Part 1: Table of Contents
Chapter 1: War, Again
Konami. They've brought us such wonderful things as Castlevania and Metal Gear. But we're not here to talk about those games. Oh no.
Hell yeah! Let's get this bitch going!
Oh shit, what should I do?!
Name Entry
Riou is the name given to him in the novelizations, much like Tir was given to the Suikoden 1 Hero.
I see you like Suikoden.
Riou approves of this.
Loading data from Suikoden 1 allows, among other things, the player to recruit Tir Mcdohl later in the game. It also increases the levels and weapons of several returning Suikoden characters.
This is Jowy, Riou's best friend (who is not at all
)
"Me too. I thought about going back to Kyaro and I could't wait to get out of that uniform. Hey, Riou... Nanami is probably waiting for you to come back, huh? You're her only family since Master Genkaku died... If not for this war..." 
First Choice
"Okay. I'll go with you."If you choose the second, you just go to sleep and nothing else happens. That's boring!
Jowy is, much like the main character, pretty balanced in all regards. His Magic stat is pretty good, as well.
I feel I should take this time to point out that Suikoden 2 introduced an actual inventory instead of giving characters item slots to hold everything. It only goes up to around 30 items, but it's way better than what Suikoden had to offer.
Also of note is the fact that you can equip medicine in your "Other" slots, allowing anyone to heal during battles.
The Youth Brigade was a small group of soldiers in their teens that was formed to protect this crappy mountain. Or something.
Oh. Yeah, I guess so.
It's hard to tell, but Riou is running. In Suikoden 1, you had to equip a member of your party (usually Gremio) with a Holy Rune in order for your party to run. In this game, you just hold a button down. AWESOME.
Something move, huh? Maybe it was a bear. 
The mystery person runs away. Let us give chase!
JOWY!! Well, since we can't go that way, we go back to our tent and choose to go to sleep.
"Goodnight, Riou."However, sleep is overrated.
Surprise attack???
Enemy Attack
I just said that! Fuck you!
"Did you hear, Riou? We'd better go check it out."
Upon exiting the tent, we meet Rowd, the Captain of the Youth Brigade.
"It's a surprise attack by the City-State! They've broken the peace agreement, those scum! It looks like we're surrounded. Take the mountain path to the east and save yourselves! Hurry!" "Let's run, Riou. We can't die here, Nanami will be all alone..." 
Oh jesus, what now!
"Don't you think it's strange, Riou? The only way out is through these woods. The enemy must know that too. The enemy might be waiting in the woods to ambush us. Let's go back, Riou. Let's tell this to Captain Rowd."On the way back to the camp, we find the remains of the Youth Brigade.
Once you get back to the camp, you overhear some discussions...
Suspicion
Ambush? Uh oh.
Meet Luca Blight. (Or Ruka Bright if you feel like being Japanesey) He's a bad ass.
"I wish I had joined the ambush. All I've had to fight lately is that old man. I'm getting rusty." "Y-Yes... I mean no, no! Prince Luca's swordsmanship is truly unmatched. My men would look like fools." His men will look like fools anyway, I promise. "Yes, well, the young men served their country well enough. Now we don't need a peace treaty with those State weaklings... I'll prove that they're no match for the power of Highland!" "I agree, sir. With Prince Luca in command, Highland can finally earn the glory it deserves!" 
If you choose the first choice, you simply run away and don't get any extra dialouge, so we're choosing the second.
This a good idea that cannot possibly go wrong!
What! You egg.
"Captain, what the hell? Tell us what's going on. Why did you tell us to... and who is that man?" "What? You don't recognize the face of your country's royal prince?" "Hurry, grab them!" 
Suikoden 2 has one of them isometric battle things. It's basically a prettier version of Suikoden 1's battle scenes. The Unite system is mostly unchanged, as well.
The Will - Basic Battle Theme
Moving on...
So we run to the north! Surely, no one will give chase!
"You'll never learn the answer to that. You'll die here, victims of the State's 'surprise attack.' Your future ends here." "Cap... Captain." "It's too bad. You two were promising soldiers. Now get them!" 
Suikoden 2 also introduced items which can be used to cast certain spells from Runes. Generally these aren't very helpful, but hey, you never know.
At this point, they kill things without too much of a problem.
Yeah, sure, I'll get right on that.
"We can't keep this up forever... Riou, there's no other way. We'll have to jump for it." 
First Choice
"Riou, we've got nowhere to run and the Captain can't leave us alive!" First Choice
"C'mon. You're not the cowardly type." First Choice
"At this rate he'll get us for sure. Better make up your mind. Do you want to leave Nanami all alone in this world?" At this point the choices reverse, so we choose the bottom choice, to again, affirm that jumping off a cliff into a river is a terrible fucking idea.
Which causes a repeat of the last battle. So, decidedly stuck with a Princess Gwaelin situation, we choose to jump off.
"That way we'll be reunited. Promise me, Riou..."
The first choice just causes Riou to strike another mark on the stone, so we go with the second.
This is the worst idea ever!
It should be noted that if you fight 108 battles with the soldiers up there at the top, this next part becomes a colored intro as opposed to a brownish 'This happened in the past' sort of intro. I had too much time on my hands.
Reminiscence
Ha ha, Riou sucks at hopscotch.
The girl in this picture is Nanami, whom we'll meet later.
Marching off to war again... But for what? The City-state is apparently behind this coup... what will become of our Heroes?!
Find out next time in Chapter 2: The Bear Man Cometh!
The next updates won't be quite so screenshot heavy, but this opening takes a bit!