this ridiculously silly looking thing**
"Uh.... That's the Lion?" HAHHAHHA IT WAS SO FUNNY LOOKING

(*tear* I really hope I get my copy back soon. )

Getting the True Runes... Well, if you haven't gotten Zamza already, then what I wanted to suggest is pointless, as it's too late. Instead, you'll have to wait until you find him in South Window later on. (Though I guess he's still a great character by that point.)
For some rambling about Zamza by myself, check here. I think I cover most of the ups and downs of him there. ^^;

Luca is definitely one of my favorite villains. He's just so... sinister. And maniacal. And... pig-hating. XD I don't wanna spoil anything, but the last words you hear from him are amazing, and make him just that much better of a villain.

As part of a project in my English class this past year, I made a flag that was totally "inspired by" Viktor's "Lion" flag. XD It was amazing. ...Though kind of "cute," haha. ^^; But yes, definitely a good scene. It tends to be one of most people's favorites.

...I'd say more, but I fear it would turn into a "do this, do that," so I'll hush and let you enjoy the amazing game.
(If you ever want advice or tips or anything of the sort, feel free to contact me. I'm online an unhealthy amount, so you should be able to catch me on AIM most of the time, hah. Otherwise, there are plenty of other reliable players around here.)

Actually, I do have Zamza hahaha, but he hasn't been particularly useful yet.

But yeah, this game so far definitely gets the props that everybody has made it out to be. Like I said, the only problem I have so far are the main characters, it's not that they're not real, likeable, or original, it's just that there's not that many. It's basically, Nanami, Riou, Jowy, Viktor, and Flik, everyone else just kinda comes and goes. I'm SURE that will change as the game goes on though, but it's bomb thus far.

The music is decent too, could be better, but gameplay is great. I dunno, i just needed this thread to rant hahaha, cause I'm so hyped that I'm finally playing this.

Well, you have finally acquired the Holy Grail of all that is Suikoden.
No doubt that this beauty will give you one wild expierence of friendship, betrayal, love, corruption and war.

As Chalryn said, if you have any questions regarding Suikoden II, don't be a stranger. There is also this forum and your topic, so you could ask the question in here as well.
There are plenty of fans here, so no doubt you will get an answer.

One of the funniest moments is indeed when Viktor mentions his "Lion" flag, which painfully is a bear.
Another great moment is when you meet Viktor in South Window and you have the option to yell: "Hey, it's Bear!"
And imo the BEST event including Viktor (as well as the game) is Viktor's rant about Neclord, trust me...your first reaction will be a big gasp and than a long rofl.

Also, Luca Blight is indeed one of the best villains ever. So mad, so powerful and he does bring fear to everyone who sees him.
His strength is unmatched and you'll see more than enough occaisions on how powerful this beast is.

Duly noted. XD I was actually thinking of that first one after remembering the flag scene. I wish Wikiquote had that one, but it was something like...
Eilie: "Who is that obnoxious man? Do you know him?"
Riou: "That's Bear."
Viktor [running up to the group]: "Hey, I heard that!"

Oh, LW, here's a tip before you go into Muse, or the Sindar Ruins: Take a long walk out west, past Muse. You can get to Greenhill early on at this point, and even further west, Forest Village. (Don't bother with anywhere to the north or south of Greenhill. You'll get kicked right back out.) If you take the trek to Forest Village, take a good sum of cash with you. (At least 7000-10000 or so.) The trading post there sometimes sells Wide Urns for pretty cheap (ranging anywhere from 4000-7000 is cheap; anything higher than 10000, you should take a walk and come back later), and then, if you come back a while later, you can sell them for significantly more than you bought them. If you take the time to do this for a little while, you can build up a really nice amount of money before moving on.
(Or, if you just bust into Matilda early, using the "gate trick," then that gets you a lot of cash as well, simply from fighting.)

Haha, yeah. That and Viktor punches you in the stomach x'D.
I seriously love Viktor. His attitude is just so good, I wish he'd return in a game released in the future.

THere's no doubt he will, Suikoden would go down as the worst ending series in history if we never see or hear from Viktor, Flik, Riou, Jowy, McDohl, Hugo, Geddoe, Chris, Silverbergs etc ever again.

These people MADE the series, for real. THey've all got to come back, especially if they're looking to save it

I beat this game 4 times already and as soon as I'm Done Chrono Trigger I'm playing it again.

lol they should do a reprint of this as its too rare now i really wanna get my hands on a copy of SK2 but its so rare and expensive on ebay

Voluspa

Here's a nifty scene to keep an eye out for:

just save the cash and buy it, it really is worth the 100-150 euros

i've played through it 6 times now, just started it again yesterday for running 7

sad thing though , i never really made it a priority to get ALL the stars of destiny, am i missing out ?

What's Dahlia Gillepsie????

Had a feeling I should've explained that. >.O

Dahlia Gillespie's a character from the first Silent Hill game. As you look at those flowers in Greenhill, they're all labeled as "Dahlias," but when you look at those ones in particular, it says, "Dahlia Gillespie." (Both Suikoden and Silent Hill are made by Konami, so yeah. Just a random reference.)

Hee, I never got that. ^.^ I hadn't played Silent Hill back when I last played Suikoden II.

Anyway, I just started replaying Suikoden II myself, via the PSP port, and I'm quickly remembering just how lovely it is. So congratulations, LagunaWannabe, on obtaining an absolutely wonderful game. I'm so utterly jealous of you for not having played it yet, and I hope you enjoy the rest of it as much as you have the start. It really is one of my favourite games ever, and it just has so many good moments, none of which I wish to spoil by mentioning them here.

...

Although...you know...one of its endings still makes me cry. ;_; Every single time...

God, knowing that I've had 2 copies of Suikoden II, and I and both were stolen and/or broken kills me everytime I remember these games. I should just suck it up and dish out the 200 bucks for them.



I definitely agree, we know one thing for certain.

There will always be a silverberg, and Jeane <3

Dahlia was also in the Silent Hill movie by the way.

Yeah, I only mentioned the game, though, 'cause that's where the relevance in the reference is.
(While we're mentioning Dahlia appearances, she'll be in SH:0 as well.)

Something interesting to check out: Either look up "Suikoden II AWOL Ending" on YouTube sometime, or make a save file once you reach Tinto, and choose to run away when Nanami suggests it (and follow through with it all the way). It's a special "ending" to the game, with a handful of interesting things that happen during it.

Also, LW, whenever you get the chance to, I'd suggest checking out Bob. He can be found in the Kobold District of Two River, and you need to have at least 80(?) recruits in order to recruit him. He's a pretty good physical attacker to begin with (once he and his weapons are up to level with your other party members), but when he uses Rabid Fang, he gets some pretty ridiculous stat boosts (according to Suikosource: ATKx2, PDFx2, SPDx1.5, MDFx1.5), and regenerates 50HP each round. After three turns, he loses the boosts and half of his HP, though if you've got a good team, he probably won't revert most of the time. (Oh, I think he also reverts if he takes too much damage.)
I had him hooked up with a Fury Rune a few times, and is critical hits (which he gets relatively often) would deal around 3k, if not more. Double-Beat or Killer are good alternatives for him as well.

i hope they bring out a suikoden movie that would be awesum also yeah sorry i forgot to quote it but who ever siad i should save and buy im from Australia so its like $150 AU for me and thats just in australia havent seen any on ebay for awhile from here so id have to get it shipped over so bout $160 Au + say $20 AU shipping? anyway ive played it before so i know the story line quiet well


Voluspa

Okay, strang thing that happened to me while back. I was trying to get the ultiamte ending, so I got all 108 Stars of Destiny, and even selected the right thing to say when Nanami gets shot with an arrow by Garudo (I believe that was the head of the White Knights). Yet even still, they say Nanami still died (yes I do know that Shu or the doctor is suppose to say she died, just to cover up that she doesn't want to fight anymore), and I still wasn't able to get the ultimate ending. Anyone had this problem before?

Well, for one, did you have all 108 before... retaking Muse, I think? You have to have all 108 before a certain point, but I forget when exactly. (Oh, and it should be confirmed by a visit from Leknaat, I think.) Then, you have to select the correct choice with Nanami (I forget which, but it results in Riou jumping out in front of Nanami to aid in deflecting the arrows). Then, at the end, you have to refuse to lead the country, and return to the spot where Riou and Jowy made the "X" mark. You refuse to duel Jowy, but he forces you to anyway. Defend the whole time for every fight with Jowy, and then he'll fall to his knee. From there, you should be good to go. If you really did all of that, then I dunno.

Suikoden 2 is still loaned out.. >_< Would love to play it again, I still hold it as my favorite RPG of all time.
Hope you enjoy it Laguna.

I actually did have all 108 before retaking Muse, I'm guessing i chose the wrong option when Nanami was going to get shot.

If I recall correctly, it wouldn't matter which choice you picked, as long as it was in 0.5 seconds or less. So once the scene pops up, just bash the buttons and you should be fine, technically.

A handful of guides say that, but I did everything correct up to that point in my last file, and I just mashed the first option the moment it appeared, but wasn't able to get the ending. You have to pick the one that causes Riou to assist in deflecting the arrows. (It plays a role in the ending, by the way.)

Well, it didn't gave me problems at all. I always do that, mash the buttons and then am able to get the perfect ending.

Huh. Weird. I really have no idea what the deal with the ending is, then. The mashing seems to work for some people, while it gives problems for others. The second choice would make more sense anyway, but maybe I'm wrong after all.

It is actually quite weird.
I do have a savegame from somewhere before that point, if I recall correct, so I could test this out.
Either that, or I already have gone beyond that part (using the way I mentioned) and I'll see if it works, yes or no. If yes, than that is good. If not, I am going to be a sad man.
Have to play it all over again. Yay =P

Anyway, I'll look for my game once these days and see what happens.

On the subject of things to look out for, there's this one military battle where you have to be careful to keep a pretty strong Kobold military general (Ripley?), or he'll be replaced by his not-as-good son if he dies. I remember because I swore like hell when he died during the military campaign thingy and had to redo it. Thank god I saved before it.

I think I got the perfect ending the last time I played. :3

if you played more than once, spoilers here: yknoe that nanami would die. SO WHAT I DID second time playing, IS TELLING HER. NO, you cant come. but noo, after the third time she comes anyways and i got mad

funniest part for me is just. Jowy, cuz i woud play it with my frend. N like... he looks like a girl.

'It takes hundreds to kill me. But I've killed THOUSANDS.' Luca Blight.

You might want to use spoiler tags, to cover up your message. [*spoiler] text[*/spoiler], just remove the two *.

Spoiler Highlight to Read: Mind you that is tells the a part of the perfect ending!

In case you didn't get the perfect ending, Nanami actually doesn't die. She told Huan to tell you that she did, because she felt she was getting in your way, while you were trying to save the world.
She also felt that you didn't need her protection anymore, hence the lie.

I get the feeling this is just a glitch, but has this happened to anyone else?:



Edit: Yeah, definitely some weird (although wonderful) glitch. Georg, L.C. Chan, Mazus, Hoi, and Pesmerga -- all joined at level 99.

Hahaha, blimey how did you do that?

Wish I could tell ya, but I have no idea. Must have something to do with the ISO I'm using.

Edit: Jowy just re-joined me at 99, as well, for the battle in Rockaxe. *spoiler warning*

Oh yeah, and back on the note about getting the best ending, I found an important factor that I failed to bring up previously: Nanami's total defense apparently has to be at least 121 at "that" moment. Suikosource still says it doesn't matter which choice you make... *shrug*

That actually has happened to a buddy of mine. It was a while ago but if I remember correctly his Viktor was level 129 or something like that, and he would spew out copious amounts of damage to an enemy. Also, his dialogue was all messed up, it wasn't english at all, just random characters and letters. Weird glitch.

Ohohoho, playing the game illegal huh =P

If you wanna put it that way, yeah. I lent my original copy to someone last year or so, and they've practically vanished from the face of the planet with it. My sister was trying to get it back (the person's a friend of hers) for a while, but no luck, for whatever reason. I started getting in the mood, and was impatient, so I grabbed an emulator. *sigh* Gotta get around to harassing him about it again.

Weird glitch. Especially Jowy at Lv 99, because his stats look a bit messed up. Some of his stats look like they're arround Riou's level, except for Magic, etc.

Anyway, I've had random symbols appear in a textbox when I tried to leave the village while having McDohl and Gremio in my party. Gremio was saying something but instead of English it looked like it had a bunch of random symbols instead, and then the game froze.

Well, keep in mind the way that stats increase as characters level up in the game. It varies, so sometimes a stat may go up by 1, while another time, it may go up by 2 or 3. Using their STR values as an example, Riou's got 167 at level 56 in my pic, while Jowy's got 162 at level 99. According to Suikosource's Stat Growth Charts, Riou can have a STR value of 147-244 by level 99, while Jowy could only have 90-187.

Also, on the note of strange characters/symbols, anyone ever gotten Humphrey and Futch early, and then brought Futch to Greenhill when you enroll at the academy? Futch gives a strange response when you first enroll. (Expected, since you're technically not supposed to have him at that point, though he's had normal dialogue at some other parts of the game before the "normal" point of recruiting him.)

What I had was this:

I had either Shiro or Mukumuku with me when I went to Greenhill Academy, because they are selectable and it really does NOT matter who you pick, as far as I know.
I was chasing Flik the "ghost" and then Mukumuku/Shiro said something, which was basically either Mumumumu! or Awooo! Then Luc said completely out of the blue: "Yes, I understand." Err...... okay Luc, keep eating those shrooms ;

LOLLLL silly Luc

Luc is seriously badass though, I hope he somehow makes a reappearance in the future games. Actually, no, I don't. I like the way he died (especially the Manga version. If you havent read the Suik 3 Manga, go read it. It kicks the sh*t out of the game and makes it almost as good as Suik 2). But I do hope there's a villain who returns with the same goal in mind that Luc had. I just hope we find the Wind Rune eventually, there's so many runes that have dissappeared like that (Sovereign Rune, Gate Rune) just by like.... Their character dying.

It is assumed that Barbarossa and Windy have died, but Konami didn't left an official statement that they did.
That, or I missed it.

And actually, the "I speak animal" thing can be done with various characters. I assume that it matters what place they have in your team, such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

I've also had the animal characters "speak" at other moments, like when a character comes in your room to wake you up. I had Shiro come in once, haha. I imagine that'd be an upsetting awakening, not to mention a tad terrifying, waking up with a wolf at your bedside.

Anything better than the cafeine rush of Nanami in the morning.
Of course an "Awooooooo" isn't the best either, haha.
I had Gagdet wake me up as well. "GOOD MORNING, MASTER RIOU." *sigh* v_v;

Can't help but picture Riou just rolling back over into bed. Haha. I wouldn't blame him.
And yes, Nanami's craziness wouldn't be great, especially if she made breakfast to go with it. x.x; However, "A Beautiful Morning" is a wonderful song to wake up to (if it were to actually play while waking up, that is, haha).
I'm thinking a really awkward one, though, would be Humphrey. *pictures big hulk-of-a-man standing over you, silently staring at you*

Haha, that would be weird. First I would check myself, to see i still have everything (thinks about the handshaking/footshaking animation of Golden Sun 2).
Another one that would be weird is Zamza. You wake up and get a scolding on how he is more important than you and then Zamza walks off.
Yes, goodmorning too >_<.

Bahaha. Zamza... amusing, indeed. "How much of my precious time do you think has been wasted in my attempts to wake you up? I better get some sort of promotion for this, and it better not happen again. My skills are put to waste once again..." et cetera, et cetera. XD

I think Jeane waking you up would be a good thing =P.

In your bed, or just next to it?

Anywho, anyone ever tried using GameShark with Suikoden II? Just for kicks, I used it it my last file, so my final party's got Jowy in it. XD (You can choose to use either him with his staff and old outfit, or with his sword and new outfit, though the latter isn't very customizable.) Also have Tir in there, since I didn't have uploaded data. ^^;

Also, anyone use the Sierra+Bolgan+Bob combo? Pretty nasty. Sierra drains half of Bolgan and Bob's (total) HP, and then they hit a single target with a total effect of 4x damage. (And by the way, the unite attack still works while Bob's in his werewolf form. That means he still gets the 3x2x attack power multiplier, haha.)

Either way Chalryn, it seriously wouldn't matter =P.
I am not too sure about Viki though. I like the girl, but she would snease in your face and then she's gone. *zap*

Nope, I don't have a Gameshark/Action Replay/Codebreaker for the PSX, unfortunatly v_v.

I did try their combination, but the downside is that it drains HP, as well as that both Bolgan and Bob are not the strongest characters in the game, statswise.
So, a White Wolf + Rune doesn't have a lot of problems with them two =P.

I know Bolgan's not great, but I never really had any problems with Bob. Especially when he's in his werewolf form, he's a pretty damn nice character, I'd say. Pretty much all of his stats get a nice boost, and he also recovers a decent amount of HP per turn. (ATKx2, PDFx2, SPDx1.5, MDFx1.5, and regenerates 50 HP each round. -- Okay, so his attack is only doubled. My bad.) Plus, if you could set up your healer the right way, you could get both of them healed right after their HP is drained. (And if you're using Battle Oath, then perhaps Berserk as well, if they're not already.) ...Not to mention other preparations at the beginning of a fight, like using Guardian Earth to up Def/MDef, and/or Protect Mist/Canopy Defense to block magic.
I suppose that'd be considered too much work for some, though. *shrug* Oh well. I find it worth it, just for the sake of using some different characters and such.

Haha, yeah that is a lot of work, only just to power up Bob, which you can also do simply by using a diffirent character =P.
Not sure though, but can Bob do anything else aside attacking, while in his wherewolf form? It would make him a lot better, as well as equipping him with a Fury Rune, which I think you can get 3 or 4 in the game, not too sure, maybe more.

Yeah, I tried using diffirent characters as well, such as Mondo, Shin, Tengaar, Hix, Kasumi, Valeria, Sasuke and some others as well.
Usually I end up with the same characters again, haha =P. I simply cannot not pick Sierra in my team =P.