Back-to-Back Badasses: Does this with Jowy and, later, with Tir in his Unite attack. In the case of he and Hoi, this is amusingly subverted in their unite attack.
Conveniently an Orphan: He and Nanami had been left orphaned by previous wars and were adopted by a local hero named Genkaku.
Dramatic Wind: Later on when you win against Boss Battles and Duel Battles with Riou, instead of spinning his Tonfa, he'll just feel the wind on his face. Even inside a castle!
Holy Hand Grenade: The Bright Shield Rune's level 2 and level 4 spells. The latter, called Forgiver Sign, which is unlockable by getting all108 recruits, deals the most damage to a single target when your whole party has full HP.
Light 'em Up: Thanks to the Bright Shield Rune. Also, Riou has a strong affinity with the Resurrection Rune, which he can use effectively against undead foes.
10-Minute Retirement: At one point, Nanami tries to convince him to run away from his responsibilities. Accepting leads to a 10-Minute Retirement, after which the other characters catch up and try to convince him to be their leader again. Refusing here turns the temporary retirement into a permanent one, however.
Running away will also lead the storyline to one of the Stars of Destiny, Ridley Wizen, being killed off-screen and later being replaced by his son. However, if you refuse to run away, Ridley will live.
William Telling: He participates in a traveling circus' show by having various pieces of fruit placed on his head while knife-thrower Eilie impales them with expert precision. You can throw off her aim and get hit with a knife yourself by choosing to wimp out and move to either side before she throws.
Combination Attack: Her unite attack with the hero, a montage of powerful hits.
Crowning Moment of Funny: Sometimes, she lets the hero handle it himself and is seen casually reading a book, singing to herself and having a picnic. Not bad since it heals 10% of her HP and gives you the chance to do the Combination Attack again.
Conveniently an Orphan: She and the hero had been left orphaned by previous wars and were adopted by a hero named Genkaku.
Cool Big Sis: Despite not being related, she acts like this to the hero.
Player Punch: Arguably one of the most upsetting examples in videogames, mostly because it happens quite late on in the game when the player/character relationaship is strong, and also because she's the mouthpiece for the (silent) hero, until the inevitable happens.
Plucky Girl: She's arguably one of the bravest of all the Suikoden characters.
The Pollyanna: She almost always remains positive for the hero's sake, despite the hardships they must face.
Short Tank: To most of the other characters. Viktor especially, who calls her a "pug-nosed tomboy".
10-Minute Retirement: She can convinces the Hero to flee with her during the Tinto incident, if you choose the right answers during a dialogue with her. Eventually, others characters will catch up and try to convince them to come back.
We Used To Be Friends: She is incredibly upset about Jowy's defection to the Highland Kingdom, even faking her own death (in some conditions) so she doesn't have to fight him
Et Tu, Brute?: His betrayal of the hero and Nanami. However, it is revealed to be a False Flag Operation and he decided to destroy Highland from within after witnessing the power of Luca Blight. The hero and Nanami are completely oblivious to this plan.
Not so much that they're oblivious. They catch on eventually and even conspire with Jowy to kill Luca Blight. What makes this troupe really stick though is that Jowy decides that peace will never come between Highland and Jowston because the two countries hate each other so much, and he invites Riou and Nanami to a fake peace treaty signing with the purpose of taking them hostage and forcing the City-State to surrender. The only thing that saved Riou and Nanami then was that Shu planned ahead and used Pilika as a meat shield to get them out of there. Because of this, the war continues regardless and both countries end up being absorbed into each other as the Dunan Republic.
Magic Knight: Equally skilled in physical combat and magic.
The Mole: Jowy joins Luca Blight, believing he can work from within to bring about a better future. Jowy eventually becomes a general in Highland, marries Jillia Blight, and secretly plots against Luca with Leon Silverberg.
Parental Abandonment: His step-father throws him out of the Atreides house and his mother will not intervene.
Unlucky Childhood Friend: Ostracized because of his family's wealth and abused by his stepfather and stepbrother, he has few friends aside from the hero and Nanami.
Break the Cutie: Following the tragic events at Toto, where her parents killed by Luca Blight. Then, after being rescued, she gets to watch as Luca Blight kills a completely helpless soldier for her viewing pleasure, and is only prevented from killing her by timely heroic intervention.
Dumb Struck: In reaction to the above events, she is no longer able to speak.
Badass Normal: Even moreso when you consider that while magic is commonplace, Luca has only a sword, heavy armor and a mere Fire Rune which he uses in conjunction with his attacks. And he's still one of the most terrifying beings in the entire series.
Determinator: His unwillingness to die after absurd amounts of pain is insane.
Pain, nothing! His unwillingness to die after absurd amounts of mortal injury is insane.
Battle Theme Music: He gets one of the famous Suikoden II one-shot (well, technically three-shot) battle themes for himself, entitled "The Chase": [1]
Difficulty Spike: To actually have a chance of taking him on requires an unforeseeable amount of levelling up and equipping of 18 individual characters, and even when that's done, he still provides a steep jump in terms of difficulty.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: His sister Jillia is the only person he will hold an equal discourse with. Although it is actually revealed in the Gaiden game that the only reason Luca tolerates Jillia is because of her strong resemblance to their late mother.
Love to Hate: The very reason why he is one of the most popular villains in the series, if not the single most popular one.
Made of Iron: He takes an absolute beating from three groups of 6 members of the Liberation Army and is shot by a volley of arrows before finally keeling over at the hands of the hero.
Omnicidal Maniac: He hates everyone and everything and wants them all to die; one of his ongoing plans at the time of his death is to release the Beast Rune.
Parental Issues: He has harbored a deep hatred for his father Agares, after he had to witness his own mother, Sara, being raped whilst his cowardly father simply ran away.
Pitiful Worms: He shows utter contempt for his subjects.
That One Boss: In gameplay as well as in-universe. Gameplay wise, you have to buff up the Main Character's party and hopefully equipped yourself with some fire-reducing equipment. In-universe, it takes how many hundreds of arrows, three groups of six of the strongest members per group, even more arrows and finally a duel between the hero himself.
Luca Blight: It took hundreds to kill me, but I killed humans by the thousands!!!! Look at me!!!! I am sublime!!! I am the true face of evil!!!
You Have Failed Me: Luca beheads one of his generals (whose previous record was sterling) because the general had the audacity to lose a battle; it was lost not for strategic or tactical reasons, but because of a wickedly effective public relations move. In hindsight though it was a bad move, because Solon Jhee was respected by the other generals, and Luca killing him unnecessarily began a turning point for several of them to conspire his assassination.
Jillia Blight
Arranged Marriage: She marries Jowy, to strengthen her position, but also for love.
Mad Prince's Beautiful Sister: She is the only person Luca will tolerate on equal grounds, but even she could not stop him.
Morality Pet: Subverted. At first we're led to believe that she's this for Luca, but then he says the only reason he hasn't killed her yet is because she resembles his mother.
Back from the Dead: He was thought to have died during that last battle in the first Suikoden, but he actually survived and at the start of the game, he is co-commanding a mercenary unit with Viktor.
Took a Level in Badass: Storywise, he comes off as a respected mercenary leader as opposed to the Jerk Ass he first came off as in the early parts of the first game. Gameplay wise, he's even better as a member of the team than the first game, where he was already a good character.
Back from the Dead: He was thought to have died during that last battle in the first Suikoden, but he actually survived and at the start of the game, he is co-commanding a mercenary unit with Flik.
The Beast Master: She can command Bonaparte to attack for her. He sucks-in enemies Kirby-style and chomps them up.
The Load: Sadly, Bonaparte can only be used once in every battle, and it burdens a rune slot for better options. Worse, the ability is not even useful.
Kinnison
A Boy And His Dog: He grew up in the forest with Shiro, his wolf-dog.
Ship Tease: With Ayda. Due to both of them having animal companions and a mutual love for nature and animals, they seem to get along very well. It's even mentioned that they keep correspondence with each other after the war.
Only Sane Man: Despite all those insufferable tropes he possessed, Shu noted that he's still more stable than Luc or Viki, thus in his ending he ends up as the official magic instructor of Dunan.
Playing with Fire: One of the best Fire mages in the game, and his set up is the most obvious.
The Scrappy: He's not well liked for his arrogant personality.
Small Name, Big Ego: He boasts that he is the most important member in the army. He's not a ranking officer, he's not a leader, he's not in the protagonist's inner circle of advisors, he's not important to the plot, and he's not even a spectacular fighter.
Useless Useful Spell: His Fire Dragon shoryuken style move is powerful, but damages him too. Subverted if you equip him with the Fire Sealing Rune, which reduces all Fire damage to zero.
Apple
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: She realises that she alone cannot act as the army strategist and so begs a fellow student of Mathiu's, Shu, to join the hero's cause.
Ascended Extra: Hoo boy. Back in I, Apple was just another recruit that contributes to nearly nothing. Here, she is a plot character in epic proportion (even if she's rather ineffectual).
Character Development: In I, she was a sixteen year old brat who fangirled over Mathiu and blamed Tir for his returning to war. In II, she's much more mature.
Fantasy World Map: His speciality. Once recruited, it is possible to view the entire world map.
Free Range Child: He's an extreme example, as his parents are conspicuously absent.
Innocent Prodigy: He is a genius surveyor and mapmaker and set out mapping the world from the age of just eleven, but can still get a little crabby if he needs to update his maps following wars.
Gotta Catch 'Em All: There is only a very small window of opportunity to recruit him. You must damage his unit during the third major battle map. He must also survive this battle.
Heel Face Turn: Viktor and Flik convince him to defect from Highland early in the game.
I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: She's unmatched in the art of seduction and helps to "convince" a checkpoint guard to allow the party to proceed onto Tenzan Pass.
Battle Butler: He is the Mayor Granmeyer's loyal aide.
Crutch Character: His stats are substandard and this wouldn't be a problem except that he is forced into the active party for tough parts of the game early on.
Armor-Piercing Slap: If you choose the path where you run with Nanami during the Tinto events, Flik, Apple and Shu will eventually catch up to you. If you refuse to come back, you will discover that Ridley made a Heroic Sacrifice fighting off Neclord's zombies, while looking for you. Shu then slaps the Hero, and proceeds to deliver to him a What the Hell, Hero? speech.
Character Development: He goes from blunt cynic to courageous mentor as the game progresses.
Cynical Mentor: He starts out as this, but becomes more of a traditional Obi Wan as he comes to realise that it is sometimes necessary to put himself on the line in order to truly win.
Impossible Task: He (rather cruelly) tells Apple that if she can find a coin that he hurls into a river, he'll join the hero's cause. Nanami notices that he didn't actually throw the coin at all, but switched a rock for it at the last second. However, they find the coin anyway, because Richmond stole it from Shu and tossed it in the river bed after the sluice gate was closed.
Intrepid Merchant: Having been cast out by Mathiu, his uncanny grasp of the movements in the world quickly lead him to became rich through trading.
Bag of Sharing: Her speciality. She looks after the HQ warehouse, where all items and equipment can be dropped off, stored and retrieved when necessary.
Big Eater: Like Bolgan, she likes most of the dishes served when she judges the Cook Off.
Henpecked Husband: He's married to Kimberley from the first game, and as Richmond notes, he left Toran to get away from her. She also has a crush on Yam Koo despite this fact, which may explain why both of them skipped town at the same time.
Berserk Button: Literally. Her Angry Dragon Rune puts her in a constant berserk state for the duration of the battle.
Bodyguard Babe: She is a veteran bodyguard and powerful martial artist. Gameplay wise, this ability means that even if the unit she's in is destroyed during a battle, there won't be any fatalities.
Stone Wall: She has one of the highest defensive stats *
Defense, Magic Defense, and HP
in the game.
Richmond
Information Desk: His speciality. He can be recruited (for a small fee) to find out the whereabouts of as yet recruited characters, although a certain amount of Figure It Out Yourself is also required.
Knowledge Broker: In addition to letting the hero know the location of potential recruits, he can also investigate current team-mates, offering fun trivia and useful game information about pairings for unite attacks, for example.
The Barnum: When first encountered, but he joins the Allied Forces after the hero beats him in a coin flipping bet (where Richmond used a weighted coin). He apologizes for tricking the hero and agrees to join, impressed that the hero saw through his trick.
Yoshino Yamamoto
Action Wife: She's significantly more formidable in battle than her husband, Freed.
Ojou: Type 1. She's from a wealthy political family in Radat.
Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Granmeyer had a hand in introducing them to each other, and, as Richmond further notes, the marriage wrote itself.
Third-Person Person: Speaks like this quite a bit, though one instance is clearly a translation error in which she should be saying her husband's first name as opposed to her own.
Yamato Nadeshiko: She exhibits of all the desired virtues. She's demure, attractive, kind, polite, good at housework...and a badass with her naginata.
Alex
Adventurer Archaeologist: He is obsessed with finding the lost treasure of the Sindar Race. When first encountered, the hero teams up with him to help his quest.
All That Glitters: The "treasure" turns out to be a powerful healing herb that he orginally disregards in frustration, but whose power he comes to appreciate when Hilda falls ill and it heals her.
You All Look Familiar: His design is quite simple and he is dressed just like one of the generic non-player character townsfolk from Suikoden 1, in what appears to be a fond Shout Out to the previous game.
We Buy Anything: He opens an item store at HQ, once recruited.
We Sell Everything: His store carries any item that has been found available in any other item store already visited by the hero.
Fetch Quest: Required to recruit him. He sends the hero to fetch various random items, then denies having asked for them! The solution is to hurl the third item, the wind crystal, at him. Hhe then agrees to join, impressed by the hero's pluck.
Ascended Extra: He's probably the very last character you recruited in I, and plays zero role in the plot. Here? Not only he can be recruited earlier, he's also got a frigging subquest revolving around him.
Rule Of Cool: The outfit, the gun, the mysteriousness, the brooding etc.
Side Quest: A time-based mission, based around the pursuit of his rival, Elza. After a cat and mouse game throughout various locations in Dunan, this culminates in a showdown with Elza in her hometown of Sajah. If you don't complete it within 20 hours, it's unfinishable.
Sniper Rifle: His weapon. Incidently, one of the few gun users in the Suikoden universe.
Furo Scene: His speciality. He has a passion for making baths, and once recruited, he builds a large onsen at castle HQ where party characters can be seen enjoying a nice soak. The onsen also serves as an area to display any antique treasures discovered.
Bathtub Bonding: Certain combinations of characters and antiques placed within the baths will activate a variety of mini scenes.
Hot Blooded: Literally. He's very passionate and appreciates people who are as "toasty" (flushed) as he is, mostly because it shows they appreciate the benefits of hot baths.
Chaco
The Artful Dodger: He has amazing pickpocketing skills and robs the hero's party.
Fantastic Racism: The three races who live in Two River - Humans, Wingers and Kobolds - do not get along and live in three distinct quarters of the town.
Jerkass: Especially when first encountered, but he does mellow later on.
Obfuscating Stupidity: His main trait. He comes across as a fool, but that is only an act to deceive others into underestimating him. Of course, as Richmond points out, not all of it is an act.
Four Star Badass: So much so that his reputation will make every Kobold in the Jowston City States head for the battlefield without question. Bonus points for being more than happy to join his troops on the front lines.
This even comes up in gameplay, despite him not being available as a party member ([[Missed Moment of Awesome if only). In war battles, his unit has a high chance of scoring critical hits.
Batman Gambit: He and Shu cook one up to fool the Highland Army into thinking the Kobolds are still vulnerable to Fantastic Racism post-Two River so they can outflank the Highland Army later when they least expect it.
Blue Blood: He is Kobold nobility and is the General of the Two River Army as well as the leader of the Kobold section of Two River.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: He does NOT suffer idiocy or incompetence amongst his troops, and he was prepared at one point to horsewhip Fitcher for what he perceived to be cowardice/treason.
Fantastic Racism: The three races who live in Two River - Humans, Wingers and Kobolds - do not get along and live in three distinct quarters of the town.
Heroic Sacrifice: Can perform one if you run away during the Tinto events: Ridley will die fighting off zombies, while looking for you. Shu's subsequent slap and What the Hell, Hero? speech to the hero are well deserved.
Large and in Charge: Most of the Kobolds are based on fairly small breeds of dog (terriers, for example), whereas Ridley, as the leader, is taller and has a doberman or alsatian look about him.
Our Monsters Are Different: He's a Kobold, but Suikoden Kobolds are more like cute dogs than the more usual lizardine versions.
Defeat Means Friendship: This time round, you must use "let go" or "run" 50 times in combat to be fast enough to beat him in a sprint race before he'll join.
Cooking Duel: The player must use the various ingredients found during the game to create recipes for Hai Yo as he battles the Black Dragon Clan members in a series of minigame cook-offs, which are judged by other members of the Allied Forces. Antonio and Lester from Suikoden 1 also make guest appearances.
Side Quest: To prove himself to Tengaar, he agrees to undertake "The Test of the Unicorn" to cure an illness she mysteriously contracts. Which turns out to be an obvious Fetch Quest sham set up by champion tsundere Tengaar to test if he cares enough about her to bother. Coincidently, the pair do encounter Sigfried, a unicorn, and Hix bravely protects Tengaar from it.
Genre Blindness: Hix, of course, has no idea the quest is fake and takes it all in.
Bratty Teenage Daughter: She has been completely spoiled by her father Chief Zorak, and to others it would seem that she treats her boyfriend, Hix, like a slave.
We Need a Distraction: She acts as a body double for Greenhill mayor, Teresa Wisemail, when Highland invades the town. So she puts on a wig, and the Highland buys it while Teresa gets to her hiding hut.
Rescue Arc: The hero's team travel to Greenhill to help reinstate her as mayor from her exile.
Self-Deprecation: Felt she was not fit to take over her father's duties. In response, the citizens of Greenhill declared her the "acting mayor" instead.
Survivor Guilt: When Muse soldiers threatened to sell her for ransom to Highland, she was rescuded by Shin and hides out in a forest cottage. However, in her solitude (and safety) she blames herself for Greenhill's fall.
You Are in Command Now: She had taken over as mayor of Greenhill from her ailing father, Alec, before the Highland Invasion.
Little Miss Badass: She's young and petite but statwise, she is surprisingly one of the better characters in the entire game. Her unite attack with Flik is especially potent.
Improbable Weapon User: Even by Suikoden standards, using a stack of schoolbooks with a belt wrapped around them as a weapon is odd.
Joshikousei: She's a student at Newleaf Academy in Greenhill.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: Newleaf Academy's answer to this trope. She's quite mean to Nanami, very self-assured and does tease the hero's party with her ghost stories, but she's a nice girl at heart.
Plucky Girl: She rallies the student body to help repel Highland's forces, and was acting as a mule to keep supplies running to Teresa whilst she was in exile.
Magical Girl Warrior: From Suikoden 2 onwards, she can be added to the active party. She has excellent magic stats, combined with the Blinking Rune's unique magic attacks.
Warp Whistle: Her speciality. As bearer of the Blinking Rune, she can (most of the time, see below) transport the hero and his party to any destination previously visited.
Teleporter Accident: Her abilities can be hit and miss, occasionally landing the characters in completely random locations. In the side story, Suikogaiden, she shows that it can even land characters in completely random times.
Malfunction Malady: The above teleport mistakes are accompanied with a little sneeze!
Hidden Heart of Gold: This comes across in Suikoden 2, where he generously pays the hero's bill at an inn and is seen to be kinder and less ambivalent than his gruff exterior reveals.
Dark and Troubled Past: Why he is so quiet, and one needs to play the first game for the details, though Richmond's investigations will give the player a few hints.
Odd Friendship: He quickly (and uncharacteristically) befriends the hero, after what appears to be an awkard, stunted conversation where he barely says two words to him.
Fridge Brilliance: when you consider that while you're playing, the Hero basically is a Heroic Mime, so they have an understanding of sorts.
Stone Wall: His defense rating is one of the highest in the game.
The Quiet One: He doesn't say very much at all and most of his speech is written as "......".
Badass: The Gaiden Game of Suikoden 2 establishes Camus as being capable of taking a high level fire spell to the face without it even singeing his hair.
Four Star Badass: Was for his first master, resumes this for the hero.
Heel Face Turn: He leads a mass defection of the knights and joins the hero following his master Gorudo's reluctance to counter the atrocities committed by Highland.
Heel Face Turn: He leads a mass defection of the knights and joins the hero following his master Gorudo's reluctance to counter the atrocities committed by Highland.
Determinator: His defense in war battles is so high that in the battle before he can be recruited, it's almost impossible to destroy his unit. In fact, you actually can throw everything at him, and you still have to wait for the plot to take care of things because he just refuses to be defeated.
Heel Face Turn: He is taken prisoner after Battle Map 7 and joins the Allied Forces.
This Is Unforgivable: His main motivation to join is because Luca Blight murdered his own father, Agares, who was his master.
Dude, Where's My Respect?: Richmond's investigations let you know he had a high rank, but his pay was pretty crappy despite his fine service record.
Famed in Story: He once defended a Highland garrison from an army of 2,000 with only 100 men.
Heroic Sacrifice: Acts as a decoy toward the end of the game, giving the main army a fighting chance, but dies in the process. He did this knowing full well that he wasn't going to come back.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Whereas he is powerful, built and typically masculine, his son Klaus is mild-mannered, bookish and comparitively effeminate.
Take Up My Sword: Asks Shu to take care of his son before the battle in which he dies.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Whereas he is mild-mannered, bookish and comparitively effeminate, his father Kiba is powerful, built and typically masculine.
The Beastmaster: His speciality. He can communicate with many different types of animals.
Sound Stone: He comes equipped with two magic listening crystals that can be used to recruit any two large characters including: Feather, Abizboah, Sigfried or L'Roladia.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a huge scar running up the entire left hand side of his face into his hair-line.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Hilariously subverted. When Nash stumbled across her in the nude, he had to run for his life.
Nubile Savage: She's hot-blooded...and just plain hot. In fact, Nash from the Suikogaiden games even stumbles across her when she's naked...and yes, this trope more than applies.
Mythology Upgrade: Unlike traditional unicorns, who's magic is mostly limited to teleportation, he possesses the unique Blessed White Lady Rune, which has 3 powerful magic attacks.
Side Quest: He first appears in Hix and Tengaar's sidequest, where Hix agrees to undertake "The Test of the Unicorn". Which turns out to be an obvious Fetch Quest sham but coincidently, the pair do encounter Sigfried, who backs off when Hix bravely protects Tengaar from him.
Shock and Awe: His unique magic rune, along with his good affinity to lightning magic.
Virgin Power: The other requirement to recruiting him is to bring a young female character with the hero to meet him.
Memento MacGuffin: He endlessly collects "Celadon Urns" and will only join the Allied Forces if you bring him one.
Grail In The Garbage: The Urn in question is often found out in the wilderness after it's dropped by random monsters. It can also be won in the rope climbing minigame.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Like Vincent, he has the tendency of thinking that he is instantly great friends with someone and he has these friends everywhere.
Older and Wiser: Since the 1st game, she has been promoted to vice-leader of the village.
Optional Party Member: The player can only pick her or Valeria. Tomo takes over the spot of whoever's not picked. As recruiting Kasumi gets you into Rokkaku early, she tends to be picked over Valeria.
Smitten Teenage Girl: Apparently, she still has a crush on Tir Mc Dohl. Richmond's investigations reveal that she often visits Banner, where he is frequently spotted.
Made even more obvious if she's with you when you recruit Tir. There's a brief bit of dialog in which she appears to make an attempt to confess her feelings and fails.
Spinning Piledriver: Her Shrike Rune allows her to perform the standard ninja izuna drop attack.
The Rival: Of fellow fencer, Anita. This appears to be rather one-sided as she has bested Anita 10 out of the 11 times they have dueled.
Shout Out: Possibly, to the feisty love interest of the same name in the movie Conan the Barbarian.
Sheena
Badass Family: As he is the son of the President of Toran, Lepant, he is able to set up a meeting between the hero and his father with a view to them forming an alliance.
Magic Knight: He is skilled in both swordsmanship and magic, abilities which he inherited from his parents, Eileen and Lepant. Since his three open rune slots and balanced stats make him the most customizable character in the game, the player can decide which to specialize him in, or make him a jack of all trades.
Superior Species: She claims to be a descendant of the lost Sindar race.
The Rival: With Killey, when it comes to Sindar ruin hunting.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: She joins the hero so she can keep an eye on Killey and make sure he doesn't discover anything before she does.
Gordon
Adam Smith Hates Your Guts: True, all the merchants who join your team don't give you any sort of discount, but this guy makes a point of letting you know he wouldn't even try.
Gotta Catch 'Em All: His is possibly the most arduous recruitment process in the game...
That One Side Quest: For him to join, it is necessary to make 50,000 potch profit, purely from buy-low/sell-high trading at the various trade-posts throughout Dunan.
Parent Trap Plot: She has been looking for Tsai in order to make him reconcile with her mother.
Shout Out: She is likely named after Tomo(e) Gozen, a rare example of a historical female samurai warrior (onna bugeisha), known for her bravery and strength.
Our Werewolves Are Different: He is able to uses his Rabid Fang Rune to control his transformations, though with a twist: His rune merely helps him keep his human form easier, while being a wolfman is a inherent power.
Bash Brothers: As a duo, he and his pupil Wakaba are said to be almost unbeatable in combat.
The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: You'll see him long before you recruit him, but if you attempt to recruit him early with Wakaba, he's already left town.
Unless you bring Wakaba along to Muse when you go to see Jowy there after you defeat Luca and reuse the Matilda glitch to go to Rockaxe at that point before heading back.
Eccentric Mentor: He's Wakaba's badass master, but he's quite eccentric, forgetful, and is pulling a dine and dash when first encountered.
10-Minute Retirement: He was retired from his trade as a window maker, but after seeing the hero with a window set, his spirit was stirred to help out with the war effort.
No Sense of Direction: She's lost, looking for Jeane when the hero first encounters her, and given how she walks off in the wrong direction to your castle after being recruited, it's a wonder she got there at all.
Fire-Forged Friends: When the evil vampire Neclord turns most of the Lamp Dragon Bandits into zombies and kidnaps Lo Wen for his Bride, he joins forces with the hero's Allied Army to defeat Neclord and save his friends.
Just Like Robin Hood: He operates on a strict moral code of only going after money-hungry traders.
Loveable Rogue: He is the head of the Lampdragon Bandits.
Token Minority: One of the only black characters in the series.
Kahn Marley
Back from the Dead: He comes equipped with the Resurrection rune. Ironically, his actual job involves undoing this trope to most members of the undead.
Tsundere: Apparently, she's pretty tough on guys she likes.
Marlowe
Hot for Student: He has a crush on his young pupil, Lilly Pendragon.
Lolicon: Rather disturbingly, Lilly is just 6 years old during the events of the game, according to the timeline.
I Just Want to Be Special: He loves to read books about high adventure and longs to have the chance to take part.
I Should Write a Book About This: He is so inspired by the hero's bravery, that he begins to chronicle his adventures. Also wrote the stage play "Neclord's End", which tells a rather inaccurate version of the Army's battle against Neclord.
Artifact of Doom: She was possessed by the power of the Blue Moon Rune, a magic artifact symbolising cruelty and compassion, that transforms the bearer into a vampire. She gained mastery over her desire to kill however, drawing on the compassionate aspect of the rune's powers and retreated into isolation.
Monster Town: However, she was soon approached by others who desired immortality and so created the Blue Moon Village, a safe haven for other vampires who had cast away their bloodsucking past. The power of the rune allowed the vampires to live without the need to drink the blood of the living.
It's Personal: However Neclord, one of the villagers, overtaken by the lust for power, stole the Moon Rune and fled, robbing immortality from the villagers other than Sierra.
Vampire Hunter: Some of the villagers, now lacking the power of the rune to stay alive, went rogue and began to feast on the living again. She was determined to stop the renegade vampires from causing suffering to others and thus she became a vampire hunter.
Badass: She can scare Neclord shitless, and even Kahn is not keen on pissing her off.
Badass Abnormal: She's a vampire and totally immune to the weaknesses of most of her kind, as she had possessed the Blue Moon Rune.
Not a Morning Person: Due to her vampiric nature. Sunlight doesn't actually hurt her, but she still prefers to sleep in.
Our Vampires Are Different: She does not need to feed on the living to sustain herself, as above. Nor does sunlight actually harm her, though she doesn't find it pleasant.
Really 700 Years Old: At about a thousand years old, she's the single oldest character yet introduced in the Suikoden series. Even the seemingly eternal Leknaat and the unseen but ancient Emperor Hikusaak of Harmonia are younger.
Ensemble Darkhorse: His first appearance the Suikoden series was fairly brief. However his badass abilities and intriguing past made him instantly popular.
Hidden Weapons: He is an expert at the quick draw sword style of Iaijutsu.
Master Swordsman: Amongst the best, if not the best in the game.
Mysterious Past: Richmond can find out details of his past, but these are fully revealed in the events of Suikoden V.
Noble Fugitive: He was accused of murdering the Queen of Falena, which is why he is on the run in Dunan. It turns out he did this at the Queen's own request (it's complicated), and left to avoid causing trouble for the next Queen.
Dark and Troubled Past: He was working as an assassin sword for hire, but quit this dishonorable profession after he accidently killed his own brother.
Cool, but Inefficient: Pesmerga has been accused to this. He starts out as a powerhouse, but joins late, leaves no room for customization, thus the latter mentioned possible Game Breaker will surpass him. Though to be fair, for a quick-run game (for those who just doesn't want to bother with heavy customization), he's still a good choice.
The Archmage: His magical abilities far surpass anyone else in the known world, save perhaps his master, Crowley. He's the best magic user in the game.
Reincarnation: Implied. He and Crowley have listed years of birth after the time of their epic duel. Word Of God confirms this wasn't an error, but doesn't elaborate. Since each sought to produce power equivalent to a True Rune without actually possessing a True Rune, this presumably was their method of matching the immortality that the things grant. It's generally assumed by fans that both of them died in their duel, were reborn, and resumed their rivalry after reaching adulthood again.
The Rival: With Crowley from Suikoden 1. He is Crowley's ex-pupil but the two are now bitter rivals.
Earth-Shattering Kaboom: During a duel that took place over a hundred years ago, the force of their duel leveled three mountains and evaporated a lake.
Death by Irony: Averted. Elza deliberately chose this end for herself which also mirrored the same duel between her and Kelley.
Karmic Death: Again averted as Elza wanted it that way.
Death Seeker: It's revealed in the Gaiden game that Elza is waiting for the day when Clive will kill her. This is in part due to the past when their friend Kelley allowed Elza to kill him during a duel they were forced into by deliberately picking a gun filled with blanks.
Murder, Inc.: Like Clive, she was trained by the Howling Voice Assassins Guild since the age of five.
Mysterious Woman: Of the alluring, sexy variety (even despite her scar).
Parental Abandonment: Having come from a poor family Elza's parents sold her to the Howling Voice Assassins Guild when she was five.
Side Quest: A time based mission, with Clive hot on her heels. After a cat and mouse game throughout various locations in Dunan, this culminates in a showdown with Clive in her hometown of Sajah. Must be completed within 20 hours of play.
Dirty Coward: When his wife Sara was attacked and raped by Muse ruffians (which lead to Jillia's birth), he simply ran away, rather than help her. Luca forever holds this against him.
The Mourning After: He is a troubled soul; having lost his wife Sara shortly after Jillia's birth, he was definitely not a good father to Luca.
Blond Guys Are Jerks: Rowd isn't necessarily evil but for much of the game he pretty much acts like a jerk although the below trope belies this fact a little.
I Did What I Had to Do: Although many of Rowd's actions in the game could be considered cowardly and underhanded he is ultimately trying to earn money to take his blind sister to see a doctor.
Private Military Contractors: He was hired by the Highland Army during the Dunan Unification War, mainly due to Leon Silverberg who knew Yuber for some reason.
Defeat Means Friendship: After Lucia attempts to assassinate Teresa, she stops herself and Teresa promises that she will make up for her father's wrongdoing. She later makes her father's crimes public and Lucia forgives Teresa.
Playing with Fire: Wields the Rage Rune, the most powerful Fire rune in the game.
History Repeats: His backstory mirrors and foreshadows Riou and Jowy's own storyline. 20 years before the events of the game, he led the Highland Army and was the hero of the Highland-Jowston War. However, after Riou's master, Genkaku, rose as the leader of the Jowston forces, he was forced into a stalemate. Due to King Agares Blight's suggestion, he had to fight a duel with Genkaku. However, Genkaku did not lift his sword at all, and Han won the duel, making Jowston lose Kyaro to Highland. At some point after the Highland-Jowston War, he and Genkaku sealed their respective runes, the Black Sword Rune and Bright Shield Rune, in a cave in Toto.
Look Behind You: When faced with Jowy's murderous intentions, she feigns acceptance, but requests to finish her wine as a distraction, then leaps towards Jowy as he briefly turns away....
Anyone Can Die: .....but too late to prevent him from mortally wounding her.
Final Speech / Forgiveness: She apologizes to the Hero and Nanami for the state's treatment of their adoptive father, Genkaku, but once they confirm their happy childhood with him, she dies peacefully.
Mediator: During the Dunan Unification War, she tried to assemble the different states within Jowston to help with the opposing of the Highland Army. However, it was not a success because of the conflicts between the leaders of the states who did not wanted to cooperate.
Unresolved Sexual Tension: She and Viktor clearly have history. During their conversation over wine, on the night she is murdered by Jowy, she even laments that if circumstances were different, and she were "a little shorter", she'd have made a good girlfriend for him.
Women Are Wiser: She's far calmer with her negotiations than many of the (male) mayors/leaders of the other regions.
The Captain: He is the Captain of the Matilda White Knights and the leader of the Matilida Knights.
Corrupt Politician: His self-interest was enough of a cause to sacrifice his knight's code, and as Matilda became rich, he refused to offer support to surrounding regions when Highland attacked.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Poor Pohl. He takes the hero under his wing, and helps him get settled at Viktor's fort. He is killed when the fortress is attacked by Luca.
Guest Star Party Member: A Suikoden 1 save file saved at the very last save point is necessary to recruit him. Gremio comes with him if all 108 characters are alive in that save (and you'll get a special recipe), otherwise Ellie takes his place.
Side Quest: Once recruited, he takes part in an epic Rescue Arc to save a young boy from Banner village who has been kidnapped by mountain bandits.
If you remove him from your active party, you have to trek back to Banner to pick him up again.
Due to a bug, the M in Mc Dohl will be replaced with whatever the first letter of what you named him is. For example, if you named him Tir, he'll be Tc Dohl.
Battle Butler: Still refers to McDohl as "young master".
Old Retainer: Though he is still young this trope does apply to him.
Old Save Bonus: Gremio is only available if a save data file from the final save point in the first game was imported with all 108 stars recruited. Otherwise his role in this game is taken by Ellie.
Sidequest Sidestory: Ellie can be involved in the quest to recruit McDohl. It can be relatively minor or she can play more of a role in it depending on the Old Save Bonus (see Gremio's entry for more information).
Trauma Inn: She runs the inn at Banner. It's also revealed that she helped Marie run the inn at the Liberation Army Headquarters during the first game as well.
Fu Tan Chen
The Host: He's the MC of the cooking contest. He does the introductions of the judges, often slipping in hints about their tastes as well some rather daring commentary about a few of them in a personal sense.
Hilarity Ensues: Some of his comments about a few of the judges provokes some rather amusing outraged reactions.
Aerith and Bob: She and her sister have entirely disparate names, despite being sisters: Leknaat and Windy.
Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: She is the keeper of the Gate Rune, a True Rune that has the power to open portals to other worlds and dimensions. It was split in two following an attack on her village of the Gate Rune Clan by Harmonia. She kept the back half, her sister Windy kept the front half. It is assumed that Leknaat reclaimed the front half upon her sister's death.
Blind Seer: Her role is to provide astrological projections.
Cain and Abel: Her power-hungry sister Windy is desperate to reunite the 2 halfs of the rune, something Leknaat will not allow to happen. This has turned the sisters into mortal enemies.
