If Final Fantasy games are the proverbial hotdogs and hamburgers of the Japanese RPG market, then Suikoden games are more of the sushi variety; not quite what most of the starving masses are in the mood for, but those who have managed to acquire the taste will swear by them. Personally, Suikoden is possibly my favorite RPG series of all time. Sure, I can understand that some folks might be a little put off by the lack of magic points, the rather plain graphics, and the unwieldy-seeming 108 recruitable Stars of Destiny (especially considering that most RPGs nowadays level-out at about six or so playable characters). And I suppose that like these folks, I'd be a little confused if I was expecting six people for dinner and 108 showed up. In fact, I'd probably be downright upset. But, for those who can get past a little bit of culture shock, Suikoden has always been an extremely rewarding source of RPG goodness.

   One of the most interesting aspects of the Suikoden series has always been that, unlike most other Japanese RPGs, all the Suikoden games take place in the same world, many within a few years of each other. While the stories of all the games are self-contained, certain plot threads intertwine throughout all of them, and the tales of a few individuals are slowly resolved over the course of several games. Because of this, Suikoden can really be a series you grow up with. As such, serious fans really need to play through all the games if they want to try and tie up all the loose ends. Of course, since some of the games jump around chronologically, and others are particularly hard to track down these days, I figured, being the ever-altruistic video game humanitarian that I am, I would provide a handy-dandy guide to navigating these swell games. So read on, friends, enjoy, and vote Handy Dandy for President! (Note: Since I'm trying to persuade you to go out and play these games, I figured it would be in my best interest to keep them as spoiler-free as possible. So don't worry too much about my ruining the plots for you. I'll try really, really hard not to.)

Suikoden (Playstation, 1996)

   This, of course, was the start of it all. Suikoden I introduced us to many of the series' core elements, including the six-character party, those large, strategic battles which essentially boiled down to an elaborate rock-paper-scissors game, and those sexy sprite bath scenes (Me-ow!). The game also told of the 27 True Runes, the magical forces that hold the world of Suikoden together and propel it and all its citizens down the path of destiny. In the game, you played as the son of a famous general of the Scarlet Moon Empire (not to be confused with Harvest Moon), Teo McDohl. Though your military career looked promising, like every other military man throughout history, you started out in the enviable position of running errands for jerks. Unfortunately for your budding career, during one of these errands a series of unfortunate events ended with you in possession of the mysterious Soul Eater True Rune and, even worse, aligned with the resistance movement against the Scarlet Moon. As the game progressed and more of the Empire's cruelty and neglect were exposed, your alliance with the resistance evolved from being a mere union of convenience to a genuine calling, which was good since soon enough you ended up in charge of the motley crew (not the band, although one of the guys sort of looked like Tommy Lee). Leading the 108 Stars into battle, you were tasked with defeating the Empire while simultaneously trying to understand the true purpose of the Soul Eater. Better clear your schedule.

   Despite its graphics, which were butt-ugly even by early Playstation standards, Suikoden was a truly engaging game. Its complex narrative, aided by an absolutely gorgeous musical score, succeeded brilliantly at pulling the player into its world. Also, despite its massive cast, each of its characters had a distinct personality and stood out as a unique member of your army (although perhaps not quite as much as in later games). Rather than just generic warriors and wizards, all those who came to dwell in your castle had a specific function, so you actually felt like each person you recruited was substantively contributing to your cause (thus making the hunt for more recruits very addictive). Shop owners allowed you to purchase new items and equipment, blacksmiths helped you upgrade your weapons, bards let you listen to the game's various music tracks, experienced warriors would command powerful units during the strategic battles, and so on. And in order to accommodate for the fact that you had a huge pool of characters you could utilize in your adventuring party, the game used a rather unique (and devilishly difficult to describe!) leveling system by which you could quickly bring newcomers up to speed with your current characters. This allowed for a great deal of experimentation, encouraging players to mix and match party members until they found a team that worked best for them. Considering that many characters had powerful (or at least cool looking) combination attacks they could perform with other characters, playing around with your team had some real benefits. At the end of the day, you wound up with a fighting force that, because of all your time and effort, felt uniquely your own.

   All of this was something that really hadn't been done in a console RPG before. While many of the following games executed these unique mechanisms even more successfully, the fact that Suikoden I essentially sets up the events of all following Suikoden titles makes it a must-play for true fans. Nowadays your best bet for finding it is eBay, but be prepared to drop some pretty serious cash. For a real Suiko-fan, though, this is a small sacrifice for such a quality gaming experience.

Suikoden II (Playstation, 1999)

   Generally considered by fans (including yours truly) to be the best of the Suikoden games, Suikoden II didn't deviate much from the formula of Suikoden, but did pretty much everything its predecessor had done, only much, much better. With bright, detailed 2-D graphics, an excellent score, tons of interesting, complicated characters, and one of the most engaging stories in a video game, Suikoden II remains one of the top ten console role-playing games of all time (it also has way more squirrels in capes than any ten other RPGs put together). Many of the 108 Stars returned and most of the dangling plot points from Suikoden I were finally resolved. Suikoden II also sported the option (which went on to be supported in almost all other Suikoden games) of allowing you to load your saved data from the previous game to unlock some pretty cool secrets.

   The game opened with you as a young enlistee in the Unicorn Brigade of the Highland Kingdom, a pleasant sounding name to be sure. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter the brigade is wiped out by the Highland's own prince, Lucca Blight (the same Lucca Blight who topped my recent list of best video game bosses of all time). Being the prime-cut of bastard that he was, Lucca blamed the attack on the Jowston Republic (a nearby country) in order to infuriate the Highland people and rally them for an invasion of Jowston. The only two survivors, you and your best friend, Jowy (who, despite his name, has no real connection to either the Jowston Republic, nor the TV series Dawson's Creek), join the Jowston defenders (led by returning heroes Victor and Flik) to fight back against the Highlands and its mad prince. At the same time, you and Jowy begin to feel pulled apart by destiny (yes, I am absolutely sure Dawson's Creek has nothing to do with this), as his Sword Rune and your Shield Rune (the two runes whose initial clash created the 27 True Runes, and thus the universe) threaten to resume their eternal battle.

   If you have even slightly enjoyed any of the other Suikoden installments, you really need to play this game. It managed to fine-tune to near perfection all of the extremely cool mechanics Suikoden I introduced. The 108 Stars of Destiny were even more interesting, the big battles were significantly more involved (with the player moving units of troops led by the 108 Stars around on grid-based maps), and most importantly, it really gave some serious time to the character development of both the heroes and villains at the center of its plot. The agony which you, the hero and Jowy feel as destiny begins to draw you towards opposite sides of the war becomes truly palpable as the game progress. And if you were a fan of sarcastic, roguish Viktor from Suikoden I, Suikoden II spends some serious time delving into his character. It's not only the culmination of all the things that make the Suikoden series great, but perhaps one of the few RPGs to achieve near-perfection. Which, in a way, is kind of a downer, since the PSP re-release of the first two Suikodens doesn't look destined for U.S. shores, and copies of the Playstation version typically sell for $200 on eBay, which, not coincidentally, is probably the only place you'll be able to find it. If you dig Suikoden but haven't played II, you've got a bit of a painful decision ahead of you. In the meantime, please pardon me while I step over here and affectionately stroke the jewel case of my copy. Mmmmmmm... smooth... (Watch the site for announcements regarding this year's "Touch Mike's Suikoden II CD" special event!)

Suikoden III, (Playstation 2, 2002)

   While some lower-IQ-ed fans consider Suikoden III to be the beginning of the series' rapid downward spiral, I (in my infinite wisdom) believe it's only a slight tick behind Suikoden II. In III the series finally made the leap into the realm of 3-D, with attractive, albeit stubby, character models and some very nice-looking backgrounds. It also broke some other conventions with previous Suikodens, as instead of a single main character you had four (Geddoe the Harmonian mercenary, Chris the Zexen Knight, Hugo, the son of the Grasslands' Chief, and Thomas, the illegitimate son of a Zexen noble and now the lord of a run-down, rural castle) each outfitted with a unique plot line that wove in and out of the narratives of the other three. The game was broken into chapters, and at the end of each chapter you were allowed to pick another character whose story you then proceeded through for the following chapter. The overall narrative dealt with the mysterious masked Harmonian bishop who seemed to be manipulating the Zexen Knights and the Grasslands Tribes in the hopes of prolonging the war between them. Only the legendary Flame Champion, bearer of the True Fire Rune (and not nearly as flaming a homosexual as his name would imply), had any hope of bringing peace to the land. Of course, no one had seen him for a couple of decades, so there appeared to be somewhat of a problem.

   One thing that some fans lamented with Suikoden III was the alteration of the battle system. Though you still had six characters in your party, you could only issue orders to pairs. For instance, if you told one guy in a pair to attack the enemy, the other guy attacked too. If you told one guy to use magic, his partner would attack the enemy. Oh, and if you told one guy to use an item, the other guy would, well, attack the enemy. Get the picture? Since Suikoden III also factored distance into battles, this brilliantly intuitive scheme tended to cause some problems in the magic department. Things got ugly if, say, you wanted to cast a big spell. While your magic user readied his spell, his associate would rush the enemy and likely get caught in the blast when the spell finally went off. As such, this rendered a significant number of spells essentially useless, since you'd end up killing your own guys along with your foes. Still, while it was unarguably an awkward set up, it was not nearly as difficult to work with as some whiners would have you believe.

   Overall, despite the battle system flaw, the game was still excellent. The multi-narrative plot succeeded brilliantly, allowing players to see some of the same pivotal events from multiple perspectives, and thus gain a deeper sympathy for all of those caught up in the tragic war. Of all the games, this one felt like it could make the smoothest transition to a novel or comic (which is probably why it was made into a manga in Japan and is now being published in the U.S. by Tokyopop. If you've got the extra scratch, it's a quality read). Fans also got perhaps the best execution of Suikoden's trademark big battles, with characters' levels and equipment actually mattering for once, thus encouraging you to spend some time leveling up, and therefore developing an even deeper attachment to each of the warriors in your army. It also essentially completed the trilogy of the first three Suikoden games, as the closing of its story brought to an end some major events long developing in the world of Suikoden. I'll say no more lest I break my vow of no spoilers and have my tongue cut out and flayed before my eyes by rabid fan-boys.

Suikoden IV (Playstation 2, 2005)

   Perhaps the true beginning of Suikoden's downfall, Suikoden IV is considered a bit of a stinker, even by the most ardent of Suiko-fans (Except maybe for Suiko McSuikoden. He still loves it). The problem wasn't the plot or the characters, both of which were just as interesting and involving as past Suikoden games, but rather the sloppy game mechanics. Likely driven by market trends and a desire to cash in on the success of more main-stream RPGs like Final Fantasy, or perhaps simply due to heavy substance abuse and shameless philandering, the designers foolishly opted to strip down Suikoden's robust battle system to a paltry four characters, thus crippling its more strategic aspects. Combos and certain kinds of support magic became essentially useless, as you no longer had the characters to spare, and switching in some new blood was significantly riskier since, with only four fighters, you needed to be sure they were all going to be up to performance standards. Also, since the story took place on a host of tiny islands, most of the in-game travel was via ship. Slow, random encounter laden, ship. While Suikoden games have always had a high random encounter rate, this was by far the highest. And since you only had four guys to fight with, it took even longer to clear parties of giant insects and sea monsters. Oh man, here come the flashbacks of the damn things again! Thanks a lot!

   The plot, perhaps in a bit of a nod to Suikoden I, revolved around the Rune of Punishment, a True Rune that destroyed those who bore it, much like the Soul Eater consumed those around its bearer. In the beginning the hero is accused of a murder of a military officer who actually succumbed to the Rune of Punishment, and is thus banished from his home and set adrift with several loyal friends. Quickly he finds himself caught up in the struggle between the encroaching Kooluk Empire and the scattered Island Nations, forced to choose between watching his friends and allies fall or using the Rune that will consume his soul. I tell ya, I'm not even sure if I'd lend a pen to some of my friends, much less my soul. They're nibblers...

   Of all the numbered Suikoden games, this is probably the one most easily skipped. Since you don't have the option to load a Suikoden III saved game, there's no sense of continuity between the previous games and this one. And as this game takes place hundreds of years before the events of Suikoden I, there are naturally very few returning characters or connecting plot elements, thus adding to the feeling of disconnect between this game and the other Suikodens (although there is one pretty awesome cameo that those who played Suikoden I will really appreciate). Additionally, even though the 108 Stars do all have colorful, unique personalities, their overall design is a bit on the weak side. Too many characters have bland, washed-out colors that seem at odds with the colorful, tropical environs of most of the game. Overall, it feels much more like a generic Japanese RPG and less uniquely Suikoden. If you're a hard-core Suikoden fan, you'll probably find something good to carry you through (those Nay-Kobolds are awfully cute), but if you decide to let this one pass you by, you won't be missing much.

Suikoden Tactics (Playstation 2, 2005)

   The fact that this game was released the same year as its predecessor says it all. Probably the overall low point in the series, Suikoden Tactics was a blatant attempt to take advantage of devoted Suikoden fans' good will. While the idea of creating a grid-based tactical strategy game using the Suikoden universe is a good one (heck, a great one, since Final Fantasy Tactics was such a hit, and Suikoden is an even more innately tactical series), this game was clearly thrown together with little effort. First off, it made the mistake of being a spin-off of Suikoden IV, a game that wasn't particularly good to begin with. Secondly, it essentially just re-used that games cast and settings with only a handful of central characters and a few locales being unique to its story. And thirdly, it just wasn't very fun.

   Few games have been as much a disappointment to me as this one was. It combined Suikoden and grid-based, tactical combat, two things I love more than my own family (uh, just kidding, Mom!), and yet managed to thoroughly suck- complete with foul wind and sucking noises. Though the maps were technically 3-D, height barely factored in, so for all intents and purposes, the maps were flat. Also, the enemies you battled were painfully boring (frog men, bats, generic soldiers, and skeletons? C'mon!), all being essentially culled from the bestiary of Suikoden IV, which was considerably less exciting than the San Diego Zoo during the sleepy season. It didn't help (though it was certainly fitting considering the overall quality of the game) that the character models, both ally and enemy, looked like shriveled little turds. I mean, just look at those screenshots! I'm no graphics-whore, but that just looks like crap. And they even used those same stool-like models for story segments. Shame. Even the combat itself was lengthy and dull, with battles dragging out much longer than they should in this type of game. While the game tried to spice things up with the use of elemental field effects, all this really succeeded in doing was forcing you to paint a little path to your enemies in order to give your attacks the strength to kill them and ensure that their attacks didn't kill you. And if they cast a spell to paint over your path, well, you're just going to have to repaint it aren't you, young man? To top it all off, neither the plot (something about guns that turn people into fish men) nor the rather dull new characters offered much in the way of interest. It says something when I - possibly the most patient gamer alive - had been anxiously awaiting a game in a series I love and I still couldn't play it to conclusion. Pass.

Suikoden V (Playstation 2, 2006)

   While some fans heralded it as the return to the glory days of Suikoden, V still lacks a bit of the series early charm. It's certainly a step up from IV and Tactics (although so would be a game where you played a mental patient jumping around throwing poop at midgets), so maybe things are on their way back to decency. The game's color pallet and character designs do seem to hearken back to those used in Suikoden I. The hero of V even dresses like the hero from Suikoden I during a handful of segments. Too bad he didn't stick with that outfit instead of the fruity one he wears for most of the game. Since there's a full review up on the site (which I, in all my infinite wisdom, saw fit to write), I'm not going to go into great detail here. Suffice it to say the game manages to fix most of the problems with the combat in recent iterations, but manages to make the issues with the pacing significantly worse. It takes about half the game (and it's a long game) before things really get rolling and you start to feel seriously invested in your army. But, hey, it's still got a solid enough plot, plenty of multi-dimensional characters, and a beaver that fights with a guitar, so it gets a couple of slightly nibbled thumbs up from me.

   So there you have it, the history of Suikoden in all its glory. There are a couple other games that haven't been released stateside, including a card battle game, a two-volume, choose your own adventure style game starring the dashing Nash Clovis of Suikoden III, and the aforementioned, much lusted-after Suikoden I & II compilation for the PSP. But I haven't played them, so they don't exist to me. If you want to call me a dork and use foul language to refute my ill-conceived opinions, or if you just want to reminisce about how cool Yuber was in the first three games, head down to the comments section below and let your voice be heard. I'll be the one in the green bandana sitting with the singing elves.

Mike Zeller