Suikoden (1995)
Suikoden is a 1995 role-playing (rpg) video game made by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and Konami.
A young man named Tir McDohl is the son of a celebrated imperial general, loyal to the Scarlet Moon Empire. When a corrupt chancellor's schemes pull his world apart, Tir finds himself on the other side of that empire, working to unite 108 warriors beneath a liberation banner. Combat plays out in three registers: small-party turn-based battles with magic runes, large-scale army clashes, and single-combat duels. The castle the player builds from the ground up grows into a living community, making the recruitment of all 108 Stars of Destiny feel like something worth doing.
Quick answers
What is Suikoden about?
A young man named Tir McDohl is the son of a celebrated imperial general, loyal to the Scarlet Moon Empire. When a corrupt chancellor's schemes pull his world apart, Tir finds himself on the other side of that empire, working to unite 108 warriors beneath a liberation banner. Combat plays out in three registers: small-party turn-based battles with magic runes, large-scale army clashes, and single-combat duels. The castle the player builds from the ground up grows into a living community, making the recruitment of all 108 Stars of Destiny feel like something worth doing.
When was Suikoden released?
Suikoden was released on 15 December 1995.
Who made Suikoden?
Suikoden was made by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, Konami and Sony Computer Entertainment.
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A few thoughts on Suikoden
Mass Effect 2 shares the core appeal of assembling a large, loyal cast for a cause larger than any one character, with each recruit bringing a distinct arc. Both games make the act of building your team feel personal.
Trusted soldiers who discover their empire was rotten all along
Tir McDohl is the son of one of Scarlet Moon's most decorated generals, and Suikoden turns his slow break from that loyalty into the whole plot once a corrupt chancellor reveals what the empire actually is. Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Boys and House of the Dragon all follow soldiers or heirs discovering that the institution they served or stood to inherit was rotten underneath.
Groups of strangers who have to invent their own society from nothing
Tir's Liberation Army starts as scattered defectors and ends up running an entire castle with its own rules, trades and hierarchy built from whoever showed up. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lord of the Flies, My Hero Academia, Assassination Classroom and Miraculous all put a loose group in the position of inventing structure and rank on the fly, long before anyone hands them a system to follow.
Formal one-on-one duels that settle bigger conflicts
Suikoden treats its single-combat duels as legitimate war moves alongside full army battles, letting one warrior's skill decide something an entire army could not. Rurouni Kenshin, Mortal Kombat II, Ranma ½, Hunter x Hunter and God of War all give a one-on-one clash the same weight as a larger war, whether it's a tournament, a rivalry or a boss fight that changes everything after it.
Crews who stay loyal to each other while everything else falls apart
Suikoden's liberation army holds together through defeats that would scatter a weaker group, and loyalty between its members ends up mattering more than any single battle. Red Dead Redemption 2, Half-Life 2, The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto V all center on a crew whose bond gets tested by a world that keeps giving them reasons to break apart.