September Retro Community Playthrough - Suikoden II

[SirPsycho]

I havent played in a couple days but I'm. ..

Spoiler (hover to show)

 About to meet Nash and Jillia at the Highland camp. You'll understand the Nash part when I play the Suikogaidens for everybody.

[techwizard]

i know there were a few more who had played the first game that showed interest in this one back in june, come out of the woodwork guys

[GrayGhost81]

i know there were a few more who had played the first game that showed interest in this one back in june, come out of the woodwork guys

Indeed.

[SirPsycho]

I keep hoping to get the Anita glitch where she's level 99 when you recruit her but its never happened to me.

[SirPsycho]

I don't care, I'm double posting since its just Gray and I playing.

These are the big tactical battles. I mentioned them briefly in the podcast for the first game, but here is their full glory. In this particular battle that little unit in the middle is Gilbert, and you have to keep him alive since he's a Star of Destiny.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/Kw11TyU.jpg[/img]

When you or the enemy attack a specific unit you get this sweet animation of individual soldiers charging at each other. This is Miklotov, he's a Star himself but at this point he's controlled by the AI and it will be a long time before he's recruited. You can actually visit the town he hails from, Matilda, by using the infamous gate glitch. You can really line your pockets and level up like mad while running around. Assuming you can survive even one battle of course.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i.imgur.com/NaJVrPe.jpg[/img]

Now, for some plot updates...

Spoiler (hover to show)

 Muse has fallen. Anabelle has fallen with her city. RIP Viktor's girlfriend. The next day Riou, Nanami, and Pilika meet up with Riou's knife throwing girlfriend... that probably sounds worse than it is. The traveling performers, Rina the fortune telling seductress, Eilie the knife throwing beauty, and Bolgan the simple fire spitter are back with the group! Sadly, the small port town of Coronet fell to Luca Blight's Highland forces the same night as Muse, and he has blocked all boats from leaving port.

All seems lost when Riou runs into a familiar face. Sheena? Yes, Sheena, President Lepant's son, is also searching for travel out of the town. Riou steps into the house that Sheena just left and finds two more familiar faces for your players, Tai Ho and Yam Koo. You guessed it, Tai Ho will set sail if you manage to beat him at a game of Chinchirorin. Riou rolls three of a kind to get double his money back, and Tai Ho agrees. Riou gathers up the girls and Bolgan and the party sets sail for Kuskus, where their goal is now the city of South Window. In Kuskus Riou hears some whispers about a monster taking over North Window. That could be worth investigating, for now, he's focused on South Window, Leona said she'd be there after all! Mmm, Leona. *drools*

[img width=225 height=410]http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100228205451/suikoden/images/1/1d/Leona01.gif[/img]

[techwizard]

those screenshots look really cool!

[douglie007]

So are we just playing or is there going to be check points? I just finished two rivers.

[SirPsycho]

So are we just playing or is there going to be check points? I just finished two rivers.

Gray mentioned he wasn't going to do checkpoints for this game since its long and the transitions are less defined. Getting HQ in week one would have been a daunting task for those with limited play time. Next play session I have I am going to rush to HQ myself though.

On another note, Two River is one of my favorite cities in the entire series.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I love the racial aspect of it. The segregation and oppression becomes one of the most memorable aspects of the city. There are the humans, which are basically in complete control of the city. Then there are the kobolds, which are rather respected by the humans and have some influential leaders, but they also live on the far side of the city. Those relations might remain warm as a result of the race in the middle, the Wingers. The Wingers are economically oppressed, which naturally leads many to petty crimes such as pickpocketing and mugging just to be able to squeak by. Of course this only makes their situation worse since the humans and kobolds crack down on the criminals and give them less opportunities for advancement. The entire race gets written off as worthless, lazy criminals, so nobody wants to hire one. It sounds like a familiar cycle that those of us in the States can recognize.

[Disposed Hero]

I finally popped this in yesterday.  This game's story really grips you right from the beginning.  It was nice to see a couple of familiar faces early on.  Also, what I've heard of the soundtrack so far is already better than the entirety of the first game's soundtrack.

Anyway, I made it to the first town and went to the inn to save, and I was told that there wasn't enough free space on my memory card.... 

[SirPsycho]

If you're playing on PS3 you can make virtual memory cards and switch them on the fly.

[Disposed Hero]

I'm playing on a PS2 with an original PS1 memory card, so I was SOL at that moment.  I've since cleared some space on my card, so I'm good to go for next time.

[GrayGhost81]

Good to see people coming out the woodwork. To be clear, no there are no checkpoints this month. This is quite a long game so make your own pace and let the conversation here guide you.

[techwizard]

checkpoints are always difficult in non-linear games, what's half-way for you could be near the end for someone else. good call on the no checkpoints this time imo

[douglie007]

[img width=700 height=700]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/10/b4c0c750ac1d1460d8db07ce47689ac4.jpg[/img]  just wanted to show off my svideo and component pics
Svideo was from a ps3 and the component from a ps2

[techwizard]

the top is s-video? wow that difference