Your relationship with Suikoden

A forum for all general Suikoden related topics.
Post Reply
Ness the Mess
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:22 am

Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by Ness the Mess »

I always think back fondly on how I was introduced to Suikoden, and how I eventually came to charish it as a complete series, and I noticed that though people talk about which game was their first on this board, noone really talks about their relationship with the series as a whole.

My story begins in late 2005. I had just bought my cousin's used PS2 off of him and had no games to play. I went to a local movie/game rental shop and decided to buy a storyline game that looked halfway decent. On a whim, I bought their only RPG: Suikoden III. I took it home and immediately started to play it. The trinity sight system took me by surprise; it was a unique way to play. Highlight of the game: seeing Chris kill Lulu and later realizing I had to play as Chris.

A couple years later, in 2007, I traded in a number of games to EB Games (now Gamestop) and was looking for something interesting to get out of them. Low and behold, they had 1 used copy each of Suikoden IV and Suikoden Tactics. I remembered with fondness my experience with III and snatched them up. Highlight of the games: when I finished IV with all 108 stars in my first run, knowing I'd never have to play it again.

In 2008 I read a review for Suikoden V which was very positive, and I knew immediately I wanted to own it. The problem was, no-one had one in stock. I called every game shop in town, and no luck. However, one day I walked into a used game shop and they had one new, sealed copy of Suikoden V for fifty bucks. I bought it and considered myself lucky. Highlight of the game: artstyle, Prince's weapon, and the female-dominant society reminiscent of Wheel of Time.

A bit of a side story. In 2008, on November 10th, my girlfriend's birthday, I drove her out to the place in the country we had met and I proposed to her. She said yes (duh). I gave her a diamond ring. Fast forward to March 31 of 2009. It was my birthday, and her turn. Though we were having a party later in the evening, at breakfast she gave me a wrapped gift, saying she couldn't wait. I opened it, and low and behold, Suikoden 1, with case and instructions. I was extatic. I loved that woman. She said she had to give me something amazing for my birthday because I gave her something amazing for hers. Later that evening, she gave me another wrapped package. I said to her, "You already gave me something." She shrugged and told me to open it. Suiko ... Suikoden II. Suikoden II? Suikoden II. I looked at her and said, "how?" She shrugged. Over the next hour I said "how?" about 30 times, and nothing else. Highlight of Suiko I: seeing where it all began.

My story isn't over, though. I got 3 hours into Suikoden II, the disc with zero scratches on it, and it froze. The screen was black, but the midi just kept on playing. I tried again 10 times, on different machines. I cleaned the disc. I got it "scratch remover'd" 3 times, until the guy at the store said if he did it anymore it would break the disc. No luck.

After getting married, I started a very nice job at a very nice company, making very nice money. Having ample money, a week ago, I won an auction for a copy of Suikoden II with no scratches, with case+manual. I'm expecting it in the mail in the next week. Hopefully, if all goes well, I can finally play Suikoden II (and then play the whole series in numerical order).

I doubt I'm the only one with an interesting relationship to Suikoden as a series. What are your stories?

PS. I do own Tierkreis, but I bought it at a Walmart for 29.87. Not an exciting story.
User avatar
Night Shadow
Posts: 169
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:04 pm
Location: Philippines

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by Night Shadow »

Oh, wow! I love your stories. :D You are one llucckkkyy dude to have a girl who loves you enough to get you both suikoden 1 and 2. and i do hope you get a chance to play part 2 real soon.

here are some on mine.

i was a 9 yr old boy back then. i woke up one morning to find a bag of games in our living room. my dad had just come home from a trip to my countries capital city (i live in a small city, so i cant find much games) and he brought all the games as a gift. I curiously skimmed through them, found suikoden 2, tested it....end of story, i fell in love. best moment? i love the whole greenhill scenario. theres something very sherlock holmes about it.

i was 11 i think when i got suikoden 1. i had been looking for the game for 2 yrs, and my dad would always help me look for the game with no luck. then, on his birthday, he decided to bring me to this video game store, and lo and behold...their only copy of suikoden 1! it was as if it was my birthday and not his. haha. :D

i got part 3 after i graduated from elementary school. my mom and dad decided to buy me a ps2 as a graduation gift, and this was the first game on my list. hehe.
‎"...Or else, it is the dream that haunts you. You wait with the promise of the next dream...when the act of waiting is dependent on remembering."
ttfii
Posts: 56
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:47 am

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by ttfii »

I rented the first Suikoden from the nearby indie-rental place when I was ten years old. Although I had played RPGs before (Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger, TECMO'S SECRET OF THE STARS -- 100 internets for anyone that remembers that gem), the first Suikoden is what got me obsessed. I finally talked my parents into buying it for me and I played it all summer. I thought I was so clever when I converted it from a double-decker case to a single jewel case.

I got the second game for Christmas of '99. When I found out you could transfer your save, I spent a whole day getting the best possible save in the first game and then spent the rest of my Christmas vacation playing Suikoden II.

I don't remember exactly when I started playing the other games. Probably because they didn't have the impact on me that the first two games did.

Over time, I became more interested in what influenced the games and material with similar themes. When I was 19-20, I bought an Outlaws of the Marsh set and read it. Although I found it very enjoyable, it was a bit difficult to keep track of all the different Chinese names... "Wait, who is this guy again?" Oh, I also tried to petition to get the CCTV series English subtitles but I didn't have much luck.

I started getting more books with themes of exile and revolution. Bread and Wine, A Bend in the River, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Asimov's Foundation series... just to name a few.

So yeah, what started as just an obsession with the games led to an obsession with the idea of being exiled and then coming back to overthrow the government.

Never dated a fellow Suikofan. Although, everyone I've dated has had to put up with me going on a Suikoden binge. Sometimes I feel like a total nerd but I don't care. Lots of benefits have come with the series being a part of my life for the past fifteen years.

If I were to ever have kids (let's say a boy and a girl), I'd name them Viktor and Lorelei.

I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out. I'm tired...
User avatar
Archer
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:51 pm

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by Archer »

I remember i was about 16 and my mother had dragged me out shopping to carry the bags for her, so as penance i took her in to the local game store for a quick browse. She was walking along looking at the pictures on the PS1 boxes and suddenly said ''oh my god. this guy looks just like you''. I came over and she was pointing at Riou on the Suikoden 2 box cover. I'd never heard of it before, but i was a new PS1 owner and had just developed a burning passion for RPGs after playing FF8. I took one look at the back of the box and knew i had to buy it.

It was quite possibly the best game i have ever, and will ever play. Not just for what it was but also for the atmosphere it created and how all the mysterys and secrets concerning the characters and the game drove me nuts. I raved about it to my cousin and he ended up buying a copy too, to the same effect. Needless to say i wanted Suikoden 1 like mad, my cousin and i spent months searching online for a copy that wasnt like £5000 but to no avail. Then one summer i went to stay with him and we took a wander in to a game shop. We both knew what we were looking for so he just came out and said 'ive never seen suikoden here you know.' and i was all 'shush, we can try.'

So we go in and hes off in the back checking out the top 10 whilst i scour the preowned section, only to see smack bang right in front of me, Suikoden 1 for £7. My cousin heard the gasp all the way from the back of the store, walked over, looked at the game, looked at me and said 'I hate you.' LOL

Suikoden 3 wasnt available here and it killed me, so after i got a job i spent my first wage packet on a chipped PS2 and a copy of Suikoden 3 from Amazon. The game arrived like 2 weeks before the PS2, and i would stare at that box for ages. Id checked it out online and built up such a hype over it, and it certainly did deliver when i got to play it. That was pretty much my relationship with the series, as the rest were nowhere near as special. The connection between them made it more than just a game, it was a story where you HAD to know the beginning and the end.
mackevin06
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:56 pm
Location: Farmington, Missouri, United States

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by mackevin06 »

When I was 10 or 11 years old, I walked into a local movie and game rental store looking for a game to rent. By the way, ttfii, I remember TECMO! Rented that at this same store :) anyway, I was tired of getting the same games every time and I noticed something I hadn't seen in their collection before. Suikoden 2. Picked it up, looked at the screenshots and read the description on the back, and I thought, "Might as well give it a try." Fell in love with it from the very beginning with the surprise attack on the Unicorn Brigade. By the time my 3 or 5 days or however long I had it was up, I had just gotten into L'Renouille and I had to return the game. 60 hours of gameplay on my file. Went back the next week to rent it again so I could finally beat it and see what happens, and they didn't have it. Someone else had rented it. 3 or 4 weeks goes by, same story every week. What happened was someone stole it. I was heartbroken. But I kept that save file on my memory card for 3 years, which was definitely something I didn't do. I didn't like taking up valuable space on my memory cards. I was in a video game store for my birthday and I was looking around for a specific game (not Suikoden 2, oddly enough), found the game, and I just happened to look over at one of the other game stands and BAM! Suikoden 2. Immediately set down the game I had in my hands (whatever it was) and picked up Suikoden 2 for $20. Definitely one of the happiest days of my life.
Ness the Mess
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:22 am

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by Ness the Mess »

I'm glad someone revived this thread! I particularily like the story about getting the game because someone looked like Riou - what a random happenstance (or was it fate?).

A bit of an update, my (new) copy of Suikoden II works just fine! Also, my wife and I are still as happily married as ever.
User avatar
dragons_descent4
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:53 pm

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by dragons_descent4 »

My ex boyfriend introduced me to the game when I was 14,he let me borrow his copy of the first game and I ended up falling in love with it. He claims that I fell more in love with the game than I did with him, but it was high school!! Kidding, of course, we still remained friends even after breaking up. Anyway, I had never really been into rpg's yet and could never finish them,but this one I was determined to,even if I didn't end up liking it at all.
With the second one,I played it once(again borrowing it from my ex)but because I didn't get all 108 stars the first time in the first game I didn't in the second. It sucked and drove me a little crazy. Soon my madness became an epic hunt to have my own copies of the games. So I took to the internets, finding insanely expensive prices that,as a high school kid, could not afford on my own. Plus I didn't have a credit card and my parents wouldn't help. So I saved up my money anyway, just in case I could talk them into it later on.
The first game I found by chance at a gamestop,it was wedged between a bunch of out of order games. It wasn't used and only $15,my friend helped me pay for it and I got her obsessed with it too. Then we saved together to get the second game and she had her sister order it for us online. We waited for weeks for it to get to us. In the process of this happening we got her little brother into the game,so now I'm building this little Suikoden army...good times. When we finally got it, my friend wasn't home yet and I was watching her recently obsessed little brother and we were so excited we just watched the intro a bunch of times until she finally came home.
I paid my friend back for helping me get the first two games and didn't get the third until I was a senior. I had gotten IV before that but didn't want to play it until I got A. A PS2 and B. Through the first three games.
So it's been an adventure,but that was the start of it.
"Now we can fight to our hearts' content."
"Too bad I have to fight with you."
- Viktor and Flik


Into dark humor? Check out my upcoming webseries!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Morb ... 1697490455
FoggyNotion
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2012 2:35 pm

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by FoggyNotion »

I was first introduced to Suikoden by my cousin. The thing was that at the time, I had a Nintendo 64, and he had a Playstation, so whenever we would go to each other's houses one would have to bring their other system, so we could catch up on the games that we hadn't gotten to play. So one day he ended up showing me the first Suikoden, and I was just fascinated with it. He was at Neclord's castle at that point, and among the observations I remember making were the "blue flaming unicorns" and thinking that Tir's outfit was kind of silly looking (I was pretty young at the time). I was actually kind of surprised that Tir was the main character (my first guess was Viktor) and remember asking what his "special power" was. He then showed me the "Hell" spell with the Soul Eater, and I was like "Did he just send that unicorn to Hell?" "Yep." So after that, I thought Tir was pretty impressive. And for the record, I've felt that way ever since.

Once in a while we'd trade the systems around; he'd get the N64 for a few weeks and I'd get the Playstation for a few weeks, and among the games I borrowed were Suikoden 1 & 2. For whatever reason, I couldn't really get into the second one at the time. Maybe I was just losing interest in video games in general at that point. But fast forward to a few years later, the year after I graduated high school I had to get some surgery done and was laid up at home for most of the summer. So, to kill time I ended up pulling out some of my old games. And at one point I decided that I've give Suikoden 2 another try since I hadn't gotten that far in it the first time around, and it would sort of be a new experience for me. And this time I loved it, really got into the story, thought the whole thing was brilliant. I even ended up playing through Suikoden 1 again and getting all 108 stars so that I could get to the bonus material in Suikoden 2. Along with the Percocet, Suikoden helped me get through a pretty rough summer.
User avatar
EstrangedIX
Posts: 324
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:30 pm

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by EstrangedIX »

Haha yeah Suikoden and percocet are a great little cocktail for when you're laid up. I remember playing III after I had my appendix out. I woulda been bored outta my mind without it.
Sent from my Ono-Sendai Cyberspace 7 - Break the ICE
User avatar
Piisuke
Posts: 330
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:05 am
Location: London, UK

Re: Your relationship with Suikoden

Post by Piisuke »

My story with Suikoden begins in 1998. I was only a thirteen year young boy and I really wanted a PSX. Eventually I was informed by my mum that I was going to get a PSX for my birthday, because an acquaintance of my mum's family was selling his PSX. I was invited to come over and see what games were included. In total there were thirteen games including; Gran Turismo, Fifa '96, Resident Evil 2, Destruction Derby and a few others. I went round his house twice to play some of the games and I was super excited about it.

One game caught my attention and that was a title called Suikoden. I had always liked RPG games, but there was something about Suikoden that just gripped me. It was the sense of adventure, the sense of something big happening. Now when I played the game at my this guy's place, I didn't go very far (Mt. Seifu), but I loved it.
So, when I finally got the PSX, this was the first game I started playing.

Finally getting past Mt. Seifu, finding out by Ted's secret, being branded a traitor and being helped out by the ever so amazing Viktor, I really felt something big was happening! Escaping past the border by the assistance of Ain Guide and slowly building up my fortress. The death of Odessa was shocking and saddening. Mathiu refused leadership, so I was entrusted. Recruiting characters like Viki, Kirkis, Tai Ho, Camille and Yam Ko, I was excited about whom else was joining my party. Kuromimi came along, Valeria and soon I started recruiting the character I was fighting! Kwanda Rosman and eventually various other generals!

Eventually I got stuck in the game and I couldn't get any further. My lack of understanding of the portrait puzzle in Neclord's castle. Yep. I got stuck. Didn't play the game for months. Not because I was frustrated, but I just didn't understand it. The year was 1998, the Internet wasn't very big. Heck, I had no Internet yet! My English wasn't that great either and that was the reason I didn't understand it. Loaned the game to a friend of mine (yay for spreading Suikoden love!) and he got to the same point. Eventually he cracked the code (4-2-1-3!) and we got past the dreaded painting puzzle.

After finally beating the game without any guides and about 88-90 characters and being unable to find the remaining, I decided to call it quits on Suikoden. I completed the game and loved it.

So, you could say that my introduction to Suikoden was purely accidental. It was luck.

Eventually, in a local gaming mag, I was told Suikoden II was being released in Europe in 2000. Obviously I was very excited about this as I was so pleased with part one. My younger brother got my a pirated copy of Suikoden II (seeing as my PSX was modded). I couldn't upload my Suikoden I save data, as Suikoden II was the NTSC version, however, I played through Suikoden II regardless and still without any guides whatsoever.
The last person I recruited was Bob, I know that much. Everything else was a blur. I remember I was super excited like a little school girl (being a male normally) to see Flik and Viktor return so early in the game and then later followed by Apple. I had no idea about any of this. The gaming mag didn't play Suikoden I, or the reviewer at least didn't. Eventually I saw more familiar faces appear in the game and then the point I was going to the Scarlet Moon Empire... my jaw dropped. I was back in Gregminster. First thing I did, Mcdohl's house. Oh my god! I shed a manly tear. I was back where it all started.

I was then informed that one could recruit Tir in this game, so, as I finally had an Internet connection, I decided to play through Suikoden I again, this time with a guide to make sure I got all the characters and then start again with Suikoden II. This time, I borrowed my friend's copy (whom I had loaned Suikoden - he became a Suikoden fan too), which was a legal version, and imported my save data. I played through to the game again. I missed out on various characters (not Clive, lol, accidentally encountered him in Muse), but played it with a guide straight after that to get all the characters. Fast forward a few years later, I decided to get Suikoden II legally this time. Bought it for €80 on a local auctioning website (get in and screw you ebay and your ridiculous prices) and from my ex I got a new copy of Suikoden I, as my disc got badly damaged (from playing it too much :P).

I was then told by a colleague at an old job that Suikoden III was coming. It was then told it was coming to the NGC, I believe, as opposed to the PS2. Eventually it was scrapped, because Suikoden III never came to Europe. Reasons never given. Even when Konami asked their fans to ask them 20 questions, my selected question was why this was never released (asked on suikox) and all they did was say that it wasn't released and that there was no way of playing it. Geewiz, I knew that already.

So, disappointment with Suikoden III. However, eventually we got news that Suikoden IV was released. After years of waiting, I finally got a new Suikoden game. Played through it, but it felt sour. It wasn't something I particulary enjoyed. Only four party members, no exploration as most houses were closed and couldn't be opened, a random encounter rate on a gigantic scale and just overall it wasn't a very good game. Suikoden, to me, was in decline.

A few years later, Suikoden V was released. Got it, played it, loved it. Finally, since Suikoden II, I had a new Suikoden game that I enjoyed. Suikoden V was a great game. The return of the Do Re Mi elves, even Lorelei, Killey and Georg returning and Retso from the cooking mini-game in Suikoden II. I was hoping for another cooking game in Suikoden V, due to Retso, but alas.
Still, Suikoden V brought back my excitement of Suikoden I and II.

Still waiting for Suikoden VI.
Post Reply