June Retro Community Playthrough - Suikoden

[Disposed Hero]

I decided to just say 'screw it' to leveling up all the transferable characters and am just charging ahead with beating the game.  The EXP grinding was just taking too long, even with a Fortune Rune equipped (x2 EXP).  I'm not sure how long the endgame portion is, but I may possibly finish it tonight.

Also recruited all 108 Stars of Destiny!

[GrayGhost81]

Alright I think it's time to unveil my final boss artwork.

THIS IS A SPOILER! IT WILL SHOW YOU EXACTLY WHAT THE FINAL BOSS LOOKS LIKE AND HOW TO BEAT HIM! HOVER AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=700 height=555]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/grayghost81/IMG_20140614_090311_891-1_zps02746187.jpg[/img]

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Is that a whiteboard or paper?

[singlebanana]

I peeked. Couldn't help it. Unreal.

[GrayGhost81]

Is that a whiteboard or paper?

That's an original Sharpie on HP Universal Printer Paper. Glad ya'll like it!

[SirPsycho]

This interview with the creator of the Suikoden series was just released on Facebook by the Suikoden Revival Movement.

https://www.facebook.com/...p?note_id=619511931478328

[Boshamp]

Almost done with this one. All 108 recruited, all side quest items obtained, just needing to finish the final dungeon/boss...but it is late and I have to work in the morning. ha ha

Fun play on words I thought of altering, but involves a week 4 story-related recruit...

Spoiler (hover to show)

Tir: "So anyways, I was standing there waiting to march on the castle."
Pahn: "Yeah, he was, seriously."
Tir: "And this guy who I thought was dead, appears out of thin air and looks at me like this."
Pahn: "And who do you think that guy was?"
Tir: "Gremio Tenei"
Pahn: "The Axe of the Oath wielder, I swear to God, I was there."
Tir: "Of course you were, you were the one who yelled the heroic star's name."
Pahn: "I was like, "Gremioooooooooooo!!!""

[Disposed Hero]

I finished Suikoden last night.  Truth be told, I never actually beat this game way back in the day even though I always say I did.  I made it to the final boss, but after several attempts, I could never beat him.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I guess I never figured out that the heads had to be taken out in a specific order to keep them from respawning.

I kinda wish I hadn't looked at the drawing GrayGhost posted before because knowing the exact pattern made the fight too easy.  It would have been more satisfying to figure it out on my own.  Ah well....

It's been great revisiting this classic with you guys.  Looking forward to playing Suikoden II (hopefully) in the near future!

[Fleach]

Almost done with this one. All 108 recruited, all side quest items obtained, just needing to finish the final dungeon/boss...but it is late and I have to work in the morning. ha ha

Fun play on words I thought of altering, but involves a week 4 story-related recruit...

Spoiler (hover to show)

Tir: "So anyways, I was standing there waiting to march on the castle."
Pahn: "Yeah, he was, seriously."
Tir: "And this guy who I thought was dead, appears out of thin air and looks at me like this."
Pahn: "And who do you think that guy was?"
Tir: "Gremio Tenei"
Pahn: "The Axe of the Oath wielder, I swear to God, I was there."
Tir: "Of course you were, you were the one who yelled the heroic star's name."
Pahn: "I was like, "Gremioooooooooooo!!!""

Isn't that a twist on a scene from A Night at the Roxbury?

[SirPsycho]

I just beat the game. Here's a quick rundown of what you should do and who you should take to the final showdown in Gregminster.

Spoiler (hover to show)

If you looked at Ghost's graphic detailing the final boss you may notice one element that none of the heads are immune to. Earth. Hellion comes equipped with a Mother Earth Rune, and the level 3 spell on it Earthquake can damage every head at once. Her magic skill is naturally very high, and since her Mother Earth Rune cannot be unequipped then she is pretty much a requirement for your heavy magic user.

Kai as usual to get through the trash leading up the boss without issue. Load him up with Mega Medicine and have him item heal in the final showdown.

Valeria's Falcon Rune is a critical hit every single turn. Get her built up and take her along for this final ride.

Viktor, Flik, and Tir are required.

Make sure everybody has at least one stack of Mega Medicine so they can heal themselves in a pinch. And, in case you're paranoid, give everybody a Sacrificial Buddha for battle resurrection.

Front Row:
Viktor, Flik, Valeria
Attack: Attack: Falcon

Back Row:
Tir, Hellion, Kai
Attack: Turn 1 Guardian Earth, Earthquake until out of MP, then Heal if needed: Heal (attack if no heals are needed)

Hellion's Earthquakes damage every head, focus attacks on the left head until its dead, then the right, then finally the center. I did this and nobody needed to even use their Buddha.

[Boshamp]

Isn't that a twist on a scene from A Night at the Roxbury?

Yes! I am so glad someone got the reference. ha ha ha

[Boshamp]

I just beat the game. Here's a quick rundown of what you should do and who you should take to the final showdown in Gregminster.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I just finished it as well. I hadn't examined the different base stats on characters, so I wasn't sure who would do well with magic over someone else, or who would benefit from a certain rune. I ended up going with all story-based characters for my final boss encounter; the required three with Gremio, Pahn, and Cleo. I didn't understand the difference behind all the runes as far as which were more powerful or what the spells within each were, so I just equipped all my characters with two buddas and a mega medicine each. I ended up with a Cyclone Rune equipped, which was very important to me succeeding in the final battle, allowing me to complete the task without using any buddas or medicine and being able to focus on attacking.

Finally, A few pics of my experience from the end.

Spoiler (hover to show)

 Perfect Final Battle, no lives lost.
[img width=550 height=328]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/Scott_Breaze/WP_20140619_002_zps0d6d4369.jpg?t=1403219825[/img]

All the paints from the side quest.
[img width=550 height=328]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/Scott_Breaze/WP_20140618_001_zpsd3f8d963.jpg?t=1403219825[/img]

Chose a window setting from those items turned in to match my Colorado Rockies Baseball team. Sounds were pretty sweet to get also, and reading those eight books was a treat to learn more about the background of the story.
[img width=550 height=328]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/Scott_Breaze/WP_20140619_001_zpse79db278.jpg?t=1403219825[/img]

And finally...The "Good" ending screen.
[img width=550 height=328]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/Scott_Breaze/WP_20140620_002_zps81f44205.jpg?t=1403249295[/img]

[Disposed Hero]

I wanted to go over my endgame party/strategy as well:

Spoiler (hover to show)

My party consisted of:
Front row:
Flik, Valeria, Viktor

Back row:
Cleo, Tir, Tengaar

I had Flik use his higher level magic (Lightning Rune) until he ran out, then he did standard attacks.  Valeria used her Falcon rune the entire time.  Viktor did standard attacks with a Killer Rune equipped.

I gave Cleo a Flowing rune, making her my healer (used standard attacks if healing wasn't needed).  Tir used his level 4 then level 2 magic until he was out (or until there was only one head left, whichever was first), then used standard attacks.  Tengaar had a Rage rune equipped and used spells the entire time (except when I needed to attack the fire-immune head, then she used standard attacks).

I went with Tengaar because I wanted a dedicated mage, but I didn't like that most of the characters with higher magic stats were short range attackers.  Tengaar has a long range weapon, so she can sit comfortably in the back row.

Some other characters that were in my rotation throughout the game:
Sheena - good character, but felt too similar to Flik
Humphrey - strong, but slow and low magic stat means he takes massive damage from spells
Camille - good, but felt too similar to Cleo
Pesmerga - didn't use him long because his attacks seemed to miss often
Kirkis - don't remember why I stopped using him.  maybe his attacks were weak?
Pahn - good fighter, but magic stats were low and I wanted more versatile characters
Fu Su Lu - same as Pahn

I don't think it's been mentioned in this thread, but you can actually do unite attacks using spells as well.  I noticed this during the final boss fight when I used both Flik and Tengaar's level 4 magic (Lightning and Rage rune, respectively).

[singlebanana]

Neclord down. On to the finish line.

[singlebanana]

By the way, how do you know what level your castle is?