It's time to Ask Konami about Suikoden 6

[Vextor]

Personally, I'd be pretty fricking happy if they give further detail on the Succession War and Highest Rebellion-- however, I don't see those is requiring an official "numbered" release due to it being unlikely there were a gathering of the stars. Instead, releasing it as Suikoden Tactics 2 or something of the like would be sufficient in my mind-- but I'm dreaming.

Also, never discount the possibility of "Love Plus Suikoden"! This is because even at the most recent comiket in Tokyo, Suikoden-based dojinshi was being sold in quite a high volume (which means it's still very popular to "certain people").

[DoReMi_Vampire]

@Vextor
What's this "Gathering of the Stars"? Was it some kind of event?

[Nikisaur]

I assume by gathering of stars he means an army with 108 stars of destiny as we see in the most Suikoden games.

[DoReMi_Vampire]

Yeah obviously. But did he mean a gathering of fans who were asked to speak directly with Konami? What was said and done? When, how, why? Details please, it's the first time I've heard of them doing anything like that.

[Vextor]

Nikusar got it right. "Gatherng of Stars" is when 108 stars come together in Suikoden's history to change the course of destiny. So no, definitely not a "gathering of fans who were asked to speak directlt with Konami."

[DoReMi_Vampire]

I see, I misunderstood. When you said "numbered release" I thought you refered to my poll-suggestion that would show Konami the numbers. Excuse me.

About the Succession War. The war itself doesn't have to be the main focus, it could be a background or a facade for something else. There could be a gathering of stars fighting some other threat or conspiracy behind the scenes, this would make the story more exciting since it's something we don't know the outcome of.

[Vextor]

I see, sort of like Final Fantasy Tactics where there was a historical war going on, while the main hero was focusing on fighting an entirely separate threat.

[Piisuke]

I don't want Suikoden IV to be 'about' anything'

I want Suikoden IV to be the final nail in the series

wrap up all the loose ends, plot threads, reveal the remainder of the true runes, just finish it so we can get a satisfactory conclusion

Just to clarify, but I presume you're talking about Suikoden VI here, as opposed to IV.

As for the Succession War, I think it could be a 'numbered' title, cause quite a few of characters that we know played a part in this and, of course, there's always additional characters that can be added to that. Both Mathiu and Leon, as well as the Great Six Generals, including Georg Prime, Pahn, Cleo, Humphrey, Ain Gide, Gremio and Tir being kidnapped, which I believed happened in that period as well (could be wrong though) and, of course, Barbarossa. That is about 15 characters already. Sure, it is a loooong way until 108, but I don't think we know the complete story, just the general outline. There's plenty of individual skirmishes that could have taken place.

What I am trying to say is, is that the Succession War could very well become a full fledged Suikoden. Although, a Suikoden 'Gaiden' game would be welcome too.

[Raww Le Klueze]

We know the outcome of any game: the player wins. No one ever thought Frey wasn't going to rescue Lym, no one ever suspected the Liberation Army wouldn't topple the Empire in the end, everyone knew Luca Blight would be taken down eventually, we all knew this was going to happen, claiming that the Succession War wouldn't be interesting because we know how it ends is silly.

Yeah, we know Barbarosa wins the Succession War, the point is, how do we get there? The story is in the details, not the ending.

[DoReMi_Vampire]

Agreed. We know what the outcome is, but only in a very general view. The journey through the game could add new perspectives that allow us to understand the outcome in completely new and different ways.
Another character people seem to forget is Odessa's husband Achilles. We could see the Empire getting more and more corrupt by the minute from his perspective, while from other perspectives we see people celebrating Barbarossa and the Great Generals as heroes for their war-efforts.

[Piisuke]

Raww is spot on.

Aside from Achilles, DoReMi_Vampire, we also seem to forget Claudia. Which also means that Windy could play a part in this too.

[ninjaluc79]

I don't want Suikoden IV to be 'about' anything'

I want Suikoden IV to be the final nail in the series

wrap up all the loose ends, plot threads, reveal the remainder of the true runes, just finish it so we can get a satisfactory conclusion

Just to clarify, but I presume you're talking about Suikoden VI here, as opposed to IV.

As for the Succession War, I think it could be a 'numbered' title, cause quite a few of characters that we know played a part in this and, of course, there's always additional characters that can be added to that. Both Mathiu and Leon, as well as the Great Six Generals, including Georg Prime, Pahn, Cleo, Humphrey, Ain Gide, Gremio and Tir being kidnapped, which I believed happened in that period as well (could be wrong though) and, of course, Barbarossa. That is about 15 characters already. Sure, it is a loooong way until 108, but I don't think we know the complete story, just the general outline. There's plenty of individual skirmishes that could have taken place.

What I am trying to say is, is that the Succession War could very well become a full fledged Suikoden. Although, a Suikoden 'Gaiden' game would be welcome too.

Well, I read in the character and history guides that Barbarossa's forces started small, then grew gradually until it was strong enough to take down Geil Rugner. So, yeah, the Succession Wars could make a good numbered Suikoden.

The one thing I noticed in the numbered Suikodens is that there is a turning point from which the hero's army starts getting the upper hand.

Say, the Gate Rune Wars: The Liberation Army started gaining the upper hand when Teo's Armored Cavalry got pwned by the Fire Spears.

Then the Dunan Unification War, well, when Luca Blight was defeated, well, the New Dunan Army started gaining the upper hand vs. Highland.

I haven't played 3 to 5 yet, but I'm pretty sure each story has turning points which pretty much decided the outcome of the game.

[LanceHeart]

We know the outcome of any game: the player wins. No one ever thought Frey wasn't going to rescue Lym, no one ever suspected the Liberation Army wouldn't topple the Empire in the end, everyone knew Luca Blight would be taken down eventually, we all knew this was going to happen, claiming that the Succession War wouldn't be interesting because we know how it ends is silly.

Yeah, we know Barbarosa wins the Succession War, the point is, how do we get there? The story is in the details, not the ending.

I think the bigger problem with the Succession War is that we know so much *more* than the standard "we know the player wins if he grinds/knows what he's doing". We know of the relationships between characters that survived the war and know of quite a few deceased ones as well. We even know that one of the most dramatic moments is going to be the Kalekka Incident.

We already know way more detail than we should about that war, probably for the very reason of them not planning on making its events into a game in the first place.

[Raww Le Klueze]

We even know that one of the most dramatic moments is going to be the Kalekka Incident.

We also knew that Georg would kill the Queen in V, that didn't stop it from being an impactful scene, because we had no idea how it was going to play out.

And the Kalekka incident takes place 2 years after the Succession War. So it only comes into play if the game includes the Scarlet Moon / Jowston war.

[Darkbeat]

Really the Succession War would be the perfect choice for either a numbered installment or a Rhapsodia style side story, when you think about it.

Those who have yet to play a Suikoden would have the perfect game to start, as it would be the first prequel of Suikoverse (to come out later) which is intrinsically tied to the games that proceed it. (ie Suikoden IV and V were both prequels set in Suikoverse, but their ties to I-III were more tenuous)

On the other side of the coin, those who have been around from the beginning would jump at the chance to see old favorites returning and perhaps see some new light shed on lingering questions. The Succession War is literally a gold mine of character and plot development for characters and situations that were solely lacking.