On the island of Razril, part of a federation known as the Island Nations and threatened by their powerful neighbor, the Kooluk Empire, a young boy who had lost both of his parents as children were raised in a noble household. In the future, when the young boy has grown up, he will participate in the training of other young people with the same aspiration to join the Gaien order as a knight. The ship the knights were on was assaulted by pirates one day while on an escort mission. As a result of a chain of unfortunate occurrences, the hero receives the dreaded Rune of Punishment, one of the twenty-seven legendary True Runes. This rune does a lot of damage to the adversaries, but it also takes a toll on the life of whoever carries it. The young knight is cast out of his kingdom since it is believed that he is responsible for the death of his captain, who could not withstand the rune’s might. He must discover a method to put his abilities to use for the benefit of the Island Nations, to repel an invasion by the Kooluk, and to regain his honor all while doing so.
The entirety of the Suikoden series is set before the events of Suikoden IV. The events of this game take place one hundred and fifty years before the events of the original Suikoden game, and they take place in the region of the Suikoden universe known as the islands south of Toran. The game keeps many of the series’ signature elements, such as the capability to recruit 108 characters (Stars of Destiny), the construction and customization of army headquarters (this time a large ship instead of a castle), an emphasis on political issues within the narrative, the ability to equip runes of various kinds in combat that allow the use of magic spells, and many other elements.
In this episode, the number of active combatants in the party has been cut from six to four. Previously, there were six. Once again, the game has three distinct forms of conflict: the most common variety, turn-based, and pits one party against another; duels; and tactical battles, now fought at sea. The user can personalize the naval forces by selecting captains and commanding officers and ascribing runic elements to those characters. Each aspect has advantages and disadvantages compared to the others, and the player needs to employ careful strategy to obtain the upper hand. Ship placement on the combat grid and attack angle considerations are important factors.
Ship navigation is a feature that is new to the franchise. Instead of walking around an overworld, the player steers a ship and explores the world at sea, finding new countries and islands. In addition, this installment in the series marks the debut of voice acting, a camera that can be rotated in all directions, and the option to control the main character from a first-person view.
