Which games are necessary?

[Faceman123]

Hi, this is my first time posting here, so I apologize if this is in the wrong place.

I've been wanting to get into Suikoden for awhile now, but there's just one thing that I need to know.

I'm the kind of person that doesn't want to play a series that has a cliffhanger ending with little chance of seeing a game that finishes what the previous game started. I've heard about the announcement for Suikoden 6, so now seems like a good time to get into the series, but which games would all of you Suikoden veterans deem necessary to get the "full experience"?

[sticky-runes]

There are no cliffhanger endings, the series does not play out like one big story, each game centres around one particular war in one particular country. All main numbered titles are set in the same world with recurring characters, but they are at different points in history and some games are set further apart than others. It is pretty essential to play 1&2 in order because 1 introduces a lot of big characters who continue their careers in 2, and you'll want to use the data transfer for some extra scenes. 2 is considered by a majority of fans to be the best, so if you decide to check out the sequels/prequels/spin offs afterwards that's up to you, but i'd say 1&2 are the best way to start.

[wataru14]

> I've heard about the announcement for Suikoden 6

Ummmmm... what?

[Faceman123]

Ok, thanks for the info. I look forward to starting the first one soon!

As far as Suikoden 6 goes, Wataru, I looked it up again and saw that it was an April fool's thing from earlier in the year >.> Sorry bout that.

[sticky-runes]

Oh yeah, each game does have references to certain events that occur in other games, but they're not really big spoilers. For example, "there was a terrible conflict in that land" or "this person lead tons of people to victory" are things that occur in suikoden any way, so they don't really give anything away in a lot of detail.

If you do decide to become a dedicated fan, all of the games have their strong points, and it really is best to play the games in the order they were released (5 is the last one they made and it does make a good "swan song" to the series) but that's if you want to follow them all.
For example, I'm a big fan of Skyrim but i don't intend to play any other Elder Scrolls games.

[BrucePrintscreen]

Play 1 and then play 2. Then, you will definitely want to play them again. And then, you will definitely want to play them a third time but using this very website to find all the characters and secrets. The games are ABSOLUTELY HUGE and full of things to find and enjoy besides the main stories.

Afterwards, you may try to play 3, 4, and 5. But the first two games are enough to entertain you several times. Suikoden 1 & 2 are made to be played several times in a different way and it's like a good movie whose plot you enjoy seeing unravelling in front of your eyes again even when you know the ending.

So yes, play 1, and then play 2, and then play them again, and again, and then try the others.