Part 3: Ted's Dangerous Secret

before we even start today, we are going to rewind again for a couple other things I missed.



First off, the diaries of Pahn and Cleo. Pahn's is, as you'd expect, all about food. The man loves eating as much as he loves fighting.





Cleo doesn't let us look at hers yet. I bet it has love notes about me. Even when she joins us, though, it says it's locked.



By the way, our own diary, in here, is a hidden save point.



After Teo leaves the house for the first time (i.e., when Gremio is cooking the stew), this is the only time in which you can meet another of the Empire's generals, who won't show up again for another twenty hours or so.



This is where Teo goes, by the way. Right next door, to Sonya Shulen's house.



Sonya Shulen: Better spend time with him while you can.

Teo: Don't be a fool, Sonya. ASS, you're not taking this seriously either, are you?

let's go read her diary



Since he's a soldier, it's only natural, but still my heart is bleeding. I hope he returns unharmed.

so there you have it, in the first twenty minutes of the game you can also find out that Sonya is a love interest of Teo's, or perhaps it's one-sided. Who knows?



Suikoden Tunes – Tiny Characters in a Huge World

Back on track, we're heading towards Rockland, to the east.



The skull next to Pahn is the Poison stat. It's probably the most annoying in the game because when you are on the world map or town map the screen flashes red a shitton of times before the status wears itself off. So annoying.



Suikoden Tunes – Rock Rockland

There's a couple comments you can only get from the men in Rockland's inn when Kanaan is an envoy.

Kanaan: Ha ha ha... that's right.



Sickest burn yet.



The other man tells us there's no tea, so Kanaan flips out.

Man: Ha ha, this stuff isn't served to Imperial bigwigs.



Huh, was she about to say Gremio? Who knows.



Suikoden Tunes – Joy, Joy Time ~ Mini Games

time to make too much money doing this game so I can buy shit in Lenankamp later.



i'm going to spend a lot of time here.



as you can expect, the more you bet, the faster the game goes. At 10,000 bits it goes ridiculously fast, but you can abuse the pattern as TWD talked about.



aw yeah, that looks good.







No sir. They're Imperial guard.

Grady: Whatever they are, I'm busy! Hurry up, and... what? Imperial Guard? You fool, why didn't you tell me sooner?!



he sure changed his tune fast.



Grady: Oh no, not at all, sir.

Kanaan: Forget it. You know why we're here, right?

Grady: Indeed, sir. About the taxes, right? We've been troubled about that, too. You see, bandits have settled in the nearby Mt. Seifu, and have been pillaging the local villages. That's why we've been unable to deliver taxes to you. But I'm glad there's nothing to be worried about now.

Kanaan: What do you mean?



Grady: Getting rid of country bandits should be an easy task for you. You're not afraid of them, I'm sure.



Kanaan: We should be able to crush them like flies! Ho ho ho... heh...

Cleo: That's ridiculous! Our mission is to...

Pahn: Ha ha! I can't wait! I've been waiting for a good fight.

Ted: Me too. Let's teach those bandits a lesson, right Miles?



If we choose to go home, Kanaan calls us cowards and demands that since he's the leader, we should go fight.



Suikoden Tunes – Distant Mountain (a must listen)

We're now at Mt. Seifu, east of Rockland. It's a slightly more dangerous dungeon and introduces one of the best themes in the entire series. It's one of the reasons the first game's OST shines above the rest.



Kanaan makes Pahn be the lead, even though he's the leader, because he wants to go in last... what a pussy.



Suikoden Tunes – Penpe ~ Dungeon

Mt. Seifu also has a lot of caves. Get used to this cave texture, it gets repeated quite a lot.



The main foes on Mt. Seifu are, of course, bandits. They're tough, but nothing too bad.



That's a critical attack, by the way. Boars are one of the more annoying enemies in the game. No matter where they're at in the game, they can always do lots of damage by charging into you. They have a strong penchant towards whiffing that attack, though.



Simultaneous attacks! I love them.



We also get our first “?” item here. These items must be taken to Appraisers. Some of the rarer “?” antiques can be sold for exorbitant amounts of potch.



There's also some pretty strong Soldier ants down here. They tend to come in huge groups and can either shoot arrows at you, or stab you with their spears.



what the fuck is that



Suikoden Tunes – Ultimate Enemy ~ Boss Battle

Meet the Queen Ant, the second boss battle. This is technically not a boss battle we can win right now. What she does is two things: First, she'll order the ants in front of her to attack. Every time one of them dies, she summons more. This spell is Flaming Arrows, off the Fire Rune. It's one of the few things that can hit her.



She also can hit our entire party by swallowing us under the earth where it presumably eats us.



But regardless, you're supposed to lose.

Cleo: At this rate, we'll get wiped out.

Kanaan: Fools! What are you saying? Protect me!!

Gremio: Young Master, let's run. I'll protect you.



Thus begins one of the most iconic scenes in the series. The one that started it all.



It doesn't matter what we say here, he'll do it regardless.







Ted summons the power of the Rune on his right hand, which has enough power to swallow the Queen Ant into some hellish other-dimension.



That's a good reaction to this, definitely.

Gremio: Ted, how did you do that?!

Ted: Sorry, but I can't explain right now. Miles, I'll tell you when we get home, but not right now. Anyway, let's get rid of the bandits and go back to Gregminster.



Seems like the Empire already knew about Ted's secret.



Mt. Seifu holds the first elemental piece we can sharpen onto our weapons. Thunder just adds the element to our weapon, which can be good or bad depending on who we're fighting.



We also find our first save point. I always liked the look of Suikoden 1's save points, for some reason.



Kanaan: Listen up, you bandits. I, Kanaan, Assistan Commander of the Imperial Guard of the Golden Emperor Barbarossa, have come here to teach you a lesson. Turn yourselves in, you tax thieves.



Varkas: I'm Varkas the Whirlwind Axe. Sydonia, you introduce yourself, too.



Varkas and Sydonia are two characters whose roles could have been cooler but are woefully underutilized in the game. Sydonia, in particular, is an incredibly smug dude who doesn't bother being polite to people in any manner, and the game never explores this.



Varkas: You Imperial tax robbers better get out of here before you get hurt.

Pahn: I'm the renowned Imperial hero...

Cleo: Shut up! Don't join in on their games.



First, they send out a set of five bandits for us to take on. No sweat.



Now we're up against boss fight three, Varkas and Sydonia. They're not terribly tough, but their attacks do hurt.



Sydonia teleports, then strikes his foe. He's taken out in one Unite attack, leaving only Varkas, who can swing his axe but miss a lot.



Kanaan: Heh heh, that's what you get for defying me.

Cleo: You didn't do a thing.



also Varkas looks like the most generic treecutting woodsman ever.



Off-screen we tied them up and now we're headed back to Rockland.



I hear getting a foot up the asshole when you're a little kid isn't particularly good for you.