A defense of Suikoden 2

by Cheryl Lachowicz

I have noticed an aweful lot of critism towards Suikoden 2, a game I consider to be a masterpiece. Some of the complaints I've seen have been regarding the hero's muteness, his pawn-like position, the huge number of character (and character development), and Luca Blight.

First, the hero's muteness. Anyone who pays attention to the story sees that the hero is NOT MUTE. He is QUIET. There are quotation marks around most of the hero's statement choices, indicating that he's saying them. Also, in the retrospection scenes, it is CLEAR that the hero is speaking.

Furthermore is the ability to develop the hero to your liking through his dialog. For example, you can either tell Rowd nothing when prompted, or call him a jerk. You can tell Jowy that you're confident that you'll make it together, or promise him to return to a particular spot. And not to mention a dialog between the hero and Nanami should you try to keep her from coming with you when asked!

Moving on to his "pawn-like" position, the hero is 16. Who in their right minds would leave a WAR up to a 16-year-old?! It just doesn't make sense to give him the undisputed control over an army! The hero is a figurehead, the symbol of a savior for the people of Jowston, no more, no less. This idea is furthered by Jowy's position with Leon; it's quite obvious that the strategist is leading the young king around by the scruff of the collar. No, the pawn-like position adds realism to the storyline, not take away.

While we're on the subject of character development, few people, I think, know that the original Gensou Suikoden was based on an ancient novel of Chinese origin (I believe). The book *did* feature the 108 stars of destiny, and it wouldn't be fair to eliminate that element, considering that "Gensou Suikoden" means "Simulation of Suikoden." The word "simulation" means that they've taken the words on paper and put them to graphics on a screen. To eliminate the 108 stars of destiny would be to eliminate the simulation aspect.

And so, one is forced to ask: How can you develop 108 characters adequately? Quite simply, you can't. It's not possible without making a long, dragging story, and Suikoden 2 was quite long to begin with. But, again with paying attention to the storyline, characters CONTINUE to be developed after they become obsolete to the plot. You can see several events between Nina and Flik, Yoshino and Freed Y, Tomo and Tsai, so on and so forth. You're given control of your character during the nightimes for a *reason*, y'know. Never mind that the story is about the *HERO*, *NANAMI*, and *JOWY*. The other characters don't NEED development. Only *they* do.

One personality that's well-developed, but doesn't get credit for, for example, is Luca Blight. You heard me. Luca Blight. The insane man that started the whole conflict. You see several scenes with him, each revealing a bit of the method to his madness. When you first see the man, he has ambushed his own youth brigade camp, an action that is explained by Rowd while you're in prison waiting to be executed - quite simply, he wants his country to be *the* country. He doesn't want to share land with Jowston.

The next major characterization is when Solon Jhee is executed. This scene makes it CLEAR that he is a man of perfection; he will not tolerate mistakes, and has no qualms with exercising his power to make sure he removes any "weak links" in the chain. Next time, he's ready to behead Jowy over his request to marry Jilia; it's clear that he wants only the best for his sister, even if he thinks she's against him. She is, after all, his sister, and he cares for her- albeit in a sick and twisted way.

Later on, the crime against him that broke his sanity is revealed. As his father, Agares Blight is dying, assassinated by Jowy with Luca's help, he screams at him something about his mother and Agares "not protecting them." This, I feel, is Luca's primary motive; to get revenge at the world for their trespasses against him. It explains Luca's aversion to weakness (not being able to protect his mother himself, disgust with Agares for not protecting her), and his bloodlust (again, taking revenge on the world for it's crimes).

Finally, in Luca's dying moments, he screams, "I am the true face of evil!!!" This is where it becomes painfully obvious that the man was insane, but looking a bit deeper, it reveals something a little truer- finally realizing what he'd done, but being too angry to care.

Luca, contrary to a lot of opinions, is one of the games deepest characters, with the deepest motivations. So please, before you slander a game, pay attention to the plot, read the darn dialog boxes, and see the deeper meanings. Things shouldn't have to be spelled out in black and white for an rp'er to see them; the player must be able to see the shades of gray in between to fully appreciate a game. If you can't, please: Stick to fighters and action.

Thank you for your time. Questions? Comments? Flames? E-mail me: autmnwnd@voicenet.com