A game worth far more than one would want to put out, Suikoden II has become both famous and notorious to many gamers. Suikoden II was released little more than 10 years ago in late 1999 for US (1998 for Japan). Due to the limited number of copies in the market, the game soon became a valuable collectible to game enthusiasts and perhaps a baffling farce for others. Yet, putting that aside, Suikoden II is most remembered for the amazing experience that was delivered to those who were fortunate enough to have played it. Though Suikoden II is not the first of many rare titles, it may have been the one to make gamers ask and ponder a game’s value beyond monetary measure.
When it comes to games, storytellers go out of their way to make excuses for why particular people or groups of people are somehow the chosen ones destined to save a town, kingdom or world. There is McGuffin that explains everything and makes it okay. Suikoden is no different. It has a True Rune mechanic that always offers a plausible excuse for why ingénues are suddenly leading entire armies and deciding the fate of a nation. These True Runes act as an origin story, make ordinary people extraordinary and even provide a reason for entire wars.
Suikoden is a series with more than a few recurring characters. There are many explanations for these recurring cameos. Some of the people are True Rune holders, which essentially grants them a form of immortality. (Though not invincibility.) In the case of Viki, it appears her Blinking Rune frees her from the binds of space and time. And then there's Jeane. Jeane has appeared in all five numbered Suikoden games, as well as Genso Suikogaiden Vol. 1 and Suikoden Tactics. Even though these take place across across a substantial period of time, she is eternal and unchanged. What's going on?
They are too busy with casinos and pachinko slots to bring back Suikoden...
A return of the series would be awesome, but they are like Valve, too busy to bring back what fans really want.
Teleportation mechanics aren’t uncommon in RPGs. These sorts of games can have huge worlds, which makes manually walking to places an unwelcome prospect. In some situations, there’s a simple spell that lets you instantly return to important places. Suikoden takes that idea and improves on it. Each of the numbered installments in the main series calls upon Viki, a young woman with an extraordinary rune, to add a little something extraordinary to an otherwise ordinary mechanic.
I hope they bring the Suikoden franchise back. Too bad the property belongs to Konami.
Brings back great memories. This was my favorite out of all 5. I think it's worth owning, expensive or not.