Suikoden II Collection Guide

This is a guide I curated & complied to help me collect all the 108 Stars of Destiny, Recipes, Ingredients, and other collectibles - in chronological order of the game. It assumes one takes advantage of the Matilda Glitch & the McDohl sidequest. It also lists every collectible as early as they can be accessed, not necessarily when one would naturally first come across them. In these cases, the collectible/Star may be listed in both occurrences). It does not list Stars that join automatically due to plot. Much of the information was collected from Suikosource, but much of it was completely developed by me during playthroughs. It has been of great use to me, and now I'm happy to share it with all of you! (Keep in mind, this is the way I like to approach the game, and may not work best for all.)

**SPOILER ALERT** I do refer to spoilers in this guide. Not intended for first-time players that wish to remain spoiler-free.

*Guide Curated by Joanna Sherlyn Dunlap for Mythic Geekdom*

COOK-OFF PRIZE RECIPE LIST

  [_]  Recipe 2 - Tomato Soup (Yu Kum)  

[_]  Recipe 8 - Buttered Clams (Goetsu)  

[_]  Recipe 17 - Cake (Shiki)  

[_]  Recipe 19 - Pasta (Ryuki)  

[_]  Recipe 24 - Fried Rice (Bashok)  

[_]  Recipe 22 - Gratin (Ryuko)  

[_]  Recipe 30 - Ramen (Antonio)  

[_]  Recipe 27 - Tonkatsu (Gyokuran; will steal some recipes during the battle, will return them after when you win)  

[_]  Retso - impossible to win, will trick you & take the moon bird recipe  

[_]  Recipe 33 - Sushi (Lester: you must do the McDohl sidequest before defeating Lester if you want him to tell you about Gremio’s Special Stew)  

[_]  Recipe 38 - Sashimi Combo (Retso)  

[_]  Recipe 40 - Kaiseki Dinner (Jinkai)

TOTAL RECIPE LIST

1. Tamago-Yaki

2. Tomato Soup (Yu Kum)

3. Ohitashi (From Dr.Huan after recruiting Tuta in Muse)

4. Salad

5. Gyoza (2nd Floor Coronet Inn, townsperson)

6. Chowder

7. BBQ Meat Bun

8. Buttered Clams (Goetsu)

9. Fish Fry (Kuskus Rich House bookshelf)

10. Ice Cream

11. Quiche (Kuskus Rare Finds)

12. Sandwich (dropped by EagleMan in Kobold Forest)

13. Meat Pie (Kobold Village villager in Elder’s House)

14. Simmered Fish (Radat tavern chef)

15. Fried Fish Balls

16. Sunomono (Lakewest, Taki's shelf)

17. Cake (Shiki)

18. Croquettes (Radat Rare Find)

19. Pasta (Ryuki)

20. Tempura (woman in Greenhill Inn)

21. Grilled Fish (dropped by Land Shark in Two River Sewer)

22. Gratin (Ryuko)

23. Rice Omelet (Two River rare find, Human Area)

24. Fried Rice (Bashok)

25. Pizza (Greenhill rare find)

26. Teriyaki (Highway Village rare find)

27. Tonkatsu (Gyokuran)

28. Curry Rice (Gregminster rare find)

29. Grilled Beef (dropped by Zombie Slug in Path to Matilda)

30. Ramen (Antonio)

31. Hamburger (Kobold Village rare find)

32. Obento (Kent's Mother, Highway Village after quest)

33. Sushi (Lester)

34. Japanese Stew (dropped by Yellow DoreMi Elf, Greenhill Forest Path during liberation)

35. Full Course (Muse rare find after Liberation)

36. Ghengis Khan (dropped by Highland soldier in RockAxe during mission)

37. Steak (Rockaxe mission, Bookshelf in Gordeau’s room)

38. Sashimi Combo (Retso)

39. Special Stew (Gremio, if completed the McDohl quest before defeating Lester)

40. Kaiseki Dinner (Jinkai)

RECIPE BUG!!!! TURN IN RECIPES 21, 12, & 34 AT THE SAME TIME! They will most likely be found in this order, and it’s only a short time to hold them in your inventory before turning them all in at once! If you turn in any of these before the others, it will make it impossible for enemies to drop them. Do not turn them into Hai Yo’s Restaurant! You can keep them in Barbara’s vault until it’s time to turn them all in.

• 21 - Grilled Fish: (found in the Two River Sewers; dropped by Land Shark)

• 12 - Sandwich: (found after the events at Two River, when HQ is at level 2, in the Path of the Unicorn in Kobold Village, during or after Hix & Tengaar Quest; dropped by Eagle Man)

• 34 - Japanese Stew - (found while liberating Greenhill, in the Greenhill Forest path, dropped by DoReMi Elf) **FARM ITEM BUGGive all seeds to Tony (or animals to Yuzu) ONE AT A TIME! Giving two or more at a time causes them to not show up in the farm, even though they are still counted in the restaurant. If you want that pleasing visual of a perfectly full farm, give em one at a time.

ABOUT ITEM DROPS

Each monster of the drop-type has a different item (different percentage for each monster to carry a different item each time a battle begins). The first enemy to be killed will drop their item at the end of the battle. When farming items from drops, save the EMU at the start of the battle, then have the highest-hitting, fastest character try attacking each of the drop-type enemy, while every other character defends. After the first round, ensuring that the one enemy has been killed before any other, then kill the rest of the enemies, finishing the battle. If the item is not received by the end of the battle, load again, and try with each consecutive enemy. If the item is with none of the enemies, then continue on, and repeat the process with the next encounter with the enemy type until the item is received.

ABOUT RARE FINDS

If waiting for a rare find to show up, buy out all the available rare finds, then leave town a few times, letting time pass, then return. New Rare Finds will not show up if there are still other unbought rare finds in stock.

ABOUT UNKNOWN ITEMS

They are organized by price, low to high. If you have to lighten your bag, get rid of things on the top first.

VIKI’S MISTAKE

She will randomly teleport you to the second floor in Radat for Mole Suit, Dragon Armor, Mega Medicine X9, Blue Gate Rune

STEAL FROM HANS

A glitch in Hans' equipment shop allows you to bring your potch below zero which tricks the game into thinking you have maximum potch!

• Step 1. Have enough money to buy one piece of armor but not 2 of that armor. Go to Hans (your castle's armor shop) with 1 character wearing this piece of armor, and 1 character with no armor.

• Step 2. Buy the armor. Select the character wearing the armor. When given a choice to put your current armor in the bag or exhange for potch, choose either one. At the confirmation screen, hit cancel twice. You will still be in the buy mode, ready to select who to buy it for.

• Step 3. Now select the character who has no armor. Select "yes' at the confirmation screen.

• Step 4. Now, select that character again, and choose either option (put in bag or sell). Now cancel out of all the menus. You should have 999999 potch.

Detailed example: Riou with armor, Viktor with none, 23,001-45,999 potch (let's say you have 24,999 potch) to use the trick with Dragon Armor.

1. Buy Dragon Armor.

2. Choose to equip on Riou.

3. Since Riou has Dragon Armor on already, you're asked whether you want to sell the previous armor or put it in the bag. Choose either of the two, it doesn't matter.

4. Before it really happened, there is a question to confirm whether you really want to do that or not. CANCEL (triangle button) twice.

5. Now you are back at step 2 (the screen to choose who would equip the Dragon Armor on). This time, choose Viktor.

6. Confirm the purchase. If you do it right, your money would not be reduced at all (so if you start with 25,000 potch, it will stay 25,000 potch).

7. After that, buy another Dragon Armor, and again choose to put on Viktor. Now that he already has the first Dragon Armor equipped, you'll be asked whether you want to put the old one in the bag or sell it. Doesn't matter what you choose, and confirm.

8. 999,999 potch.

Another way to think of it:

1. Person A has expensive armor, Person B has no armor. Have enough money to buy just one of the same type of armor that Person A has.

2. Buy that same expensive armor and equip on Person A. When Hans says “Decide. Is this ok?” Press the Cancel Button twice.

3. Go down till Person B is highlighted. Press the Confirm Button repeatedly till you’ve got 999999 potch.

STRONG/BALANCED LARGR-SCALE BATTLE UNITS

• Riou/Shu/Miklotov

• Viktor/Tsai/Camus

• Ridley/Tuta/Pesmerga

• Kasumi/Freed Y/Yam Koo

• Kiba/Huan/Annallee

• Hauser/Adalai/Hanna

• Georg/Chaco/Koyu

• Max/Lorelai/Gijimu

• Gilbert/Apple/Templeton

• Flik/Nanami/Jeane

• Teresa/Shin/Jess

• Ayda/Tai Ho/Emilia

• Luc/Klaus/Humphrey

• Mazus/Oulan/Lo Wen

108 BATTLES FOR COLOR OPENING

Riou & Jowy’s Level: 11 EXP: 679 Potch: 27450

UNTIL MERC FORTRESS BURNS DOWN

*KEEP SACRIFICIAL JIZO on BULGAN - will need to give to Adalai later.

KYARO

   [_]  Mukumuku (Examine Tree 3x before meeting Nanami)  

[_]  Old Book 1 (Genkaku’s dojo)   

[_]  Old Pot (genkaku’s dojo)

NORTH SPARROW PASS

  [_]  Double Beat Rune (dropped by cut rabbit, get enough for Riou, Nanami, Jowy, Flik Viktor)

RYUBE

   [_]  Rikimaru  

[_]  Millie  

[_]  Kinnison & Shiro

RYUBE FOREST

  [_]  Killer Rune (dropped by woodpecker; get enough for Nanami, Flik, Viktor, etc)

TOTO

   [_]  Zamza (w/Nanami)  

[_]  Hanna (after burning down)

WHILE ON ERRAND FOR PILIKA

CORONET(MUSE REGION)

   [_]  Recipe 5

HIGHWAY VILLAGE (MATILDA REGION)

   [_]  Rabbit Plans 2 (rare finds)  

[_]  Recipe 26 (rare find)  

[_]  Recipe 32 (from Kent’s mom after saving him from Rakutei)  

[_]  Mayo

MT. RAKUTEI (MATILDA REGION)

   [_]  Dragon Plans 2  

[_]  Unicorn Plans 2  

[_]  Turtle Plans 3 (dropped by Hawkman & Sky Knight)

FOREST PATH TO MATILDA (accessed from Matilda)

   [_]  Sound Set 2 (dropped by doremi elf)  

[_]  Potato (dropped by papa holly)  

[_]  Recipe 29 (dropped by zombie slug)

GREENHILL (GREENHILL REGION)

   [_]  Recipe 20  

[_]  Recipe 25 (rare finds)  

[_]  Old Book 5 (Academy; study room on the top-left side on the first floor, right side of the bookcase on the left side)

FOREST VILLAGE (GREENHILL REGION)

   [_]  Old Book 6 (Person in Trading Post)  

[_]  Sugar (Trading Post)  

[_]  Salt (Trading Post)

MAKE SURE you get enough cool armor & runes & stuff for Viktor & Flik! They won’t be in your party until after you’re out of the Muse area (access to Matilda)

MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MOVE ON BEFORE YOU DROP TSAI OFF AT THE MERC FORTRESS! After that, you cannot leave to level up, upgrade weapons/armor/runes, etc.

You will NOT be able to put Viktor or Flik in your party till much much later, so don’t save anything for them. Your party item space will be at a premium till you get your HQ.

MUSE PORTION

SINDAR RUINS

   [_]  Spark Rune (dropped by double head boss; put on high speed character, like Nanami)  

[_]  Fire Lizard Rune (put on Zamza; weapon)   

[_]  Old Book 2 (right path at double head statue fork; use square plate)

WORLD MAP (MUSE AREA)

   [_]  Gale Rune (dropped by sickle)

MUSE

   [_]  Clive (speak to him, recruit in South Window later) 

  [_]  Old Book 4 (city hall; storage room with Jess scene)   

[_]  Sound Set 1 (from Elza)  

[_]  Tuta (after meeting Anabelle)  

[_]  Recipe 3 (from Huan after recruiting Tuta; Huan joins automatically later)  

[_]  Anita (after meeting Anabelle; flatter her, leave town, repeat. SAVE before talking to her!! If you can’t fulfill a request due to not having a particular item already in your inventory, you will lose the opportunity to get her until much later!)

BURNT MERC FORTRESS

   [_]  Templeton (after being asked by Jess to go to the Highland Camp; find him at the Merc Fortress, then follow him to Toto)

MAKE SURE to get all cool runes OFF Jowy before going to the camp, & all armor OFF before going into Jillia’s tent (the larger tent).

Also, take Zamza with you in your party if you want to give him the Fire Sealing Rune before you have to leave Muse (or you keep carrying it until you get your HQ, and party item space is at a premium).

**After the events at the Highland Camp, you will be unable to change your party or leave Muse until after it falls.

HIGHLAND CAMP

   [_]  Fire sealing rune (put on Zamza)

3rd MAJOR BATTLE

  [_]  Gilbert (Injure, but do not defeat his unit)

BEFORE GETTING ON TAI HO’S BOAT, after beating him at dice, go get the Circus crew, and take them north to Matilda to level up & get good gear before heading South.

Make sure you have enough armor, runes, and weapon runes from Matilda for Flik & Viktor when you finally get them in your party in South Window! Then save their old armor for Freed Y & the Vampire Hunter!

**While you are up there, you can also pass through Two River now (apparently) and can recruit some folk early, which is funny cause you don’t have a castle yet!

TWO RIVER:

   [_]  Hans

LAKEWEST:

   [_]  Tetsu (Be Toasty, eat Fried Tacos from Kobold district in Two River)  

[_]  Taki

NORTH WINDOW PORTION

KUSKUS

   [_]  Recipe 9 (bookshelf in rich house with bridge)  

[_]  Recipe 11 (rare find)

RADAT

   [_]  Sound Set 5 (rare find)  

[_]  Recipe 18 (rare find)  

[_]  Recipe 14 (from cook)

SOUTH WINDOW

   [_]  Old Book 3 (rare find)  

[_]  Friendship Rune (bonsai - embed in Riou’s weapon)

*KEEP the WOODEN SHIELD from Freed Y in inventory to give to Adalai.

CAVE OF THE WIND

   [_]  Blue Gate Rune

NORTH WINDOW

   [_]  Darkness Rune (a child Rune of the Soul Eater; in the Statue Puzzle Room, hidden door by moving the far left statue up before moving the out-of place statue. Picture showing what to do is in the downstairs area that will become the prison/graveyard)   

[_]  Blue Ribbon (Candle Puzzle Room; Light all the lower candles except the one before the last one)

HQ LEVEL 1

After accepting leadership & giving HQ a name

KUSKUS

   [_]  Oulan (all female party; speak w/ woman near entrance then cross bridge)  

[_]  Tai Ho & Yam Koo (Beat at dice - auto plot recruit)

RADAT

   [_]  Amada (defeat in duel after recruiting Tai Ho)  

[_]  Richmond (after coin flipping with him, talk to the first guy in the tavern)  

[_]  Yoshino (Freed Y in party)

SOUTH WINDOW

   [_]  Alex & Hilda  

[_]  Adlai (Sacrificial Jizo from Bulgan, Wooden Shield from Freed Y, Wind Rune from South Window Rune Shop - thrown)  

[_]  Clive (after using the boat once)

LAKEWEST

   [_]  Taki   [_]  Tetsu (Be Toasty, eat Fried Tacos from Kobold district in Two River)  

[_]  Cabbage (Empty barrel between two houses up top)  

[_]  Recipe 16 (shelf in Taki’s house)

TWO RIVER

   [_]  Hans  

[_]  Resurrection Rune (Sewers)  

[_]  Recipe 21 (Landshark - Sewers) BUG Connected to Recipes 12 (Path of the Unicorn) & 34 (Path escaping Greenhill)  

[_]  Recipe 23 (rare find, human region)

KOBOLD VILLAGE

   [_]  Recipe 13 (cook in chief’s house, red bandanna, in the shadows)  

[_]  Recipe 31 (rare find)  

[_]  Exertion Rune (Big pot outside chief’s house)

HQ LEVEL 2

You are free to explore and fill your party with anyone after you get back from Two River, and Shu tells everyone to meet back the next morning. You will wake up, and instead of going to the Council Room to be told that Greenhill has fallen, you can go explore.

COOK OFF IS NOW ACTIVE! Recipe List at Top

RECIPE BUG!!!! TURN IN RECIPES 21, 12, & 34 AT THE SAME TIME! They will most likely be found in this order, and it’s only a short time to hold them in your inventory or vault before turning them all in at once! If you turn in any of these before the others, it will make it impossible for enemies to drop them.

• 21 (found in the Two River Sewers; dropped by Land Shark)

• 12 (found after the events at Two River, when HQ is level 2, in the Path of the Unicorn in Kobold Village, during or after Hix & Tengaar Quest; dropped by Eagle Man)

• 34 (found after the events in Two River, in the path escaping Greenhill the first time; dropped by DoReMi Elf)

RADAT

   [_]  Stallion (Run Away or Let Go over 50 times)

HQ

   [_]  Hai Yo (Kitchen)  

[_]  Turtle Plans 4 (Rope Climbing, 1st Pride, Castle League)

COOK OFF

   [_]  1 - Yu Kum (Recipe 2, Tomato Soup)

FISHING GAME

   [_]  Whitefish (3)  

[_]  Clams (3)  

[_]  Shrimp (3)  

[_]  Salmon (3)

WORD MAP - GREENHILL REGION

Castle must be at level 2

To recruit the squirrels, they must be recruited in order, must have an empty space for each in the party.

You do not need to have every previous squirrel in your current party, just previously recruited, in order. The only squirre that is a Star is Mukumuku. All others are optional and just for fun (& for an epic unite attack).

Stay on the path as much as possible, and enter the villages before returning on the path. It resets the randomized, bringing the wandering squirrels back closer to the path. Many have gotten them right after exiting a town. It helps if you have Stallion, to go fast, catching the squirrel as they wander on the map, before they stray too far away. Running from all battles helps, as they keep moving on the map during battles.

(Also, Chicks can be dropped by Ragged One in the Greenhill area; this is NOT a farm chick!!! This is a bath item!)

   [_]  Makumaku (path between Two River & Greenhill)  

[_]  Mikumiku (path between Greenhill & Forest Villlage)  

[_]  Mekumeku (path between Greenhill & Forest Path)  

[_]  Mokumoku (clearing south of Forest Village)  

[_]  Turtle Plans 1 (Two River area; dropped by Rockadillo)  

[_]  Turtle Plans 2 (Greenhill area, during occupation; dropped by Ragged One)

LAKEWEST

   [_]  Shilo (Beat at dice)  

[_]  Hix & Tengaar (bring Flik or Viktor for an extra scene; only if you’ve loaded in Sui I stuff)

COOK OFF

   [_]  2 - Goetsu (Recipe 8, Buttered Clams)

PATH OF THE UNICORN (KOBOLD - While recruiting Hix & Tengaar)

• Do NOT open the chest closest to the starting point in the forest. It makes it impossible to collect all of Yuzu’s sheep. After recruiting Yuzu, you can find her 4th sheep here. Going back, you’ll see that chest will be open.

   [_]  Recipe 12 (dropped by eagle man) BUG Connected to Recipes 21 (Two River Sewers) & 34 (Greenhill Forest Path - during liberation)   

[_]  Double Strike Rune (dropped by eagle man)

TWO RIVER

   [_]  Sid (Two River Sewers w/ Chaco)  

[_]  Gabocha (Kobold District w/Gengen)  

[_]  Spinach (from Suzu after getting Chaco)  

[_]  Recipe 23 (rare find, human region)  

[_]  Recipe 21 (sewers, dropped by land shark) BUG Connected to Recipes 12 (Path of the Unicorn) & 34 (Greenhill Forest Path - during liberation)

FOREST VILLAGE

   [_]  Wakaba (Riou Level 30)  

[_]  Tony (talk to him twice)  

[_]  Spinach (from elder after recruiting Tony)

MUSE/GREENHILL BORDER

   [_]  Meg & Gadget

GREENHILL

   [_]  Emilia (be honest w/ her after the tour)

GREENHILL FOREST PATH

   [_]  Chimera Rune

AFTER GREENHILL

COOK OFF

   [_]  3 - Shiki (Recipe 17 - Cake)

KOBOLD VILLAGE

   [_]  Yuzu (all animals must be collected after recruiting her)

UNICORN PATH (KOBOLD VILLAGE)

   [_]  Lamb (on the main path toward Siegfried’s tree, if that first chest hasn’t been opened)  

[_]  Mangosh (hidden chest behind tree; can get while recruiting Yuzu)  

[_]  Guard Ring (hidden chest behind tree; can get while recruiting Yuzu)

FOREST PATH TO MATILDA (could have gotten all of these - except Viki - before, during the errand for Pilika)

   [_]  Viki  

[_]  Sound Set 2 (dropped by doremi elf)  

[_]  Potato (dropped by papa holly)  

[_]  Recipe 29 (dropped by zombie slug)

TWO RIVER

   [_]  Jeane

FOREST VILLAGE

   [_]  Lamb  

[_]  Iron Hammer (in Weapon Shop)

LAKEWEST

   [_]  Chick

RADAT

   [_]  Piglet

HIGHWAY VILLAGE

   [_]  Calf

ROCKAXE

*Long Chan Chan is is still in the Rockaxe Inn, but if you bring Wakaba, he becomes suddenly absent. You can bring Wakaba later when you go to Muse for the council meeting, and use the Matilda glitch to go get him.

   [_]  Violence Rune (appraisal shop bookshelf)

ON THE WAY TO TORAN REPUBLIC

COOK OFF

   [_]  4 - Ryuki (Recipe 19 - Pasta)

BANNER

   [_]  Rabbit Plans 3 (rare find)  

[_]  Tomato (rare find)  

[_]  Rose Brooch (rare find; use to recruit Simone later)  

[_]  Potato (woman inside house)  

[_]  Alert Rune (barrel north of the docks)

PATH TO GREGMINSTER

   [_]  Window 1 (dropped by Tiger)  

[_]  Poison Rune

GREGMINSTER

   [_]  Blinking Mirror (from Lepant; automatic)  

[_]  Kasumi OR Valeria (recruit Kasumi to enter Rokakku early. Valeria has the same rune as Anita)

[_]  Copper Hammer (soldier in palace, first room on the right)  

[_]  Old Book 7 (McDohl shrine in palace)  

[_]  Red Pepper (trading post)  

[_]  Soy sauce (trading post)  

[_]  Tomato (person in the street)  

[_]  Recipe 28 (rare find)  

[_]  Recipe 39 (after the McDohl quest, defeat Lester in the cook-off. He will mention Gremio‘s Special Stew)  

[_]  Mother Earth Rune (rare finds)  

[_]  Flowing Rune (rare finds)  

[_]  Cyclone Rune (given by Sarah in Inn)

**After Gregminster; Radat, South Window, and Kuskus will also be inaccessible until after defeating Luca Blight. This means that many things that we’ve been waiting for HQ Level 3 for; we still can’t get until after defeating Luca, since HQ isn’t level 3 until after Gregminster, but we still can’t get to some of these cities until after Luca. So I will put those checklist items in the “after defeating Luca” part

HQ LEVEL 3

COOK OFF

   [_]  5 - Bashok (Recipe 24 - Fried Rice)

FOREST PATH TO MATILDA

   [_]  Badeaux (bring an animal)

FOREST VILLAGE

   [_]  Connell (bring sound set)  

[_]  Ayda & Feather (defeat griffins, use Listening Rune)

PATH OF THE UNICORN (KOBOLD)

   [_]  Sigfried (bring a pure maiden: Tengaar, Sierra, Mikumiku, Nanami; any young woman, use Listening Rune)

HQ/TOTO

   [_]  Tomo (Tsai asks to go to house, take him there)

ROKKAKU (if Kasumi was recruited)

   [_]  Mondo  

[_]  Sasuke   

[_]  Piglet (trading shop)  

[_]  Sound Set 6 (trading shop)  

[_]  Blinking Rune

GREGMINSTER

   [_]  Gordon (earn 50,000 trading)  

[_]  Lorelai (wait until after defeating Luca & bring Killey for extra dialogue)

BEFORE BATTLE WITH LUCA

AFTER SAVING RIDLEY FROM AMBUSH, now is a good time to prepare.

COOK OFF

   [_]  6 - Ryuko (Recipe 22 - Gratin)

SUGGESTED PARTY STRUCTURE for BATTLE w/ LUCA BLIGHT

I like to level everyone intended for my 3 parties to level 40 by grinding on the road to Greminster, and outfit them in the best armor, sharpened weapons, and runes as listed below. The stats listed after every name reflect what they are at level 40. These are just suggestions, but this is how I like to do it.

• Tank

• Offensive Rune

• Healing Rune

• Balanced Fighter

TANKS #ATT points

• S Sigfried 365 (Killer, White Saint) - 2 PARTY SPOTS

• S Feather 331 (Shining Wind, Double Beat)- 2 PARTY SPOTS

• S Bolgan 258 (Fire Breath, Down)

• S Zamza 231 (Fire Dragon/Fire Sealing, Fire Lizard)

• S Oulan 230 (Lion/Angry Dragon, Fire)

• S Wakaba 225 (White Tiger, Fire)

• S Mondo 224 (Mayfly, Down)

STRONG MAGIC USERS

• L Luc (Blue Gate/Cyclone/Pixie, Magic Drain) 9/5/3/1

• L Rina (Lighting/Fire/Water, Fire) 8/4/2/1

• L Tengaar (Resurrection/Darkness, Poison) 8/4/2/1

BALANCED

• M Nanami 169 (Double Beat/Spark, Down)

• S Camus 189 (Rage, Fire) 6/3/1

• M Futch 195 (Water, Earth) 6/3/1

• L Eilie 178 (Lightning, Earth) 6/3/1

• S Freed Y 172 (Lightning, Earth) 6/3/1

• L Kinnison 167 (Water, Earth)

PREPARE CHARACTERS

   [_]  Level 40 or higher (train up on Path to Gregminster)  

[_]  Highest armor   

[_]  High healing items (after leveling them all up, go to Hai Yo once, defeat the rival chef, then get a bunch of strong food for all the party members)  

[_]  Runes (balanced in party: offensive/healing; fire sealing if possible - to protect against Luca's many powerful fire attacks; runes for weapons too)

[_]  Weapons sharpened & runes embedded (Kuskus now sharpens up to 11, and though the rest of the town is blocked off, the blacksmith is accessible)  

[_]  Make sure everyone has stayed at the Inn & HP & magic is all the way up!

SUGGESTED PARTY 1

1. S Flik 201 (Lighting/Double Beat, Lightning) 8/4/2/1

2. S Sigfried 365 (Killer, White Saint)

3. S Camus 189 (Rage, Fire) 6/3/1

4. L Tengaar (Resurrection/Darkness, Poison) 8/4/2/1

5. *L Sigfried 365 (Killer, White Saint)

6. M Futch 195 (Water/Earth, Lightning) 6/3/1

SUGGESTED PARTY 2

1. S Viktor 239 (Violence/Double Beat, Down)

2. S Bolgan 258 (Fire Breath, Down)

3. S Oulan 230 (Lion/Angry Dragon, Fire)

4. L Rina (Lighting/Fire/Water, Fire) 8/4/2/1

5. M Nanami 169 (Double Beat/Spark, Down)

6. L Eilie 178 (Lightning/Earth, Lightning) 6/3/1

SUGGESTED PARTY 3

1. S Freed Y 172 (Lightning, Earth, Lightning) 6/3/1

2. S Feather 331 (Shining Wind, Double Beat)

3. S Zamza 231 (Fire Dragon/Fire Sealing, Fire Lizard)

4. M Riou (Lighting/B. Shield/Double Beat, Friendship)8/4/2/1

5. *L Feather 331 (Shining Wind, Double Beat)

6. L Luc (Blue Gate/Cyclone/Pixie, Magic Drain) 9/5/3/1

COOK OFF

(after leveling everyone up & making sure their armor, runes, weapons, and weapon runes are up to date; then go to Hai Yo once, defeat the rival chef, then get a bunch of strong food for all the party members)

   [_]  7 - Antonio (Recipe 30 - Ramen)

STRONG HEALING FOOD FROM HAI YO

• ***Cream Stew 8/600

• **Amazing Tempura 7/400

• **Terikayki 7/400

• **Fried Rice 6/500

• Cheesecake 6/450

• Rising Sun Bento 5/450

• Tintoburger 5/450

• BBQ Meat Bun 9/300

JUST BEFORE BATTLE WITH LUCA

• Talk to Shu FIRST the night before the battle with Luca. Your responses trigger an extra scene with Apple the next morning.

• Talk to Leona the night before fighting Luca

AFTER DEFEATING LUCA

KUSKUS

   [_]  Karen (Pressing the select button brings up a picture of the controller that indicates the next button(s) to press.

•Press the button immediately after Karen claps.

•Start the button sequence after Riou bounces 3-4 times.

SOUTH WINDOW

   [_]  Maximillian   

[_]  Annallee (first at the Inn)  

[_]  Killey (tell him about Alex, go back to HQ, talk to Alex, go back to South Window & keep talking to him)

RADAT

   [_]  Hoi  

 [_]  Lebrante (Celadon Urn) 

 [_]  Simone (bring rose brooch to sluice gate; brooch found in Banner Rare Finds)

GREGMINSTER

   [_]  Lorelai (if you didn’t get her earlier, bring Kiley for extra dialogue)

TWO RIVER

   [_]  Bob (must have 80 people)

DRAKEMOUTH

   [_]  Calf  

[_]  Cabbage (small bag on crates in storage house)

COOK OFF

   [_]  8 - Gyokuran (Recipe 27 - Tonkatsu) (Gyokuran will steal some recipes during the battle, will return them after when you win)

MUSE PEACE TREATY

ROCKAXE

(use Matilda glitch; it’s possible to get by the guards; but you’ll need to use the blinking mirror to get back, then the boat beck up to Cornet to get to Muse.)

  [_]  Long Chan Chan (bring Wakaba. If possible, put 6 Chinese dishes in the bath before going to recruit LCC, and he’ll show up in the bath; then there will be more funny dialogue when recruiting LCC in Rockaxe. You can get Chinese Dishes from the monsters in the path to Toran; you probably have lots from all the pre-Luca-Battle leveling-up)

WORLD MAP (Muse Area)

   [_]  Double Beat Rune (dropped by white tiger)

NECLORD ARC

COOK OFF

   [_]  9 - Retso - impossible to win, will trick you & take the moon bird recipe

PATH TO TIGERMOUTH

   [_]  Window 2 (dropped by air lizard) 

 [_]  Double strike rune (chest)

TIGERMOUTH

   [_]  Chick (wandering around outside)  

[_]  Old Book 8 (south house, tiny bookshelf)  

[_]  Tomato (person outside)

CROM

   [_]  Tenkou (northeast house, bring window set)

TINTO

   [_]  Raura

  [_]  Dragon Plans 3 (young man in a house over the south east cliff)  

[_]  Unicorn Plans 3 (old man in the other house over the south east cliff)

TINTO MINES

   [_]  Old Book 9  

[_]  Window 5

AFTER NECLORD

WITHIN STORY

  [_]  Jess (accept his apology or he leaves forever)

COOK OFF

   [_]  10 - Lester (Recipe 33 - Sushi) (You must do the McDohl sidequest before defeating Lester if you want him to tell you about Gremio’s Special Stew)

TINTO

   [_]  Mother Earth Rune (from Gustav)

MOUNTAIN PATH TO TIGERMOUTH/DRAKEMOUTH

   [_]  Georg Prime  

[_]  Window 2 (dropped by air lizard)  

[_]  Double strike rune (chest)

SOUTH WINDOW

   [_]  Gangetsu (party combined strength 400+)

BEFORE LIBERATING GREENHILL

• Talk to Leona the night before going to liberate greenhill.

GREENHILL FOREST PATH - DURING LIBERATION

   [_]  Recipe 34 (DoReMi Elves; the yellow one?) BUG Connected to Recipes 12 (Path of the Unicorn) & 21 (Two River Sewers)

AFTER GREENHILL LIBERATION

(You will go to the Great Hall and speak to Shu automatically. You can “wait a minute” before liberating Muse to go on a recruitment drive.)

COOK OFF

   [_]  11 - Retso (Recipe 38 - Sashimi Combo)

KUSKUS

   [_]  Tessai (bring Viktor)

GREENHILL

   [_]  Pico (Inn; Annallee recruited)  

[_]  Rabbit Plans 4 (rare find)  

[_]  Window 6 (rare find)  

[_]  Old Book 10 (villager in dorm basement)  

[_]  Piglet (outside academy)  

[_]  Rage Rune (Rune master)  

[_]  Silver Hammer (student in Academy; blacksmith room, after recruiting Tessai)  

[_]  Jude (Academy; talk to him, go get him clay from Forest Village)

GRENNHILL WORLD MAP

   [_]  Spinach (dropped by eye flower)

FOREST VILLAGE

   [_]  Sound Set 7 (Connell’s sister)

TINTO

   [_]  Alberto (Weapon Shop; Annallee & Pico recruited)

HQ LEVEL 4

(After all the recruiting after greenhill, your HQ will be at level 4.)

ROKKAKU (if Valeria)

   [_]  Mondo  

[_]  Sasuke   

[_]  Piglet  

[_]  Sound Set 6 (trading shop)

RADAT

   [_]  Vincent (bring Simone to Sluice Gate)

KUSKUS (BOAT TO CORNET)

   [_]  Genshu (at least one level 14 weapon, Tessai can with the Silver Hammer)

CAVE OF THE WIND

   [_]  Pesmerga (at the end, where you got the sword)

TINTO MINES

   [_]  Mazus

BY NOW, YOU SHOULD HAVE ALL 108!!!

There is a scene where Kiba meets Shu in his room. After that, you must make sure you have all 108 before moving on. Once you speak to Shu after that, it triggers a scene with everyone in the Great Hall. Leknaat appears here. If you don’t have all 108 by this time, you won’t get the proper ending.

SUGGESTED STRONGEST PLAYERS FOR THE FINAL BATTLESALL LEVEL 50 or ABOVE (level up on the Greenhill path, bring Needles)

MAGIC USERS

• S Luc (Blue Gate/Cyclone/Pixie, Magic Drain) 9/6/3/2

• S Mazus (Blue Gate/Thunder/Fire) 9/6/3/2

• L Rina (Mother Earth/Rage/Water) 9/5/2/1

• L Tengaar (Resurrection/Thunder) 9/5/3/1

FIGHTERS

• S Viktor 335 (Double-Beat, Fury, or Violence)

• S Pesmerga 341 (Counter) 7/4/2/1

• S Georg Prime 345 (Double-Beat)

BALANCED

• S Flik 310 (Thunder, Double-Beat) 9/5/3/1

• M Nanami 259 (Double Beat/Spark, Down)

• M Riou (Prosperity/Bright Shield/Double Beat, Friendship)

ALSO CHECK YOUR BATTLE UNIT FORMATION!

ROCKAXE MISSION

KNOW BEFORE ROCKAXE: HOW TO SAVE NANAMI

• In order to save Nanami and see the "best" ending, you must first gather the 108 Stars of Destiny before choosing to invade Rockaxe. You will know you have accomplished this task if Leknaat appears during the rally and unlocks the fourth level spell of the Bright Shield, Forgiver Sign. Then Nanami must have a total DEF value of 121 or greater (you can use equipment to boost her DEF) when she and Riou reach Gorudo during the siege of Matilda Castle.

• When confronting Gorudo, when Nanami tries to deflect arrows to protect you, you must select either dialogue option RIGHT AWAY (there is a time limit for this dialogue selection).

• You know you’ve succeeded if afterwards, Huan pulls Shu aside for a private word after he claims to have failed to save Nanami (Please note that Nanami will still be unavailable for the rest of the game).

• With that being said, in order to see Nanami alive you must get the "best" ending, which consists of not entering the meeting room in your castle but instead going to Tenzan Pass to meet Jowy at the place the friends swore to wait for each other if separated.

• Do not defeat Jowy in the duels he forces upon Riou, and when he tries to give you his true rune, keep rejecting it. Eventually, the end sequence will start.

ROCKAXE CASTLE

   [_]  Dragon Plans 4  

[_]  Unicorn Plans 4   

[_]  Recipe 36 (dropped by Highlands Soldier in the castle infiltration)

ROCKAXE (after liberation)

   [_]  Old Book 11 (armor/item shop basement; now accessible)  

[_]  Thunder Rune (speak to blue knight beyond the area where Gorudo was defeated)  

[_]  Recipe 37 (beyond the area where Gorudo was defeated)  

[_]  Turn Recipes 36 & 37 in AT THE SAME TIME

HIGHWAY VILLAGE (After Rockaxe liberation)

   [_]  Calf (yes, another one, now after the Greenhill, Matilda, & Muse liberation)

GUARDIAN DEITY OPTIONS (Head/Body/Legs/Tail)

• Fury Crystal (berserk) D/D/U/U

• Prosperity (x2 Potch) & Fortune Crystals (x2 EXP) R/T/R/T

(There are more options than these, but these are the ones I like. Only the first combination chosen yields a reward. For a complete list of combinations and their rewards, check suikosource.com )

COOK OFF

   [_]  12 - Jinkai (Recipe 40 - Kaiseki Dinner)

AFTER MUSE LIBERATION

MUSE

   [_]  Old Book 12 (villager in tavern)  

[_]  Recipe 35 (rare find)  

[_]  Flowing Rune (villager, rune Shop, 2nd floor)  

[_]  Fury Rune (rune shop rare finds)

WORLD MAP (MUSE AREA)

   [_]  Double Beat Rune (dropped by white tiger)

BEFORE INVADING HIGHLAND (where Shu uses himself as bait)

• Put Tsai in Viktor's unit. If you're lucky, the Fire Spear will defeat Leon, and you'll get to hear his very rare "defeat" speech.

KYARO (interact with the Home Tree)

   [_]  30 Potch  

[_]  Trio Painting 

 [_]  Hunter Rune

SAJAH VILLAGE

   [_]  Golden Hammer (rare find)  

[_]  Lamb (rare find)

L’RENOUILLE

   [_]  Window 7  

[_]  Fury Rune

Jowy’s Story - Chapter 3. A New Family (Suikoden II Fan Fiction)

Suikoden II - Jowy's Story

A Fanfiction by Joanna Sherlyn Dunlap

"Suikoden" and all its characters therein are trademarks of Konami Co., Ltd. © 1995-1998.

English Translation © Konami of America, Inc.

Writer-Creator: Yoshitaka Murayama (Murayama-san, arigato!)

Notes

I debated forever about how I wanted Pilika to talk. In the games, she refers to herself in third person: “Pilika tried really hard.” From my understanding of Japanese culture, it is more polite to refer to people by name, and not by pronouns as we do in English. This may be why she speaks the way she does. I noticed other characters using a similar speech pattern and that lead me to believe that Pilika’s speech might have been due to translation error, and not an actual personal trait of her speech.

Though this had always made her more endearing to me in the game, the speech can seem out of place in a written work. So rather than copy her first-person speech patterns as used in the game, I decided to let her use pronouns. I felt it was more important to get across the concept of Pilika’s childhood innocence in the way that would be most appropriate for the language she’s speaking. In this work of fanfiction, she speaks English. I wanted her to speak as a child would, and therefore use pronouns like most English-speaking children. However, children occasionally make grammatical and syntactical errors. I wanted to include some of that charm into her speech. I hope this is a worthy substitute for those of you that cherished her first-person speech.

Chapter 3: A New Family

Jowy found Pilika sitting at the bank of the river. She was talking to a duck.

“…so, if you see him, Mr. Duck, please come and tell me, okay? Uncle Jowy really wants his friend back.”

Jowy was taken aback at these words. Just how much had this family sacrificed for him these past few days? Only now it occurred to Jowy that he had woken up in the only bed in the house. Joanna had been doting upon him like a mother. Marx, of whom Jowy had only heard speak, had watched out for his mental well-being from the beginning. Now this little girl, no higher than his waist, was out leading animals in a search for his friend. He was so thankful, and his heart was instantly knit to the little family.

He came up next to Pilika and sat down quietly. “Hi, Pilika. You talking to Mr. Duck?”

“Uncle Jowy!” she threw her little arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. You’re awake! I was real worried.”

“Oh, I’m alright, Pilika, Honey,” he laughed. “I had you and your mom and dad and Mr. Duck to take care of me.”

Pilika unburied her face from his chest. “So you’re all better now, Uncle Jowy?”

“Yep. Uncle Jowy’s all better now. See?” Then he leapt up, ran to a grassy bit behind them, and did a cartwheel. Jowy, sharp and agile, stuck the landing. “Ta-da!”

Pilika applauded with joy, “Hooray, Uncle Jowy!” and then, “Look! I can do it too!” She bounded next to him and attempted to copy his acrobatic feat.

She was a little awkward, and Jowy could tell that cartwheels were not something she practiced regularly, but he cheered for her madly nonetheless. Pilika beamed.

“That was great, Pilika! Well done! Was that your first cartwheel?”

“Mm-hmm,” She nodded. “I’m just like you! We can both make wheels! Let’s do it again!”

“You want to do cartwheels together?”

“Yeah! Come on, Uncle Jowy.”

“Ok,” he lead, “now don’t stand to close. You don’t want to hurt anyone. You ready? Put your hands up. Now one, two, three!” They both wheeled on the grass and shouted “Ta-da!”

Jowy ran back to the bank. “What did you think of that, Mr. Duck? Weren’t we amazing?” He put his ear close to his beak, careful to make sure that “Mr. Duck” didn’t think it was a snack. “Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Gotcha,” he nodded in pretend response. Then he walked back to Pilika. “Mr. Duck says that you were fantastic, but I could use a little work.”

Pilika looked at Mr. Duck, horrified. “Mr. Duck, don’t say that! That’s very rude! Uncle Jowy is that best wheeler in the whole world!”

Jowy laughed. “Now, don’t be so hard on Mr. Duck, Pilika Honey. He was just trying to tell you how good you did. Maybe you should tell him “thank you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Duck!” she shouted. “Uncle Jowy, could you show me how to make a wheel better?”

“Sure!” He exclaimed. Then he got an idea. He put on a playful commander voice. “Stand up straight, young soldier. Today, we teach you the art of the cartwheel.”

Pilika played along, standing at attention. She seemed to like the game. Jowy couldn’t keep his commander ruse up for long before crumbling to Pilika’s sweetness. Through the afternoon they laughed and played, perfecting Pilika’s new skill. He taught her to hand-stand up straight without falling, stressing the importance of good balance. He held up her legs until she could hold the position on her own. He taught her how to get a running start, and how to put one hand down after the other.

They were putting the finishing touches on a simple routine when Joanna called them in for dinner. Pilika begged for her to watch before they went in. Joanna agreed and called to Marx so they could both witness “The Grand Circus of Pilika and Jowy.” Unfortunately, Mr. Duck, who had long since swam away, had to miss out on the show. When the circus had concluded, Joanna and Marx cheered for her daughter’s new talent, the proudest of parents.

“You seem to have your energy back,” Marx commented to Jowy over a supper of vegetable stew and bread.

“Yes, thanks to the hospitality of you and your wife - and Pilika of course,” he added, looking over at the girl, beaming at the comment.

“Pilika Honey, did you thank Uncle Jowy for teaching you how to cartwheel?” Joanna asked.

“Thank you Uncle Jowy for teaching me how to make the wheel,” she politely responded to the prompting.

“You’re welcome, Pilika. It was my pleasure. Do you know,” He asked Marx and Joanna, “that Mr. Duck thought Pilika was more talented in the art of cart wheeling than I?”

“Is that so?” Marx asked Pilika.

“Yeah,” the girl answered between forkfuls, “but Mr. Duck isn’t really that smart.”

This sent everyone laughing.

* * *

Days went by. Jowy continued to live with the family, and in return helped out wherever he could. Marx was away often. He was a trader, and traveled to many towns and cities to do business with the merchants there. This left Jowy to get to know more about the shy, sweet Joanna, and the perpetually energetic Pilika.

He would garden with Joanna, and play with Pilika. They both seemed to enjoy it when he would use his staff to whack pesky vegetable-stealing moles on the heads. He tried his hand at cooking, but after burning soup one day, he decided that he better leave food preparation to the expert. Joanna, of course, showed no hint of anger at the situation. Pilika found it all quite entertaining.

Whenever Jowy went out to explore the village, Pilika latched onto him, following him wherever he went. His bubbly shadow kept a running commentary of everything they passed by. It didn’t take him long to learn that the village, Toto, had two nice dogs, one mean dog, many kids, a general store that “selled” delicious sweets, a smithy run by a giant man with a loud voice, a bridge with a monster living under it, and a very naughty boy that always pulled Pilika’s hair whenever he saw her.

Pilika stressed how important it was that Jowy stay away from him, but changed her mind when Jowy suggested that he whack him on the head like the garden moles. Pilika thought this was a very good idea. From then on, she referred to the child as “Mole Boy,” and giggled whenever she saw him.

Jowy mentally noted the different kinds of shops there were in town. He was a bit surprised to find that a shop intended for clothing also sold simple kinds of armor among the normal leathers and cloth.

The arms of war were long and ever-reaching, so even this small river village felt the need to boost their defenses. Perhaps he was closer to the border than he thought. If he was close to the border, it would be easier to get back home to Kyaro. Perhaps Riou had found his way home.

He thought it wiser to check along the river and the surrounding area first. So every day, he made time to walk it up and down, going further each time, looking for a sign of Riou. He asked people in town about him, but there was no sign of him. No one had heard of him. Jowy was getting more and more nervous every day that he would never find his friend. Even Marx would ask about him on his travels. When he came home, he regretfully told Jowy that he had heard no news of him. Still, he kept searching.

Days passed until Jowy had been in Toto for nearly two weeks. As frightened as he was for Riou, he found himself falling in love with the little family.

One night, after dinner, Joanna pulled Pilika away to help clean up. She pouted and protested, wanting to stay with Jowy, but finally, she angrily gave in.

This left Jowy alone with Marx. He was glad for it, since he hadn’t had the opportunity to spend as much time with him as the rest of the family. Marx suggested that they take a walk, and Jowy agreed.

Most of the shops were closed by now, and Jowy could hear sounds of laughter and shouting from inside homes and the tavern - the lone business still open. This sound mixed with the chatter of bullfrogs and the buzzing of insects, creating a comforting symphony of country life. The moon was waxing, near full, and the stars danced bright in their celestial ballroom. Jowy noticed how peaceful and beautiful it was. It was a refreshing opposite to the city life he had been raised in.

As the sounds of the town grew quieter, enveloped by the sounds of rushing water, Jowy and Marx stopped. They found a place to sit by the riverbank where he and Pilika had held their circus. The sound of the crickets were overwhelmingly louder here, a lovely complement to the night.

Jowy looked around at the transformed surroundings and hoped that Mr. Duck wouldn’t be too angry that a rather large bullfrog now sat croaking on his rock.

“It’s really nice out here,” Marx commented, settling down into a comfortable knoll.

“Yeah, the air’s nice and warm,” Jowy added.

“The water too. Though I still wouldn’t have jumped into the water with all my clothes on myself.”

So, it hadn’t taken Marx very long to get to the heart of the matter at all.

“Yeah, about that,” Jowy started, then he was at a loss for words.

“Don’t get me wrong, son. You have shown us that you’re a very nice, trustworthy young man. Pilika just loves you. But a man can’t help but be protective of his family - especially these days.”

“So, you could tell that my staff wasn’t made for fishing, huh?” Jowy laughed nervously, still not quite sure what to say, but knowing that Marx wasn’t going to trust him blindly any longer.

“Listen, Jowy. I respect you, so I’m going to talk to you straight.” You’re arrival here was very unusual. I was hesitant to trust you at first, but we couldn’t just ignore an injured man. Now we’ve let you stay for as long as you have mostly for the sake of our daughter and the umbilical-cord-like attachment she seems to have developed with you. And while you’ve been with us, you’ve been very helpful and kind. But you’ve more than recovered now. We’ve respected your privacy up till this point, but we do live in a border town in the middle of a war. So I need to ask you to tell me who you are, where you’re from, and who your friend is. Otherwise, I’ll need to ask you to leave.”

There it was. Jowy figured this would come up sooner or later. As a matter of fact, he had wondered why it had taken this long before anyone brought it up. He had almost begun to think that Marx was a bit too trusting. But he didn’t look like a stupid man. He was the head of his family, a trader. He was obviously savvy enough to deal with up-scale merchants, including those in the cut-throat metropolis of Muse he had heard about. Marx couldn’t easily be duped. Jowy decided he had kept cautious for long enough. He felt he could trust this family.

Jowy stood, turned to Marx, and saluted. He lowered his pretense and spoke clearly in his natural Highland accent. “Jowy Atreides. Unicorn Youth Brigade. Highland Army.” He dropped his arms and slumped his shoulders. “Or, at least, I was.” He lowered his head. “There is no more Unicorn Brigade.”

Marx stood, breathed deep, shoulders raising, as if he was holding in emotion. After a short while that made Jowy nervous, he spoke. “Thank you for your honesty, soldier. I honor your decision to fight so boldly for your country at such a young age.” Jowy’s nerves eased. This was not the reaction he expected from Marx. He continued, “ Now, who is ‘Riou?’ Tell me honestly, Jowy,” he said sternly. “Is he really a lost friend of yours, or is this some code name to bring in your troops? I don’t want you to have to betray your king and country, but I must keep my family safe. If you are a spy, and this village is in danger, allow me to remove Joanna and Pilika from harm’s way.”

“I could never wish harm on any of you, Marx. You needn’t fear me, for I am no spy, and I am no traitor either. I have been betrayed. We - all of us in the Youth Brigade were betrayed. Riou is my best friend. We grew up together and joined the Youth Brigade together. I always watched out for him. The Unicorn Brigade had set up camp in Tenzen, and when the massacre happened, we were the only ones to escape. We jumped into the river. That’s the last I saw of him. I swear on my mother’s life this is true.”

Marx noticed Jowy shaking from suppressed rage, and nodded to him, signaling his belief in his story. Marx stood beside him, and put one sincere hand on his shoulder, calming Jowy a bit. “I am sorry for your situation. I will ask no more of it. As long as you promise us no ill will, we will continue to harbor you, and help you look for your friend.”

Jowy looked to the sky and the mass of stars above, and sighed, choking back long-overdue tears. Then he turned and started back to town. “It’s been nearly two weeks, Marx,” Jowy said over his shoulder. “I truly doubt he is still alive.” Then the tears came. He didn’t attempt to hold them back any more. He let out a long sob.

He felt he was in his own private world until he felt Marx’s warm hand again on his shoulder. “You must never give up hope, son. You never know what tomorrow will bring.”

Jowy’s Story - Chapter 2. Found (Suikoden II Fan Fiction)

Suikoden II - Jowy's Story

A Fanfiction by Joanna Sherlyn Dunlap

"Suikoden" and all its characters therein are trademarks of Konami Co., Ltd. © 1995-1998.

English Translation © Konami of America, Inc.

Writer-Creator: Yoshitaka Murayama (Murayama-san, arigato!)

Notes:

For those that are wondering, it is common politeness in Japan to call older unrelated males "uncle" (and likewise, calling females "aunt"). This may be why Pilika calls Jowy "Uncle Jowy."

-JSD

Chapter 2 - Found

Jowy was dreaming. He and Riou were sparring again. Blow after blow, neither gaining any advantage over the other. They were a perfect match for eachother. They fought hard, completely absorbed in their little game. Riou smiled at him, his face mingled exhaustion and energy. Jowy smiled back and swung his staff at him. Riou just barely dodged the blow. Still, no one had the upper hand. The dream seemed to last an eternity with Jowy and Riou battling on.

Then the sky went red. Both boys dropped their weapons to their sides and looked up at the black clouds overhead. A bloodthirsty roar tore through the air and Luca Blight's terrible mad face appeared right in front of Jowy. He jumped back in surprise. He went to bring up his staff, but it was missing. So was Riou. Luca still howling, Jowy desperately looked around for his friend, but he was nowhere to be found.

"What have you done with him?" he screamed at the prince, but he couldn't hear his voice under Luca's laughter. Jowy spun around, looking more mad than the stationary prince. "Riou! Riou!"

A disturbing ferocity took over Jowy and he lunged, weaponless at Luca. At this, the laughter stopped. The prince looked down at him, as one would at a stupid child, an produced his massive sword from thin air. He looked sideways at his blade, then hurled it directly at Jowy. Jowy had to no time to slow down or dodge, but he didn't have to. The great sword fell at his feet, stuck in the earth before him.

All was silent. Luca was gone. Jowy looked at the sword. It seemed to taunt him, daring him to take it, same as when it was stuck in the fish barrel. It was easy. He could take it, Luca was practically giving it to him. If he wanted it, it was his.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had been submerged in water. He woke up in shock. He was in the river, splayed against a rock. He was close to a bank, and the current was light. He pulled himself farther onto the rock. Every muscle protested the movement in pain. After settling on the rock, he allowed himself to rest. He blinked and took in the sights around him. The sky was blue and calm. The sounds of sweet water, singing birds, and laughter played in the air. Exhausted, Jowy sighed -

- and sat straight up, "Riou!"

"Aaaah!" He had sat up and shouted in the face of a little girl. She stumbled back.

"Oh!" he corrected, "No, no. Don't be frightened. I'm sorry. I -" but he fell - for he had tried to move to the girl - and splashed again into the shallow water.

The little girl laughed and Jowy got up again, slowly this time. It was painful, but he managed. He scanned everywhere within vision for Riou, but he was nowhere. He walked slowly to the laughing girl and bent down to her. "Hi. I'm sorry I scared you. My name's Jowy."

The girl stifled her laughter. "I'm Pilika. Why are you all wet?"

"I, uh…that is…" Jowy couldn't tell this innocent little girl the truth. "I was going for a swim with my friend Riou. But we got separated. You haven't seen another boy around here, have you?"

"No," she answered. "I haven't seen anyone else. I'm sorry."

"Oh," Jowy's heart fell. He hoped Riou had made it. He looked around for signs of him - his bandana, a tonfar, a ragged piece of red cloth, anything - but he found nothing. What his did find was his own staff. It had gotten caught up among some reeds and rushes. He was happy not to have lost it, but he would have given it up for Riou. "Oh, that's my staff," he pointed it out to Pilika and began to hobble to it.

He was so incredibly weak. It only hit him now how foolish it was to try and walk again, but he had no chance to remedy the situation. Just steps before reaching the staff, his knees buckled, and his legs gave way. He fell again, and this time, he hit his head on a rock. The world went dark.

--

Jowy felt something wet on his forehead. He knew he must be in the river again, until he realized that the rest of his body was dry and warm. He opened his eyes. He was lying on a comfortable bed. The girl, Pilika, was sitting beside him.

"Uncle Jowy! You're awake! Mommy, Daddy, he's awake!"

And suddenly, Jowy was surrounded by chatter, hands, and a bowl of warm stew.

"Eat up now," the woman said, "It's rabbit in there, and spices. Pilika picked the spices herself, didn't you Honey?"

Jowy was grateful, but he felt very claustrophobic. He wished he could wake up and get up in his own time. He took a few bites to settle his empty stomach – the stew was delicious – and then returned it to the woman. "Thank you. It's wonderful," he said weakly.

"Would you like some more?" the woman asked. "If you're too weak, I could spoon feed you. Not to imply that you're weak or anything, I just thought – "

A man's voice interrupted her, "Joanna, let him be. The boy is exhausted." Jowy was thankful for the voice. He saw a man standing in the doorframe and he assumed that the voice belonged to him. The woman, Joanna, walked back to the man with the half-eaten bowl. Jowy turned over and closed his eyes. He heard the man whisper, "Don't worry Darling, your stew is delicious. Come now, we'll eat the rest." Jowy smiled and sighed. He hoped that Riou had found as good of luck as he had, and he swore that he would do what he could to find him when he regained his strength. But for now, with food in his stomach and sore muscles relaxing, he fell again into a dreamless sleep.

When he awoke again, he was alone. It was quiet but for the faint sounds of distant laughter and conversation. Sunlight pealed through the window, and Jowy sat up. He had been wrapped in a colorful quilt upon a meager bed. The small wooden room he was in was clean, and smelled of flowers. In the corner, on a small chest, was a pile of neatly folded blankets and pillows. This bare little room had a delightful charm about it that would be very out of place in his father's large house in Kyaro. He wondered where he was now. South of Tenzen, most likely, since the river ran south from Highland in the north down to the southern City-States of Jowston.

So, he was in the City-States. Jowy thought it wise not to reveal to anyone that he was a Highlander just yet, and was immediately thankful that he was skilled with accents.

He stretched and groaned from stiffness, and got out of bed. He was wearing white cotton nightclothes. His own clothes were clean and folded on a small chair in the corner by the door. His staff leaned up against the wall beside it. He changed his clothes and then made the bed. He folded the nightclothes and put them on the chair, but left the staff for now. He trusted these people. He figured that if hey meant him any ill will, they would have done something about it already.

He ventured out into the main room. There was something delicious cooking. Joanna was standing at the stove, creating her aromatic masterpiece. "Hello," Jowy said in the voice of a City-State citizen.

Joanna turned around happily, "Oh, Mr. Jowy! You're awake and walking! How wonderful! How do you feel? You were asleep for days. Here, come sit down and have something to eat. You must be starving."

Jowy smiled She sure liked to talk a lot. She reminded him of Nanami, only a better cook by the smell of it. "Three days? Yes, well, um…" he walked to the table and sat. "I feel…better. Thank you."

Joanna set a heaping plate in front of him. "Eat up now. That's salt-and pepper potatoes and carrots with honey-and-rosemary sauce. We have a garden. Pilika and I spend a lot of time out there. Sorry we don't have any more rabbit. We usually have fish, you know, living by the river and all. I'll cook some up for dinner tonight. And here's a glass of water for you."

Jowy could only smile at this kind, eager-to-please woman. He gently interrupted her, "Thank you. I am pretty hungry. This smells fantastic, I can't wait."

This pleased Joanna and she blushed. "Oh no, it's nothing. Just my mother's recipe. I hope you like it." Jowy took a bite. It tasted as amazing as it smelled. Joanna was quite a cook. Then Jowy realized that though they knew each other's names, he hadn't formally introduced himself. "The food is delicious, thank you. I'm Jowy."

"Oh yes, I know. Pilika told me. Oh!" Her hand flew to the mouth in shocked embarrassment. "I'm sorry. How rude of me to say your name without an introduction. It's wonderful to meet you, Jowy. I'm Joanna. My husband, Marx is out right now, and you've already met my daughter, Pilika. She's taken right to you, you know. These past few days she's either been by your side or out by the river looking for your friend. She said you went swimming?"

Jowy took another bite. "Yes, that's right. But don't worry. I'm sure he'll turn up." These people had already done enough for him. No need to burden them with the truth.

Joanna looked at him sideways. Jowy isn't sure if she believed him or was just politely ignoring the lie, but her eyes seemed to say, "Don't worry Honey. I won't ask any questions. You just tell me when you're ready." Jowy wondered how people could be so trusting with a war going on, but he was eased by her look and ate some more.

"Your daughter is a very kind girl. You must be proud of her," he said after swallowing.

"Thank you, Mr. Jowy. We do our best with her."

"Oh, please just call me Jowy."

"All right then, Jowy. Thank you."

"I'm sure she picked up her kindness and hospitality from you."

Joanna blushed at the compliment. "Would you like some more food, Mr. Jowy?" She was obviously trying to change the subject. Jowy still had carrots on his plate; he wasn't fond of carrots, but it was true that he hadn't eaten for days. Plus, he didn't want to seem ungrateful, and since no one else was around to eat the meal, Jowy guessed that she had probably prepared it special for him.

So he accepted. He even tried the carrots. They were actually very good cooked with the honey and rosemary. He had three plates total, and five glasses of water by the time he was finished. Joanna tried to offer him a fourth plate, but he graciously declined, already bursting at the seams.

"Why don't you go down to the river?" Joanna asked while taking away his empty plate. "I bet Pilika is there. She'd love to see you out and about."

Jowy liked the idea of stretching his legs and thanking his savior. "I think I will. Thank you for the food, Mrs. Joanna. Can I help you clean up before I go?"

"Oh no!" she laughed, "I can do it. You just enjoy yourself. I'll see you back here for dinner, Jowy."

And he left the little house with a full belly and – despite the worry he felt for Riou – a strange new contentment that gave him a level of happiness he had not felt in a long time.