Menu























Log In Sign Up
GameFAQs

BOARDSNEWSQ&A

Suikoden V – Guide and Walkthrough

PlayStation 2
Guides

Q&A

Board

More
Recommend this Guide? Yes No

Jump to: Last Viewed

Guide and Walkthrough by 29_Rooks

Version: 1.3 | Updated: 08/25/2010
Walkthrough for Suikoden V
--by Twenty-Nine Rooks

Contact -- [email protected]

=============================================================================
[Legal]
Copyright R.K. Hughes
This document may not be reproduced in whole or part without the expressed
consent of the author. You may not host this file without the consent of the
author. Websites authorized to host this file are: GameFaqs.com,
SuikoSource.com, and their direct, individual subsidiaries. This document
represents the author's experience. The author and this document are not
affiliated with nor endorsed in any way by Konami Entertainment. Suikoden
and all related characters are copyright Konami Entertainment (Tokyo) inc.
==============================================================================

This Guide was created using OpenOffice.org word processor, and is best
Viewed with Mozilla FireFox.

The Author strongly supports open-source programs. Please support these

great organizations. And remember, just because it is free, does not mean
that it is open-source.

========== Table of Contents ==========

Section 0: Introduction
0.1----------Using this Guide / Formatting Notes: section 0.1
0.2----------FAQ: section 0.2
0.3----------Skills / Statistics primer section 0.3

Section 1: Walkthrough
1.1----------Chapter 1
1.2----------Chapter 2
1.3----------Chapter 3
1.4----------Chapter 4
1.5----------Chapter 5

Section 2: Guides
1.1----------Character Recruitment and Evaluation
1.2----------Rune Acquisition and Evaluation
1.3----------Skills, Epic Skills, and Statistics
1.4----------Money Making and Trade
1.5----------Bath Sequences

Section 3: Closing
3.1----------Essay: The Silent Protagonist and Enchantment
3.2----------Looking to the Future of Suikoden
3.3----------Acknowledgments

**Additional Thanks To:

TrueWater
Dex
KFCrispy
SuikoSource.com

-- Version History --
Version 1.2 -- Initial Release
Version 1.3 -- Added comunity input, corrected minor errors.

==========================================================================
==========================================================================

Section 0

==========================================================================
==========================================================================

----------- Using this Guide / Formatting Notes ---------- section 0.1

Like all other Walkthroughs, use the Ctrl + F function to find anything. I
have formatted this guide very carefully though, to allow for easier access
to a number of its features.

The individual chapters are very long, so to find where you left off in the
walkthrough, hit Ctrl + F, then use the name of the place where you are
currently, typed all in CAPS, then select the "Match Case" box and hit the
"Find" button. You will jump to that particular area as your character reach
in the main storyline. For example: Hit Ctrl +F, enter "STORMFIST," make
sure the "Match Case" box is checked, then press the "Find" Button.
Alternatively, use the name of the Character you last recruited, preceded by
a hyphen: Ctrl + F "-Kyle" and you will find the entry for that character
inside the Walkthrough.

If you want information on a specific Character or Rune, then type in the

name preceded by a backslash "/Rage Rune" or "/Georg" etc.

If you want to find where an item appears in a treasure chest in the game,
then enter the name of the item in CAPS and brackets: [LEATHER ARMOR]. You
will scroll through every instance where that item appears in a chest in the
game.
If you want to find an item dropped by enemies, either in Party Battles or
Major Battles, just enter the name of the item normally, and turn the "Match
Case" on: "Flowing Rune Piece"

The Match Case function should always be on. It may seem that I have somewhat
random capitalization, but this is to help you find things easily using the
Ctrl + F function.

---------- Frequently Asked Questions ---------- section 0.2

Q: Are you just making these questions up?

A: Yes

Q: Suikoden V was released in 2006, why write a guide for it now?

A: Well, first off, I have been a fan of Suikoden ever since I happened on
Suikoden I back in '97. Suikoden V is great game, albeit with many problems,
but I was unhappy with the Guides currently available. Either they were
hammered out in the weeks and moths following the game's release, or, they
were simply juvenile. So, I decided to write a more extensive and definitive
guide for the game.

Q: Honestly, I don't like your guide, can you recommend another?

A: Sure. Cyril's walkthrough on GameFaqs / Suikosource is a good walkthrough.
Blazefeeler's LV 60 character stats guide is also very helpful. Other than
that, I honestly cannot recommend some of the guides, though.

Q: What will be different in this guide as compared to others?

A: First, I want to strike a balance between giving you advice and letting
you do things on your own, which makes the game much more fun. Second, this
game -like all the Suikodens- has a massive cast of characters. Mostly,
people choose characters for their party based on who they have used before
and who they are most familiar with, this means that you can play through
the game without using even half of the Stars of Destiny in battle.

With this in mind, I will give you some more detailed character info, plus my
own personal opinions on their strength in battle. This will help you to
choose the right party, as well as use some of the characters that you would
not use otherwise.

Q: I think Jeane is hot.

A: I'm sorry, but your question must be in the form of a question.

Q: What is it about this game that makes it so great?

A: Well, the graphics are horrible, and it was clearly incomplete when it was
released in 2006. But the thing that makes this and the other games in this
series so great is the storytelling. This is likely the most elaborate,
deepest fictional universe ever created for a game series as well as one of
the most compelling. All great games are about the compelling nature of
their narrative, not about graphics, features, and other such tripe.

Q: Is there some trick to raise your characters to Lv 99?

A: Not that I know of. Besides, this game is easy enough without that. To me,
the only real disappointment in this game is its lack of any major
difficulty.

Q: Is the Stat Stones Trick in this sequel?

A: No, some new programming language made it impossible to duplicate the use
of the Stat Stones, sorry.

Q: What over Guides can you recommend for the other Suikoden Titles?
A: For Suikoden I, both ryhxx and A.Kishan has good walkthroughs. For S II,
then ryhxx just released his walkthrough for that game. Suikoden III's best
walkthrough by far is by Dan Crenshaw. For IV, well. . . honestly I don't
care enough about IV to rank any of the walkthroughs.

Q: I strongly dissagree with you on (X) part of the walkthrough. Or, I have
a correction or suggestion. How can I contact you?
A: My email adress for video game guides and walkthroughs is:

[email protected]

You can contact me there. Though this is a public email, so I do get a lot
of Spam. Please don't be offended if it takes me some time to reply.

---------- STATISTICS, EQUIPMENT & SKILLS ---------- section 0.2

Before we begin the walkthrough, I feel I need to go over these subjects in-
depth. We will start with statistics:

There are several stats in Suikoden V: Hit Points (HP), Attack (ATTK),
Defense (PDEF), Magic Defense (MDEF), Technique (TECH), Accuracy (ACC),
Evasion (EVA) Speed (SPD), and Luck.

Attack is simply the character's weapon strength added to the character's

base strength. Since weapons are always equipped in the game, the status
screen always shows the combined amount. A weapon can be between LV 1 and LV
16, depending on how many times you have sharpened it. A character's base
strength differs from character to character, and increases along with their
level.

Defense is a combination of a character's Base Physical Defense and the

defense provided from the equipment they are wearing. Base Defense increases
with character level, but varies little from character to character, and
does not contribute much to their overall defense. In this game, Defense is
largely determined by equipment. Different Characters can wear different
levels of equipment. There is: Tunic/Cloth equipment, Leather, Mail, Light
Armor, and Heavy Armor. The heavier the armor, the more its defense, but be
warned that Light and Heavy Armors can reduce a character's speed.

The Magic Defense stat is based almost entirely on a character's Base Magic
defense. This varies heavily from character to character, and increases with
level. There are some pieces of equipment that increase magic defense, but
they are few and only increase it by a small amount. Also, characters can
increase their defense for different magic elements individually, but I will
cover that in a bit.
Technique offers a combination of different skills. It raises a character's
ability to Parry direct attacks (some characters, especially Long-Range
Characters, cannot parry), it increases Accuracy, and it also is a major
factor in determining a character's Critical Rate.

Accuracy is based on the Technique stat, but can be influenced separately

through some equipment and runes. For example: Some glove items increase
Accuracy, but Technique. So, they do not influence Critical Rates or Parry
Rates, but they do offer a greater chance of connecting with direct attacks.

Evasion is simply a rating of how adept the character is at dodging direct

attacks. In battle, the attacker's Accuracy is measured against the Target's
Evasion, and a percentage of successful hit is produced. A character needs
to have strong Evasion before they can dodge enemy attacks with any
fequency.

Speed determines which characters act first every battle turn. The higher a
character's speed, the more likely they are to act before the enemy, giving
you a distinct advantage. However, at a certain point, characters with high
speed will always act before the enemy, and then it becomes useless to raise
that character's speed any higher. Speed is a valuable stat, but raising it
too high can prove a waste of time.

Luck effects many things that a character does. Essentially, it effects every
thing in the game that depends on a percentage. So, Luck can increase
Critical Rate, it can also increase the Rate at which enemies drop treasure,
and how ofter certain spells that have a percentage take effect. For
example: the LV 1 Shield Magic has a 40% chance of endowing characters with
the beneficial Fury status effect. Characters with high luck are more likely
to be effected.

--Elemental Statistics and Combinations--

Each character has a ranking -from the weakest rating E, D, C, B, A, S, the

strongest- on the status screen for each Element in the game. The Elements
are Sun (Su), Fire (Fi), Lightning (Li), Wind (Wi), Water (Wa), Earth (Ea),
Star (St), Sound (So), Holy (Ho), Darkness (Da), Slash (Sl), Thrust (Th),
Punch (Pu), and Shot (Sh).

The higher a character rates in each category, the more powerful their
offense and defense for that category becomes.

Sun is the element of the Sun Rune, and the Twilight and Dawn Runes. Fire is
for Fire Magic, etc. Sound is for use of a Unique Rune only carried by one
character, and for defense it is only useful against the DoReMi Elf enemies,
who as far as I know are the only enemies to use Sound Magic. Holy magic
effects the use of both the Shield and Resurrection Runes, and as far as I
know, there are no enemies that attack using Holy magic. Darkness effects
the Condemnation Rune. Slash is not "Magic," so to speak, but effects a
character's defense and offense with Swords, Axes, and other slashing
weapons. Thrust effects Spear weapons, Punch Gauntlets and Fists, and Shot
effects Bows, Crossbows, Throwing Weapons, etc.

So, if you are up against a tough enemy that uses Fire Magic, bring
characters that not only have high MDEF, but also high Fire Magic affinity.
This is what I call a statistic combination. The MDEF reduces damage, while
the affinity increases the likelihood of that character "Resisting" any
given Fire Magic spell. If a character Resists a spell, the word "Resist"
will appear above their head as they are struck, and the spell will deal
roughly one half the normal damage. With an Affinity of the highest S-rank,
characters will almost always resist magic from that element.

Other statistical combinations have little to do with magic. As I mentioned,

Luck can play a large role in many aspects of the game. A character with
high Luck will seemingly outperform their other stats, with more evasion,
criticals, parries, etc.

A character's parry rate is determined by a combination of their DEF and

TECH. Note that some characters cannot Parry at all, and others will have a
similar ability called "Weapon Defense." The difference is simply that
Swords and Axes Parry, while Staff, Club, and other such weapons can
"Defend." If this sounds complicated, don't worry "Parry" and "Weapon
Defense" are the same thing. Some Characters that have high DEF and TECH
stats can greatly outperform their Defense by Parrying.

There are other statistical combinations, but I will talk about these as we
go, it is better just to leave the subject here before it gets too
complicated.

--Skills--
Skills return once again in Suikoden V, after first being introduced in
Suikoden III and being left out of IV. However, the effect of skills is now
much more balanced. In Suikoden III, Skills were the single greatest factor
in a character's strength. Here in V, there is a nice balance between Rune,
Stats and Skills.

All characters have access to the "Common Skills." On the Physical side:
Stamina increases HP. Attack effects ATK. Defense is self-explanatory.
Technique increases Accuracy and other unseen stats that I discussed
previously. Agility increases Speed, and a character's ability to hit
multiple times in one attack. Vitality increases the unseen critical stat.

In Magic, things are much more simple: Magic increases magic power. Magic
Defense needs no commentary. And Incantation helps your characters cast
spells faster in battle.

Each Skill require Skill Points to level up, and each character will be more
adept at using some Skills and less adept at others. For example: Sialeeds
is a mage character. Her Magic Skill can rise to an S-rank, but her Stamina
Skill maxes out at a C-rank. While a fighter like Georg can raise his
Vitality to SS-rank, but his Magic Defense is less stellar.

The general rule is that the more SP a Skills costs to level up, the Lower
that Skill can max out at. Skills level up from E-D-C-B-A-S-SS. Though very
few people can access any skills that rank double-S. So, a Skill that maxes
out at an A-rank will actually cost more per level than a skill that Maxes
out at an S-rank. It is for this reason that I suggest you use Skills that
characters excel at rather than ones they are mediocre in. While this might
seem obvious at first, once you start playing the game, it is tempting to -
for example- give Sialeeds the Stamina Skill as a way to help her low HP
stat. But this is a mistake, as you will spend a large amount of SP for a
small effect.

--Epic Skills--
Here is where things get a bit complex. Epic skills are skills that effect
more than one stat, but you must develop all related skills in order for
your character to even have access to the Epic Skill. So, In order to access
the Raging Lion Epic, which gives bonuses to both Stamina and Attack, you
must first have an A-rank in Stamina and Attack. Then, you will gin access
to Raging Lion at an E-rank and can upgrade and equip it normally.

The availability of Epics is another matter of concern. Some characters can

achieve high marks in both Stamina and Attack, but simply do not have access
to the Raging Lion Epic Skill. One good example of this is the dwarf, Wabon.
He is one of the strongest and highest HP characters in the game, but
inexplicably has no access to Raging Lion. Another example is Jeane, with
one of the highest Magic, Magic Defense, and Incantation skills, you would
think she would have access to Sacred Oath, the ultimate Magic Epic Skill.
In fact, Jeane cannot use Sacred Oath.

The Epic skills must be found in treasure chests or be acquired in another

way. Don't worry, I cover all of them in the walkthrough.

Epic Skills are: Armor of Gods (Defense / Magic Defense). Raging Lion (Attack
/ Stamina). Swift Foot (Technique / Agility). Fate Control (Attack /
Technique). Karmic Effect (Defense / Technique). All-Out Strike (Incantation
/ Technique / Agility). Triple Harmony (Attack / Vitality / Agility). Zen
Sword (Attack / Incantation). Untold Clarity (All Physical Skills except
Stamina). Divine Right (Magic / Incantation). Sacred Oath (Magic / Magic
Defense / Incantation). And Royal Paradise (All Skills).

A few notes: Zen Sword and Sacred Oath also effect the Sword of Magic Skill,
which is used in conjunction with the Elemental Sword Runes. More on that in
a bit. Also, whomever translated this game made a couple of errors here:
Triple Harmony and All-Out Strike's names were switched somehow, and Divine
Right should be Divine "Rite". But I guess that is just semantics.

Generally, an Epic has a weaker effect to each stat than its basic
counterparts. The effect tends to be weakened by one full level. So,
equipping Swift Foot at an A-rank will give the same bonus as equipping both
Technique and Agility at a B-rank. The obvious advantage is that since every
character can only equip two skills -and some have permanent skills in one
slot- having the multiple effects makes the character more balanced and
versatile. There seem to be some exceptions though. First, there is a huge
addition to statistics when a skill becomes S-rank, and then again if that
skill can become SS-rank. This gives a big advantage to any character that
can achieve S-ranks in skills. Also, Royal Paradise tends to defy this as
well, especially in the S and SS-ranks. While it can be difficult to tell
exactly, Royal Paradise seems to give a larger bonus than other Epic Skills
per statistic at the high ranks.

--Equipment--
Suikoden V is much like III in that a character's equipment is the largest
factor in their physical defense. When I talk about a character's Defense
Stat, I am actually referring to what type of armor that they are capable of
equipping. There are several levels of armor in the game, and sometimes
characters can equip surprisingly "heavy" armor. For example, among Mages,
Nelis can wear some nice armor that gives her a real advantage at times.
Most Short-Range Fighters can wear the two heaviest types of Armor, though
sometimes they can only mix and match. Hazuki can wear heavy Gauntlets and
Greaves, but can only wear the lighter Body and Head armors. While Isabel
can wear all of the heaviest armor in the game.

Also, while most characters hover around the same PDEF with all their armor
removed, some like Galleon will have a small -but noticeable- advantage in
base PDEF.

So, all of these things are taken into account when determining a character's
Defense. When I talk about the Defense Stat though, remember that it simply
reflects my own experience and there could be something that I missed, or
simply ignored when I compared that character to another.

I think that will do for our Primer, I will talk about these subjects more
after the walkthrough.

=============================================================================
=============================================================================

WALKTHROUGH. Section 1.0

============================================================================
============================================================================

Hello and welcome to Suikoden V.

Start a new game, and you will be asked to name the main character. Name him
whatever you wish. After this game was released, Konami did give him and
official name: Freyjadour Falenas, (pronounced Fray-a-door) shortened to
Frey. But I will be referring to him as "The Prince" or the "Hero."

=============================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

===CHAPTER 1=== section 1.1

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
=============================================================================

"Listen awhile and throughout hear the psalm

Of victories sung from creatures past thy seeing
And from far battlefields there comes the neighing
Of dreadful onset, though the air is balm."

From the poem "My Two Geniuses"

-By George MacDonald

-----------------------------------

You will be introduced to the Queendom of Falena and several of the game's
main characters in the opening cutscene. When your party enters the palace's
main hall, you will be given a choice of dialogue options. Choose either one
this time around. When important dialogue options come up I will alert you
to them and their individual consequences. However, if I don't alert you,
just assume you are free to choose as you see fit.

The long opening scene will continue.

=============================================================================

LORDLAKE

=============================================================================

When you gain control of your characters, go ahead and talk to some of the
people in the town. They paint a dismal picture, not only of the town, but
of the Queen --your mother-- as well.

Throughout the walkthrough, I will be giving you detailed character

information as you recruit the 108 stars of destiny. At this point your
party consists of the Prince, Lyon, Sialeeds, and Georg. Though Sialeeds and
Georg will be in and out of your party, Lyon is officially the prince's
bodyguard, and rarely leaves his side --much like how Nanami rarely left the
hero's side in Suikoden II. So, I will just introduce the Prince and Lyon
for now.

I will rank all the characters in what I feel is their usefulness to any
particular party. Weaker characters will rank lower and stronger ones
higher. Though in this game, they did well in balancing out the characters
--there are no real duds, and anyone can be useful under the right
circumstances-- but some are stronger than others. I will rank them like
this: D-C-B-A-S, "D" being the lowest, and "A" being strong, while "S"
represents the strongest character in the game for his or her particular
class. Keep in mind that my letter rankings for characters is just my
opinion, please play with the characters that you like the best, because
that way the game is the most fun. Actually, one challenging and fun thing
to do might be to try to play through the game with only "D" rank
characters. Also, I suggest you stay away from the "S" rank characters when
you can, as they are so over-powered that they can make the game a bit too
easy in my opinion.

I will also invent a Class system for this walkthrough, though this is just
to simplify things a bit so I do not have to order you to take specific
characters with you at certain times (i.e. "Take George and Sialleeds").
Instead, I will suggest you take certain classes with you, so that leaves
you the freedom to decide which characters you like best (i.e. "Take a
short-range fighter and a long-range mage.)

I've found that people choose characters for one of two reasons: They think
that character is strong. Or, they like that character's personality. As
such, I'll give an overview of the character's stats and strengths, as well
as their personality.

If you don't care about how I rank the characters, skip to the next divider.

So, now that is cleared up, here's the Hero:

--------------Prince Falenas
Star #1 of 108
Rank: S
Auto-Recruit.
Class: Mid-Range Fighter/ Mid-Range Mage.
Notes: The most versatile character in the game. He can do pretty much
anything, except heavy tanking. He is the Hero, so he will be in your active
battle party at all times. Though he is not quite as strong as some of the
previous heroes, like Tir McDohl from SI, this is due to the fact that his
main rune is just not as good as, say, the Soul Eater worn by McDohl. But he
is very powerful, and can be relied on to fulfill many different roles in
your party effectively.

He is a silent protagonist, so his personality reflects the player's

personality. If you want to hear more about this, read my essay on literary
theory and Allegorical Projection at the end of this walkthrough.

---------------Lyon
Star #2 of 108
Overall Rank: A
Auto-Recruit.
Class: Mid-Range Fighter
Notes: Almost always by the Prince's side, she is a required party member
most of the time. Though, unlike the prince she can be moved into the
party's "entourage," effectively taking her out of battles, while still
allowing access to her non-battle magic. She is fast and strong, with good
defense and at least decent magic and HP scores, so, I would probably use
her most of the time, even if she was not required. Like the Prince, she can
fulfill multiple roles, and this versatility is her best quality. I give her
an "A" rank because she is just not as strong as the prince, especially late
in the game. Keep in mind though, that she and the Prince have a useful
unite attack.

Recommended Runes: Shield Rune, Earth Rune

---------------------------------------------------------------------

If you ever want to skip past my long-winded opinions and introductions, you
can always skip to the next divider and you will never miss any of the
important information in the walkthrough. I use the "dash" to denote the end
of a commentary and the einsatz of the actual walkthrough, and I use the
"Equal Sign" to denote a change in location.

Now, back to the walkthrough.

The screen perspective in this game is horizontally offset, meaning that

"South" is actually a little closer to "South-Southwest." Keep that in mind
when I give you directions, they are not exact, so if I say head "South" I
mean head in a general southern direction. I'm sure you get the idea. It
would make this walkthrough much easier to write if this game had a mini-
map, but we will get through, don't worry.
Save you game at the glowing Save Point (I'll call them Jouneyman's
Crystals.) and head south-ish down the main street of Lordlake. To the east
there is a dried-up fountain. Nearby there is the entrance to the clinic.
Step inside for a scene. Again, the dialogue choice here has no impact on
the future events of the game.

After the cutscene, follow the main street south past the desiccated channel.
On the southern end of the map, there will be a short cutscene. Head south
and east for a chest containing [ESCAPE SCROLL]. Approach the mansion in the
southwest corner of the town, where you will be presented with a Dialogue
choice. I will present you with Dialogue Choices when I feel like it, as I
said, if I do not cover a choice, then it is unimportant. What I will also
do is this:

*****Dialogue***** (Choose either without consequence)

----Choose the first dialogue option to continue on.
----Choose the second to get scolded by auntie Sialeeds and continue on
anyway.

Note how what I wrote is not what appears on-screen. Rather it is a summary
of the consequences -if any- of your choices, that removes potential
spoilers from reprinting on-screen dialogue here in the walkthrough. So, if
it says on-screen "Fight" or "Don't Fight," I'll represent that here as "Act
like a violent maniac" or "Act like a Chicken," or something to that effect.
Sorry, but I can't help but make jokes from time to time, this is something
like my 7th time playing through the game, after all.

Back to the walkthrough.

Go inside and head through the door to the west. In the next room grab the
[MEDICINE] from the chest, then continue outside to the pier, when another
scene will play.

Walk South then east to the end of the pier for a chest containing
[SACRIFICIAL JIZO]. I suggest giving it to the Prince for now. Head back
through the mansion, then northward to a small alley, walk east down the
alley and out onto the pier to meet up with Talgeyl and Goesch.

*****Dialogue*****(Choose either without consequence)

-----Choose the first option to have Sialeeds drag everyone along together.
-----Choose the second option to make yourself sound vainly heroic.

Go south to the Withered Forest.

====================================
Withered Forest
====================================

Ok, here is the game's first "dungeon," so to speak. Don't worry, with Georg
along, you have nothing to worry about. He alone can obliterate every battle
you get into here. The game is taking it easy on you here in this first
level, so take your time to get used to the battle system. We will talk in-
depth about tactics (or formations) later on, but for now you are stuck in
the standard formation that should be familiar if you played SI or SII.

Walk along the switchback path to a Journeyman's Crystal. I won't remind you
to save unless it is vital that you do so --when you either are up against a
very tough battle or might wish to reset later-- I trust you are smart
enough to know to save as often as you can.

Walk in a direction that is of the general "Southwestern" persuasion to a

fork in the path. Go left if you want to experience the game's first dead-
end, go right to continue on to another fork. This time go west to continue
on. At the third fork, go south-southwest for a chest with [MEDICINE].

Return to the 3-way fork that you approach from the south, and head east,
then south and curve back round to the east to find the third and final
chest in this area, [MEGA MEDICINE]. Retrace your steps to the last fork and
continue northeast for a scene and the game's first boss.

*****Dialogue*****(Choose either option with no consequence)

-----Choose the first option to have the Prince act heroic
-----Choose the second to have Georg save the day.

----------------------------------
*Boss: Ulse X 3

Really, with Georg here there is nothing to worry about. Sialeed's Wind magic
is pretty useless here. Just have everyone attack, and if you take a bit of
damage, on your next turn use you formation skill to recover about 35 HP per
character. Select [Formation] from the battle menu, then choose [Form
Skill]. Note that you can only use the formation skill once per battle, and
the skill changes depending on your current formation.
Georg can kill an Ulse with one hit, and the Lyon/Prince Co-op attack works
well too, so this battle should be over in 2 or 3 rounds.

Rewards: 750 Potch, 12 party SP

Medicine, Violence Piece, Boost Piece

----------------------------------

Watch the scene. You will be back in the Sun Palace by the time you have a
dialogue option.

=============================================================================

Sun Palace

=============================================================================

You'll finish telling your mother the story.

*****Dialogue***** (choose either with no consequence)

-----First Option: Stand up for what's right.
-----Second Option: Act intimidated.

And again

*****Dialogue***** (choose either with no consequence)

-----First: Act intimidated and rely on Sialeeds for Moral Pontification.
-----Second: Act like a decent human being.
And a third time, after we drop into a text-only cutscene.

*****Dialogue***** (choose either with no consequence)

-----First: Go find your sister, princess Lymsleia.
-----Second: Decline, get scolded by Lyon, and then agree to find her.

Georg and Sialeeds leave the party.

Finding Lym requires that you scour the Palace. First head south and go up
the stairs, then enter the opening (really an transparent doorway) on the
right side. This is the Prince's hall. You'll find a save point inside his
room, and to the far left, a treasure room with a [Dress] and [Refined
Clothes]. Keep these in your bag so you can sell them later.

Go back out to the Upper-Level Foyer. Go South and West to the spiral stairs
and take them up to the sealed room. You will receive a lecture on Runes,
most of it review if you have played a Suikoden game before, though the
information about the Sun Rune --one of the 27 True Runes-- is new.

Head back down to the upper-foyer and walk west to the big double-doors to
find the hall of Sialeeds and the Princess. Talk to the attendant standing
outside Sialeed's room for a funny scene, then go into the western most room
to find that Lym has gone to look for you.

Walk to the north end of the hall and go down the stairs, this is the
Kitchen/ Guard hall. Chat with the people around here if you wish. At the
west end, there are stairs leading to the prison cells, but there is nothing
to do there yet. To continue with the story, go back out to the Foyer and
cut across to enter into the Queen's Knights Hall, located beneath the
Prince's hall.

A rather funny scene will ensue when you walk south, and you will meet Kyle,
one of the Queen's Knights. Your dialogue option has no consequence. Kyle
joins your party temporarily, and I suggest taking the opportunity to trade
all of his armor with the Prince. (Hey, you're the Prince so it is not
stealing.) Go into the large room on the left for another scene.

After the scene, talk to the Knights gathered round the room if you want. To
continue, head for the exit for another scene.

--IMPORTANT--
So, this is where some of your dialogue choices start to have consequences.
To avoid spoilers, I wont tell you why per-say, just to say that how you
treat your little sister and Lyon can effect things down the line. Overall,
I recommend being attentive and slightly over-protective of Lym. And to
treat Lyon with respect. It is your choice whether or not to follow my
recommendations, mostly each choice makes very little difference, so you can
change things up a bit if you want. If there is a choice that had major,
drastic consequences, I will let you know ahead of time.

*****Dialogue*****(option #1 recommended)
-----First: Apologize.
-----Second: Tell her to pipe down.

The scene continues and you meet Miakis

*****Dialogue*****(option #1 recommended)
-----First: Greet Miakis.
-----Second: Ask for help, and she will refuse.

The scene drops to text-only dialogue and you are presented with another
choice:

*****Dialogue*****(option #1 recommended)
-----First: Act like a normal adult
-----Second: Sound kinda creepy, because you are not opposed to little girls
getting engaged.

This is a rather large number of dialogue choices here in a row:

*****Dialogue*****(option #2 recommended)
-----First: Seem disinterested but get dragged along regardless.
-----Second: Act protective of Lym.

Kyle, Miakis, and Lym will join. Lym is stationed in one of the entourage
slots, but Kyle and Miakis are in the battle party. Not to give away a big
spoiler or anything, but we are not going to be in any tough battles with
any of them. Go ahead and give Miakis' gear to Lyon if you really want, but
I refrain from doing that, it doesn't matter at all at this point.

Leave the Knight's room to have Sialeeds show up, and give you yet another
choice:

*****Dialogue*****(option #1 recommended)
-----First: Make fun of Sialeeds.
-----Second: Make fun of Lym.

Sialeeds joins, but don't bother rearranging the party, we are just going to
go on a tour of the Senate Hall and the City Proper.

Back to the foyer, and leave out the large southern doors past the
journeyman's crystal to the Senate Hall grounds. Walk down the first flight
of stairs and turn east to the Garden area. A short way north off the dirt
path is a chest: [SCARF]. Return to the bridge level, and then descend the
second flight of stairs, to go back to ground level. Walk under the bridge
to find [MEGA MEDICINE] along the southern side of the Senate Building.
Approach the building for a small cutscene. The dialogue choice is
unimportant. Go inside and turn west up the stairs, then north and talk to
the official waiting by wooden double-doors.

Well, we have to talk to all the people in the Senate Hall and watch a scene
before the clerk in charge of the list comes back. Start by talking to
everyone round the upper walkway. There are 6 people, 2 guards, 2 nobles,
and 2 officials.

Cross the bridge to the left to go inside the Senate Chamber's upper floor
for a short scene. There are 2 more officials here.

Leave the upper chamber and go to the ground floor. In the outer area there
are 4 people. 2 guards and 2 officials. (There is a 5th person in the
 northwest room, but you do not need to talk to him to advance the story.)

Inside the large green doors of the Senate Chamber Floor, there will be a
scene.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Be unflappably well-mannered.
-----Act like you just got accosted by a walrus, which is an accurate
description of what just happened.

The scene continues, rather hilariously.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Agree with Lord Borrows superficially.
-----Express doubts about his character.

When you regain control there are 4 more people to talk to in the Senate
Chamber Floor, 2 nobles and 2 officials.

Return to the clerk's office for a cutscene.

*****Dialogue***** (choose either)

-----Apologize for the rush.
-----Get to the point.

and again--

*****Dialogue***** (#1 recommended)

-----Be distressed at your sister's lack of popularity.
-----Be amazed at the brat's popularity.

When you are done go outside to the upper bridge area for a short scene.

*****Dialogue***** (#1 recommended)

-----Encourage bad habits.
-----Be strict.

Miakis, Sialeeds, and Lym leave. You will have a few more dialogue options at
this point.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Suggest your next activity.
-----Have Kyle suggest your next activity.

*****Dialogue*****(#2 recommended)
-----Act interested and make Lyon cross with you.
-----Act disinterested and have Kyle guide you gently into manhood.

I recommend #2 on the second choice because it helps not to get Lyon too mad
at you. I have not tested out and verified the effects of _every_ single
dialogue option, so I don't know if this one matters.

When you get control, go south to the City Proper. Sol-Falena is divided into
four sections, from north to south they are: Sun Palace, Senate Hall, Sol-
Falena Proper, and the Pier. At this point feel free to explore the city and
talk to the people. I will point out some treasure chests to get and some
places to visit. Down the stairs to the east is the Blacksmith, sharpen the
Prince's and Lyon's weapons if you want, though don't worry about Kyle, as
he is much higher-leveled than you at this point. The trade post is up the
stairs to the east, check it out, but I don't recommend buying anything just
yet. In this walkthrough will use trade as one of our main means of gaining
war funds throughout the early game, because this allows for much better
equipment and higher weapon levels with only a little effort.

East of the Blacksmith, and Southeast of the Trade shop, there is a cest on
the pier [BANDANA]. Other than that, there is not much for us on the eastern
side of the city, head vaguely west from there to the other side of the
large bridge that divides the city. A treasure box near the Tavern contains
[MEGA MEDICINE]. I did not have enough money to buy anything of value at the
armor or item shops yet. Do not worry, sharpening your weapons is all you
really need to do here in the early game. On the Islet north of the Item
Shop there is a chest with [MEDICINE].

If you want to continue on, from the Item Shop in the eastern half of the
city, walk east-southeast to the far eastern islet. There you find the rune
shop, and watch a short cutscene. Go back outside for another dialogue
choice.

*****Dialogue*****(option #1 recommended)
-----Go help Kyle
-----Stay back (and skip the next choice)

I recommend #1 because it helps to get some money here.

*****Dialogue***** (option #1 recommended)

-----Get into an easy fight and earn some money.
-----Let the guards handle it.

If you decide to fight, just have Kyle use his Lv 2 water magic, Breath of
Ice, while the Prince and Lyon Attack. These guys are push-overs, I was able
to annihilate all of them with one Breath of Ice spell.

After the scene, finish up any business you have in the city and return to
the Sun Palace. You can roam if you like: the woman in the room on the lower
floor of the Inn has some choice comments about Galleon. Just for the sake
of stating the obvious:

=================================
Sun Palace
=================================

As you enter the palace, a scene begins. This is largely between Ferid and
Arshtat, until it switches to the Prince and Lyon...

*****Dialogue***** (option #1 recommended)

-----Be reassuring.
-----Wonder why she's acting this way.

If you have made Lyon cross with you, you will get a slightly different scene
and dialogue choice. The balance is not as delicate with her as it is with
Lym, she actually has a much higher affection for you, so mostly you can say
what you want when you are with her. But on this occasion I do recommend
option #1, no matter which choice you got.

The scene continues the next morning. Georg and Sialeeds return to the party.
When you get control, talk to the Queen's Knights gathered round on your way
to the southern door. When you reach the door, Lym will come say goodbye.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Understand your Father's idealism
-----Be too immature to understand

Now it is time to go to the Pier, just head south on the large causeway all
the way past the city proper to get there. Down two flights of stairs, Kyle
will be waiting by the ship to say goodbye. Say whatever you want to him,
then board the ship for another long scene.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Have faith in the Queen
-----Meh

After more talking, you'll encounter the game's second boss:

-----------------------------------
Boss: Zadom

This one is much more tricky than the Ulse, but still a far cry from the
difficulty on many of the later bosses. The game is still taking it easy on
you...

Have the Prince and Lyon use "Sworn Protector," their Co-Op Attack, every
round. Georg should do what he does best, throwing critical hit attacks at
the enemies. Sialeed's wind magic is again pretty useless here. . . so have
her Attack, as well as throw out some Medicine as needed. The Prince does
have an "Angry Blow" spell scroll equipped, but try to save that for later,
it is not needed in this battle.

The Zadom can inflict the "Anger" status effect, causing the afflicted to be
unable to use unite attacks. If Lyon or the Prince gets hit with it, just
have them both attack, it will not make too much difference in the end. It
can also inflict poison, though this is a nuisance more than a threat.

The Zadom really does not hit very hard, so you will have plenty of time to
use medicine or the Formation skill to heal your party. With Georg, this
should be over in 3-4 turns

Rewards:
3,000 Potch
20 party SP
Medicine, Fire Sealing Pc x1, Breath of Ice Scroll x1.

----------------------------------

After the battle, another dialogue choice comes up, but it has no real
bearing. The scene shifts to the evening, still on the ship headed for
Stormfist, yet another choice for you that has no consequence.

After Sialeeds comes up with some disturbing theories, you arrive at the
Stormfist Pier.

=============================================================================

STORMFIST

=============================================================================

Over the course of the next few scenes, your replies to the Godwins'
questions won't amount to anything in the long run, so I'll leave them to
you. Gizel will take you on a tour of the facilities.

Throughout this part of the game you will have intermittent cutscenes, and
brief moments of free movement. Move south to trigger the first.

Once inside walk west to trigger the next.

From where the last scene ends, you are either in the Arena Causeway Upper
Floor or the drawbridge. If you are on the bridge, return to the Causeway.
Both upper and lower floors of the Causeway are divided into 2 quarter-
circle sections. You are currently in the Northwest section. Go ahead and go
south round the bend to the Southwest Upper section. Go into the stands to
watch a scene with an old friend.

Afterwords, back inside the causeway, go down the thin flight of stairs to
reach the Lower Southwest section. Walk to the Lower Northwest section and
turn right immediately to visit the infirmary, and try to walk down the
steps inside. Gizel will tell you that it is a place unfit for Royalty, but
insist on going down anyway. This is necessary to move the game events
forward.

*****Dialogue*****(choose #1 to move story events forward)

-----Insist on seeing the Gladiators.
-----Insist on not moving the story forward.

Down in the cells, there is another option.

*****Dialogue*****(option #1 recommended, for Moral Purposes)

-----Slavery is wrong.
-----I'm a fan of slavery, but I'm too ashamed to admit it.

Walk east a bit for yet another cutscene.

*****Dialogue*****(You get the idea)

-----Ask for a Doctor.
-----Treating injured slaves wastes money.

Leave the Cells and exit the infirmary. Walk north to the large doors and
exit to the Arena Garden. Here you will find 2 chests, the first in the
northwest corner containing [OLD BOOK vol. 7], the second is packed in with
some boxes and nearly hidden in the southeast corner, zoom the camera in if
you are having trouble finding it. It contains the first of many Tactics,
the [DOUBLE ARM TACTIC].
-----------------------------------
--Tactics--

If you don't want to hear what I have to say about tactics, skip to the next
divider.

On the menu screen choose "Formation", then "Rearrange" to change your

tactic. Different Tactics offer different status bonus to party members --
for example, Double Arm adds +2 to both Physical Defense (PDEF) and Magical
Defense (MDEF)-- there is more to tactics than just adding status bonuses
though. Each tactic has a special skill that can be used in combat once per
battle at the cost of 1 turn. So, the Standard tactic can heal a small
amount of HP, and so on...

What Tactic you use though, depends largely on the Characters present in your
party at any one time. Even late in the game, many of the parties you form
will have some slots taken up by required characters, so I find myself
switching tactics frequently, just to accommodate what characters I have to
work with. In the end, the status boosts and skills are just bonuses that
come along with the tactic that corresponds well to my party.

There are three different types of weapon ranges in this game, just like
Suikoden I and II. Short range weapons are meant for attacking from the
first two rows on the grid that is shown on the "Rearrange" window, anything
further back and they begin to lose accuracy, to the point that they will
rarely connect with an Attack from the rear row at all. Medium Range weapons
are just that, meant for combat from the middle two rows. Unlike Suikoden I
and II, mid-rangers will miss frequently from the front row, so don't put
Lyon or the Prince up there unless you are just planning to have them use
magic or defend. Long Range weapons attack from anywhere equally well, but
almost every character that wields a long range weapon is weak physically,
and cannot take front-line combat, so it is best to let them occupy spaces
in the back.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right now, the Double Arm tactic does not suit you well, so stay in the
standard formation.

Back inside the Lower Causeway, go south all the way till you reach a long,
straight hall. At the south end of the Hall, take the stairs up to see a
scene. This is the Royal suite. Back downstairs, Gizel bids goodbye. Your
choice effects nothing, except my opinion of you as a human being.

No matter what is said Gizel and Sialeeds leave the party.

At the town proper, you will have two short scenes. When you gain control,
you can talk to the Girl standing next to the leopard. This is Norma, and
the leopard is Ernst, you cannot recruit them now, but remember them for
later. Just south of them, the red-haired guy is also another future
potential recruit, talk to him for a taste of his disgusting personality.
His name is Gavaya. Walk west and head into the Inn for a short scene with
another character.

Feel free to explore around and talk to the people. The general attitude here
is much more sympathetic to the Godwins. West of the Inn, western edge of
the town is a chest: [MEDICINE]. From the main street you can head into the
New Town section, there are all sorts of shops here with a blacksmith that
can sharpen to Lv 3. While Georg's weapon is still at Lv 1, his _actual_
level is 20, so he is strong enough right now without a sharp sword. It is a
good Idea to try to save Potch here, money is tight in the early game.

You cannot leave the town -the guards will not let you- but there is some
treasure here. New Town is designed as 7 different street that run parallel
north to south. At the end of the westernmost street turn right to an alley
with a chest [BRACELET]. 3 streets to the east, south of the connecting
drawbridge, there is a chest at the end with [LEATHER HAT]. Again, nothing
too exciting in terms of treasure.

To continue with the story, go to the Old Town, and south of the entrance to
the Arena, take a turn east into a narrow alley marked by two guards. Scene
ensues, don't worry about the dialogue choices.

Shoon joins the party, but the scene continues elsewhere.

You regain control back at the alley. Walk east for a chest: [MEGA MEDICINE].
Then, head for the Inn so you can trigger another long scene. No matter what
you say, when you regain control, head for the entrance to the arena.

Note: Shoon here mentions a friend of his who had his eyesight taken from
him, but remained a strong Gladiator. This could be a reference to Morgan, a
character from Suikoden I.

In any event, Sialeeds joins the party on the next screen. Take her back to
the Inn. Tell Shoon you are ready in order to advance the story.

You will regain control in the Sewers. I suggest leaving temporarily though,
in order to sharpen Shoon and Sialeeds' weapons to Lv 3, again, Georg is
fine as he is. If you don't want to do this, that is fine too, but I think
it helps to have Shoon's weapon at Lv 3. Don't worry about armour, the
enemies you will face won't hit too hard. Return to the sewers.

As you may have noticed, there is little action in the game thus far, most of
it has been character and narrative construction. But, worry not, this set-
up time will make things much more interesting when the plot really starts
moving.

The game is still going easy on you here, this level is pretty short, so I
suggest fighting around here a bit to build up your Potch total. Your
Character level does not matter much as Georg is, of course, overpowered.

Take the time to switch your party's formation. Double Arm tactic is now a
good choice for this section. From now on, I'll mostly be leaving the
formation and tactics up to you, but from time to time I may suggest one if
it works particularly well in a given situation.

Back in the sewer, a cutscene ensues right in the entryway. Walk west to the
switch on the floor to open the gate in front of you for a chest
[ANTITOXIN]. Loop round back to the east for yet another scene, this time
with one of my favorite characters in the game, Egbert. Again, just keep him
in mind for the future.
From the intersection where you met Egbert, walk North then West for a chest
with [LEATHER ARMOR]. Not a bad choice for Shoon, in fact, I also suggest
giving him one of your stacks of Mega Medicine, and maybe a magic scroll or
two if you have them to spare. Better yet, give Shoon the Thunder Runner
scrolls Georg has equipped. From the now-empty chest, retrace your steps
east them north at the first turn to step on another switch. Head back to
the east side of the map, then turn north and through the door you just
opened for a [SACRIFICIAL JIZO]. This one is best given to either Sialeeds
or Lyon.

Retrace your steps back to the second switch, then head south this time, you
will find a crystal to the west. Take the south fork to swing round to a
floor switch. Go back to the crystal and west to exit the level.

During the scenes, you will have another two dialogue choices, choose either
option. Follow your quarry through a second section of the sewers, this path
is straight with no side routes, so just barrel through to the ladder at the
end. Make sure your party is healed before climbing up.

You'll emerge in the woods, a short way to the north, you'll be attacked by a
group of soldiers.

To give you a strategy for the battle: Georg. There, that is all the strategy
you'll need. If you want, use the Sialeeds/Prince Co-Op Attack too, but this
battle will be over quickly regardless.

After the battle, a cutscene ensues. You choice here is again unimportant in
the grand scheme of the (Suikoden) universe. Exit the cell after the scene
to move the story.

=================================
THE SACRED GAMES
=================================

After the scene, the first choice makes no difference, then we drop into
text-only dialogue, where you will be presented with another choice:

*****Dialogue*****(Choose #2 for Game Event)

-----Ask for an explanation of the Dual Battle System.
-----Continue on without an explanation.

-----Dual Battles-----
Before choosing option #2, let me explain a bit: The Dual battles are set up
like Rock/ Paper/ Scissors. Attack > Defense > Special > Attack, and so
forth.

What your opponent says before you are asked to input a command will be
telling of what attack they are planning to use. Unlike the previous games,
you will have only a short time to decide what to do, so you must make a
decision quickly. If you cannot decide what to do, your best option is to
defend. This will allow you to Counter a special attack without taking
Damage, also if your opponent defends, you will just stare at each other for
a bit, and even if your opponent attacks, you will only receive a small
amount of damage.

I will not list what your opponents say here, and how that corresponds to
their moves. For one thing, you would hardly have time to look at my long
list of dialogue and moves before time runs out. For another, I think it
steals the fun if I just tell you what to do all the time. You are more than
smart enough to figure out your opponent's intentions and guess right most
of the time. If they are acting hesitant, they will likely defend, so choose
to attack. If they act assertive, choose to use a Special. If they act
aggressive, choose to defend. You get the picture.

The most important thing is to make a selection quickly, if the timer runs
out, your opponent will get a free hit. So, take a deep breath and calm
down; if you remain calm you will win most Duals with ease.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

With that said, this battle is a showcase, and it does not matter if you win
or lose. Your opponent is Shoon, and the match has a friendly tone to it.

Choose dialogue option #2 and walk to the ring to continue. Shoon is a very
straight forward person, with no intention of trying to deceive you, so it
is easy to read his moves.

Winning or losing the fight does not effect the course of the game, though if
you win Ferid and Arshtat will be impressed.

Afterwords, Lym will come running in:

*****Dialogue***** (choose either, but #1 is hilarious)

-----Pretend you wanted to marry your sister.
-----Pretend you don't have a sense of humor.

Lyon, Miakis and Lym join temporarily. Make your way back to the Royal
section of the Arena. If you don't remember how to get there, head south
along the curving causeway to the lower hall, at the south end climb the
stairs to the Royal hall. Save at the prince's room if you want then go
north to the seating box.

Talk to the Queen's knights if you want to hear them congratulate you if you
won, or console you if you lost. In any case, sit down to move the story
forward.

*****Dialogue***** (choose either, but I suggest #1)

-----Go easy on Lym.
-----Be a stern brother.

After round 1 match 8, another option appears.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Go meet Belcoot
-----Go meet Belcoot anyway.

Before leaving the arena, you will see a scene that introduces you to another
character. Before you leave for the Town, walk back north and then west to
the infirmary, for another character introduction scene.
Walk south to the Bazaar for a third character intro.

Continue south into Old Town and head to lower gate for character into #4.
All of these scenes are unnecessary for recruitment, but they do allow you
to get a glimpse of characters you can recruit later.

Go to the western edge of old town to meet up with Belcoot.

*****Dialogue***** (choose either)

-----Charge in and have Georg stop you.
-----Observe.

I love the depiction of the "Arrogant Man's" Self-Perpetuating, circular

hate-logic here. Reminds me of American talk-radio hosts. It is a sharp
contrast with Belcoot's calm strength. Well, again you fight random
weaklings. The only difference here is that Georg may not be able to kill
them with one hit if you did not sharpen his weapon! Egads!! Just slaughter
them like baby lambs and move on with the story.

Belcoot joins temporarily.

Back at the Inn, another long scene plays out. There will be a succession of
dialogue choices, none of which make much difference.

After all the scenes play out, go back to the Arena to trigger even more of
them.

When you gain control, head for the Inn again, Belcoot joins the party. Go to
new town and exit the gate to the southeast.

=============================================================================

WORLD MAP

=============================================================================
Mini Boss: Wild boar
Rewards: Power Rune Piece, Marbled Beef, Fur Clothes
2,500 potch, 18 party SP

Finally we have made it to the world map!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to take some time to explain some things in detail here, including
the Trade System and Skills System. So, if you are uninterested in these two
things, skip ahead to the next divider.

-----The Trade System-----

The trade system first appeared in Suikoden II, and has been a great way to
earn Potch ever since. Basically, you buy an item for -say- 100 potch and
sell it at another city for 200 potch. The reason most people shy away from
the trade system though, is because they are scared of losing potch in the
process, but this rarely happens, and with my help you can avoid it
entirely. Another issue is that people will hold onto their trade items for
so long in the game, waiting for that "perfect opportunity" to double their
investment or more, when in reality you can make much more money trading in
high volumes with quick turnover, than you can by letting items sit in
storage.

Here in Stormfist, the trader is to your right as you enter the city, before
you even enter the main gate, also, there is a trade shop at the Bazaar.
Since you will have another chance to buy from him soon, I don't suggest
buying anything yet, but if you remember the prices of goods at the trade
shop in Sol-Falena, you will see that items like Soybeans, Fruit, and Wheat
are all less expensive here by about 100 - 200 potch each.

What I mean is this: it is better to by lots of items you can make 10-25% on,
then sell them quickly, then to buy high-value items and wait hours before
you sell them. I'll remind you in the walkthrough when it is time to buy
things from a trader, as well as what to buy and where to sell it.

-----Skills-----

Skills make a return here in Suikoden V, they were last seen in Suikoden III.
Though a few changes have been made they should feel somewhat familiar.

First off, Skills simply increase your statistics, so, the "Attack" Skill
raises your "ATK" stat. There are some exceptions, though. The "Incantation"
Magic Skill allows for faster casting in-battle, and does not change any
stat seen on the Status screen.

Generally, I suggest using Skills to accentuate a character's strengths,

rather than using them to cover their weaknesses. For example: Sialeeds can
use the "Stamina" skill to increase her measly HP. However: (1.) That skill
will max out at a value of "C," and (2.) She should be spending most of her
time in the back row, away from frequent physical attacks.

Using skills to accentuate strengths produces better results. Georg currently

has the Vitality skill equipped, which increases his critical rate.
Naturally, he has a high crit rate, but with this skill and the Killer Rune
he has equipped, he becomes the Georg that we are familiar with: throwing
out more crits than non-critical hits. His "Vitality" skill maxes out at the
"S" level too, allowing for a very pronounced effect.

Note that Georg has the "Combat Trainer" skill permanently equipped. This
means that as long as he is in your party, you can use this skill to upgrade
your Combat skills at any time. Right now though, the highest any skill can
achieve is a "C" rank, but we will be acquiring special items later to allow
for further training. As far as Magic training goes, you will have to rely
on magic trainers that you can find in towns.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, as far as Skills are concerned, I recommend Vitality for Georg, Attack/
Agility for the Prince, Agility/Technique for Lyon, and Incantation for
Sialeeds. Incantation is a magic skill, so you will have to train this in
town for now.

On the world map, go ahead and fight around. Occasionally, you will hear the
sounds played as you enter a battle change. Normally, the game plays a tone
 that sounds like sunlight, if in fact sunlight sounded anything at all like
a high-strain played on a symbol. Sometimes it will change to a deeper,
woodwind sound played one octave lower. This is your cue that you are
entering a Mini-Boss battle. Mini-Bosses are usually not that difficult, but
give great rewards, so I suggest hanging around a bit til you fight the Wild
Boar found here on this section of the map.

When you are ready, the West Woods are immediately west of Stormwind.

=============================================================================

WESTERN WOODS

=============================================================================

Cutscene as you enter.

With both Georg and Belcoot, this area is a joke, just keep an eye on you HP
because damage can add up here, though the main danger is only that Lyon,
Prince, or Sialeeds might end the battle KO'd, and not receive any EXP or
SP.

Follow the deer trail to the north while keeping pressed against the east
side. At a bend to the left, your character will break right onto a short,
hidden path with [GOOSE TACTIC]. Back on the main path, continue north to a
not-so-hidden chest [MEGA MEDICINE]. The main path sweeps west, then north.
Continue on to another scene.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Disrespect them directly.
-----Tell them who you are, then have them disrespect you.

You are thrown into battle.

---------------------------------
Boss: Thug x5

Well, these guys again. . .

What can I say? You really don't need my help here. The Prince/Sialeeds
"Royal Power" Co-Op is a good choice to start off. After that, Auto-Battle
is more than enough to finish them.

The only real danger is if one of your characters took cumulative damage in
the woods prior to battle. If so, you can use Sialeeds' Wind Rune -the
Healing Wind spell- to heal them.

This battle took only 2 turns for me.

Rewards:
Medicine
1,500 potch
25 party SP

---------------------------------

After the battle, Marina joins temporarily. Marina is a support only

character that recovers a small amount of HP to your battle party after each
turn, making her very useful for extended trips.

Take the main road back to the south. Press against the west side to hind a
hidden chest [Silence Orb].

----------------Silence Rune
Type: Support
Rank: D
Notes: This Rune adds a 30% chance of inflicting silence on an enemy when
attacked by the wearer's weapon. Most of the enemies that use powerful
magics are immune to Silence, though, and others are often mixed into the
back of groups along with Physically powerful enemies. Overall, this is a
rune with limited usefulness, if any.

---------------

Exit the Woods for a scene.

=============================================================================

STORMFIST

=============================================================================

You regain control at the Inn. Walk outside the room to trigger another
scene. Go back to bed to move the story forward. In the morning, there is
another brief period of control, followed quickly by a scene.

Sialeeds, Georg, and Belcoot join. Leave the Inn and enter the Arena. Note:
If you missed the [Double Arm Tactic] and [Old Book vol. 7] in the Arena
Gardens earlier, this will be you last chance for awhile. Make sure you pick
them up.

After Belcoot leaves, return to the Royal Hall to advance the story. If you
want, you can now buy Trade Goods from the merchant at the Bazaar, but other
than that there is not much to do in town.

The final match begins. Afterwords, you will be presented with a dialogue
choice. Your reply mean nothing overall, but if you do want to speak up,
you'll have to do it quickly, because this choice has a time limit.

*****Dialogue*****(Choose Quickly)
-----Remain silent.
-----Make Childerich mad at you.

Head for the Infirmary in the Lower Northwest Causeway for a scene. Follow
Sialeeds to the cells for a further sequence of intermittent scenes.

*****Dialogue*****(#2 recommended)
-----Be doubtful of Zegai.
-----Believe Zegai.
*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Try to confront the villains and have Auntie Sialeeds stop you.
-----Inform the Queen of what is really going on.

*****Dialogue*****(#1 recommended)
-----Stand up for Justice.
-----Be indifferent to the fate of a slave.

After the scenes, return to the Queen's room in the Royal Hall to trigger the
next scene. You can talk to the nobles, guards, Alenia and Galleon to get
their perspectives on the way.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Take an accusational tone, and get scolded.
-----Take a feeble tone.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Remain silent.
-----Speak up.

The next day, you will prepare to leave Stormfist. Outside the Prince's room,
talk to the lady-in-waiting for a funny scene. Talk to daddy to get the
story rolling.

Leave Royal Hall and talk with Murad in the infirmary. Then swing around to
the Main Hall and exit the arena to the south. Finish up any shopping you
have left to do in the Bazaar section, then walk to Old Town. Speak to the
girl and the leopard nearby to trigger a scene:

*****Dialogue*****(#2 strongly recommended)

-----Say you don't know.
-----Ask Lyon for her Opinion.

Answering this way will help you recruit Norma and Ernst later on, though
even if you don't talk to them or answer incorrectly, I am _pretty_ sure you
can recruit them anyway.

A note on recruitment: If you follow this walkthrough, you will recruit all
108 Stars of Destiny at the earliest point possible for each one. If you do
not follow it exactly, most characters can be recruited at later points.
Some characters though, have very small windows for recruitment, and can be
missed entirely, leading you into one of the game's less than ideal endings.
If a character can be missed, I will have you recruit that character as soon
as possible -like all the others- plus I will warn you again before that
character disappears for good, just to make sure you do not miss them.

If you want to catch up with Egbert, you can do so in the eastern portion of
Old Town. Armor and Weapon levels are not too important now, so you can
leave all that for later if you want, but check the Armour shop for rare
finds if you wish.

To continue: Speak to Belcoot and Marina at the upper floor of the Inn; your
dialogue choice makes no difference.

Return to the Arena's Royal Hall and speak to Ferid when you are done with
everything in town.

*****Dialogue*****(choose #2 for story event)

-----Stay longer.
-----Move the Story forward.

During the scene, Gizel will compliment you:

*****Dialogue*****(Choose Either)
-----Be polite.
-----Remind him of his place.

Another scene.

=============================================================================

SUN PALACE

=============================================================================

The Plot is beginning to pick up here, and we will be moving away from an
emphasis on plot construction to a faster-paced action. Also, the game will
begin to become more challenging, now that you have had time to become
acquainted with the various battle systems. (With the notable exception of
the Major Battles, but we will cover that later.)

We will drop into text-only dialogue, and Lym will bust into the Prince's
room.

*****Dialogue*****(Choose either, but #2 is more humorous.)

-----Say hi.
-----Demand some privacy.

Miakis and Lym join. Walk towards the stairs down to the Knight's Hall to
have Sialeeds join you. Downstairs, on the way to the Throne Room, you pick
up Georg as well. Once in the Foyer, exit north to the Throne Room for a cut
scene.

*****Dialogue*****(Choose either, but #1 is recommended)

-----Be obedient.
-----Speak out and confuse Lym.

Speak to the Queen's Knights on the way to the exit, they always have
interesting things to say. You'll meet Kyle by the door for a short scene.
If you want, there is an optional scene here too: Take your party to the
kitchen hall on the lower floor, and west to the stairs to the cells. You
can talk to Zegai, and Tease Lym a bit. Continue out of the Palace south
into the City Proper.

The Blacksmith in town can now sharpen your weapons to level 5. This time I
will suggest that you sharpen Georg's weapon, because his character level
advantage is now much less than it was before. You might not be able to
sharpen them all to Lv 5, but do not worry, Lv 3 is just fine for Georg. For
the Prince, Lyon, and Sialeeds, I do suggest Lv 5 eventually, but for now it
can be put off.
Before you leave town, walk to the western islet to meet the Rune Mistress
that you missed before when you searched for her with Kyle. As if there was
any surprise, the Run Mistress is actually Jeane. Along with Viki, Jeane is
only one of two characters to appear in all of the main games of the
Suikoden. I will cover Jeane in-depth later, but for now she makes quite an
impact on your party, and you have a dialogue choice:

*****Dialogue*****(Choose Either)
-----Act like you actually have business here.
-----Excuse yourself (perhaps to go change your clothes).

You can buy Runes if you want, or simply equip the Silence Rune you acquired
earlier, but for now I do not choose to spend money on Runes that I don't
need. Go ahead and sell off the Trade items you may have bought earlier. As
far as medicine and such, the you should already have a few stacks in your
inventory. If you don't have any Antitoxin, go ahead and buy some for now.

When you are finished shopping, leave town. There are two exits in Sol-
Falena. One is at the Pier, simply walk southeast before descending the
stairs to find an exit. The second is located just southeast of the
appraiser, on the westernmost islet. You will pass under a small archway
before leaving.

=============================================================================

World Map

=============================================================================

Mini Boss: Peckles

Rewards:Power Piece, Marbled Beef, Leather Cape
2,500 potch, 18 party SP

The East Palace is a short walk to the east. (I know that you are glad to
have me writing this walkthrough, with vital information such as that.)

On that note, before we cover the Palace, I will introduce Sialeeds and the
Wind Rune. If you don't care, skip ahead to the next divider.

---------------Sialeeds
Star# 3 of 108
Auto-Recruit
Overall Rank: C
Class: Long-Range Mage
Notes: Sialeeds is an odd character, to be sure. She has lots of Magic Power,
but only one rune slot, permanently occupied by a Wind Rune. Aside from her
dismal HP totals and her lack of contribution in many battles, she does have
some good qualities: the Royal Power Co-Op Attack is a great way to clear
out weaker enemies from the screen, and she is faster than most other Mage-
Class characters, making her a good idea for in-battle item usage. Like her
or not, she is a required character in many sections of the game, and the
first true mage that you have access to. Her Skills are not that great
either: "Long Throw" is permanently equipped, and not too useful. She seems
to be a bad compromise between Long-Range Attack and Magic, in the end, I
find myself only using her when she is required, as either more versatile or
more powerful mages emerge later in the game.

Plus, although she can be funny at times, she doesn't win any points on
personality from me.

Recommended Runes: Err. . Wind?

Recommended Skills: Incantation, Long Throw

---------------Wind Rune
Type: Magic
Rank: C

Level 1: Wind of Sleep (Status Attack)

Level 2: Healing Wind (Recovery)
Level 3: The Shredding (Attack)
Level 4: Funeral Wind (Attack)

Notes: The Wind Rune is a compromise. Water magic heals, Lightning and Fire
attack, Earth defends, while Wind has a little bit of everything. Wind Runes
have been very useful in the previous Suikoden games, but in this one, I
think they tend to be the least useful of all the basic elemental magic
runes. Wind magic tends to be the best choice when you have no idea what you
are getting yourself into, but, dear reader, you have me, so there should be
nothing that you are not prepared for. (Or I have not done my job right.)
Don't get me wrong, if a character has a high Wind Magic stat on the Status
Screen, don't hesitate to equip them with a Wind Rune, but virtually all the
magic has a counterpart available on another rune at a lower level. For
example: Healing Wind is an exact copy of Kindness Drops, the Lv 1 Water
magic. The only magic that really stands out is Lv 3 The Shredding, a nice
magic attack that hits the entire enemy party. Don't hold any of this
against the Cyclone Rune though.

Personally, I feel that the Wind Rune was best in Suikoden II, where Funeral
Wind was instead Storm Warning, a defensive spell. This could be interpreted
as a metaphor for wind itself. Meaning the poetic trope of "the Four Winds,"
North, South, East, and West. The rune from that game had a Status Effect
spell, a Recovery spell, an Attack spell, and a Defensive spell: North,
South, East, and West. Now we have just North, South, East, and er ... East.

Like the Wind itself, Wind Rune users are often capricious and fickle,
changing as often as the direction of the wind.

Rune Family Tree: True Wind > Cyclone > Wind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back to the Walkthrough:

=============================================================================

EAST PALACE
=============================================================================

At the East Palace, talk to the guards and the officials to glean some
information about the Dawn Rune, and Runes in general. Before you enter the
main building, let's steal some treasure from the chests here: Walk North a
bit to the lone tree, and turn west into the silver and beige two-tone
building to find the [ARROWHEAD TACTIC]. North from that building, walk
through the archway and turn west, then go north long the shore for [GLASS
SLIPPERS]. Continuing along the shoreline to the east, there is a chest
under a tree: [CAPE]. Walk South to a pier, then east to the end for a chest
hidden from view [SLEEP ORB].

After all that loot, enter the large Administrative Building. The people here
have much to say about the loss of the Dawn Rune two years ago. Exit to the
north underneath the staircase to reach the Dawn Rune Room, and a cutscene.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Buck tradition, then end up adhering to it anyway.
-----Git 'r dun.

Inside the room, there will be another scene.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Ask for her identity, and have Sialeeds answer her.
-----Answer her question.

Outside, you gain control. We are done here at the East Palace, So let's head
for Lunas.

Before we get there, trade out Miakis' equipment with Lyon. Lyon will have
many more opportunities to make use of it for now.

Lunas is North of the East Palace, off of the roads. You'll know you are
close when the grass fades and gives way to a rocky steppe.

------------Sleep Rune
Type: Support
Rank: C
Notes: With a 30% chance of inflicting sleep, this Rune is much more useful
than the Silence Rune. However, unless you equip it on a slow character, you
have at least a 30% chance of waking that enemy back up before the end of
the turn. . . This Rune is most useful early on, and fades as you acquire
many more powerful Runes.

=============================================================================

LUNAS

=============================================================================

Inside the city. . . well, it is not really a city or a town, it is more a

monastery, as there are no shops or services here.

At the monastery, Isato joins the party for a short time, no matter what you
say to him. Walk east across the surprisingly sturdy drawbridge to the
outside of the Oracle's Conclave, grabbing [DEFENSE RING] and [JEWEL
NECKLACE]. Head inside for a scene.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Act like you are surprised.
-----Act like you don't mind being smothered because she is prettier than you
expected.

Miakis and Lym leave to prepare for the rite, leaving you in control outside
of the Conclave. The clerics have some interesting things to say, so chat
your way down to the level below the Conclave and head south where you will
find three doors. The Left Door contains a cleric so eager to make you at
home he gives you some [JUICE], the enter room has a chest containing [OLD
BOOK vol 5], and the third has a polite lady, but no loot. Walk down the
wooden scaffolds to the river-shore and south for a cutscene. A long
explanation ensues regardless of your answer.

*****Dialogue*****(#1 recommended)
-----Be attentive to Lyon.
-----Be a Jerk to Lyon

When you gain control, stay by the shore and explore the three rooms at the
base level. The Left contains the [WATER ORB], the middle [MAGICAL PIECE],
and nothing in the right-hand room again.

Back at the Conclave, the rite will begin in a cutscene.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either, #1 provokes the funnier reaction.)

-----Of course not.
-----Berate your little sister for being little.

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----Be a normal person, who doesn't like to see blood relatives bathing.
-----Stay silent and be scolded by Lyon. (also triggers the next choice)

*****Dialogue*****(choose either)
-----State -in no uncertain terms- your feelings on the subject of Lyon.
-----Backpedal.

Outside and up the scaffolds, there will be another cutscene.

*****Dialogue*****(#1 recommended)
-----Help Isato investigate.
-----Leave it to him and be asked again.

Here you have a choice of which scene you wish to see. I suggest helping
Isato, just to be a nice guy. But, if you decline to help 2 times, you will
return to the Conclave to see Lym, Sialeeds, and Miakis return from the rite
and then Isato will drag two intruders into the Conclave.

If you choose to go help, there will be a short path where random battle are
possible (but not very exciting). Just go North to "capture" the intruders.
Either way, you end up back at the Conclave, interrogating Logg and Lun, who
seem to be about as bright as bricks.

*****Dialogue*****(#1 recommended)
-----Grant them a reprieve.
-----Be a tyrant and get scolded. . . again.

You gain control in the hall of the Conclave. If you speak to Haswar again in
her room, she will offer you a warm glass of milk. (hahaha) Walk upstairs.
Lym's room is on the west end, north side of the hall, I suggest you visit
here before choosing to sleep. Your soom is to the south, across the hall
from Lym's -the door is hard to see because it is transparent- choose to
rest to advance the story.

If Lym's affection for you is high enough, she will ask to sleep in the same
bed as you. However, you have had to be very kind to Lym for this to happen,
if you don't see this scene, don't worry at all. Honestly, I think it is
more entertaining to tease Lym a bit rather than to be so coddling and see
this scene, which is why I left so many of the choices up to you.

In the morning, Lym and Miakis will return to the Sun Palace, while you
deliver the bricks to Raftfleet, which is to the south, along the eastern
bank of the river south of the East Palace.

Now for some info on the Water Rune and Different types of spells. Skip to
the next full break if you don't want to hear me out.

--------------Water Rune
Type: Magic
Rank: B

Lv 1: Kindness Drops (Recovery)

Lv 2: Breath of Ice (Attack)
Lv 3: Kindness Rain (Recovery)
Lv 4: Silent Lake (Defense)

I will not say that Water Runes are the "best" of the basic elemental Runes,
but I will say that I use them more than any other Rune. Water Runes are a
vital source for HP and status recovery. They save money on Medicines and
Antitoxins and they are useful in all types of battles, from long chains of
weak enemies that can wear you down, to difficult bosses with powerful
attacks. I always have at least one person in my party with a water rune
equipped. The Lv 1 spell, Kindness Drops, heals all of a character's lost
HP, plus any negative status effects. This is a great spell, especially at
Lv 1. While I would not say Water magic is a necessity, it is a great help
at all times, and I will write this walkthrough from the assumption that you
have at least one Water Rune equipped to a character with decent MP in your
party at all times.

Water Rune users sharply contrast Wind Rune users. They seem more stable and
calm, like a still lake or a deep, slow river. Water is the essence of life
-nothing can survive without it- and water magic gives life to those around
its wielders.

Rune Family Tree: True Water > Flowing > Water

---------------

And now a word about types of spells in the game:

Certainly there are different types of spells like recovery and attack
spells, but what I will talk about here is what I like to call -quite
esoterically- "Absolute-Value" spells and "Dependent-Value" spells. In
short, a Dependent-Value spell is one that's effect is _dependent_ on the
caster's Magic Power statistic, while an "Absolute-Value" spell has the same
effect when cast regardless of the caster's Magic Power.

For example, take the Lv 1 Water Rune magic, Kindness Drops: its effect is
always the same, regardless if the caster has a magic power of 1 point or
100 points; it will always heal all HP and status effects of one ally. This
makes Kindness Drops an Absolute-Value spell.

An example of a Dependent-Value spell is the Lv 1 Fire Rune magic, Flaming

Arrows: its damage will vary widely, depending on the caster's magic stat
and that caster's Fire Magic Affinity. To check a character's affinity with
any particular Rune family, look on the status screen, they will be ranked
from "D" to "S" for each Rune family available in this game.

The Rune Affinity rank effects more than just the power of the spells, they
offer faster incantation as well, making a higher ranking desirable for
casting Absolute-Value spells.

Many characters in this game -like Lyon- have decent magic and MP scores, but
no matter what rune you try, they won't deal too much more damage with magic
attacks than with their physical attacks. This makes them prime candidates
for Absolute-Value magic, which makes use of their MP, while allowing them
to fight physically to deal damage. For Lyon, I suggest Runes heavy in
Absolute-Value spells, like Water, Earth, and Shield runes. (More on Earth
and Shield Runes later.)

For characters like Georg, who have dismal MP, Support and Attack-Effect
Runes work better than magic, even Absolute-Value magic. Georg is perfectly
suited for the Killer Rune he has equipped. But, later on in the game, even
magically weak characters gain 4 or 5 Lv 1 MP and 2 Rune slots, so, Water or
Earth Runes are not a bad choice at all for that second slot, letting them
throw out an Absolute-Value Kindness Drops or Clay Guardian spell when
needed. While they will still have slow incantation for these spells,
casting them a turn in advance solves this problem, you just have to make
sure to plan ahead a bit.

Another thing to keep in mind, too: Clay Guardian is easily available as a

Scroll Item, which are used just as any other item in battle. As the game
progresses, you will gain many powerful Attack-Effect and Status-Effect
Runes, at this point it may be wiser to switch out Magic Runes for these
Support Runes on, and use Spell Scrolls instead.

=============================================================================

RAFTFLEET
=============================================================================

Once you enter, you see a scene introducing you to the Dahak, the large ship
to the northwest. Walk forward a bit for a short Character Introduction
scene.

Now that you have full control, feel free to explore around a bit. Directions
will be hard for me to give here, as Raftfleet is essentially a mesh of
small fishing boats linked together by narrow gangplanks, but I'll do my
best.

Before we move on with the plot, there are some treasures to be had here, and
some people nice enough to give the Prince gifts just for the honor of
speaking to him. From the Journeyman's Crystal, walk west to the ship
containing the Inn. On the deck, there is a chest with the important
[THUNDER PIECE]. Collect 4 of these, then assemble them at any runemaster
for the rare Thunder Rune, essentially the Lightning Rune's big brother.
North of the Journeyman's Crystal is a ship anchored to the west, go inside
and out the bow door to find a [FIRE SEALING PIECE]. Back at the last
intersection, head east to the bow of a boat. Walk around the cabin to the
stern, which will connect you with the appraiser's boat. Walk through the
appraiser's shop and into the cabin of the next boat. There are two signs
here, one with a Blue Arrow, and the other with a Red Arrow. The Blue Arrow
leads to our ultimate destination, the Dahak, but for now head north to the
ship's aft to continue our treasure hunt.

Exiting the boat, you come to a pontoon raft, go east, then south when you
can for two chests: [MEGA MEDICINE] and [SACRIFICIAL JIZO]. Heading North
from there will take you to the bow of the Rune Shop, where you can equip
the Water Rune you acquired in Lunas. Sialeeds is stuck with her Wind Rune,
so either the Prince or Lyon can take it.

East of the pontoon rafts, you will enter the Blacksmith. Raise the Prince,
Sialeeds and Lyon's weapons to level 5 if you can, Georg is still fine at Lv
3. South off the bow of the blacksmith, you will find a boat with a green
roof. Enter the cabin and move to the bow for a chest with [SILVER ROBE].
Back at the Blacksmith, move north to the stern to connect to the Item and
Armour shops. Sometimes the Armour shop has Bone Bracelets in its Rare Finds
section, if they do, they are a great fit for Sialeeds. At the bow of the
Item Shop, talk to the woman there and she will give you a [FISH BADGE].
South from the blacksmith, on the bow of the boat with the green roof, there
is a [SILVER ROBE].

Head back to the boat with the two arrows in its cabin. Go west to reach the
massive Dahak. You will enter onto the port side bow. Go up the stairs to
the west to find a covered deck with a Journeyman's Crystal. Down the steps
to the north is a large cabin with Skill trainers. Go ahead and upgrade your
skills now if you want. You do not have to do it this way, but I had
Sialeeds at LV C Incantation / LV C Long Throw. The Prince: LV C Attack / LV
C Agility. Lyon: LV C Technique / LV C Agility. And Georg: LV C Vitality. If
you cannot reach this just yet, no problem, we are still quite a ways from
the point where skills start having a major impact. Also, don't use your
party SP just yet, that stuff is hard to come by and is better spent later.

Up the second set of stairs in the training hall is a four-way intersection.

To the north is the Baths, with nothing to do there yet. To the southwest,
there is an often-missed door that leads to the outer deck with two chests
[OLD BOOK vol 1] and [FLOWING PIECE]. Again the Flowing Piece is very
important, do not sell it or discard it. Back at the intersection, climb the
western steps to the bridge for a scene.

You hand over Logg and Lun, try to follow them into the back room for a funny
scene that hints at their punishment.

Before you leave Raftfleet, feel free to tour the town again, as well as stop
by the trading post on your way out. Buy some Tea and Rice for big profits
back in Sol-Falena. Also, introduce yourself to Sairoh, another character
you can recruit later.

If you wish to continue with the story, return to the Sun Palace in Sol-
Falena. For now, you can make money via the trade system, just buy up things
in one place and try to sell for a profit at the other, if you cannot sell
for a profit, you can return to where you bought those items and get your
money back. It is pretty simple, really.

I do suggest upgrading Lyon, the Prince, and Sialeeds' gear to the best you
can find, mostly in the Rare Finds sections at the shops in both Sol-Falena
and Raftfleet. Georg is awesome enough that he doesn't need it. Sacrificial
Jizos are a good idea too. I usually have one equipped on the Prince at all
times anyway. Since you have gotten 3 so far in the game, put them on Lyon,
Prince, and Sialeeds. (If you missed one, sold it, or used it already, meh,
doesn't matter.) Plus, I recommend having Prince, Sialeeds, and Lyon at Lv
19 before moving on.

Now that we have all that done, go to the Sun Palace.

=============================================================================

SUN PALACE

=============================================================================

At the Sun Palace entryway, you are greeted by Ferid and Kyle. Before going
to the Throne room, head for the Queen's Knights Hall, to find Dr. Murad.
Talking to him now may help you recruit him later.

Walk north to the Throne Room, and then past the curtain in back. Lyon will
leave temporarily, and you will see a scene -not with the Queen- but with
your mother. Your Dialogue Options do not matter.

Wander round a bit and talk to the people if you want. To move the story
forward, go to the Prince's Hall and choose to sleep.

Several scenes play out here. When we drop into text-only dialogue, Sialeeds
joins you. Chat your way up to the throne. Miakis always has funny things to
say. When you are done pretending to be happy, talk to Ferid to move
forward.
A series of cutscenes ensue.

And now the plot starts moving. . .

You will be thrust into battle.

---------------------------------

Boss: Assassin

Depending on the Tactic you last used, you may want to change back to the
"Standard" formation, as your party consists only of the Prince, Lyon, and
Sialeeds.

The game will no longer be kind to you in terms of difficulty. So this battle
is much more difficult, but still manageable, if not easy. Have the Prince
and Lyon use the "Sworn Protector" Co-Op, while Sialeeds Attacks and throws
out Items as necessary.

The Assassin will deal about 25-50 DMG per round, depending on your level.
While much sterner that previous bosses, you are fully rested at this point,
so defeating him should not be difficult.

Rewards: Medicine,
1,000 potch, 25 party SP

----------------------------------

*****Dialogue*****(#1 recommended)
-----Be concerned for your family.
-----Try to Save your own skin and get scolded.

When you gain control, random battles will occur as you move about, so be
careful.

Save the Game.

Outside in the Prince's Hall, bend round to the north, and approach the
stairway. Do not descend yet. Use the Medicine in your party items to heal
yourself fully.

-----Optional-Win Battle

Like many other Suikoden Games, there are battles that are extremely
difficult. Really, you are meant to lose them, but they can be won with the
right preparation and determination. The events of the story will not change
if you win or lose. What you do get, other than the obvious bragging rights,
is a goodly amount of potch, EXP, and some Items. So, it is completely up to
you to either take on the challenge, or let it go. Sometimes they can be
very difficult, and thus frustrating.

Even though I will guide you through winning every one of these battles, I
will write the rest of the walkthrough from the perspective that you lost,
just in case I did not do my job right and you cannot win this battle.

Listen, if you give this battle a few tries and still can't win, then
consider it my fault and not yours. I'm the one writing this walkthrough,
and it means that I did not do a good enough job of preparing you, that is
all.

So, descend the stairs and here we go. . .

---------------------------------

Optional-Win Battle

-Childerich

-Dolph

Vs.

-Prince

-Lyon

-Sialeeds

Recommended LV: 19+

Focus your attacks on one enemy at a time. I usually focus on Childerich

first, though if you really hate Dolph that much more, be my guest.

Perhaps for the first time, Sialeed's magic is useful in battle. At LV 19 she
gains 1 LV 3 MP, allowing the use of The Shredding spell. Use that in the
first round, along with Lyon's Clay Guardian scroll. If you still have the
Price's magic scrolls, use them too. It is dangerous to attack your
opponents directly, as they counter attack often. In the second round that
the battle gets complicated.

At round 2, you need to make a decision: either attack until one of your
characters dies, or try to preserve their life. To preserve their life, have
Sialeeds use Healing Wind on whomever was attacked in the first round. And
have Prince/ Lyon use their Co-Op. If you have Sialeeds equip and raise her
Incantation Skill, she should be able to pull off Healing Wind before Dolph
can attack.

If you want to let them get KO'd, that is fine, because the remainder of your
party has a good chance of attaining the "Fury" positive status effect, plus
if you equipped a Sacrificial Jizo to that person like I suggested, they
will be revived, at least temporarily, while the Fury Effect remains on your
other party members. If your weakened party member gets killed again right
away, don't worry we can still win. But if they survive to be healed in the
next round, then the battle is yours.

Regardless of what you choose, round 3 should see Childerich weakened, finish
him, preferably with the Prince/Lyon Co-Op. Have Sialeeds use Healing Wind
every turn on the person with the lowest HP.

If you reach round 4 with all your party members on their feet and Childerich
 down, then the battle is yours. If not, have either the Prince or Lyon
attack (one of them should be Infuriated) and Sialeeds -if she is alive-
heals, then attacks if she runs out of both spells and medicine. If you have
just the Prince and Lyon, Alternate between the Co-Op and having one of them
use the Water Rune's Kindness drops.

If you can keep this up, Dolph will go down too.

Rewards: Bragging Rights

Prosperity Piece x1 (40% drop rate)
4,000 potch and 40 party SP.

-----------------------------------

Whew! Now that is over, Kyle will come and save you. (?)

Note: It seems here that Kyle uses "Fog of Deception" the old LV 2 Water
Magic from Suikoden I, which unfortunately was replaced by Breath of Ice in
# III. I wish I could choose Fog over Ice. . .

When you regain control, walk to the door for another scene.

*****Dialogue*****(Option #1 recommended)
-----Show concern for Lym (and trigger the next choice)
-----Follow Georg's Orders

*****Dialogue*****(#2 Recommended)
-----Try To Help Miakis and Galleon, but be stopped by everyone.
-----Move the story forward.

If you keep trying to help Miakis and Galleon, you will eventually be forced
to leave anyway.

Walk to the west end of the Queen's Knights Hall, for anther scene. Walk
along the straight path to close out this chapter.

=============================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

========Chapter 2======== section 1.2

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
=============================================================================

"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death? The last, much the easiest to

bestow O, guillotine!"

From "A Tale of Two Cities"

-by Charles Dickens.

=============================================================================

WORLD MAP
=============================================================================

You will gain control on the world map. Don't let the gravity of what just
happened allow you to forget to rearrange your party.

It is time to head for Lunas. Raftfleet has moved away, so just go north from
the East Palace to Lunas.

=============================================================================

LUNAS

============================================================================

You'll be greeted by Isato again. Go to the Conclave, and at the end of the
scene, choose to rest. Your room is upstairs, the same one you had last time
that you were here.

More Scenes, some of them quite touching.

In the morning you gain control. You will find Lyon downstairs, and another
scene will start. Again, your dialogue choices mean little. Your party will
reform, and Isato will join temporarily as well.

Exit the room and then leave the hall to the west. Escape using the trail to
the north. After a short walk, Isato will guide you down a hidden path.
Climb the two sets of ladders to the east, then descend a third to find the
exit. Isato will leave, and you will find a new section of the world map.

=============================================================================

WORLD MAP

=============================================================================

Mini Boss (Plains): Peckles (Again!)

Rewards: Power Piece, Marbled Beef, Leather Cape
2,500 potch, 18 party SP
Mini Boss (Woods): Red Ulse
Rewards: Mega Medicine, Violence Piece, Boost Piece
1,500 potch, 20 party SP

Walk southeast to reach the nearest town, Haud village. I suggest taking this
opportunity to convert all of Georg's SP into Party SP. Vitality is the best
skill for Georg for quite some time, and once that hits a C rank, it is
pointless to waste SP on his other skills for the time being. You should try
to save up as much party SP as possible for the future.

============================================================================