So, my wife is playing Suikoden...

[BrucePrintscreen]

...and this is so funny I will share it.

Backstory: my wife is in her early thirties like I am, but even if I am a poor gamer (I stopped paying interest in videogames in the early 2000s so Suikoden 2 is practically the most modern game I played so far), she is even worse (she didn't grew up with videogames at all, except the original Mario Kart - damn she kick asses at Mario Kart).

So I come home that other day with consoles and S1, 2, and 4 (which I never played before, whereas I played the two others when I was a teenager) and tell her these are the best games ever and we should play them with our kid.

And guys, if you doubted the power of seduction of suikoden, this is the final argument in favour of it: she never played a damn RPG before, and barely any videogame ever, and she got hooked completely on Suikoden 1.

Halfway through the game as I'm typing this, her reactions are so interesting that I decided to report them. This is quite an experience: almost twenty years after the game was out, a complete rookie is discovering the game and enjoys it tremendously. Here are a few things I noticed:

...keep in mind: this is the Suikoden experience of someone with close to zero experiences of videogames...

-She really got into the storyline from the moment Odessa died. She found it surprising how she got attached to poor Odessa, and from the moment she died, my wife definitely showed more implication into the story. Before she would play a bit and stop at the first occasion to save, now she plays until she really has to stop.

-She has a fondness for Valeria. She said such things as "cool", "strong", "awesome" about her. My wife is a very peaceful, gentle person, but she shivers when Valeria uses her Falcon Rune.

-Interestingly, she dropped Valeria in favour of Kasumi recently: she said she got frustrated with Valeria always attacking last and she enjoys Kasumi always attacking first.

-She saw the death of Gremio coming. She found the last words of the guy (when he talks about the spores eating him) heartbraking, but she got the idea pretty early on that Gremio wouldn't make it to the end of the story.

-She had to try four times before she could beat Teo McDohl with Pahn. She disliked Pahn as a character and as a playable character, so she found it frustrating to have to devote so much efforts and credits into building him up for this single fight. The difficulty of the Pahn/Teo duel is the only think she criticized vocally about the game so far. (nb: I usually sit with her as she plays as I always enjoy re-experiencing this game and it's nice to do it together, so I give her a few clues as how to finish a game with 108 stars, so I insited she tried everything to save Pahn's ass).

-She shares my fondness for Lotte. I don't know why this very obscure and underdevelopped character is striking our imagination so much. Probably because of the cat obsession.

-She loves Viktor and Flik as characters (especially Viktor), and I secretly can't wait to see her face when she'll play S2 and will see them reappear.

-She says Qlon is the most ridiculous character ever. I won't blame her for that.

-She views Kirkis as "the suikoden equivalent of Michael Jackson". That's also because all his talk of peaceful relationship between Elves and Humans, which says could have been into a late Jackson song about peace between people. Since then, we joked about Kirkis doing moonwalk at Pannu Yakuta and such things.

-She was very frustrated when naming the castle because she wanted to call it "Castle Gormenghast" but there were not enough characters allowed. She's a big fan of the Gormenghast novels and made several comparisons between Suikoden and Gormenghast in a positive way. In spite of being allowed to name it Gormenghast, she named her castle after our daughter.

-She calls Sanchez "the drunkard" because he "offers me wine all the time". If she only knew...

-She was amazed to discover when "that song you always sing in your shower" was actually the Kirov song. I forgot about it myself.

-My very polite and civilized wife can become very rude when it comes to Hawkmen, Mad Ivys, beating Teo Mc Dohl with Pahn, and "that a-hole Eikei who thinks I'm not strong enough yet"...

-On a smiliar vein, she calls Creepers "the ballsacks"...

-She calls big war battles "the Lemmings" because of the way the little soldiers look like.

-Krin reminds her of Lieutnenant Columbo. The fact that I'm a big Columbo fan may help.

-She used Eileen a lot and replaced her by Sarah. She plays a lot with Kai too, and Cleo. She is actually not very original with her choice of playable characters but it's interesting to observe how a complete beginner (including about RPGs in general) naturally goes towards the same characters.

-She had a dream about someone called Varkas but it was not actually Varkas...

-She took a pattern of asking me to "equip" our daughter rather than dressing her up. Then she giggles and disappear to "equip her boots". I love my wife very much.

If more funny things happen, I'll keep you updated. Anyway, I think buying these old games out of sheer nostalgia was a great idea and it brings a lot of fun in my little family, which is what a game should be about, right?

[Jocky]

Bruce this is Awesome!! I loved hearing about this and if you get the chance, keep us updated on the rest of her reactions to the game! By the sounds of it, I can tell what her reaction will be when she finds out about Sanchez! lol And as for Viktor & Flik's last stand at the end, I'm sure she'll find it as memorable as you did!!
Also if she's gotten this involved in 1 then she's gonna LOVE 2!
Its great to hear after all these years, that Suikoden can have such an influence on someone!! It almost makes me nostalgic about my memories of playing it for the first time!! In fact I think I videod my first girlfriends reaction to the proper ending of S1. If I remember correctly I think she cried!! Good times!
I'll be keeping an eye on this topic just in case you post anything else.
Cheers Bruce!!

[gildedtalon]

That reminds me, this series is so enjoyable back when I didn't know there is gamefaqs for every game in the planet

[Sasarai10]

That reminds me, this series is so enjoyable back when I didn't know there is gamefaqs for every game in the planet

Always when you play a game for the 1st time ever you will get hooked with it,if it catch your interest. I really can't forget the 1st time i played Suikoden 2 (this was the 1st Suikoden i've played). It took me months to complete it,and i didn't get all 108 stars,but still it was a very beautifull experience because i didn't know what'll happen next.


Just like watching a TV series for the first time. You'll always want to see what will happen to the next episode

[sticky-runes]

Long way off yet, but I'm kind of curious how your wife will react when she reaches the point in Suikoden 2 where you choose between Valeria and Kasumi. she'll probably go with Kasumi for the speed.

And if you ever get 5, I think she'll love the long name entries in it.

[Winterswhite]

I love watching people playing a game blind, it's fun to see what their reactions would be to the events that happen in the story. I've been wanting to invite my friends over to play Suikoden with me but I get all shy about that (but if my friend got me to read his favorite book, maybe I'll pay him back. Then again, I did I wanted to read it. He never said he wanted to play a Suiko game.) I can't wait to see how your wife reacts to the rest of the game and if she gets to the future games

[BrucePrintscreen]

Aha thanks guys here are a few other things:

-She just completed the Cave of the Past. There are some red ball enemies there I think called Red Elemental or something? Anyway, for some reasons she found them hilarious, compared to all the badass looking enemies they are just a round thing, they apparently have zero credibility as enemies.

-She texted me yesterday: "I love you more than Kasumi loves Tir". I suspect she played a bit in my absence.

-She actually named Tir in a very funny way: the night before we started playing the game, we watched "a Fish called Wanda" and she had the biggest laugh ever. So she named the main character "Archie" after John Cleese's character in the movie.

-At first she didn't want to believe Marco's game was legit because such games in real life are always a scam, so she never picked up the right one because she was suspicious. When she finally got the idea it was real, she became very good at it but she sucks at Georges' game, I had to complete it for her because she couldn't recruit him.

[sticky-runes]

But she didn't say she loves you more than Eileen loves Lepant? I'd be concerned...

[Jocky]

But she didn't say she loves you more than Eileen loves Lepant? I'd be concerned...

LOL Cruel man Sticky!! I love hearing about this Bruce!! Keep us posted!!

She just completed the Cave of the Past. There are some red ball enemies there I think called Red Elemental or something? Anyway, for some reasons she found them hilarious, compared to all the badass looking enemies they are just a round thing, they apparently have zero credibility as enemies.

I totally agree! They were just floaty red ball things!! Totally unrealistic in my eyes! "Oh god, LOOKOUT!! It's the floaty red bollocks of doom!!"

[Winterswhite]

She just completed the Cave of the Past. There are some red ball enemies there I think called Red Elemental or something? Anyway, for some reasons she found them hilarious, compared to all the badass looking enemies they are just a round thing, they apparently have zero credibility as enemies.

Haha, when I encountered those, I was like 'WTH?! Why do balls want to kill me now?!'

she sucks at Georges' game, I had to complete it for her because she couldn't recruit him.

Just like me, it took me forever to recruit Georges D:

[Sasarai10]

Huh...really? Am i the only one who found Georges game easy? I've recruited him,even in the hardest level

[BrucePrintscreen]

But she didn't say she loves you more than Eileen loves Lepant? I'd be concerned...

LOL Cruel man Sticky!! I love hearing about this Bruce!! Keep us posted!!

I know, that's what I answered her actually "what? you don't love me more than that?"

Huh...really? Am i the only one who found Georges game easy? I've recruited him,even in the hardest level

I find it easy too, I always beat it in a very short time, never found it really challenging...

[Antimatzist]

Great read I wanted my gf to play the first Suikoden but was sitting next to her always telling her what to do. Maybe she'll try it another time when we move together and I'll be silent then. She's not really into videogames, but enjoyed the yellow edition of pokemon^^

[sticky-runes]

"Oh god, LOOKOUT!! It's the floaty red bollocks of doom!!"

That's what she said.

[Jocky]

"Oh god, LOOKOUT!! It's the floaty red bollocks of doom!!"

That's what she said.

You might wanna get some cream for that sticky! I hear floaty red bollocks can cause random uncontrollable erections.................