Part 33: Matilda Marauding

Gorudo, Captain of the Matilda Knights, is one of those douchebags-because-he-can-be characters.



There's antagonist written all over this guy.

>>> How dare you!



: Probably. Camus, see Lord Azure and his party to a guest room. Let them rest for a while, and then escort them to the border. Our business is done.



Our party takes a load off...



There's nothing to see if you explore, so just sleep.



Leknaat decides to visit us in the middle of the night



: But you can't turn your back on the fight. You mustn't avert your eyes. In you... in you rests the hopes and dreams of many. You can't throw that away. The Rune on your right hand will guide you to the final battle... and the results of that... will create our future... our destiny, Azure.



The next morning, Highland has marched on Matilda. Miklotov says they're pursuing refugees from Muse. Gorudo gives the command to mobilize the troops.



There's nothing you can do in this next battle, so it's useless to have the option. Let's choose to watch.





The refugees each have 1 attack and zero defense, they'll die in a flash.



Luca shows up to attempt to slaughter them.





It's not going to go well for them.



oh look, Jowy's slaughtering refugees. Awesome. I really understand his motivations.



Gorudo's true colors come flying, he refuses to save the refugees.



: It's happening outside our territory, we have no right to intervene. It's more important that we bolster our defenses. Let no one past the border, refugee or otherwise.



The knights just stand idly by as all the refugees get murdered.



I have to wonder if this line was meant for someone else.



Well that was exciting.



: Stand down now, Miklotov, Camus.



: I have to see with my own eyes!! I have to see what those Highland bastards are doing in Muse! Don't try to stop me, Camus.



: You can get to Muse through the border crossing south of here. I beg you... please protect Miklotov.



Now we have full range to explore Rockaxe. First thing we'll do is get this Violence Rune in the appraisal shop. This Rune will, upon receiving damage that is equal to or greater than half your max HP, will not only make you Berserk but triple your attack in the next turn. This tripled attack stacks with Berserk and allows a certain Rune to break the damage limit in the game.

Rockaxe is a town of 7,400 people whose main export is art. The town comes off very sophisticated because of the knights' love of fine arts.



for some reason the trading post is closed. Ah well.



Miklotov is incredibly steadfast in his suicide mission into Muse. We'll be following him a bit later.



The armor shop here in Rockaxe has this as a Rare Find, the Thunder God Garb. It's one of the elemental armors and it's awesome. It also has general upgrades for everyone in terms of standard equips, such as Scale Mail and Head Gears.



L.C.Chan can be found here, but only if Wakaba's not in your party. If she is, he won't be here. Also, this inn continues Clive's quest. Clive's story picks up again in Radat, at 15 hours in.



The Rockaxe Runeshop sells two new Runes. The Down Rune will, with 30% chance, Knockdown an enemy (aka Unbalance them). The Sleep Rune puts an enemy to sleep with a certain chance. You'll want to put these on a character with the Double-Beat Rune to, potentially, screw up the entire enemy party.



Suikoden 2 Tunes - Even Farther ~ World Map Theme #2 (worth a listen)

The world map theme has changed, and it's better. It gives me some FFVII vibes. Our next stop is Highway Village.



The PinkBirds on this region of the world map drop two unique Runes: the Sylph and Skunk Runes. The Sylph Rune reduces your HP by 2/3rds then recovers the party's HP with the 33% remainder, except the user. The Skunk Rune will make a monster target another party member, if they're alive. It's the Rune version of the Blue Ribbon accessory, basically.



Let's begin a sidequest.



Highway Village sells Fire Emblems, which are just fantastic, but only for male fighters. This village's Rare Finds has both another Recipe and the Rabbit Plans #2.



This boy sells his calf for 7,000 potch. Well... I'll buy it, I guess.



Oh hey Futch!



Humphrey's been here for a while. For some reason, he's headed to Harmonia.



He's also very glad this game has liberal use of ellipses.



Kent: Sorry, sorry. My mom caught me and made me do chores.

: Chores... ?

Kent: Hey Futch! You were a Dragon Knight, right?

: Huh? Uh, yeah... Ninth Rank, though. Just a Dragon Knight Apprentice.



: Of course! I was born in a Dragon Cave! I've spent more time in the skies than on the ground!





It was a very sad day back in Suikoden I.



Futch makes a promise that as soon as he gets a new dragon, he'll take Kent flying with him.



: Uh huh...



: ...



Humphrey just straight up leaves.



What a swell dude.



This provokes Kent to climb the mountain... alone.



I enjoy the fact that some of these plot triggers involve talking to Humphrey, who is really concerned with staring at this wall.



Surprise!



Futch blames himself for talking Kent up about dragons in the first place. Humphrey suggests that we go save the kid.



If you choose option 2, you'll have to go to Rakutei Mountain yourself to join them there. The innkeeper, Lucy, tells Futch that we're “Humphrey's new friend”, which makes Futch question that Humphrey has any friends.



Humphrey rejoins us as the usual solid tank. His defense is skyrocketed because his Windspun Armor transferred over from the first game.



Futch also joins, but he's much less useful than Humphrey. He gets a lot of MP, but not really enough Magic to do anything with it. He's above average, but not great in any area, much like the first game. He is really fast, though.



Here's our new party. Humphrey and Futch don't have a Unite, sadly.



Time to climb Rakutei Mountain. Note that this sidequest, as shown by TWD, can be done as early as the beginning of the game. It's tough then, it's still pretty tough now. Rakutei means “The Emperor Fell” in Japanese, and it is seen in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story. Either Liu Bei or Cao Cao fell from this famous mountain.





The Bright Shield Rune clears away the mist. I think this animation still plays even if you come here without the Rune, which makes the event rather silly.



The enemies here are kind of douchebags. The Pixies can attack the entire party, and they can make you Minimized.



The HawkMen here drop another Turtle Plans, #3.



We also can pick up two Plans in chests here. I'll explain what all these do later.



We find Kent at the top, but first!



Guardian boss, the Harpy.



First we put up a magic barrier, because the boss does use spells.



We also use the Lightning Rune's top spell, Thor Shot.



Despite normally attacking, it'll also pick up your characters and drop them to knock them off balance.



The Shredding hurts, man. Overall, the Harpy is a pretty difficult boss, but probably moreso when you're doing this in the beginning of the game.



Kent tells us he heard a dragon cry, and tells us that the dragon scale was what lifted the mist for him to climb up here. After some back and forth between Kent and Futch, we go check out the dragon.



Humphrey says that every once in a while, a wild dragon appears that will not lay its eggs in a Dragon Cave. With this knowledge, new breeds of dragons could be made. He was hoping to visit the Great Shrine in the Crystal Valley in Harmonia to find out more.



With the name change glitch fixed in the PAL version, Futch correctly remembers who we named the main character in S1.







Without a master, this dragon would terrorize the land.





The dragon hatches just then, as if sensing Futch. No one's heard of white dragons



Not The White Dragon



Afterward, Futch and Humphrey join the war.



Futch lets him keep Black's scale, since he has a new dragon. Both of them join our party, and if you want them out you'll have to go back to HQ. We're a bit railroaded at the moment. Also, don't forget to talk to Kent's mom for another recipe.



Perhaps.

Artwork:



Futch – Chibi Star

With a new dragon in tow, he might just become a Dragon Knight again.



Humphrey – Tenyu Star

After killing his superior during the Kalekka Incident, he left the Scarlet Moon Empire's Elite Guards to pursue rebellion. He is once again involved in a war.