Story Walkthrough — 14 Chapters
The complete story is divided into 14 chapters. Pick one from the bar above — it stays with you as you scroll. [?] = fake decision (a wrong answer just re-asks), [!] = a real one-time decision, [SAVE] = last convenient save point. Each chapter lists the items and characters obtained at the top, and is broken into the locations you actually visit, in order.
Tag legend. STAR a Star of Destiny you can recruit · MISSABLE lost permanently if you skip it · POINT OF NO RETURN you cannot come back · ITEM chest or pickup · KEY ITEM needed to progress · WEAPON weapon or rune piece · ARMOR armour · RUNE a rune or crystal · BITS money · SAVE save point or inn · BOSS boss fight · SCRIPTED a fight you are not meant to win · DUEL one-on-one duel · WAR BATTLE army battle · OPTIONAL skippable side content · BEST ENDING affects the ending
CH 1Errand BoyGregminster · Magician’s Island
ITEMS 100 Bits; Medicine ×6; Leather Coat; Fire Crystal; Astral Conclusions (+ optional Fortune Crystal or Prosperity Crystal)
RECRUITS Hero, Gremio, Cleo, Pahn — plus Ted (temporary)
How this chapter works. Chapter 1 is a long tutorial with one boss at the end, but it hides the single most time-limited optional reward in the game. Read the Fortune / Prosperity Rune block below before you go upstairs to Ted — once the dinner scene fires, that reward is gone for the next thirty hours of play.
Gregminster — Royal Palace, 2Fopening scene
1
Name the hero. The default and canonical name is Tir McDohl; this guide calls him “the Hero”. If you ever plan to import this save into Suikoden II, note that the first letter of the name carries over, so pick something you can live with.
2
Follow your father Teo McDohl to the audience chamber and speak to Emperor Barbarossa. He hands Teo the sword Prakk and sends him north to deal with the Jowston border dispute. The room directly above your starting point contains Kasim Hazil — pure flavour now, but he becomes a Star of Destiny much later.
3
Choose:
[?] “Yes, your Highness.” — you agree to serve the Empire. Picking “I don’t wanna.” agrees anyway as a joke, so both answers are identical.Gregminster — Royal Palace, 1F
4
The staircase down is in the top-right of 2F.
5
100 BITS On 1F, walk to the eastern middle path and examine the suit of armour on the far right — it holds 100 Bits. This is easy to walk straight past.
6
Enter the middle-left room and speak to Kraze Miles. He gives you your first errand — fetch the Astral Conclusions from Leknaat the Seer on Magician’s Island — and makes a point of saying you get no favours for being Teo’s son. He then quizzes you on where the island is: any answer is accepted.
7
Speak to Teo (he auto-follows), then to Kraze again, then leave to the south. Teo escorts you home.
Gregminster — the McDohl Household
8
You now have free run of the world map. Stop here and read the box below before you go upstairs.
MISSABLE — Fortune Rune or Prosperity Rune (one-shot, mutually exclusive). Right now, and only right now, you can walk out of Gregminster and pick up one of two permanent stat runes for free. The window closes the moment the dinner scene starts.
How to get there: leave Gregminster and head west/southwest, hug the coast until you find the bridge, cross it, then go north into Mt. Tigerwolf. It is the only way through. Come out the far side at Sarady and talk to the man in the house in the upper right of the village.
Be realistic about the trip: Mt. Tigerwolf is built for a party around level 8 and you are level 1–2 with one character’s worth of bag space. Grind on the Gregminster–Rockland world map to about level 8–10 first, use Let Go to escape fights, and skip the Tigerwolf chests on this trip — you come back for them properly in Chapter 4.
Which one? Most long-time players take Prosperity: mid-game armour is brutally expensive, while experience levels itself out in this game. Neither is truly unique — the merchant at Kirov sells Fortune for 50,000 and Prosperity for 100,000 much later — so this is a shortcut, not a lockout.
Do not put it on the Hero. See the warning at the end of Chapter 2.
| Party when you arrive at Sarady | Reward | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| The Hero alone — never went upstairs to Ted | Fortune Crystal → Fortune Rune | Doubles EXP earned, for the wearer only |
| Hero + Ted only — talked to Ted, then left before dinner | Prosperity Crystal → Prosperity Rune | Doubles Bits earned, for the wearer only |
Be realistic about the trip: Mt. Tigerwolf is built for a party around level 8 and you are level 1–2 with one character’s worth of bag space. Grind on the Gregminster–Rockland world map to about level 8–10 first, use Let Go to escape fights, and skip the Tigerwolf chests on this trip — you come back for them properly in Chapter 4.
Which one? Most long-time players take Prosperity: mid-game armour is brutally expensive, while experience levels itself out in this game. Neither is truly unique — the merchant at Kirov sells Fortune for 50,000 and Prosperity for 100,000 much later — so this is a shortcut, not a lockout.
Do not put it on the Hero. See the warning at the end of Chapter 2.
Worth doing while you are out here. Rockland (east): Marco runs a three-cup gambling game outside the inn — full mechanics are in Chapter 2. Lenankamp (south): the blacksmith sharpens weapons to level 5 at 5 Bits a level, one level at a time, per character — put everything into the Hero first. Gregminster: walk into every item and armour shop you pass, in every town, for the whole game. Your castle merchant later stocks only what you have physically seen in a shop, and Gregminster is sealed off for most of the game.
9
When you are done, go upstairs and speak to Ted. He asks to come along; choose:
[?] “Of course.” He joins. Read Pahn’s diary on the desk in his room, and Cleo’s diary in the top-left room while she is out.10
POINT OF NO RETURN Enter the dining room to trigger supper. Sit in the empty chair. Teo announces he is leaving for the north. Go to bed afterwards.
11
SAVE The desk in the Hero’s room is now a save point.
12
In the morning Gremio joins. Walk downstairs and Pahn and Cleo join. Try to leave and Ted joins as well.
13
FREE INN The Gregminster inn is run by Marie, who lets you stay free for this whole stretch. Use it as your save point and healer.
Gregminster — Palace courtyard and stables
14
Return to Kraze for the briefing. Any answer continues.
15
Leave to the palace courtyard and walk far right to the stables. Futch and his dragon Black are in the centre — speak to him to fly to Magician’s Island. He will also fly you back to Gregminster mid-dungeon if you need to shop.
Magician’s Islandfirst dungeon — area level 1
16
From the landing point the route is north, north, north, north-east, south, north-west. Enemies here are Holly Boys and Furs; both are harmless at this stage.
17
ITEM On the second screen of the first area there is a chest partly hidden on the left holding Medicine ×6.
18
ARMOR At the Y-junction take the right fork for the Leather Coat. Put it on Pahn.
19
At the top of the path Luc summons a golem to block you.
BOSS Golem — 300 HP, level 12
Weak to Lightning (double damage). Resists Fire and Wind (half). Nothing clever is needed. The big button is the Talisman Attack unite — select it from Gremio’s command menu, with Pahn in the party. Pahn’s permanent Boar Rune also does double damage but leaves him unbalanced for a turn. Ted hits hard with a level-3 weapon; Cleo heals. Drops 1,500 Bits. There is no way to lose here.
20
KEY ITEM Luc teleports you to Leknaat’s tower. Climb the stairs and speak to Leknaat. She gives you the Astral Conclusions and reads your fate.
21
RUNE She then gives you a Fire Crystal. A crystal is not a usable rune yet — it only becomes one when a runemaster attaches it, which happens at the start of the next chapter.
22
Luc teleports the party back to Futch. Fly home and report to Kraze in the palace.
CHAPTER 1 OF 14
CH 2Tax CollectorRockland · Mt. Seifu
ITEMS Boots; Medicine ×6 ×2; Defense Rune Piece; Antique (Flower Vase); 1,000 Bits; Leggings; Escape Talisman; Lightning Rune Piece; 700 Bits; 10,000 Bits (taken from you)
RECRUITS None — Ted and Pahn both leave at the end of this chapter
Read the end of this chapter before you start it. Chapter 2 ends with the hardest item-loss trap in the game and it seals Gregminster off for most of the story. The last three steps tell you exactly what to strip and what to buy — look at them now, not after.
Gregminsterbefore you leave
1
Speak to Kraze on palace 1F. You are ordered to collect Rockland’s overdue taxes, escorted by Kanaan, who joins the party.
2
RUNE Go to the rune shop in Gregminster and attach the Fire Crystal to Cleo. It becomes a Fire Rune on her hand. Cleo has by far the best magic stat in the early party, so she gets more out of it than anyone else. Attaching and removing runes is free.
Runes cannot be attached from the party menu. Suikoden I has no “equip rune” option in the menu at all. If you open Cleo’s equipment screen you will see the rune slot but you will not be able to touch it. The only way to attach or remove a rune is to stand in front of a runemaster in a rune shop and pick Attach. If Cleo seems to refuse the Fire Rune, it is almost always one of three things: you are trying it from the menu instead of the shop; the item is still a Crystal you have not handed over; or she already has a rune on her hand and you need to pick Remove first. The towns with a rune shop are Gregminster, Lenankamp, Seika, the Village of the Elves and Antei, plus your own castle once Jeane joins.
Two different systems, two different shops. Crystals (Fire, Fortune, Clone…) go on a character’s hand, at a rune shop, and can be swapped freely. Rune Pieces (Defense, Thunder, Wind…) are engraved onto a weapon, at a blacksmith, and are permanent. Mixing these two up is the most common source of confusion in this game.
3
SAVE Rest free at Marie’s inn, then head east to Rockland.
Rockland
4
Marco is standing outside the inn running a three-cup game. See the box below.
Marco’s cup game — the early-game money printer. Three cups, one coin. He shuffles, you pick, and a correct pick doubles your bet. Bets are 100 / 1,000 / 10,000, and the shuffle gets faster as the bet gets bigger — at 10,000 it is genuinely too fast to follow by eye.
On the original PlayStation version the outcome order is fixed, so the practical method is: save at the Rockland inn right next to him, play small bets to learn the order, reload, then repeat the same order at 10,000. The pattern resets whenever you enter a building. It is repeatable indefinitely; somewhere around 50,000–80,000 Bits is a comfortable target and makes the rest of the early game far easier. This only works for Marco here in Rockland.
On the original PlayStation version the outcome order is fixed, so the practical method is: save at the Rockland inn right next to him, play small bets to learn the order, reload, then repeat the same order at 10,000. The pattern resets whenever you enter a building. It is repeatable indefinitely; somewhere around 50,000–80,000 Bits is a comfortable target and makes the rest of the early game far easier. This only works for Marco here in Rockland.
5
Buy equipment and rest if you need to. There is a chest in the left room of Grady’s mansion you cannot open yet — you come back for it in Chapter 3.
6
Enter the large mansion at the north end with Kanaan in the party. Speak to the servant, then to Grady. He blames bandits from Mt. Seifu for stealing the tax money.
7
Choose:
[?] “Of course.” — both answers lead to the same place. Head east to Mt. Seifu.Worth a detour first. Lenankamp is close and its blacksmith sharpens to level 5. Do the Hero and Gremio before the boss at the top of Mt. Seifu.
Mt. Seifu — 1Fenemies: Soldier Ant, Bandits, Black Wild Boar
8
Head east to a wide junction with five paths splaying out of it. Sweep the side paths before taking the central path north.
9
ITEMS Right-hand path from the junction: Boots and Medicine ×6.
10
RUNE PIECE Second path to the right: Defense Rune Piece. Take it to a blacksmith and engrave it on Pahn’s claws.
11
ANTIQUE South-west path: an Antique. Appraised it turns out to be a Flower Vase. Sell it in Gregminster before the end of the chapter — there is no appraiser available for a very long time afterwards.
12
1,000 BITS Second path to the left: 1,000 Bits.
13
Take the central path north to the stairs.
Mt. Seifu — 2F
14
3 CHESTS There is a room with three chests: bottom-right = Leggings, bottom-left = Medicine ×6, top-left = Escape Talisman.
15
Continue up through 3F.
Mt. Seifu — B1the Queen Ant chamber
16
You are dropped into a fight with the Queen Ant. Read the box before you spend anything.
BOSS Queen Ant — 7,000 HP, level 15 — SCRIPTED, UNWINNABLE
You are not meant to win this and you cannot get a game over. The Soldier Ants respawn forever and the Queen has a party-wide attack for 20+ on everyone. After roughly three rounds the fight ends on its own and Ted wipes her out with the Soul Eater. Put everyone on Defend and spend nothing — no items, no spells. Heal up properly the moment it ends; the party comes out of it badly hurt and the real boss is close behind.
Mt. Seifu — 4F and the peak
17
RUNE PIECE On the path heading east just before the 4F stairs there is a Lightning Rune Piece. You pick this up before you reach the save orb. Engrave it on Cleo’s weapon at a blacksmith.
18
SAVE ORB Continue east, then south and west to the next screen, out into the outdoor area. There is a save orb on the right. Heal everyone here and hand Ted your Medicine.
19
At the peak you fight five bandits (two red, one yellow, two green), then Kanaan confronts Varkas and Sydonia, who accuse the Empire of stealing its own tax money.
BOSS Varkas (210 HP, Lv12) and Sydonia (140 HP, Lv10)
Kill Sydonia first — he has less HP and he is the ranged damage. Sydonia halves Fire damage, so put Cleo’s Flaming Arrows on Varkas (around 120) and use the Gremio + Pahn Talisman Attack unite on Sydonia. Varkas hits for about 20 a swing. Ted is your backup healer. Drops 700 Bits. Comfortable at around level 8.
20
You return to the base of the mountain automatically. Go back to Rockland.
Rockland — return
21
SAVE Rest at the inn.
22
OPTIONAL On the way north-east toward the mansion you find Imperial soldiers beating a child. You can step in or walk away. Stepping in starts an optional fight with three soldiers and costs you nothing; Kanaan pointedly ignores the whole thing. There is no mechanical penalty either way.
23
Speak to Grady. He imprisons Varkas and Sydonia and hands over 10,000 Bits — which Kanaan immediately pockets.
Gregminster — the last visit for a very long time
24
LAST CHANCE Appraise and sell the Antique from Mt. Seifu. If you are collecting antiques, farm Celadon Urns off BonBons now — there is no appraiser again for many hours.
25
LAST CHANCE Do all of your shopping. Walk into every shop even if you buy nothing, so your castle merchant stocks it later. Gregminster’s armour shop in particular has Wing Boots at 10,200 and is sealed off after this.
26
MISSABLE Strip Ted and Pahn of everything. Both leave permanently within the next few minutes, and anything on them is gone for good.
Take every rune off the Hero before you walk into your house. The moment the next scene starts, Ted’s Soul Eater is forced onto the Hero’s hand and can never be removed for the rest of the game. Whatever is in that slot is destroyed. This is exactly how people lose the Fortune or Prosperity Rune they spent an hour getting in Chapter 1 — put it on Gremio or Cleo, never on the Hero.
27
POINT OF NO RETURN Return home. Gremio starts cooking. You find Ted collapsed downstairs.
28
Speak to Ted repeatedly. He explains that the court magician Windy has hunted him for 300 years over the Soul Eater, one of the 27 True Runes, and begs you to take it. The dialogue loops until you accept:
[?] “I’ll take it, Ted. Don’t worry.”29
Kraze and Kanaan arrive and demand Ted. Choose:
[?] “All right.” Ted hands himself over as a decoy and the Hero, Gremio and Cleo escape through the kitchen.CHAPTER 2 OF 14
CH 3EscapeGregminster · Lenankamp · Rockland
ITEMS Medicine ×6; Brass Armour; Antique (Hex Doll); 700 Bits; 1,000 Bits
RECRUITS Viktor (permanent)
Gregminster — the streetsyou are now a fugitive
1
Soldiers block the roads and most doors. Do not walk into a checkpoint — getting close triggers dialogue that exposes you.
2
Get to the inn. Marie recognises you and hides the party upstairs.
3
Go back downstairs to the restaurant floor. A big bear of a man is eating at the left-hand tables — that is Viktor.
4
Try to leave the inn. Guards come in; pick “(We need to stay inconspicuous.)”. Viktor physically throws the Hero out of the building and covers for you.
5
STAR Viktor leaves. Head north — he is sitting on a bench near Milich Oppenheimer’s mansion in the north-west corner of the city. Speak to him and choose:
[?] “All right. Help us out.” Viktor joins permanently.Fix your formation immediately. Viktor is a short-range fighter and does almost nothing from the back row. Open Formation, put Viktor in the front row and move Cleo (long range) back. Then sharpen his Taia Sword — he joins at 3 out of a possible 16.
6
GREGMINSTER CLOSES Walk to the gate. Viktor bribes the guard and the party leaves without paying. Choose:
[?] “It’s a promise.” — agree to go to Lenankamp.Lenankamp
7
Explore before you sleep. The town has a blacksmith (sharpening and rune-piece engraving), an armour shop, an item shop, a rune shop and the Keyaki Inn at 70 Bits. Krin lives in the north-west house — you cannot recruit him yet, but note where he is. One of the locals talks about valuables inside monster urns; that is the hint for the antique system.
8
SAVE Save, then stay the night to trigger the raid.
9
Imperials arrive and the window escape fails. A woman steps out from behind the big clock in the eastern ground-floor room. Speak to her; the clock slides aside.
Lenankamp — Liberation Army hideout
10
The hideout is a passage under the inn. You meet Odessa Silverberg (the leader), Flik, Humphrey Mintz and Sanchez — five people in total, which the game plays for irony given the name “Liberation Army”.
11
Try to leave. A wounded bandit collapses on the stairs; carry him inside. He reports that Grady has captured Varkas and Sydonia and strung them up to starve. Flik argues it is too dangerous; Odessa overrules him. Answer “It’s our fault.” — either answer sends you.
Rockland — Grady’s mansion
12
RUNE PIECE Travel to Rockland with Viktor in the front row. Sharpen weapons to level 5 if you can afford it, and take the Lightning Rune Piece from Mt. Seifu to a blacksmith to engrave onto Cleo’s weapon. Rune Pieces go on weapons, not on the rune slot, and the engraving is permanent.
13
Speak to the guard in front of the mansion at the far north. He tells you to leave; Viktor sets the building on fire as a distraction, pulling the guards off their posts.
14
ITEM Entry floor, the far room: Medicine ×6.
15
2 HIDDEN ROOMS Off the south hall there are two hidden rooms on the right. Both are guarded by two Sword Soldiers, a Spear Soldier and an Empire Captain. The first holds Brass Armour, the second an Antique that appraises as a Hex Doll. These two rooms are the most commonly missed pickups in the chapter.
16
The hidden room on the left has a fight but no item — skip it if you are hurt.
17
1,700 BITS Continue south to the fourth room for 700 Bits and 1,000 Bits.
[SAVE] The west corridor ambush. The corridor on the west side throws three Spear Soldiers, two Bow Soldiers and an Empire Captain at you at once. Cleo’s Fire Rune (Firestorm) clears it in a single cast — this is what you attached it for.
18
Rescue Varkas and Sydonia chained up in the backyard. Sydonia sulks that he could have escaped alone. They leave the party as soon as you are out — they are not Stars of Destiny yet.
19
Walk back out the front, speak to Grady on the way, and return to the Lenankamp hideout.
CHAPTER 3 OF 14
CH 4Planning AheadMt. Tigerwolf · Sarady
ITEMS Circlet; Medicine ×6 ×2; Gloves; Wind Rune Piece; Antique (Octopus Urn); Clone Crystal; 1,000 Bits; Water Crystal (bought at Sarady)
RECRUITS Odessa (temporary — she dies at the end of this chapter)
Lenankamp — Liberation Army hideout
1
Odessa asks whether you will join the Liberation Army. Choose:
[?] “My father goes his way, I go mine.”2
KEY ITEM She gives you the Fire Spear blueprints to deliver at Sarady. Odessa joins the party as a long-range back-row character with a Wind Rune.
Do not equip Odessa with anything. Odessa dies at the end of this chapter and everything on her is destroyed — equipment, runes and any items in her bag. Take the Medicine she starts with and give it to someone else, and never hand her a good weapon or armour piece. Players lose their best early gear here every single playthrough.
Mt. Tigerwolfthe only route to Sarady — area level 8
3
Leave Lenankamp to the north-west, hug the river until you find the bridge, cross it, and go north into the mountain. Escape Talismans do not shortcut this — they only drop you back on the Sarady side.
4
ARMOR Map 1, first screen: follow the path up and to the right for the Circlet.
5
ITEM Map 1, second screen, heading east: Medicine ×6.
6
ARMOR Map 1, third screen: go west and down the stairs, then take the left path at the intersection for the Gloves.
7
RUNE PIECE Map 2: a chest to the west of where you come in holds a Wind Rune Piece.
Mt. Tigerwolf — Ledon’s hut
8
On Map 2 you reach an open area with a round building. A suspicious old man urges you to rest, warning about bandits. You can refuse, but the party stays anyway.
9
He serves “Robber’s Tea, a Mt. Tigerwolf specialty” — accepting is mandatory — and drugs everyone. He is Ledon, working for Boss Kessler. Kessler arrives, recognises Odessa, is furious at Ledon’s blunder and has an antidote made. You stay the night safely.
10
In the morning speak to Ledon and Kessler, then you are ejected from the hut. Note that your HP is not restored by the forced sleep.
The hut is now a free inn and save point. You can simply walk back in. For the rest of the chapter Ledon’s hut is a free, unlimited rest and save point in the middle of the mountain — most guides never mention this and players trek all the way back to Lenankamp to heal. It also makes Mt. Tigerwolf a zero-risk farming spot: Killer Slimes drop Water Rune Pieces and Giant Snails drop Defense Rune Pieces, both around 1%. Water Rune Pieces are the best of these — water damage plus +5 HP regeneration per fragment, and they stack without limit on one weapon. Put several on the Hero.
Mt. Tigerwolf — Map 3
11
ANTIQUE On the screen after the locked bar building, go west, then north, then east for an Antique that appraises as an Octopus Urn.
12
KEY RUNE In the next area take the eastern route immediately to the left; the chest on the right holds the Clone Crystal.
The Clone Rune is the biggest power spike in the early game. Sword users only, so put it on Viktor. It deals double damage and leaves him unbalanced for one turn — but an unbalanced character can still defend or use an item, so the downside is small. Everything you fight from here to the end of Chapter 6 is a wall of Imperial soldiers, and this chest is tucked down an easily-skipped side path.
13
ITEMS Back on the previous screen, take the western path, north then right, for Medicine ×6, then continue north for 1,000 Bits.
Sarady
14
RUNE The item shop sells a Water Crystal for 7,000. Buy it if you have the money from Marco — a dedicated healing rune makes the next few chapters much safer.
15
SAVE Stay at the inn (50 Bits). The Hero cannot sleep, and Odessa joins him on the balcony. She admits she doubts her own leadership and tells him the point is to think for himself and follow his own heart.
16
Kage, a ninja messenger, arrives. He tests Odessa’s identity with questions about Mose, takes the blueprints and says he never betrays a contract. Kage cannot be recruited here — you hire him much later at the Secret Factory for 20,000 Bits. Go back to bed.
Return to Lenankamp
17
You have to walk the whole of Mt. Tigerwolf again. Before you go in, attach the Clone Crystal to Viktor at a rune shop — the fights ahead are all soldiers.
Strip Odessa completely before you enter Lenankamp. This is your last chance. The moment you walk into the town the sequence starts and nothing on her can be recovered.
18
POINT OF NO RETURN At the Keyaki Inn the innkeeper is dead — the Empire has raided the hideout. Odessa runs ahead. Follow her into the north-east ground-floor room and examine the clock.
19
Fight through three consecutive battles in the hideout. The first two are waves of five Imperial soldiers (one sword, two spear, two bow); Viktor with the Clone Rune and Cleo with Firestorm handle them.
20
You find Odessa mortally wounded — she took the blow shielding a small child. Viktor tells her she failed as a commander; she answers that she chose to be a woman rather than a commander.
21
KEY ITEM She makes two last requests: deliver her Earring to Mathiu Silverberg in Seika, and put her body in the stream so the Liberation Army never learns she is dead and loses heart. Choose:
[?] “As you wish.” — no dialogue choice changes the outcome.The Soul Eater grows. Odessa’s death takes the Soul Eater to level 1 and unlocks Deadly Fingertips. The rune permanently learns a new spell each time someone close to the Hero dies at a scripted moment. The full ladder is Odessa → Gremio → Teo → Ted.
CHAPTER 4 OF 14
CH 5The Birth of a New ArmyKwaba · Seika · Kaku · Castle of Toran
ITEMS Mega Medicine ×3; Toe Shoes; Antitoxin ×4 ×2; 2,000 Bits; Power Rune Piece; Pointed Hat; Medicine ×6; Hazy Crystal; Wind Crystal; Lightning Crystal
RECRUITS Mathiu, Camille, Tai Ho, Yam Koo, Luc, Sanchez, Humphrey — then Sergei, Marie, Onil, Chandler, Maas, Sansuke, Kai, Antonio
Fortress of Kwaba is a hard point of no return. Once you pass through the checkpoint you can never go back north — Gregminster, Lenankamp, Rockland, Mt. Tigerwolf and Sarady are all closed for the rest of the game. Finish every piece of business up there first.
Fortress of Kwaba
1
POINT OF NO RETURN You are stopped at the checkpoint. Gremio distracts General Ain Gide while you slip past under a false name. The dialogue options here are cosmetic — picking the angry answer three times just gets a reaction out of Gremio.
2
There is nothing to pick up inside the fortress on the way through.
SeikaMathiu Silverberg
3
Go to the northernmost house and talk to the children. They point you to Mathiu.
4
Find Mathiu outside at the bottom of the stairs, talk to him, follow him home and talk again. Then head back toward the stairs to trigger the raid — this is where people get stuck, because nothing tells you to walk back.
5
STAR Imperial soldiers threaten to send him to the Banaar Mines. Give him Odessa’s Earring — his estranged sister’s. He refuses it at first, then accepts. Mathiu joins as the Liberation Army’s strategist.
Kakuthe fishing village
6
STAR In the bar you meet Camille, who joins, and are pointed to Tai Ho in the basement.
7
Tai Ho will only take you across the lake if you beat him at Chinchirorin (dice). You wager up to 1,000 Bits a round and need to win once.
Chinchirorin is pure luck — save first. There is no trick and the odds are against you. Save right before you go down into the basement and reset on a bad run. Do not grind your money away here.
8
Sharpen every weapon to Kaku’s maximum (level 5) before you sail. Skip Kaku’s expensive armour — Kouan in the next chapter sells strictly better gear for less.
9
OPTIONAL The item shop sells a Holy Crystal for 5,000, which lets you run from fights reliably. It eats a rune slot, so put it on Gremio rather than a caster if you buy it.
Castle of Toran — Docks and 1F
10
ITEM Docks: the southern chest just south of the entrance holds Mega Medicine ×3.
11
NEEDED LATER 1F south-west: hug the western and southern wall around the water pool for the Toe Shoes. They are the recruitment condition for Mina in Antei several chapters from now. You can also buy a pair at the Antei armour shop or get one from Holly Spirits in the Great Forest, so this is a convenience rather than a one-shot — but taking the free pair now saves you the trouble.
12
ITEMS At the four-way intersection: north branch = Antitoxin ×4, south branch = 2,000 Bits.
13
RUNE PIECE Down the stairwell on the second screen (east side): Power Rune Piece.
14
ITEMS Circle north from the stairs; there is a Pointed Hat against the eastern wall, and Medicine ×6 in the southern exit area.
Castle of Toran — 3Ftwo hidden chests
15
SAVE There is a save point on 3F, with Antitoxin ×4 beside it.
Two hidden-wall chests — the most-missed pickups in the castle. Nothing on screen hints that these passages exist. From the 3F entrance:
Both are proper runes, not rune pieces. Get them before you go down to the boss.
| Walk into | You get |
|---|---|
| The wall directly south of the entrance, then follow the route east → south → west | Hazy Crystal |
| The wall directly east of the entrance (north-east corner) | Wind Crystal |
Castle of Toran — the depths
BOSS Zombie Dragon — 3,700 HP, level 30
Weak to Fire. Immune to the Soul Eater’s instant death. Comfortable at party level 15–17. Drops 2,000 Bits and a Lightning Crystal.
It alternates a heavy single-target lunge with a party-wide fire breath. The fight is a healing race, so: put the Fire Rune on Cleo (300+ a cast), give everyone a Guard Robe — they cut the breath damage hard — and make sure every character carries their own Medicine, because you will need two healing actions in some rounds. The Hero is fast, so he is your best item user. Viktor with the Clone Rune can still use items on his unbalanced turn.
It alternates a heavy single-target lunge with a party-wide fire breath. The fight is a healing race, so: put the Fire Rune on Cleo (300+ a cast), give everyone a Guard Robe — they cut the breath damage hard — and make sure every character carries their own Medicine, because you will need two healing actions in some rounds. The Hero is fast, so he is your best item user. Viktor with the Clone Rune can still use items on his unbalanced turn.
Toran Lake Castle — your headquarters
16
PERMANENT You are asked to name the castle. This is permanent; the canonical choice is Toran.
17
STARS Luc and Yam Koo join automatically once the castle is named, along with Sanchez and Humphrey.
The castle starts at Level 1. Level 1 gives you the tavern, blacksmith, inn, warehouse, teleport, elevator, tool shop, the Stone Tablet of Promise and the gossip NPCs. Level 2 needs more than 25 recruited characters and you will cross that during the next chapter. The castle only visibly upgrades when you arrive by ship, so if it looks unchanged, sail out and back.
Your castle shop only stocks what you have seen. Chandler’s item shop and the castle armourer stock only the goods from shops you have physically walked into. The game never tells you this. From here on, step inside every item and armour shop in every new town, even if you buy nothing.
Recruitment sweepeverything below is available right now, castle Level 1
18
8 STARS
| Who | Where | Condition / what they add |
|---|---|---|
| Sergei | Kaku — the bar / gambling den | None. Builds the castle elevator |
| Marie | Seika — the inn | None. Becomes your castle innkeeper |
| Onil | Seika — house north of the inn | None |
| Chandler | Outside Fortress of Kwaba, south side | None. Becomes the castle item shop. You do not have to re-enter the fortress |
| Maas | Great Forest Village — the blacksmith | None. Becomes the castle blacksmith. Also required later for Meese, Moose and Mace |
| Sansuke | Great Forest Village — western house | None. Builds the bath |
| Kai | Garan Fortress — north wall / the bridge | None. Has a permanent defensive rune and a unite with the Hero that hits every enemy at full damage with no drawback — the best trash-clearing tool you have for hours |
| Antonio | Seika — the bar, by the counter | Chained: recruit Marie → sleep at the castle inn → talk to Marie repeatedly (choosing “Don’t Stay”) until she asks whether you know any good cooks → then talk to Antonio |
Nothing in this chapter is permanently missable. All eight of these remain available later. But Kai and Maas pay for themselves immediately, but the Toe Shoes save you a purchase later.
CHAPTER 5 OF 14
CH 6Trickle of AlliesGaran · Kouan · Lepant’s Manor
ITEMS Shoulder Pads; Medicine ×6 ×2; 700 Bits; Counter Crystal; Speed Rune Piece; Fire Rune Piece; Leather Armour; White Paint; Dragon Seal Incense; Fortune Rune Pieces; Great Sword Kirinji; Water Rune Piece; Antique (Hex Doll)
RECRUITS Krin, Rock, Juppo, Lepant, Eileen, Giovanni, Pahn, Varkas, Sydonia, Kirkis — plus Meg, Gaspar, Sheena, Lorelai
Garan Fortressdo this detour first
1
STAR Head west to Garan and recruit Kai on the north wall if you have not already. His unite with the Hero trivialises the fights in Lepant’s manor.
Kouan
2
STAR Kouan is south-west of Kaku. Krin is in the inn — recruit him; he becomes one of your war-battle Thieves.
Kouan is the first real equipment jump. The armour shop stocks Karate Uniform 3,000, Leather Armour 5,900, Steel Shield 7,300, Boots 800, Gauntlet 1,700, Blue Ribbon 1,150 and the Emblem at 2,700 — +10 magic, males only. Put the Emblem on Luc or the Hero. Characters can wear two Shoulder Pads, so they stack.
3
STAR Lorelai is in the Kouan inn and joins if the Hero is level 25 or higher. She is easy to forget because nothing points you at her.
Lepant’s Manor — roof and 2F warehouse
4
ARMOR You enter across the roof. There is a chest with Shoulder Pads on the way in.
5
STAR In the warehouse you find Rock. Recruit him early — he opens the castle warehouse / item storage, which you will use constantly.
6
ITEMS Two chests here: Medicine ×6 and 700 Bits.
Lepant’s Manor — the stealth wing
7
You have to slip past four patrolling guards. The route is: move south behind the first, north behind the second, weave north-west around the third, then circle east around the fourth.
8
RUNE Take the outer-wall detour on the eastern side for the Counter Crystal — a rune that counter-attacks automatically. Worth the risk.
Getting caught is not a disaster. If a guard spots you, you simply fight a Robot Soldier. They are vulnerable to magic and Cleo’s Fire Rune shreds them. Do not reload out of panic.
9
RUNE PIECE In the room south of the stealth wing: Speed Rune Piece.
Lepant’s Manor — 1F
10
4 CHESTS Top-right room: Fire Rune Piece. Next room west: Leather Armour. Third room: Medicine ×6. Fourth room, south-west: White Paint.
Start of the paint collection. There are seven paints scattered across the whole game. Hand them all to Ivanov at the castle later for a reward. White is here; the rest come in Chapters 8, 10 and 12. Keep them, do not sell them.
11
STAR Juppo is on this floor and joins. Note that he arrives with a permanently attached Trick Rune that can never be removed.
Lepant’s Manor — the trick-wheel room
12
You spin a wheel to advance. The outcomes are: monster ×3, +10 EXP ×2, −10 EXP ×2, chest ×2, and a single “?”. Expect around ten spins to cross.
13
ITEM The first time you land on “?” you get Dragon Seal Incense. Every “?” after that gives a Fortune Rune Piece. Keep spinning until you have banked the incense.
Lepant’s Manor — final chamber
14
WEAPON Examine the sword mounted on the north wall to get the Great Sword Kirinji. It is not a chest, so it is easy to walk past.
15
3 STARS Lepant, his wife Eileen and Giovanni all join.
16
STAR Pahn is here as an Imperial guard. You can beat him or let him escape — both outcomes recruit him.
Start levelling Pahn today. Pahn duels Teo McDohl alone in Chapter 9 and dies permanently if he loses, which ends any chance of the best ending. He needs to be around level 30 (32–35 is safer) with his claws sharpened to 12. That is a long way from where he is now, and he cannot be caught up in one session. Rotate him into your active party from this chapter onwards. This single mistake is the most common reason people finish with 107 stars instead of 108.
Kouan — Military Government Office (Kraze’s residence)
17
ITEMS There is a Water Rune Piece in a chest here, and an Antique in the upstairs left room that appraises as a Hex Doll.
Toran Lake Castle
18
2 STARS A banquet is held. Varkas and Sydonia turn up in the banquet hall and finally join as Stars of Destiny.
19
An assassin attacks the Hero alone.
BOSS Assassin — unwinnable by design
You fight her solo and she flees after about three rounds no matter what you do. Just attack; do not burn items. This is not a duel and there is nothing to read.
20
STAR Go to the castle docks and speak to Kirkis. Agree to help the elves and he joins.
The castle should hit Level 2 around here. Level 2 needs more than 25 recruits and adds the 1F left wing, 3F, half of 4F, an upgraded Hero’s room, the armour shop, Chinchirorin gambling and the Blinking Mirror. You must arrive by ship for the upgrade to appear.
Level 2 recruits — do these before Chapter 7
21
4 STARS
| Who | Where | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Meg | Kaku — outside the inn | Juppo must be in your active party |
| Gaspar | Kaku — bar basement | Win 5,000 Bits off him at Chinchirorin, castle Level 2 |
| Sheena | Seika — the inn, left of the entrance | Lepant in the active party, castle Level 2. Lepant then leaves the party to escort him home |
| Lorelai | Kouan — the inn | Hero at level 25+ |
None of these four are missable… …but all four are the classic “I walked straight past them” recruits. Do them now while you are in the area.
Before you leave for the Great Forest. Everything you fight in the next chapter is weak to wind and lightning. Equip accordingly. Note also that Gremio and Kirkis are locked into the party for Chapter 7, so you only choose three slots.
CHAPTER 6 OF 14
CH 7Sylvan AlliesGreat Forest · Dwarves’ Vault · Pannu Yakuta
ITEMS Gauntlet ×2; Escape Talisman ×2; Needle ×4; Water Rune Piece; Fortune Rune Piece ×2; Feather; Karate Uniform; Sacrificial Buddha; Guard Robe; Killer Crystal; Medicine ×6 ×3; Sunbeam Crystal; Magic Robe; Blue Ribbon; Lightning Rune Piece ×2; Pointed Hat; Skill Rune Piece; Mega Medicine ×3; 5,000 Bits; Defense Rune Piece; Running Water Root; Steel Shield; Half Armour; Old Book Volume I; Gale Crystal
RECRUITS Viki, Valeria, Stallion, Kuromimi, Sylvina, Meese, Templeton, Kwanda Rosman, Fu Su Lu, Gon, Apple
Two things in this chapter are permanently missable. Kwanda Rosman is lost forever on a wrong dialogue choice after his duel, and the Village of the Elves closes after a certain point, taking Templeton with it. Both are covered in detail below. Save before the duel.
Great Forest
1
Enemy density is high and the experience is poor. Use Let Go freely.
2
ITEMS East of the first bridge: Gauntlet. Right side, down the stairs: Escape Talisman.
3
ITEMS South path, along the curled route: Needle ×4 and a Water Rune Piece.
4
RUNE PIECE East screen, after the wooden bridge: Fortune Rune Piece.
5
STAR After the wooden bridge you meet Viki. Agree to take her along. Do not skip this — Viki gives you teleportation across the world map, which is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade in the game.
6
You pass through Kobold Village in a cutscene. You cannot interact with anything yet; it opens up after Pannu Yakuta.
Village of the Elves
7
SAVE There is a save point at the entrance.
8
2 STARS The elves imprison you. After the escape sequence Valeria joins, with a permanently attached Falcon Rune. Stallion joins later, once Pannu Yakuta is settled; he too has a fixed rune (True Holy).
Valeria leaves again mid-chapter. She temporarily drops out of the party during the elf sequence. Do not leave your best gear on her.
Dwarf Trail
9
ITEMS Screen 1: a Feather hidden behind a plant. Screen 2: Karate Uniform down a concealed path.
10
ITEM At the intersection, the west/left fork holds the Sacrificial Buddha.
11
4 CHESTS North-west ladder area: Guard Robe. East ladder, hidden behind a shrub: Killer Crystal. Upper east: Medicine ×6. North screen: Fortune Rune Piece.
Village of the Dwarves
12
STAR Meese is at the smithy. He joins only if you already recruited Maas back in Great Forest Village — he raises the castle sharpening level.
Dwarves’ Vaulta long one-way dungeon — no exit once you commit
13
RUNE First puzzle room: Sunbeam Crystal.
14
Lever puzzle: press middle, left, right.
15
3 CHESTS The maze: centre-west (north then west) = Medicine ×6; left of the entrance (north then east) = Magic Robe; bottom-right (south, east, south) = Blue Ribbon.
16
RUNE PIECE Floating platforms: right, left, south for the Lightning Rune Piece (take it from the middle platform, going down twice). Exit via the rightmost platform, also down twice.
17
Switch / sound puzzle: left, right, right, left, left, left, right, right.
18
3 CHESTS Complex section, cycling east → west → north: Pointed Hat, Skill Rune Piece and Medicine ×6.
19
5,000 BITS Four-way intersection: left = Mega Medicine ×3, right = 5,000 Bits.
20
ITEMS West path before the final area: Escape Talisman. Middle-path intersection, west: Defense Rune Piece.
BOSS Gigantes — 3,900 HP, level 35
Immune to Fire. Takes double damage from Wind and Thunder. Drops 3,000 Bits. Comfortable around party level 24.
Physical hits plus a group-wide fire attack. Stack the Wind and Thunder rune pieces you picked up, let Luc handle magic, and use Valeria’s Falcon Rune every single round — it costs nothing.
Physical hits plus a group-wide fire attack. Stack the Wind and Thunder rune pieces you picked up, let Luc handle magic, and use Valeria’s Falcon Rune every single round — it costs nothing.
21
KEY ITEM The final chest holds the Running Water Root. This is the whole point of the dungeon — it is the medicine for the elf chief.
Village of the Elves — after the burning
22
Kwanda Rosman has used the Burning Mirror to set the Great Forest alight. The village is destroyed. Nothing you do can prevent it — it is a story event.
23
STAR MISSABLE Templeton is standing near the save point. Recruit him now — he gives you the world map.
Do all your elf-village business on this visit. The Village of the Elves becomes unreachable after a certain story point shortly ahead. Templeton is the one thing here you genuinely cannot get later.
Pannu Yakuta Castle — the first army battle
[SAVE] Save before every army battle, without exception. Characters on a losing team can be permanently killed, and low-HP characters like Luc and Eileen have the highest chance of dying. The game does not always tell you clearly. After every battle, check the Stone Tablet of Promise at the castle — a dead character’s name is blacked out. If you lost anyone, reload.
24
WAR BATTLE 1 Battle at Pannu Yakuta Castle — Imperial 9,000 vs Liberation about 7,000. Your roster is fixed; you do not choose deployments in this one.
25
| Command | Beats | Loses to |
|---|---|---|
| Charge | Bow | Magic |
| Bow | Magic | Charge (but bow always does some damage) |
| Magic | Charge | Bow — and magic vs magic damages one side at random |
26
Support commands: Ninja reveals the enemy’s next move with 100% reliability; Thief has about a one-in-three chance to reveal it and otherwise may steal around 2,000; Strategist (Mathiu) multiplies your Charge power by 1.5 for several turns; Merchant bribes enemy troops to defect, but only after the enemy has taken damage; Dragon Knights remove a quarter of the enemy troops and beat everything except Bow.
27
Kwanda almost always opens with a Charge, so open with Luc’s Magic.
Pannu Yakuta Castle — interior
28
3 CHESTS Courtyard, left door: Steel Shield. 1F far north-west room: Half Armour. 1F east room, right of the big staircase: Gauntlet.
29
FREE REST The 1F right-hand room is a free, unlimited rest point. Use it before the boss.
30
OLD BOOK 1/8 2F north-east room: Old Book Volume I — the first of eight. Hand them all to Hugo at Qlon Temple much later.
31
3 CHESTS 2F north-west room: Medicine ×6. 2F south-east room: Gale Crystal. Outside on the 2F south-west path: Lightning Rune Piece.
BOSS Dragon — 6,000 HP, level 40 (Pannu Yakuta 3F)
Takes double damage from Wind. Halves Fire, Water, Lightning and Earth. Drops 3,500 Bits. Comfortable around level 26.
Single-target thunder plus a group-wide fire breath. Kirkis with level-2 wind spells is your main damage source — make sure he has a wind rune and the magic to cast it twice. Fully sharpen weapons first and bring Dragon Incense for healing.
Single-target thunder plus a group-wide fire breath. Kirkis with level-2 wind spells is your main damage source — make sure he has a wind rune and the magic to cast it twice. Fully sharpen weapons first and bring Dragon Incense for healing.
Pannu Yakuta — the rooftop duel
[SAVE] Save on the roof before you talk to Kwanda. What follows is a duel and then two dialogue prompts. Getting either prompt wrong costs you a Star of Destiny permanently.
32
DUEL 1 Duel: the Hero vs Kwanda Rosman. He has roughly 275 HP; you want to be around level 27.
33
Duels are rock-paper-scissors: Attack beats Defend, Defend beats Desperate Attack, Desperate Attack beats Attack. Each round his taunt tells you what he is about to do, and you pick the counter.
34
| His line signals he will… | You choose |
|---|---|
| Attack — plain aggression: “Taste the sharpness of my blade!”, “Heh, now it’s my turn.”, “What’s the matter? If you don’t attack, I will!”, “That’s nothing!” | Desperate Attack |
| Defend — caution or a challenge to you: “Can you break my invulnerable defenses?”, “Now it’s your turn. Come on!”, “Carefully . . .”, “Don’t bore me. Show me what you can do.” | Attack |
| Desperate Attack — a big finishing move: “Victory is near! I strike with all my might!”, “The next one won’t be so easy!”, “We’re getting nowhere. Here I come!”, “Impossible! You can’t avoid my blows!” | Defend |
If you hit a line that is not listed. The rule of thumb holds for every duel in the game: plain aggression → he attacks; caution, or telling you to show him what you can do → he defends; anything about an ultimate technique, a single blow, or striking with all his might → desperate attack.
KWANDA ROSMAN — permanently missable on dialogue. After you win, two prompts appear. You must pick both of these:
1. “Something’s wrong” — not “Vengeance! Your time is up!”
2. “I want you to join us” — not “You’re right”
Get either one wrong and Kwanda is executed and gone forever, which locks you out of 108 stars and the best ending.
1. “Something’s wrong” — not “Vengeance! Your time is up!”
2. “I want you to join us” — not “You’re right”
Get either one wrong and Kwanda is executed and gone forever, which locks you out of 108 stars and the best ending.
35
STAR Sylvina joins after Kwanda’s defeat.
Clean-up sweepKobold Village is now open
36
4 STARS
| Who | Where | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Fu Su Lu | Kobold Village — the inn | Agree to pay his 10,000 Bits bar tab |
| Gon | Kobold Village — southern house | Kuromimi in the active party |
| Apple | Seika — Mathiu’s house | Castle Level 2, after Pannu Yakuta |
| Lorelai | Kouan — the inn | Hero level 25+, if you skipped her |
Castle Level 3 is next. Level 3 needs more than 45 recruits and you will cross it during the next chapter. It gates a large cluster of recruits, including Jeane, who runs your own rune shop.
CHAPTER 7 OF 14
CH 8Old FriendsTeien · Antei · Soniere Prison · Scarleticia
ITEMS Blinking Mirror; Mega Medicine ×3; Yellow Paint; Blue Paint; Black Paint; Red Paint; Yellow & Blue Flower Seeds; Silver Necklace; Old Book Volume VI; Antitoxin ×4; Half Helmet; Sound Setting 0; Opal (enemy drop); Magic Robe; Window Setting 1; Magic Rune Piece; Spark Crystal; Engine
RECRUITS Flik, Gen, Kamandol, Kimberly, Tesla, Liukan, Ivanov — plus Hellion, Chapman, Mina, Jeane, Lotte, Jabba, the three pirates, and Milich
This chapter contains three separate ways to lose something forever. Milich Oppenheimer dies on a wrong dialogue choice — and he takes Kasios with him, because Kasios needs Milich in your party. The Opal for Esmeralda is a random drop inside a dungeon you visit once. And Gremio dies with everything he is carrying. All three are covered below.
Toran Lake Castlethree months later
1
SAVE OPTIONAL Save at Marie’s inn. If you want money, Gaspar’s Chinchirorin in the castle can be save-scummed up to 999,999 Bits.
2
Speak to Flik in the meeting room. Mathiu asks whether he may tell Flik about Odessa’s death. Choose:
[?] “You’re right.” Flik storms out.3
STAR Follow Flik to Kaku with Viktor in the party. Speak to him and choose:
[?] “Of course.” — Flik joins. Return to the castle.Teien
4
STAR KEY ITEM Speak to Hellion at the inn and recruit her (castle Level 2). The chest to her right holds the Blinking Mirror — instant teleport to any town you have visited, and one of the most useful items in the game. There is also Mega Medicine ×3 here.
5
ITEMS The item shop sells Yellow Flower Seeds (for Zen much later) and there is Yellow Paint here.
6
Sharpen weapons to level 12 while you are passing through.
Antei
7
STAR Mina joins if someone in your party has the Toe Shoes equipped — the pair from the Castle of Toran back in Chapter 5 — and you agree to her dance request.
8
2 STARS Chapman is in the armour shop (castle Level 2). Jeane is at the runemaster and needs castle Level 3, which is more than 45 recruits — she opens your own rune shop at the castle, so she is worth chasing.
9
Qlon stands at the town entrance, but he does not join until after Scarleticia is liberated — you come back for him in the next chapter.
Rikon
10
ITEMS The item shop has Blue Paint and Blue Flower Seeds.
11
STAR Lotte is upstairs in the inn (castle Level 3). Talk to her, then use the Blinking Mirror to Kaku and catch her cat in the area right of the bar, then come back and talk again.
12
STAR Jabba is at the appraisal shop and wants a Nameless Urn — a random drop from Holly Fairies and Holly Masters around Rikon. Walk the area to farm it and level up at the same time.
Pirates’ Fortressoptional — three stars at once
13
OPTIONAL You need Tai Ho and Yam Koo both in the active party and castle Level 3. Choose:
[?] “Fight.”BOSS Anji (1,700 HP), Kanak (2,200 HP), Leonardo (1,400 HP) — five-round limit
You must win within five rounds or the fight ends in failure. Anji takes extra from Fire and Lightning, Kanak from Wind and Lightning, Leonardo from Fire and Wind. Drops 1,800 Bits.
Flik: two Raging Blows and a Rainstorm on Leonardo. Tai Ho and Yam Koo: Fisherman Attack unite on Kanak, healing with Medicine on their unbalanced turns. Viktor: Clone Rune on Anji, same trick. The Hero and Gremio focus Anji, then Kanak. Watch for spike damage when all three target one character.
Flik: two Raging Blows and a Rainstorm on Leonardo. Tai Ho and Yam Koo: Fisherman Attack unite on Kanak, healing with Medicine on their unbalanced turns. Viktor: Clone Rune on Anji, same trick. The Hero and Gremio focus Anji, then Kanak. Watch for spike damage when all three target one character.
14
3 STARS Anji, Leonardo and Kanak all join.
Rikon — the rapids
15
2 STARS The boat cannot pass the rapids. Return to Teien and recruit Gen, then take Gen to Kamandol’s locked house; Kamandol joins. Back at Rikon the two of them build the Engine and you get a high-speed boat.
Liukan’s Hermitage
16
PAINT Collect the Black Paint before you speak to Liukan — the scene starts as soon as you talk to him. Milich abducts Liukan.
17
KEY ITEM Return to the castle and have Mathiu write the letter you need for Kimberly and Tesla.
Antei — second visit
18
2 STARS Swap Gen and Kamandol out and bring Pahn and Cleo. Recruit Kimberly and then Tesla, who is living under the name Albert, in the houses behind the inn.
19
RUNE Attach the Sunbeam Crystal from the Dwarves’ Vault to Viktor. It heals the party a little every step you take on the field, which changes the whole feel of dungeon crawling.
Soniere PrisonB1F – B6F
Strip Gremio completely before you go in. Gremio dies here and it cannot be prevented. There is no dialogue choice, no level requirement and no trick — it is a fixed story event. Some sources say his equipment goes to your warehouse; do not gamble your best gear on that, and above all do not leave him carrying the Blinking Mirror.
Escape Talismans do not work in Soniere Prison. You have to walk all the way back up on foot after you rescue Liukan. Bring healing.
20
KEY ITEM You cannot enter without the False Orders from Mathiu at the castle.
21
SAVE There is a save point in the east room on B1F, with a Silver Necklace in a chest.
22
OLD BOOK 6/8 B2F, southern chest: Old Book Volume VI. Flip the lever by trying to walk through its door.
23
3 CHESTS B5F, first southern room: Antitoxin ×4. B6F: right chest = Half Helmet, centre chest = Sound Setting 0.
MISSABLE — the Opal, and therefore Esmeralda. The Nightmare enemies in this prison drop an Opal. It is a random drop and this is the only place it appears — Soniere is a one-visit dungeon in practice. Farm the Nightmares until you have it. Without the Opal you cannot recruit Esmeralda from the top floor of the Antei inn, and you cannot reach 108 stars.
24
Rescue Liukan and walk back out.
25
STAR You meet Milich at the lever room. Either response gives the same result — Gremio holds the door against the man-eating spores so the party can escape, and is killed. The Hero gains Black Shadow; the Soul Eater is now at level 2. Mathiu opens the door, Viktor takes Gremio’s axe, and Liukan joins.
Fortress of Garanthe second army battle
26
WAR BATTLE 2 Battle at the Fortress of Garan — Imperial 6,000 against roughly 8,000 of yours. Winnable on numbers alone. Buff with Mathiu’s Strategist before each Charge and scout with Thieves. Save first and check the Stone Tablet afterwards like every other army battle.
Scarleticia Castle
27
WAR BATTLE 3 Scarleticia I — Imperial 12,000 vs your 8,000. This battle is unwinnable by design; the army retreats after your first command. Do not reset thinking you failed.
28
WAR BATTLE 4 Scarleticia II — Imperial 12,000 vs your 9,800, after Liukan’s antidote. This one is winnable. “Milich’s Attack” counts as Magic, so answer it with Bow. Thieves are unreliable here at about one in three; do not build a plan around them. Save first and check the Stone Tablet after.
29
Enter the castle with Viktor and Flik locked in. Pahn, Kai and Kwanda are good picks for the other three slots — and Pahn needs the experience.
30
3 CHESTS 1F north-west room: Red Paint. 1F north-east room: Magic Robe. 2F south-west room: Spark Crystal.
31
SECRET ROOM In the lower-left area, walk through the wall near Milich’s portrait and choose:
[?] “Milich, too, is a victim…” to open the secret room, which holds Window Setting 1 and a Magic Rune Piece.32
Burn the flowers to reach Milich. Make sure Pahn is at least level 31 by now — his duel is only one chapter away.
MISSABLE — Milich Oppenheimer, and Kasios with him. Two prompts. Choose “This man is not at fault!”, then “I understand.” Do not choose “Gremio must be avenged.” Getting it wrong kills Milich — and because Kasios only joins with Milich in your active party, you lose two Stars of Destiny in one dialogue box. Save before this scene.
33
STAR Ivanov joins on 1F after the castle is liberated and becomes your castle painter. Hand him all seven paints (White from Lepant’s Manor, Yellow from Teien, Blue from Rikon, Black from Liukan’s Hermitage, Red from here, and Green and Pink still to come) for his reward.
34
Stallion arrives to warn you about the Imperial army.
CHAPTER 8 OF 14
CH 9Dysfunctional FamilyKirov · Kalekka · Secret Factory
ITEMS Old Book Volume VIII; Earth Rune Piece; Antique (Flower Painting); Sound Crystal; Window Setting 0; Fire Spears
RECRUITS Kasios, Qlon, Esmeralda, Kasumi, Sarah, Lester, Georges, Melodye, Blackman, Kessler, Ledon, Kage, Kun To, Mose, Ronnie Bell, Alen, Grenseal
This is the chapter that decides your ending. Pahn fights General Teo alone and dies permanently if he loses. Everything below assumes you have been levelling him since Chapter 6. If you have not, stop and grind before you talk to the woman in red at the castle — after that point there is no chance to save, heal or re-equip.
Toran Lake Castle — clean-up before the war
1
2 STARS Change the party through Sanchez and bring Milich. Go back to Scarleticia and recruit Kasios upstairs — he only appears with Milich in the active party.
2
2 STARS Recruit Qlon at Antei, and Esmeralda on the top floor of the Antei inn by giving her the Opal from Soniere Prison.
3
STAR Kasumi joins automatically around the castle defence. She is one of your three war-battle Ninjas and matters more than her stats suggest.
Kirovreached by Gen’s high-speed boat — Tai Ho is locked into the party
4
STAR Sarah needs a trade chain. Buy Sugar (100 Bits) at the item shop, then work it through: the man in the right room of the inn wants sugar and gives a Yardstick; the girl at the lower right wants the yardstick and gives Salt; the man near the centre-left house wants salt and gives Soy Sauce; the man near the armoury wants soy sauce and gives Soap; give the soap to Sarah.
5
STAR Lester: taste the stew in both centre houses, then go into the mansion by the docks and talk to the chef. Needs castle Level 3.
6
STAR Georges is in the Kirov inn and wants you to beat his record at the memory card game. It is luck-based; expect several attempts.
The Kirov merchant sells the runes you skipped. If you never made the Chapter 1 trip to Sarady, this is where you buy them: Fortune Rune 50,000, Prosperity Rune 100,000. Marco’s cup game money finally has somewhere to go.
Kalekkaa village the Empire massacred
7
STAR Blackman is at the northern exit tilling seeds. Do not walk over the plants — approach him from the side and talk. If you step on them the scene resets; leave north and come back in to retry.
8
OLD BOOK 8/8 The abandoned bar, past the debris: Old Book Volume VIII — “The Kalekka Tragedy”.
9
ITEMS The collapsed item shop to the south-east: Earth Rune Piece. The house west of the bar: an Antique that appraises as a Flower Painting.
10
STAR The far north-eastern house: the Sound Crystal. Give it to Melodye back in Kirov to recruit her.
11
COME BACK LATER Leon Silverberg is in one of the Kalekka houses and refuses to join. Note where he is — you come back for him with a letter once the castle reaches Level 4.
The Secret Factory
12
2 STARS Speak to Ledon and Kessler after the opening scene; both join.
13
STAR Kage is in the north-west area and joins for 20,000 Bits. He is your second Ninja for war battles.
14
ITEM The south-east chest holds Window Setting 0.
15
3 STARS FIRE SPEARS Speak to Mose; he supplies the Fire Spears. Kun To is in the large house, and Ronnie Bell joins when she loads the spears.
Recruit Mose BEFORE the duels. Mose becomes a blacksmith who sharpens weapons to level 12. Pahn needs level 12 claws to survive his duel, so getting Mose afterwards defeats the purpose.
Pahn’s duel with Teo
Do all of Pahn’s preparation now. Once you speak to the woman in red at the castle you are locked into the battle sequence with no chance to save, heal or re-equip.
| What Pahn needs | Target |
|---|---|
| Level | 30 minimum; 32–35 is safe |
| Weapon | Claws sharpened to 12 (Mose at the Secret Factory) |
| Armour | Headgear, Ninja Garb, and two Guard Rings from the Antei armour shop |
16
SAVE FIRST Speak to Mathiu and choose:
[?] “Order all troops to advance.”17
WAR BATTLE 5 Castle defence — Imperial 14,000 vs your 11,000. Unwinnable by design; it is a scripted three-round loss. Use your weakest Charge groups to minimise casualties, and reset immediately if a named Star dies.
18
DUEL 2 Pahn stays behind to fight Teo. Either farewell line is fine.
DUEL — Pahn vs Teo McDohl. Teo has about 375 HP. Same rock-paper-scissors as before: Attack beats Defend, Defend beats Desperate Attack, Desperate Attack beats Attack. Teo’s line each round tells you what he will do next.
If a line is not on the list: plain aggression means he attacks; caution or an invitation to strike him means he defends; anything about a killing blow or all his might means desperate attack.
| Teo’s line signals… | You choose | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | Desperate Attack | “Is that all you’ve got? Now it’s my turn!” · “My sword’s not rusty yet.” · “Pretty good, Pahn.” · “We’re getting nowhere. Here I come!” · “All you can do is defend, Pahn? No mercy!” |
| Defend | Attack | “Strike me, Pahn!” · “Good work, Pahn. I’ll have to be more careful.” · “All right, do it again!” · “Do you give up?” · “You’re a smart one, Pahn.” |
| Desperate Attack | Defend | “My killer blade…” · “Finish me with a single blow!” · “Impossible! Take that!” · “The next one will be more painful.” · “Can you dodge my blade, Pahn?” |
19
When Pahn wins, Teo retreats and there is a quiet scene with Cleo in Pahn’s room.
The second battle and the Hero’s duel
20
Rest at the castle and speak to Flik about the Fire Spears. Pick up anyone in Kirov, Kalekka or the Secret Factory you missed.
21
SAVE FIRST Speak to Mathiu and choose:
[?] “Order all troops to advance.”22
WAR BATTLE 6 Teo’s army — Imperial 14,000 vs your 12,500. Winnable. Use a Ninja on turn one (it always works), then Thieves. Against Teo’s cavalry, Charge every turn with the Fire Spears, and buff with Mathiu’s Strategist first. Suggested order: Commanders’ Team, Lepant Family, Pirates, Bandits.
23
DUEL 3 Teo challenges the Hero. Choose:
[?] “I accept.”DUEL — the Hero vs Teo McDohl. Teo starts at roughly half HP (about 200) and this is much easier than Pahn’s duel — a single well-timed Desperate Attack can end it. Sharpen the Hero’s weapon to 12 anyway.
| Teo’s line signals… | You choose | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | Desperate Attack | “That was nothing. Now it’s my turn.” · “Here I come, my son.” · “Did you see that coming?” · “You’re soft… soft! This is how you attack!” |
| Defend | Attack | “Show me what you’ve learned.” · “Good, try it again!” · “Come on! Show me what a man you’ve become.” · “I mustn’t underestimate you.” |
| Desperate Attack | Defend | “My sword is the Emperor’s sword. I’ll show no mercy!” · “My deadly sword…” · “Can you avoid my sword?” · “The next one will be more painful.” |
24
2 STARS Teo dies and asks Alen and Grenseal to join you. Both arrive with permanently attached runes (Rage and Thunder). The Soul Eater reaches level 3 and the Hero learns Hell.
CHAPTER 9 OF 14
CH 10Interview with the VampireWarriors’ Village · Qlon · Neclord’s Castle
ITEMS Old Book Volumes II and III; Crimson Cape; Medicine ×6 ×3; Flowing Crystal; Window Crystal; Head Gear; 5,000 Bits; Escape Talisman; War Scroll; Silverlet; Mega Medicine ×3 ×2; Skill Rune Piece; Star Dragon Sword; Champion’s Crystal; Boar Crystal; Full Helmet; Sound Setting 1; Antitoxin ×4 ×2; Earth Boots; Green Paint; Earth & Magic Rune Pieces; Cape of Darkness; Rage Crystal
RECRUITS Kirke, Marco, Moose, Fukien, Morgan, Zen, Hugo, Window, Hix, Tengaar — plus Rubi, Quincy and Eikei
The Village of the Hidden Rune is a one-time visit. You go in once, the village burns, and you get one chance to come back and loot it. The Boar Crystal down the back path is the single most-missed item in the game. There is a full checklist below.
Lorimar
1
Speak to Lepant in the conference room and choose:
[?] “Let’s attack the fortress of Lorimar!” Search the abandoned fortress; Viktor and Cleo rejoin.2
STAR Kirke: leave the town to the south and immediately come back in, then talk to him.
Warriors’ Village
3
STAR Marco is north-east of the inn running his cup game again. Win 5,000 Bits off him to recruit him.
4
STAR Moose is in the north-eastern building. He needs Maas, Meese and Mose all in the active party; talk to Meese to trigger it.
Buy the Red Flower Seeds here, now. The item shop is the only source of Red Flower Seeds, and you need red, blue and yellow together to recruit Zen at Qlon Temple later in this chapter. Coming back for them is a long trip. The same shop also sells the Champion’s Crystal for 200,000 — it suppresses random encounters and makes the rest of the game vastly less tedious. If you farmed Marco, buy it.
5
Speak to Zorak, then approach Tengaar. After Hix leaves, speak to Viktor; the party sleeps. Neclord appears and takes Tengaar.
BOSS Neclord (first encounter) — unwinnable
He can be damaged but he cannot be defeated. Kasumi’s Shrike does several hundred, which is satisfying and pointless. Do not try to run — that is the fastest way to lose people. Defend, or use Free Will, and let the scene play out.
Preparation before Qlon
6
Return to Zorak to learn about the Temple of Qlon. Back at the castle, swap the blacksmiths out for Milich, Kirkis and one more. Move Kirkis’s Water Rune to Milich, give Cleo the Lightning Rune and Kirkis the Holy Rune, and leave Viktor’s Sunbeam Rune alone. Sharpen to 15 and buy the best armour you can.
Qlon Temple
7
STAR Fukien joins when you talk to the man at the shrine entrance. Note that he arrives with a permanently attached Resurrection Rune.
8
STAR Morgan is in the north-east corner of the shrine and needs castle Level 3.
9
STAR Zen is east of the cavern entrance and needs red, blue and yellow flower seeds plus castle Level 3.
10
OLD BOOK 3/8 The left-hand bookcase near Hugo, in the north room of the shrine, holds Old Book Volume III.
11
LATER Hugo is in the north room and needs castle Level 3 plus the War Scroll from the Cave of the Past, so come back for him. He is the man you hand all eight Old Books to.
Cave of the Past
[SAVE] The Cave of the Past enemies hit hard if you are underlevelled. Save at the entrance.
12
ARMOR North-west path, up the stairs to a dead end: Crimson Cape.
13
ITEMS North path from the intersection, at the dead end: Medicine ×6 and a Flowing Crystal.
Hidden passage — the Window Crystal. On the screen south of the 1F stairway there is a secret passage in the south wall. Press straight into it. The chest holds the Window Crystal, which is the only way to recruit Window at the Warriors’ Village hardware store. Nothing on screen indicates the passage exists.
14
OLD BOOK 2/8 Left side after the north stairs: Head Gear. Northern door room: Old Book Volume II.
15
5,000 BITS End of the south-then-west path: 5,000 Bits. North area before the next screen: Escape Talisman.
16
KEY ITEM East of the sideways-Y intersection, northern section: the War Scroll. This is what Hugo wants.
17
4 CHESTS Small eastern room, down the stairs: Medicine ×6 and a Silverlet. Northern door room, final stretch: Mega Medicine ×3 and a Skill Rune Piece.
18
KEY WEAPON At the deepest level, south then west, you reach the Star Dragon Sword. Approaching it curses the party and throws you into another village.
Village of the Hidden Runeone visit only
19
ITEM Follow the boy to the well and speak to him, then speak to the Village Chief. Open the chest in the Chief’s house before you speak to him again — Mega Medicine ×3.
20
Windy appears, the village burns and the Soul Eater passes to Ted. Follow the path out. Yuber appears but Neclord interrupts him.
Go back and loot the burned village before you leave the area. Three things, and one of them is famously missed:
| Item | Where |
|---|---|
| Boar Crystal | Down the path south and west from the back exit of the Chief’s house. This is the most-missed item in the game |
| Champion’s Crystal | The house to the right of the shrine steps |
| Mega Medicine ×3 | The Chief’s house, if you did not open it earlier |
21
STAR DRAGON SWORD Return to the cave and have Viktor pull the Star Dragon Sword out. He equips it automatically. Leave with an Escape Talisman.
Hand-ins and the remaining recruits
22
2 STARS Give the War Scroll to Hugo at Qlon, and the Window Crystal to Window at the Warriors’ Village hardware store.
23
3 STARS
| Who | Where | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Quincy | Garan Fortress — on the bridge | 80+ stars recruited and alive. Dead or greyed-out characters do not count — this makes him a useful canary for checking nobody died |
| Rubi | Kobold Village — the inn | Kirkis at a high level. Sources give 35, 40 and 41; treat 41 as safe on the original PlayStation version. Speak to him twice |
| Eikei | Teien — north-east / the docks | The Hero at level 40+ |
Neclord’s Castle
24
STAR Speak to Zorak; the warriors march on the castle. At the castle entrance Hix asks to come — choose:
[?] “All right. Come with us.” He joins regardless of what you pick.25
Leave immediately, speak to Zorak, then use the Blinking Mirror. Sharpen Hix’s weapon and equip him properly — he arrives with nothing. Give Milich the Flowing Rune. Rest at Marie’s inn. Cleo should be able to cast Ball of Lightning and Milich Mother Ocean before you go back in; if not, grind in the caves.
[SAVE] Save point on the lowest floor, left side. Also note: Escape Talismans do not work inside Neclord’s Castle. You walk out on foot.
26
4 CHESTS 1F east room: Full Helmet. 2F west dead end: Sound Setting 1. Behind the east doors: Antitoxin ×4 and Medicine ×6.
27
Painting puzzle on 2F — touch them in this order: 1. Chestnut Tree → 2. Girl in the Early Afternoon → 3. Peasant Girl → 4. King of the Night.
28
ITEMS 3F far west room: Earth Boots. 3F far west area: Green Paint — one of the seven for Ivanov.
29
4 CHESTS 4F: east room = Antitoxin ×4, south room = Earth Rune Piece, north-east = Magic Rune Piece, south = Cape of Darkness.
30
HIDDEN RUNE 4F hidden: directly south of the stairs, behind the stained glass, there is a concealed chest with the Rage Crystal.
31
At the orange-sky balcony, be around level 46–48 and fully healed. Hand Antitoxins to Kirkis, ordinary Medicine to Hix and Mega Medicine to Cleo. Neclord poisons heavily — that is why the castle is littered with antitoxins.
BOSS Neclord, King of the Night — 7,500 HP, level 55
He is invulnerable until Viktor lands a hit with the Star Dragon Sword. Have the Hero, Cleo, Kirkis and Hix defend on turn one while Viktor attacks; only then open up. Weak to Light (double). Halves Water, Fire, Lightning and Earth. Drops 10,000 Bits.
His area attack hits the whole party for 100–150. Use ordinary Medicine for moderate damage and Mega Medicine for serious. Save the Lightning + Water spell combination for the first time everyone needs healing at once, and let Milich heal from then on. Sharpened physicals crit for 450–550.
His area attack hits the whole party for 100–150. Use ordinary Medicine for moderate damage and Mega Medicine for serious. Save the Lightning + Water spell combination for the first time everyone needs healing at once, and let Milich heal from then on. Sharpened physicals crit for 450–550.
32
STAR Walk out on foot. Viktor asks for leave to return to his hometown and goes regardless of your answer — he rejoins at Moravia. Tengaar joins.
Castle Level 4more than 90 recruits
Do this sweep immediately, not later. Arriving at the castle by ship with 90+ recruits raises it to Level 4 and a flag appears out front. That unlocks a cluster of recruits whose window closes at Shasarazade:
| Who | Where | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Crowley | Cave of the Past, deepest level — invisible passage in the south wall, directly south of the entrance | A return trip |
| Pesmerga | Neclord’s Castle, top floor, by the pipe organ | Another full walk up and down — Escape Talismans still do not work |
| Clive | Rikon — the inn, left of the innkeeper | Random spawn. Leave the whole town and re-enter repeatedly |
| Leon Silverberg | Kalekka | Needs Mathiu’s letter — see the next chapter |
| Mace | Seek Valley | See the next chapter |
CHAPTER 10 OF 14
CH 11Death from AboveDragon’s Den · Seek Valley
ITEMS Goldlet; Old Book Volumes IV and V; Power Gloves; Window Setting 3 (enemy drop); Window Setting 2; Master Robe; Sound Setting 2; Mega Medicine ×3; Cyclone Crystal; Gold Necklace; Moonlight Weed
RECRUITS Fuma, Kreutz, Milia, Joshua, Futch, Taggart — and Mace
Toran Lake Castle
1
Speak to Mathiu. He suggests recruiting the Dragon Knights. Choose:
[?] “Let’s go meet these Dragon Knights.” Flik and Humphrey join the party.2
Build a party with Liukan, Milich and Kai, plus Humphrey — you need Humphrey in the active party to recruit Kreutz at the fortress. Sharpen weapons and buy armour first.
Dragon’s Den
3
You are refused entry. Go to Antei and meet Vincent de Boule; pay his 200-Bit bill. Return to the Dragon’s Den and follow him through the entrance behind the large rock. He does not join here — you recruit him from the Moravia prison in Chapter 12.
[SAVE] The Dragon’s Den enemies are among the toughest random encounters you have met so far. Save before you go in.
4
OLD BOOK 5/8 1F: Goldlet and Old Book Volume V (“Craftsmen’s Profiles”). 2F: Power Gloves in the right-hand chest.
Window Setting 3 is an enemy drop, not a chest. The Sunshine King enemies here drop Window Setting 3, and this is the only place they appear. Farm it before you leave the Den — if you walk out without it, your window setting collection is incomplete for the rest of the game. The same enemies also drop Earth Shields and Cyclone crystals, so the farming is not wasted.
5
You fall into the dragon area and meet Milia and Futch.
Dragon Knights’ Fortress
6
STAR Fuma is outside, behind the right battlement. He needs castle Level 3. He is your third war-battle Ninja.
7
STAR Kreutz is inside on the lower level, upper left. Humphrey must be in your active party.
8
OLD BOOK 4/8 Northern room: Window Setting 2 in a chest, and Old Book Volume IV in the bookcase near Joshua.
9
Speak to Joshua. The dragons have been poisoned and the cure needs three ingredients.
10
STAR Return to the dragon cave. Liukan explains the situation; Milia joins and Liukan leaves the party. Travel to Seek Valley on Thrash, Milia’s red dragon.
Seek Valley
11
ITEMS East path from the entrance: Master Robe. Two screens north: Sound Setting 2.
12
At the four-way intersection: right / south-east leads to Mace, left leads west to a Cyclone Crystal and a Gold Necklace, up continues the path. North-east then north: Mega Medicine ×3.
MISSABLE — Mace, and level-16 weapon sharpening with him. Take the south-eastern path from the four-way intersection and follow it east to a hut. Mace joins only if Maas, Meese, Moose and Mose are all in your active party and the castle is at Level 4. His window is even tighter than Leon’s — roughly between now and Shasarazade.
He is not just a star: Mace is the only blacksmith who sharpens weapons to level 16. Miss him and you cannot max any weapon for the rest of the game, which also costs you the best Suikoden II import bonuses.
He is not just a star: Mace is the only blacksmith who sharpens weapons to level 16. Miss him and you cannot max any weapon for the rest of the game, which also costs you the best Suikoden II import bonuses.
[SAVE] Save before the Crystal Core.
BOSS Crystal Core — 5,000 HP, level 60
Weak to Water and Earth (double). Halves Fire, Lightning and Wind. Drops 70,000 Bits and a Cyclone Rune.
First form: the orbiting shards impale one character at a time for modest damage. Do not waste magic here — just attack and let Milich top people up. Second form: when the shell sheds and it turns into a red ball it hits the whole party for 150+ every turn. Burst it down immediately — Flik’s strongest spells, the Hero’s Black Shadow, everyone else attacking, and Milich healing every single round.
First form: the orbiting shards impale one character at a time for modest damage. Do not waste magic here — just attack and let Milich top people up. Second form: when the shell sheds and it turns into a red ball it hits the whole party for 150+ every turn. Burst it down immediately — Flik’s strongest spells, the Hero’s Black Shadow, everyone else attacking, and Milich healing every single round.
13
SAVE KEY ITEM Save after the fight and continue to the Moonlight Weed on the final northern screen.
Windy and Ted
14
Windy appears and demands the Soul Eater. Choose:
[?] “Don’t return Soul Eater.”15
She produces Ted, whose body she has taken with the Conqueror Rune. Choose:
[?] “I will not give you the Soul Eater.” Ted reveals that the Soul Eater has been feeding for 300 years — on Odessa, on the Hero’s father, on Gremio — and orders it to take his own soul so Windy can never have it. Ted dies and the Soul Eater reaches level 4.16
Milia takes the Moonlight Weed. Return to the Dragon Knights.
Dragon Knights’ Fortress — Black
17
Futch flies alone to the Floating Garden above Gregminster Palace for the second ingredient, the Black Dragon Orchid. Playing as Futch, run down one screen and touch the first plant on the right.
18
Return to Black. Windy blasts them out of the sky; Black takes the impact and dies so that Futch and the orchid survive. The dragons are saved.
19
3 STARS Joshua tells Futch that a Dragon Knight without a dragon cannot stay, and asks Humphrey to look after him. Joshua and Futch join. Accept Milia’s ride back to the castle. Taggart appears on the castle’s fourth floor and joins.
CHAPTER 11 OF 14
CH 12The Saracen FoeNorthern Checkpoint · Moravia
ITEMS Old Book Volume VII; Pink Paint; Taikioku Wear; Mega Medicine ×3; Needle ×4; Mother Earth Crystal
RECRUITS Leon Silverberg, Crowley, Pesmerga, Clive, Griffith, Warren, Kasim Hazil, Vincent de Boule, Maximillian and Sancho — and Viktor rejoins
Two recruitment deadlines expire in this chapter. Leon Silverberg and Mace must both be done before you move on. Sources disagree on exactly where the wall is — some say before Moravia, some say before Shasarazade — so treat “before Moravia” as the deadline and do them first.
Toran Lake Castle — the last big recruitment window
1
Return to the castle and speak to Kasumi and Krin.
MISSABLE — Leon Silverberg. Three steps, in order: 1. Teleport to Kalekka and speak to Leon — he refuses. 2. Go to Mathiu’s room on castle 4F before sleeping; he explains the army needs proper training and gives you a letter. 3. Take the letter back to Leon at Kalekka.
Requires castle Level 4. Leon is Mathiu’s uncle and takes over as strategist after Mathiu is killed, so the game very much expects you to have him.
Requires castle Level 4. Leon is Mathiu’s uncle and takes over as strategist after Mathiu is killed, so the game very much expects you to have him.
MISSABLE — Mace. If you did not get him in the last chapter, do it now: party of Maas, Meese, Mose and Moose, castle Level 4, fly to Seek Valley on Thrash and take the right-hand path at the four-way intersection to his hut. Without Mace you lose level-16 weapon sharpening permanently.
2
STAR Crowley — Cave of the Past, deepest level, through the invisible passage in the south wall. Needs castle Level 4.
3
STAR Pesmerga — the top floor of Neclord’s Castle, by the pipe organ. Needs castle Level 4. Escape Talismans still do not work there, so budget the walk.
4
STAR Clive — the Rikon inn, castle Level 4, with roughly a 50% chance of appearing each time you enter. Leave the town entirely and re-enter until he shows up.
5
Build the Moravia party: Kasumi and Krin are required; sharpen their weapons. Milich and Kai are good for the remaining slots.
6
SAVE Mathiu reveals there is a spy in the castle. Choose:
[?] “As you wish.” In the morning save and speak to Mathiu, then choose: [?] “Good. Let’s go.”Northern Checkpoint
7
WAR BATTLE 7 Imperial 3,700 vs your 15,000+. Comfortable. Use a Ninja each round to read the enemy — Kasumi, Kage and Fuma have three uses each, and the enemy plays the same order every playthrough. Dragon Knights are weak here, but if they are shot down you lose no soldiers and they return for the next battle.
8
STAR After the victory choose:
[?] “Recruit.” — Griffith joins. The execution prompt is a fake-out; you cannot actually execute him.9
OLD BOOK 7/8 Re-enter the checkpoint building after the battle for Old Book Volume VII (“Antique Prices”). It is very easy to walk straight past this.
Farming note. Earth Golems at the Northern Checkpoint drop Master Garb.
Moravia Castle
[SAVE] Moravia’s enemies are genuinely dangerous. Save before entering.
10
2 STARS Speak to the Record Keeper, then free Viktor and Warren from the jail. Kasim Hazil joins in the scene that follows.
11
PAINT 7/7 1F east room: Pink Paint — the last of the seven. Hand all seven to Ivanov at the castle for the Binoculars.
12
3 CHESTS South-west, heading west from the main area: Taikioku Wear. 2F south-west window path, then two screens north: Mega Medicine ×3. 2F balcony rope area, north/west building: Needle ×4.
13
RUNE The prison at the top of the castle holds the Mother Earth Crystal — a tier-2 Earth rune.
Two easy stars to lose here. Vincent de Boule: once the castle is cleared, go back in and climb to the prison again, then speak to him from outside the bars. Nothing prompts you to do this.
Maximillian and Sancho: they stop you at the Northern Checkpoint on the way back from Moravia and ask to join. Do not say no, not even as a joke — refusing loses both of them permanently.
Maximillian and Sancho: they stop you at the Northern Checkpoint on the way back from Moravia and ask to join. Do not say no, not even as a joke — refusing loses both of them permanently.
14
Return to the castle. Hand the eight Old Books to Hugo and the seven paints to Ivanov while you are there.
CHAPTER 12 OF 14
CH 13Last BastionFloating Fortress Shasarazade
ITEMS Chaos Shield; Guard Ring; Master Garb; Mega Medicine ×3; Thunder Crystal; Sound Setting 3 (enemy drop)
RECRUITS Sonya Shulen — the last recruit in the game
This is your last chance to recruit anyone. After Shasarazade, the moment you walk into the War Room and speak to Mathiu, recruitment is closed for the rest of the game. Check the Stone Tablet of Promise before you start this chapter and make sure every name you want is on it and not blacked out.
Toran Lake Castle — the War Room
1
KEY ITEM Speak to Mathiu; he proposes attacking Shasarazade. Choose:
[?] “All right. Let’s get to work.” He prepares 500 boats, and Milia’s dragons freeze them into ice ships to carry the army. Viktor gives the Hero Gremio’s axe.[SAVE] Save before the Floating Fortress battle. Go to the docks and choose:
[?] “All right. Move forward.”2
WAR BATTLE 8 Floating Fortress Shasarazade — Imperial 17,000 vs your 18,000. This is one of the rougher war battles in the game and people lose characters here without noticing. Use Dragon Knights first — they remove a flat quarter of the enemy and can act outside the normal turn order — then Ninjas for the first three rounds, countering what they reveal, and buff with Strategists before each Charge. Three Ninja uses should be enough to finish it. Check the Stone Tablet immediately afterwards.
Floating Fortress Shasarazade
3
Viktor is locked into the party. Recommended for the rest: Milich with the Flowing Rune, plus Kasumi, Kage and Fuma.
4
ITEMS South-east area, north of the first section: Chaos Shield. North chest against the western wall: Guard Ring.
5
BEST ARMOR South-western corner: Master Garb — the highest-defence armour in the game. Do not leave without it.
6
ITEM Far west, small screen: Mega Medicine ×3. At the intersection, left leads to a chest and down leads to the boss.
Sound Setting 3 — last chance. The Sirens here drop Sound Setting 3, and this is the only place they appear. Farm it before you finish the fortress or your sound collection stays incomplete forever.
BOSS Shell Venus — 15,000 HP, level 65
Weak to Earth and Lightning (double). Halves Water, Fire and Wind. Drops 100,000 Bits.
It hits the entire party for 250–300, so this is a sustained healing race: keep a Flowing Rune healer casting Rain of Kindness every single round. Ninjas use Ninja Attack every turn, everyone else attacks, Earthquake shaves about 10% a cast. Save your Judgement spells for Sonya, who is right behind this.
It hits the entire party for 250–300, so this is a sustained healing race: keep a Flowing Rune healer casting Rain of Kindness every single round. Ninjas use Ninja Attack every turn, everyone else attacks, Earthquake shaves about 10% a cast. Save your Judgement spells for Sonya, who is right behind this.
7
KEY RUNE Viktor closes the floodgate. Collect the Thunder Crystal south of the sluice — a tier-2 Lightning rune. Put it on Flik for the finale.
8
Sonya Shulen confronts you. The oil barrels explode regardless of what you do.
BOSS Sonya Shulen — about 6,000 HP, level 58
No weakness. Halves Fire, Lightning, Earth and Wind, so non-elemental damage is the answer: the Hero’s Judgement, unite attacks, Ninja Attacks every turn, Viktor on straight physicals, Milich healing every round. She is fast and hits hard but her endurance is low, so this is a short fight. Watch Viktor — his magic defence is poor and she is a magic attacker. Drops only 1,500 Bits.
9
Sonya tries to throw herself into the fire and Viktor stops her.
Back at the castledo this in the right order
Go to the basement BEFORE the War Room. Speaking to Mathiu in the War Room is the hard recruitment deadline for the whole game. Recruit Sonya first.
10
108TH STAR Go to the prison in the castle basement — the level below Viki. Choose:
[?] “I want you to join us.” then, to her line about hating you, [?] “I don’t mind.” Sonya joins at level 48 as the 108th star. The game gives no confirmation message, so players routinely assume it failed — check the Stone Tablet.11
Mathiu exposes Sanchez as the spy. He was the Empire’s agent whose leak caused the Lenankamp raid that killed Odessa, and at Shasarazade he stabbed Mathiu and set the fortress alight. Flik tries to kill him; Mathiu intervenes.
12
SAVE Save at the inn and speak to Mathiu. Choose:
[?] “March to the capital.” Leknaat arrives at the castle.CHAPTER 13 OF 14
CH 14The Coup de GraceGregminster · Royal Palace
ITEMS Windspun Armour; Horned Helmet; Power Ring
RECRUITS None — recruitment is closed
Check the Stone Tablet of Promise before you go any further. The best ending needs all 107 recruitable stars recruited AND alive. Gremio is the 108th and he is dead, which the game handles for you. A blacked-out name on the tablet means that character is dead and does not count — a Pahn who lost his duel, or anyone lost in a war battle. If a name is blacked out, your only option is an older save.
Toran Lake Castle — Gremio’s revival
1
BEST ENDING If all 108 stars are assembled, Leknaat channels their combined power — the only time it is ever used in the game — and Gremio comes back. His first line is about the laundry still needing doing and a new stew. This happens before the final war battle, not at the end.
[SAVE] Save before the final war battle. Choose:
[?] “All right. Let’s go!”The Last Battle
2
Kanaan and Yuber appear; Kirkis reports 100,000 enemy troops. Most of that host is monsters conjured by Windy. Choose:
[?] “The Soul Eater…” — Windy says the Soul Eater must never be used. Joshua lends Leknaat his Dragon Rune and 80,000 of the enemy are removed, leaving 20,000 against your 18,710.3
FINAL WAR BATTLE Order of commands: Merchants first, to try to buy enemy troops away; then Dragon Knights, who remove 5,000 (fewer if the Merchants worked); then Ninjas, countering whatever they reveal; and Strategists to buff your Charges.
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After the victory you meet Hanzo, Zorak and the Dwarf Chief.
Gregminsterthe best place in the game to build levels and money
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Take a party with Viktor and Flik locked in. Alen, Cleo and Rubi are the standard recommendation for the other three.
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RUNES Rune setup: Viktor — Sunbeam; Flik — the Thunder Crystal from Shasarazade; Cleo — Flowing; Rubi — Cyclone; Alen keeps his permanent Rage Rune.
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Sharpen every weapon to 16 (this needs Mace) and buy the best armour. Equip Silver Caps where you can — they restore 5 HP a turn. Everyone should be at least level 48.
If you plan to import this save into Suikoden II. Characters over level 60 carry bonuses across. Max the weapons of Tir, Viktor, Flik, Clive, Futch, Hix, Humphrey, Kasumi, Lorelai, Luc, Meg, Pesmerga, Sheena, Stallion, Tengaar and Valeria. The Windspun Armour and Power Ring in the palace below both transfer as well. Gregminster is the best grinding spot in the game, so do it here.
[SAVE] Ain Gide can still hurt you. Save before the palace gates.
BOSS Ain Gide — 8,000 HP
Halves Fire and Lightning; no weakness. Drops 2,000 Bits. He is very slow, which effectively gives you a free healing turn every round, and he mostly uses single-target physicals for about 200. Use every spell combination you have — Fire + Lightning, Lightning + Water, Water + Wind — plus Judgement. Viktor attacks normally, Cleo heals. Rest at Rockland’s inn afterwards.
Gregminster Royal Palace
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ARMOR 1F, lower-right chest: Windspun Armour. Get it before you leave the floor.
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SAVE There is a save point at the left-hand T-intersection.
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2 CHESTS FINAL SAVE 4F: from the entry room go south-east, then east to an intersection, and take the eastern path for the Horned Helmet. Back at the intersection, go north through the next room and west at the T-intersection for the Power Ring — the save orb is in that same room.
Free healing before the last fight. The palace fights are mandatory and frequent — 3F alone has five encounters. In the long carpeted hall, walk back and forth until Viktor’s Sunbeam Rune has healed everyone to full. It costs nothing but time. You can also skip most encounters by leaving a room and re-entering.
The Floating Garden — final battle
BOSS Golden Hydra — three heads, 10,000 HP each
Kill the healing head first. It both heals and revives the other two, and while it is alive the fight cannot be won. It is the head that resists Wind — described in most guides as the left-hand head, at the bottom of the target list. If you are unsure, watch one round: whichever head casts the heal is the one to kill.
Despite having three targets it only acts once per round, but almost every action hits the whole party — a globe attack for around 300 and a party-wide heat wave. The heads have different elemental immunities (one immune to Fire, one to Lightning, one to Wind), so spell combinations and non-elemental damage are safest. Keep a dedicated healer casting every round.
Despite having three targets it only acts once per round, but almost every action hits the whole party — a globe attack for around 300 and a party-wide heat wave. The heads have different elemental immunities (one immune to Fire, one to Lightning, one to Wind), so spell combinations and non-elemental damage are safest. Keep a dedicated healer casting every round.
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Barbarossa reveals that his Dragon King Sword holds the Sovereign Rune, a True Rune that shields its bearer from every form of magic — including Windy’s Gate Rune, and including magical coercion. It is also what lets him become the Golden Hydra. He tells her he wanted to erase the sadness in her eyes, and that loving her was a mistake — then takes hold of her and jumps from the castle. Neither rune is ever recovered.
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Evacuate: choose
[?] “Hurry.” Viktor holds off the soldiers and Flik is struck by an arrow and stays behind with him.The endings
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Mathiu dies in a tent after the battle, attended by Liukan, still doubting whether his strategy was justified. Sanchez is quietly pardoned by Lepant — not out of mercy, but to keep his exposure from destabilising the new Toran Republic — and exiles himself to Qlon Temple. The game then lists what all 108 characters did afterwards.
The difference between the two endings. There is nothing to do differently at the very end — the final battle, the Hydra and the escape all play out identically. The difference is entirely upstream, in whether all 108 stars were alive.
| Ending | What changes |
|---|---|
| Normal | The Hero leaves Gregminster alone |
| Best | Gremio was revived at the castle and the Hero leaves with Gremio at his side. The fates of Gremio, Pahn and Maximillian are shown differently, and if nobody died in a war battle the game does not report casualties at all |
CHAPTER 14 OF 14