Part 31: Exploring the Castle

Gregminster Palace now contains the strongest enemies in the game. You get shit tons of bits and good EXP, capable of leveling everyone to 58 or 59 with ease.



There are quite a few forced fights in here, but they're always with Imperial guards who are not really an issue at this point.



The only reason we're here right now is to get the Windspun Armor. I believe this particular set of armor can only be equipped on Humphrey, Varkas, Kessler, Kwanda, Pesmerga, and Blackman because they're the only characters who can equip the heaviest of armor in the game.

You want to put this on Humphrey. Many characters from Suikoden I show up as playable characters in Suikoden II (and the reason I only mention Humphrey is that he is an optional recruit in the next game so I'm not trying to spoil you guys).

Humphrey and one other character's armor transfers over into the next game. The only thing that universally transfers between the two games provided you have saved at the final Journeyman's Crystal inside Gregminster Palace is levels. However, unless you level everyone up to level 99, you'll only get at most a boost of 1 to 2 levels for a character that returns (level 99 characters get a +5 level boost on top of their starting level in Suikoden II). Therefore, unless you're Gamesharking it, this isn't really necessary or important. Anyway, let's go explore our fully upgraded castle, from top to bottom.



The basement has Hellion, Viki, Crowley, Kamandol, and Juppo. Hellion, as we know, gave us the Blinking Mirror, which Viki uses to teleport us to most of the places in the game. Our dungeon jail that is used all of once is down here, too.



Krin's kinda just hangin' around. Juppo is surprised we're even down here, Kamandol's doing research, and Crowley keeps talking about how old he is.



Qlon, our child slave valet, chills out front, near our boat, and as you know Tai Ho, Yam Koo, and Kimberley hang out in the shack nearby.



Gen is basically the guy who stands guard at the port in case of attack. Though, I guess, that's not really necessary anymore.

Floor 1



First off, we have Marie as our inn with her two cooks Antonio and Lester side by side making meals. Camille still hasn't been paid, but doesn't seem to care anymore.



Jeane, our runeshop, Jabba, our appraiser, Chapman, our armorer, and Chandler our item shop are all south of Marie's inn. Gaspar's Chinchirorin game is off to the left.



Milia and Futch kick it just outside on the left, along with Kasios.



Kasios can play a good chunk of the game's OST, but not all of its tracks, so I had him play the series' best piece of music. You can sit here and let him play a tune out all the way, but I have Youtube for that.



There are many bridges in our huge castle that extend across to private rooms.



Former Imperial Knights kick it on the far west side of the first floor. Valeria's hands ache with bloodlust if we don't use her, the Buddy Knights keep talking about how they'll still fight for us, and Griffith loves our food.



Three of the four former Great Generals hang out inside the room here. Sonya talks about how the main character is beginning to resemble General Teo, Kwanda talks about how much the Emperor has changed, Kasim tells us to remain vigilant, and Leon Silverberg talks about how “our job is to gather the facts. To get emotional about it is sad indeed.” Whatever that means.



Upstairs from there is the infamous Narcissists' Garden. Zen tends to the flowers, and talking to any of the three narcissists changes the theme of the room to the Theme of Perversion.



No.



As you can see, even with all the Window settings, our options are limited. I'm going to leave it as roses for now because I love you all. We can also change the color out of a grand total of eight colors.



Melodye's also here. The “Voice” menu sound makes the confirmation sound in a window sound like someone's sneezing. When we cancel out of something, there's a funny ass laugh.



Animal turns the confirmation noise into a cat's meow, and the canceling into a lion roar.



Wind changes the confirmation noise to a bike horn, and the canceling out to some high-pitched sound. I don't know what it is exactly.



Finally, Percussion changes the sounds to snare drums and hi-hats and such. I'm going to stick with the Animal noise set so I can hear cats meowing everywhere.



North of where Kasios is are the bandits and random adventurers we've collected. The only interesting person here is not actually the screenshotted Quincy, but Lorelai, who mentions her purpose but doesn't feel explaining it to us. Which will then be explained much, much later in Suikoden V.



Inside are the Mt. Seifu bandits and Lake Toran Pirates.



To the east of the main room is where Sarah, Meg, Giovanni, Taggart, Eileen and Sheena stay. The only thing important to note here is Sheena's attraction to Apple.



Upstairs, Kun To is staying with Lepant for some reason.

Second Floor



All our blacksmiths, Rock the vault, and Sansuke the bath dude are up here. Also, I think Warren, who is currently in our party for the Holy Rune I gave him, stays between the vault and bath.



Onil the gossiper, Mina the dancer, and Ronnie Bell the Amazonian (who wants to learn how to cook) also randomly walk around here.



The elves, kobolds, and fighting masters kick it out outside on the second floor balcony. Fu Su Lu is content with telling us he's the strongest man in the world, Stallion can't stop talking about how fast he is, and Morgan tells us how while he can't see, his soul is burning bright.

Third Floor



Georges plays the memory game up here, and Templeton is up here still working on his maps.



Marco's now-inferior dice game is playable up here as well. Lotte's lost her cat, and Tesla really wants to go home but fuck that.



The Stone Tablet of Promise is up here by the old folks.



As is Hugo the librarian. We have a lot of Old Books to give him. First, let's learn about the 27 True Runes as told by the first book. I apologize for the shitty quality of some of the screenshots. I think it might be an inherent problem in the game's graphics.







Basically, the creation of the Suikoden world began when Darkness shed a Tear, which became Sword and Shield. Sword and Shield battled, and both were damaged in the process. Parts of Sword became the sky, parts of Shield became the earth. 27 jewels adorned these two beings, and they became known as the 27 True Runes. Let's check out Book II.



-two runes are united, and their ultimate power is unleashed, a power greater than the sum of its parts is generated. The union of two souls means that two runemasters apply their magic at the same time. The union of runes refers to harmony. In other words, Fire and Earth, Earth and Wind, Wind and Water, Water and Lightning, Lightning and Fire, are harmonious. Ultimate power means the release of the maximum runic magic. When three of these powers are combined, the greatest of magical powers is unleashed.

This is referring to something I have never touched upon in the LP but will talk about in the Runes update: Unite Magic. Unite Magic is a lot harder to pull off in I and II because it only occurs if you use two level 4 magics from corresponding runes (either from child or parent runes) in the same round. In III, IV and V, the game auto-detects these Unite Magics so you can select them before your turn without stumbling upon them. The character with higher Speed will add his or her Magic stat to the spell. Targeting specific enemies is tricky with one particular Unite Magic, Thor (it is the only single-target Unite Magic). The person who is faster and has the Lightning/Thunder Rune can direct the magic at a specific enemy, otherwise it chooses the first enemy on the list.

Unite Magic is incredibly powerful, and is the only way to match the Soul Eater's Judgment spell in damage potential normally (outside of Unites).



Book III talks about war strategy. This is the only part that's kind of interesting, because the AI in war battles are usually pretty easy to read so these tips aren't too bad, actually. It also talks about how betrayal only works when you are few and the enemy is many (i.e., when you've taken damage, the Merchants unit will work with a higher chance). It also mentions the R>P>S power triangle.



Book IV talks about the Dragon Knights.

-Bonding Ritual. Only those children who succeed in bonding with a dragon, become a Dragon Knight. If a child fails to bond before the age of six, he will never become a Dragon Knight. The bond between a dragon and his knight is strong. A dragon lives far longer than a human, but should a Dragon Knight die, his dragon, out of sorrow, will take its own life. On the other hand, if a dragon dies first, its master loses his rights and privileges, and must leave the Knights of the Dragon's Den.



Book V hints at where characters might be, maybe how to get them, and also flat out lies about Lester.

-occur.
Kimberley – Ostensibly a stampmaker. She is in fact. (?)
Sergei – Unsuccessful inventor. Said to live in Kaku.
Antonio – Excellent cook living in Seika.
Lester – Cook whose specialty is stews. Presently working in Moravia Castle.
Hugo – Librarian of Qlon Temple.
Kasios – Balladeer. Deeply in love with Milich, to whom she sings. GOD DAMMIT IS IT A GIRL OR A GUY
Jabba – Arrogant but exceptional appraiser. Feels he can appraise anything.
Kamandol – Popular alchemist of Teien.



Book VI talks about shady characters, i.e., characters you might miss in normal play. The game does try to help you find these missable recruits from time to time.

Kreutz – Follower of the former Emperor Geil Rugner. Long incognito, but recently discovered to be hiding out with the Knights of the Dragon's Den.
Anji – Pirate of Lake Toran. Long-standing friend of Tai Ho.
Rubi – Stray elf.
Fuma – Masterless ninja. Hides out with the Knights of the Dragon's Den.
Fu Su Lu – Warrior who wears a tiger mask. Always repays his debts and obligations.
Pesmerga – Seems to be looking for Yuber, the Black Knight in the service of Lady Windy.



Book VII shows off all the antiques we can find in the game.





The Nature Painting is the best, and is dropped by Orcs just outside Gregminster in the endgame.



Book VIII talks about the mysterious Kalekka Incident referred to by some characters.

-overran the northern part of the Empire all the way to Kalekka, which they occupied. After pacifying the Empire, Barbarossa's forces headed to confront the invaders. As the City-State's forces began to retreat, the Imperial Army invaded Kalekka. What they found was a burnt-out city whose forces were wiped out. Leon, let his forces know of the appalling devastation of Kalekka. Despite their exhaustion after the long march to the north, the forces were infuriated by the news and, with renewed vigor, succeeded in forcing the City-State Army back.



After finding all the paints in the game, Ivanov paints the front of the Suikoden JPN and PAL game cover. It is still the best game cover the series has had. The title theme plays over the painting.



For completing the mural, we acquire the binoculars, which allow us to change the camera view in battle.

Fourth Floor



Fourth floor is the least exciting. Mathiu, Apple, Flik, Cleo, Tengaar, Hix, Apple, Sanchez, Humphrey, and Kreutz kick it up here. You'll come up here to either change party members via Mathiu or Sanchez, or set off plot events/war battles in the main war room.

Top Floor



The ninjas are up here. Kage tells us a ninja wastes no words, Fuma is practicing his disappearing technique again but doing poorly, and Kasumi is still too head over heels for the main character. Rubi is up here being a loner.



Clive who is wearing a black cloak and NOT a garbage bag mentions a woman, and we'll figure out who she is in the next game. Pesmerga's also here being broody.



And finally Don Quixote is up here, chillin' and being awesome.


That concludes our tour of the upgraded Odessa Castle. Enjoy the rest of your day.