Suikoden II

1998 · RPG · PlayStation

About Suikoden II

Suikoden II (1998) is Konami's PlayStation role-playing game of 108 Stars of Destiny and two friends split by the halves of one rune, a sprite-based sequel that sold poorly in the West and became a cult classic.

Suikoden II in Depth

The silent protagonist and his best friend, Jowy Atreides, survive a false-flag massacre of their Highland youth brigade staged by the brutal Prince Luca Blight to justify invading the City-States of Jowston. Each of them receives half of the Rune of the Beginning, one of the 27 True Runes, which drives its two bearers to fight until one falls, much to the grief of the hero's adoptive sister Nanami. Over 100 characters can be recruited, often through a short side quest, and more than 40 fight; save data from the first Suikoden brings returning characters in stronger, and its hero can be recruited.

Combat comes in three forms. Ordinary turn-based battles field up to six characters, who can perform "unite attacks" that reflect their relationships. Duels are rock-paper-scissors contests of attack, wild attack and defend, with the opponent's dialogue as a hint. Army battles now play out on a grid like Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Fire Emblem: recruited characters lead or support units that add attack, defence and abilities, and a character killed there is gone for good. Experience depends on the level gap between party and enemies, so low-level characters catch up quickly. New features include three rune slots, a party inventory, a dash button and minigames, one reminiscent of Iron Chef.

Making Suikoden II

The series began when Konami assigned newcomers Murayama and Junko Kawano, with ten others, to its first PlayStation games; offered a baseball game, a racing game or an RPG, they revived an RPG project, aiming for a franchise to rival Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. After the first Suikoden succeeded, Murayama wrote most of the sequel's story himself. Konami released it in Japan on 17 December 1998, in North America on 29 September 1999 and in Europe in July 2000.

It sold well in Japan, but in the West its 2D sprites looked dated at a time when 3D graphics were emphasised, and it met lacklustre sales and a modest reception, though Metacritic still records favourable reviews and Next Generation called it "one of the best RPGs to hit PlayStation this year". Since the 2010s critics have often named it the best Suikoden and one of the greatest RPGs. It was paired with the first game on the PSP in 2006 and remastered as Suikoden I & II HD Remaster in 2025.

Suikoden II Trivia

Luca Blight hates Jowston after watching Jowstonian soldiers rape his mother in an earlier war.
Recruiting all 108 Stars of Destiny unlocks the best ending, in which Nanami turns out to have faked her death.
Writer Yoshitaka Murayama decided from fan letters that the first game's story was its selling point, and made story the sequel's focus.
Murayama has said he would have preferred to make a shoot 'em up, such as Taito's Metal Black.
Its limited Western print run was never reprinted, because the initial response was so lacklustre.