Suikoden

Did You Know?

• A VIP bot in Astro Bot (2024) called the First Star is designed with the clothing and Bō-staff of the Suikoden I protagonist and features the Rune of Life and Death.
• Suikoden III was adapted into a manga by Aki Shimizu, released in English by Tokyopop.
• The protagonist of Suikoden I appears as a character in Mitsumete Knight R (1998) for PlayStation.

Elements

In the Suikoden series, the player controls a battle party of up to six characters—the protagonist and five others—though Suikoden IV reduces this to four fighters and one support. The core objective is to defeat opponents by recruiting all 108 Stars of Destiny, who can then serve as party members. Each game features its own set of Stars of Destiny. Gameplay involves exploring towns across different islands and dungeons filled with monsters. The player acquires a base or headquarters, often an abandoned castle, which becomes a bustling community after capture. Three recurring battle types appear in every game: Basic Battle, One-on-one Duel, and Strategic War Battle. Basic Battle is the most common, where the six-member team fights turn-based, with commands including Fight, Run, Bribe (using Potch to escape), and Auto (automatic attack). One-on-one Duel is a special event where a single character fights in a turn-based rock-paper-scissors style, with enemy dialogue hinting at the next command; in Suikoden V, command selection is timed to three seconds.

Development

The Suikoden series was created, written, produced, and overseen by Yoshitaka Murayama, who left Konami near the end of Suikoden III's development. Noritada Matsukawa then served as Senior Director of Suikoden III, and later directed Suikoden IV, which was produced by Junko Kawano, the chief designer of Suikoden I. Suikoden V was directed by Takahiro Sakiyama. Konami developers later stated that the Suikoden development team had disbanded, with members scattered across Konami and other companies, following disappointing sales of later entries. Despite this, Konami presented a trailer for Genso Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century at Tokyo Game Show 2011; it released in Japan for PSP on February 12, 2012, to lackluster reviews. In 2015, The Nikkei reported that development on the series had halted. On March 3 and 4, 2025, Konami announced a new gacha game spinoff, Suikoden: Star Leap, set chronologically between Suikoden I and V and fully canonical, as part of a revival plan that also includes an anime adaptation of Suikoden II, a stage play of Suikoden I, and a touring orchestral concert.

World, setting, and concepts

Each Suikoden game follows a plot formula: a coup by corrupt power holders, the protagonist exiled from home, the disastrous misuse of True Runes, and a climactic showdown with a corrupted True Rune incarnation. The 27 True Runes are sentient sources of all magic and primal forces, equivalent to gods in the Suikoden world. They grant immortality to bearers—stopping aging and granting immunity to disease—though bearers can still die from physical trauma. True Runes often attach to living beings, giving power over the rune's aspect of nature, but can have negative effects, such as the Moon Rune turning its bearer into a vampire. A True Rune can also manifest as a physical object, like the Star Dragon Sword embodying the Night Rune, or self-activate without a host, as the Beast Rune did during the Highland-Jowston conflict. The creation story of the Suikoden universe is found in books within the games, such as 'Old Book Vol.1' from Suikoden I. Identified True Runes include the Gate Rune, Rune of Life and Death (Soul Eater), Rune of the Beginning, Rune of Punishment, True Elemental Runes (Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning), Sun Rune, Sovereign Rune, Hachifusa (Eight-Fold) Rune, Circle Rune, Rune of Change, Moon Rune, Night Rune, Beast Rune, and Dragon Rune.

Music collections

The Suikoden games have soundtracks well regarded by the gaming community, though as of 2007 they were only released in Japan. A series of arranged soundtracks was released from late 2001 to 2004, drawing music from Suikoden, Suikoden II, Suikoden III, and occasionally the Suikogaiden side-stories. These include: Genso Suikoden Music Collection Produced by Hiroyuki Nanba (December 29, 2001, 10 tracks); Genso Suikoden Music Collection Produced by Kentaro Haneda (April 24, 2002, 10 tracks); Genso Suikoden Vocal Collection ~La passione commuove la storia~ (July 3, 2002, 10 tracks); Genso Suikoden Vocal Collection ~Distant Stars, Echoes of Love~ (January 22, 2003, 10 tracks); Genso Suikoden Piano Collection ~Avertunerio Antes Lance Mao~ (December 18, 2002, 13 tracks, not solely piano solos); Genso Suikoden Celtic Collection (March 5, 2003, 12 tracks in Celtic style); Genso Suikoden Celtic Collection 2 (August 20, 2003, 12 tracks); Genso Suikoden Music Collection ~Asian Collection~ (November 27, 2003, 12 tracks); and Genso Suikoden Piano Collection 2 (January 21, 2004, 12 tracks).