Well, now that I've finished playing and chronicling the game, it's time to have a little chat about Suikoden. What did I think of the game overall? What will stick with me? Am I eager to continue the series and jump right in with Suikoden II? What have I learnt about the game in research since its completion?
Well, the last question is perhaps the most interesting, so let's get right to it. After finishing the game, I went online to have a look at people's interpretations of the ending. I soon discovered that, in fact, what I obtained was, relatively speaking, the bad ending. Yes dear friends, there is indeed another ending to the game, and I'm sure it'll shock you.
Gremio can be resurrected. I'll repeat that: Gremio can be resurrected. Oh and Pahn? He doesn't have to die at all, he can defeat Teo if you level him sufficiently. It goes without saying that I was astonished and a little disappointed with my own efforts upon discovering this information. It turns out that if you recruit all of the stars before the final battle, and Pahn lives, then Leknaat will utilise the magical power created by this union of stars in order to revive our fallen servant. Yeah!
There I was, thinking Pahn's death was an inevitability, that I'd found all the stars properly, and never giving a second thought to the notion of resurrection. But hey, that's the game and that's the sacrifice you make when you play without consulting guides, I'm still pretty proud of what I managed. In spite of this pride, I can't help wanting to go back already and earn the true ending for myself, but am eager to commence Suikoden II. We'll see what happens.
So, after all my depressive talk in the final post, it turns out that the game can finish far more cheerily than I originally imagined; a fact that has certainly put my mind to ease. To fill you in, the good ending shows a similar seen, Akami leaves the castle in the middle of the night and sets out into the world, but this time the familiar face of Gremio is by his side. Isn't it amazing how the presence of a companion can completely change the dynamic of that ending?
Fancy a bit more good news? Viktor and Flik survive! It's not shown in the game but I stumbled onto the knowledge that they appear in Suikoden II where we learn they made it out of the castle alive. Lovely stuff! I feel like my decision to begin Suikoden II has already been made for me, I can't wait to see Vik again.
On top of all this, there was plenty more I missed. I certainly obtained all the stars but I barely used any when you look at it; since completing the game I have read of the many abilities of the characters I chose to ignore, their special unite moves, and found plenty of surprises. Some of the strongest stats and abilities are to be found in characters you'd least expect. There's even an entire combo magic system I missed out on entirely; when certain spells are cast in tandem they can create wonderful special effects, adding yet another consideration to party creation.
Anyway, all-in-all I found Suikoden to be a fantastic experience. The criticisms I could throw at the game are too minor and few to even discuss, and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Its unique feature of so many playable characters was intimidating at first, but I grew to adore the system, savouring the almost Pokémon-esque "Gotta catch 'em all" nature of recruitment, and relishing the prospect of trying out new characters and combinations whenever I could.
The game is nearly two decades old, and I'd be lucky if this blog had even a dozen followers in two decades (har-har), so it doesn't mean all that much coming from me, but I have to thank the team behind it. Suikoden is adored the world over by a community of fans, and their number just grew by one. The game took me on a wonderful journey and I grew attached to a band of characters that will remain with me for a long time. If you're a fan of older games, JRPGs, fine stories... hell, if you enjoy video games then I can certainly recommend this one. It's like a book you can't put down, and I'm eager to begin the sequel.
