Part 4: *nervous laughter*

We have not seen our sister yet, and it's about time we got to that. In fact, it's about the only thing we can do, as the moment we try to exit the guard room...



...a little girl slams the doors open and runs in. (music)



Oh! Brother?!



(Not me screwing up, she repeats it.)



Thankfully she's too short to pull a Ferid on us, but...



...she's every bit as enthusiastic about it.

I'm home, Lym.

Oh, welcome back! I missed you so much!!





But we're missing someone, aren't we?



What kind of bodyguard are you if you can't keep up with a ten year old girl? (music)



...don't wuss out now, Frey.

Well, hello! Welcome home, Prince!

You know, the two of you standing there like that, you look just like...

...an Armadillon father and daughter! *giggle* Yup!





I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling awkward.

Oh, boy, there she goes with that nonsense again...



(music)

Noooo, of course not. Your Highness was imagining things.

Miakis is pretty great.

*grumbling*

And I really like the relationship between her and the princess.



Sorry about the ears there. She found me first...

Oh... Father! It's you...

One thing you'll quickly notice about Suikoden V is that there is a lot of dialogue.

Frey! You already came to see Father and didn't bother to come see me? How dare you?!

This is by no means a bad thing. If I enjoy the characters, it's probably safe to say that I'll enjoy watching them interact, and I certainly do enjoy the characters.

Now, now. Don't be so hard on your brother. Frey was looking for you, too, you know.

However, it also means that I'm going to run out of things to say about it.

But Father! I wanted to see him so bad!

What I'm trying to say is that there will be times when the commentary will be sparse.

He's always off on some inspection or something these days. He's never around! He's probably going off someplace again tomorrow, isn't he?

And of course there are also times where I won't say much because I don't think the scene needs me blathering on.

Well, not exactly tomorrow. He'll be here for a while yet.

Basically, neither the writing nor the translation is terrible and I don't think Suikoden V requires a constant rifftrack in order to be enjoyable.

Well, okay, that's good, at least. But you really keep Frey busy, don't you? Where is he going next?

That's not to say I'm going to stop commenting, though. Like here, for instance.

Hmm... Since he just got back, I thought I'd wait a while to tell him. But I guess it couldn't hurt ot let him know.
Frey, I'll be sending you to Stormfist to check on the preparations for the Sacred Games.

"Stormfist" sounds a lot like something nazis would come up with.


Oh, that big fighting tournament. The one that's going to decide who my husband's going to be. That.

H-Hus... Well, yes...

It's too bad this scene isn't voice acted. Though, given all the in this game, they'd probably have needed to put it on two discs if they acted out everything.

Your Majesty...?

Not quite on board with the idea, are you, Your Majesty?

I'd say something about how I like Ferid's reaction to this, but it's a lot faster to say I like just about everything about Ferid. Ferid is a cool dude.

Of course not! She's far too young! But... she's our nation's princess. It's her sacred duty... There's nothing we can do about it.

Well, to be fair, Your Majesty wouldn't be here today if you hadn't won the last Games...

Hey, Frey. What about you? Would you hate it if I had a fiancé, too?

YOU'RE TEN.



GOD DAMN.

You would, huh? Hmm...

Annnnnyway... I wonder who's going to win? What kind of man will the Princess end up with?

They're keeping the list of applicants over at the Senate.
Not that I have any interest in reading it, mind you!

Well, I want to see it! Don't you, Princess? I bet you do!

Hmm... Well, maybe I'm a little curious...

Ooh, ooh, can I see?

M-Me too, please!

Then it's settled! Come on, Prince! Let's go!



Certainly! I just need to grab a pen somewhere so I can make additions to my hit list.

Come on, let's go read about your future brother-in-law!

All right. We're off to the Senate Hall, then!



...

Miakis and Lym also join up. All the knights have new lines after this, so...



Don't pick on him too much.

Prince Frey, I ask that you take good care of the Princess.

Will do! Well, I say that, but I'll mostly stand around looking pretty while the knights do all the heavy lifting.

Sometimes, the best way is not always the ideal way. Don't forget that, Your Highness.

Stop being depressing, Sephahak.

This isn't easy for me to say... But I believe disputes are often best handled on the battlefield.

Boo. I'd tell you to go stand in the corner, except you already are.



Definitely seems to be taking after her father.



Something's up with that door. At least we make it to the other side before the next scene begins.



Oh, Aunt Sialeeds!

Huh? I thought you were asleep in your room.

Oh, I was. Off in dreamland, in my nice, warm, comfy bed -- and then, all of a sudden...

"Where's Frey?!"
That was you, wasn't it? Lym? Miakis? Hmm? You completely woke me up!

Oh dear.

Lady Sialeeds, lemme clarify things! The Princess was the one doing all the shouting. I was just there!

Hey! Miakis!

What? It's true.

Why, you...
W-Well, isn't it kind of your own fault, Aunt Sialeeds? Sleeping in the middle of the day like that?

Frey, Lyon and Georg just got back, too, but you don't see them just lying around! Maybe your age is catching up with you?





Lym, wisely...

Eek!

...hides behind Frey.



Saving helpless children from rabid beasts is kind of what we do. I guess.

All right, that's enough, Auntie.

We could also side with Sialeeds, but she's a big girl. She can take care of herself.

*sigh* You never change. You're always so lenient with that sister of yours...

Well you looked like you were about to chuck her in the river so yeah.

Don't worry. I'm on your side, Lady Sialeeds!
Of course, I'm on the Princess' side, too.

That's not how sides work!

Can't you pick just one?

Come on. You're both so beautiful. Well, "cute," in your case -- but how could I possibly choose?

You better not be hitting on my sister.

My very underage sister.

Kyle, do you have any plans to grow up anytime soon?

Anyway, forget it. I'm awake now, whether I like it or not. You guys are going to the Senate Hall to see the list of applicants for the Sacred Games, right? I'll go with you.

Nothing better than a day out with all these beautiful ladies. And cute girls. Am I right, Prince?

You're dangerously close to getting chucked in the river, is what you are. Except I'd probably get written up for polluting it.



Sialeeds isn't dealing with his shit. Off we go!



The exit is under the spiral staircase. We have another convenient save spot here, except it's probably less convenient than the one in my room and the one in town.



Still, here's what it looks like when we use it. Fascinating, isn't it? (Don't answer that.)



The Sun Palace theme continues playing outside.

We're starting to get into the territory of NPCs who have little of interest to say. These guards, for instance, just have generic "nothing wrong here" lines.


But they paid a heavy price... Most of them died or were too injured to continue their duties after the war. Only Sir Galleon, Commander Ferid, and Sir Zahak remained. That's why most of the Queen's Knights on active duty these days are so young.

This one provides a bit of backstory, though. Also, an opportunity to show this nice view of our royal garden.


The Princess must be delighted to have a brother every bit as Her Majesty. We pray that the Sun Palace will forever stand in peace! D-Don't we, Sir Kyle?

This one is just weird.

...And you're asking Kyle why?

Eh? Who knows?




Y-Y-Y-Your highness!!! Oh, no, no, no! You'd surely never see a dedicated guard like ME loafing on the job! No, no, no!

I think Kyle is having a bad influence on the rest of the guards.



The senate is the big building on the left here. They won't let us escape into town, so...



Yes, there is.

We could also say that it's not, but why would we do that? This is more fun.

Hey, come on, now! ...No, there's nothing serious.

It's serious for the Princess!

For me? You're the one who started all this "let's go see the list" business, remember?

But you're the one whose husband's on the list!

Oh. Right.

Weird... "Engagement," "future husband"... It all seems like some foreign language to me.

Guard: Um... Ahem...

It's not easy, being an NPC.

Oh, right, sorry. Well, as you probably overheard, we're on no official business whatsoever. Can we come in?

Guard: O-Of course! Please, proceed!

...but not before we check out all those other interesting things in the area.


So, yes, pay it no heed. Even if a Queen's Knight should repeat it to you...

Hey, I remember you...

Noble (2): Wha--? S-Sir Kyle? Why is everyone here? Have I done something wrong? I would never dream of insulting Your Highness! I-I have nothing but respect for you, sir!

And don't you forget it.

What IS this guy talking about?

*shrug*

All right, now we can go in.


Lord Marscal Godwin and Lord Salum Barows are the two most prominent examples. The Senate itself is a forum for political discussion. Its members pass recommendations to the Queen.
Yes, the Senate's decisions are nothing more than recommendations, you see. Of course, it's up to Her Majesty whether or not to act on those recommendations.
At least, that's how it appears on the surface. In reality, Her Majesty can't ignore the decisions made by the Senate. If Her Majesty ignored them, she'd only make enemies. Numerous and powerful enemies.

Suddenly I'm very happy for that "not in line for the throne" thing!



We'll continue in through the green door.

Elderly Official: And Lady Sialeeds, and His Highness the Prince, too!

Oh, there's no need for that, everybody! At ease! Relax!

Don't mind us. We're just passing through. Please, carry on.

Young Official: Y-Yes, Lady Sialeeds!

He runs off.



I heard the Senate is in recess because of preparations for the Sacred Games.

Guess most of the nobles are out on vacation. That just leaves a couple of officials here and there.

Well, one of them's gotta have the list. Let's find it and go home.

Or, hey, we could hang around here, and gossip all day about who's backstabbing who...

Wow, you sound really enthusiastic.


Arshtat insisted that he be allowed to enter, even though his background was a complete mystery. And he won! Purely on his own merits! Withoug a gladiator or anyone else fighting for him!
Then, in the Armes invasion eight years ago, he led us from the front lines, wielding a sword like a common soldier! That sort of gung-ho attitude has made him a hero among the people. But some members of the nobility certainly don't look upon him with such favor.

So basically the Sacred Games, the purpose of which was to procure the biggest badass in the country and put them in charge of the Queen's Knights, now only serve to get some really rich guy a really cushy job (and a wife who's not allowed to turn him down.) Splendid! I foresee great things in this country's future. (It may or may not involve Mongolian hordes.)


That man cares only for his money. His bargains with Armes and the Island Nations bring him wealth. When he speaks of peace, he does so only for the good of his pocketbook. Between his backroom deals and his legions of mercenaries, he's a fraud, and a dangerous one at that.

So yeah, just because the s are literally Hitler trigger-happy fascists value military force higher than the other faction doesn't necessarily mean the competition is any better.


No doubt he's hoping to position himself as the Princess' guardian and regain some of his power. Would that counteract the Godwin faction's pull in the Senate? Who knows? I know this, though...
The Games are only taking place now, while the Princess is still so young, because Barows pushed for it.

In fact, they're dicks!



Here's where we actually need to go, but

Official: What's that? The list of applicants for the Sacred Games? I-I'm so sorry, Prince! The clerk in charge of the list is on break right now. I'll send someone down to bring them back right away! If you could just wait a moment, Your Highness...?

I'm fluent in NPC by now and what he's trying to say is that we haven't futzed around enough. Fortunately, there's a whole bottom floor left for us to get our futz on.


It's always a tough competition, and it's open to any man in the world. Technically, anyone can win...
But the nobles can always afford the very best gladiators, and anyone who can't is all but doomed. Aside from your father, Highness, the winner has almost always been either a Godwin or a Barows.

I'm feeling a "masked stranger" moment coming on. Like, maybe some total unknown will show up and crush the competition and then vanish without a trace. That ought to buy us another couple of months while they sort shit out, at least.


Much of Lord Barows' territory is in the east of Falena, so they suffered a lot in the invasion eight years ago. The Godwins' land is in the west, so they were relatively unscathed, you see. Now the Barows faction is trying to improve relations with Armes, while the Godwins are getting them riled up!

Either way, I'm only putting off the inevitable.



In the end, we still have to go... here.



Mere screenshots can not do this slimeball justice.

Ugh...

(music)




Oh, yes indeed, I, Salum Barows, am a very lucky man today, if I do say so myself! Ha ha ha!







Oh, my, my, Your Royal Highness. You do sound a tad fatigued, yes? Come to think of it, you and Her Royal Highness Sialeeds just got back from an inspection visit, did you not, sir?





So, Lord Barows, why have you graced us with your presence today? What business would bring a man of your stature all the way here? The Senate's in recess, after all.

Ha ha! A man of my stature? Oh, no! Oh, my, my! You're far too kind!



Lym is more freaked out by this guy than she was by Sialeed's death glare earlier. I think Frey is starting to wish he'd brought someone to hide behind, too.



...

I can't even anything.

Ah huh.



Suddenly, it's Euram Barows!

(Incidentally, that's also the name of his theme song.)

Ah, Euram. My, my, sorry about that, son.



At least he's polite. And less creepy than his father.

Ah, fair Princess! Do you... remember me, perchance?

Uh... Yes! We met a few times at the Sun Palace banquets, I think...



No, no, I take everything back, he's just as bad. Creepy evidently runs in the family.

*nervous laughter*

And I, too, have never once -- no, not for one day...!
No, not even for one moment -- forgotten how you looked! And now, with the elegant object of my affection standing before me -- oh! -- my heart is about to flutter away.



...

Okay, I take back what I took back before: he's worse. Stop hitting on my underage sister! Sol-Falena is full of perverts and assholes. I'm starting to think the Godwins have a point!



Suddenly Miakis! (And that's not the name of her theme song, but we get new music anyway.)



Apparently she can move very quickly when she feels like it. And thank fuck for that.

Huh...?

Miakis! Where did you come from?






If you still insist on doing so, you'd better be prepared for the consequences.

C-Consequences?



I fucking love Miakis.

*gulp*



No. (music)

But allow me this, Your Loveliness! Allow me to predict our future, with all those present as our witnesses! I Euram Barows, will someday be the third man to touch you!

...but if you think about it, it's not quite as creepy as it seems. I mean. Mentally, I'm sure Euram is about the equivalent of a ten year old.

Um... What are you talking about?

Of course, that probably wouldn't make Lym much happier.

Ha ha ha ha ha! He speaks of the Sacred Games, Princess! He's one of the applicants, you see!

I... I see...

Poor girl. Just when she thought her day couldn't get any worse.

Fierce competitors will gather from all over the country -- from beyond its borders even -- but I do not fear them! In your name, Princess, victory shall be mine!

Wow. You, uh, must be stronger than you look. Can you really, you know, swing a sword?

Her Highness jests! A sword? Me? I'm no barbarian. We have found a mighty champion! He shall carve my way to your heart!

...somehow, I don't think anyone present is as impressed by this fact as you seem to be, Euram.



Certainly not the Princess.

W-Wimp?! Wha-- You-- Your Royal Highness--

You want to be my husband? Why don't you earn the right yourself, like my father did?!

Because he looks like he would snap in half if he so much as tried to lift a sword, much less swing it? I would guess.

Hey, Lym, I understand how you feel, but...

It's a long-standing tradition that one may have a representative compete in the tournament for him.

Hmph!

Otherwise, noble Falena's royal family would be filled with barbarians who were good at only one thing -- fighting!
...Not to call His Majesty Ferid a barbarian, by any means... Please don't misunderstand me...

Grr...

Princess, there's no need for such animosity. When Euram wins your hand, we'll be the ones supporting you, backing you... You and I shall be allies.
I'm sure you know of Her Majesty's difficulties with the Godwin faction... I'm a Senator, too, you know. And let us not mince words: Lord Godwin is a bloodthirsty maniac! He thinks only of wringing more taxes from the people, expanding our army, suppressing rebellion! And he would subjugate our neighbours with the Sun Rune itself, use it to rule the world! If we cannot hold back his lunacy, our enemies will multiply, here and abroad! Falena will fall apart! But together, you and I can stem the tide of his madness!

But that's... only if Euram's champion can win the Games.

We understand each other, then.
Oh, my, I must be getting old -- all this rambling... you must all be so weary of me. I should take my leave, then.
Sir Kyle, young man, we expect great things from you.

Yeah. Thanks.

Princess, we shall meet again, for such is our destiny.



And finally, we are rid of them. (music)

I'm so tired all of a sudden.

My fingers, too.

"Sir Kyle, young man..." What are we, best buds?

That old man's too glib for his own good... Frey, Lym, what did you think?

What did I think? What did I think?



I think I would have thrown him in the river, except he wouldn't even sink!

Me neither. He's too slick. He must have rehearsed that whole thing. He didn't mean a word of it. He just wants to use me. That's all.

I am so proud of her.

Well, if you're that sharp, we shouldn't have to worry about him.

Really? But what if that boy's fighter wins the competition...?

Don't jinx it, Miakis!

But she's right, isn't she? If Euram wins, he'll be the next Commander of the Queen's Knights after Ferid!

If that happens, I'm out. No way I'm serving under that guy.

Let's just hope someone else out there steps up and wins the Games...

Definitely feeling a masked stranger moment coming on.

Anyway, we're finally free of the Barows... and the cutscene as well. Time to continue on.


Half the nobility supports the Godwin faction, so she can't afford to ignore them, no matter what they propose. But she has to keep them in check, too. Meanwhile, the Barows faction's falling over itself to please her.
Managing the Senate is an endless, thankless task for her, especially these days. People say Her Majesty has changed recently, but quite frankly, I'm not surprised!

There are a couple of other ones in here but none of them have anything particularly interesting to say.



Next up, we'll find out what Euram's competition looks like.


Bonus content:

If you show less concern for Lym...



B-But Prince! Princess Lymsleia has been waiting and waiting for you to get home!

Come on, now! Let's go!

...the game will instead assume Frey has a somewhat different relationship with his sister.



(Also some kind of weird texture failure again.)

Why didn't you come see me as soon as you came home?!

The way it works is you get points towards different characters depending on how you act throughout the game. Here, you get the affectionate scene if you've accumulated three Lym points. Most of the choices should be obvious - if you pick the ones where you're eager to see her, you get points; pick the other ones and you don't. Things like this will come into play a few times throughout the game.



If we have less than three points, we get, well, this.

Aw, c'mon, what kind of excuse do you have THIS time??!!

Of course,



...we can then proceed to make it even worse.







What?!



This scene, though hilarious, will remain firmly in "Not Canon" land, because as previously stated, Frey is not a terrible person.

Finally, some art.


(larger)

Lym seems to initially have been intended to have silver hair as well, but I guess they decided that since Frey takes after their mother in that aspect, they needed to make Ferid's contribution a little more obvious.