Welcome to my visual 100% Completion guide for Suikoden II. My goal here is to provide you with a basic walkthrough while not missing a single Star of Destiny or rare item. However, I will be leaving out a lot of redundancy. I omit the majority of the treasure chests and shops in the game, only specifying those that are hidden/rare, or attention should be paid attention to. This helps keep things short and to the point as well as not feeling like I'm stating the obvious to you. I hope this is of help and you enjoy
Before we begin, there is something of importance that should be stressed. While Suikoden II is an outstanding game, it is plagued by bugs and glitches; a lot of which can easily prevent you from getting certain items. It is important that you follow along carefully as I will navigate you around these bugs to make sure that you lose out on absolutely nothing along the way. One final note, although I will state often that you can only acquire a certain item in this location, most every item in the game can be acquired via the guardian deity building, however, this can only be done once and should be used to obtain items you absolutely cannot acquire outside the guardian diety; thus why I stress that an item can only be gotten in a certain location.
The games begins with the naming of the main character of the game. There is no real "official" name for this character, but Riou is generally considered by most players to be his name, but feel free to use whatever name you like. You will then get the option to convert your data from the original Suikoden. This walkthrough assumes that you have followed the previous steps
covered in the original Suikoden walkthrough needed to convert your data
over to Suikoden II. Once you have converted, the game begins with two soldiers, Riou and Jowy. Jowy will ask if you'd like to go to sleep or look around outside. If you choose outside, you can walk around and get use to the controls and speak with some of your fellow brigade members.
The first thing you should do is go into the equipment section of the menu and remove Riou's Boots accessory and equip it to Jowy. This is a small detail for a little extra later on. Return to your tent when you are ready to advance the story. Riou and Jowy will be awakened by the sound of swords clashing. Outside, Captain Rowd will direct you to escape to the east, but taking the path west and examining the different-looking rocky area on the wall near the edge will save you a bit of time. I, however, generally go to the east for the battles. At the end of the east path, Jowy will suggest you return to the camp fearing that they are falling into an enemy ambush. Return to the camp and you will meet Luca, whom seems to have set this all up.
You can choose to "Ask Captain Rowd" to engage in a battle or run for
it. Either way, the two will end up on a cliff to the northwest and be forced into a battle with soldiers. Afterwards, Jowy will try to persuade Riou it's best for them to jump into the river to escape. Choose the option "Look at that current! We'll never make it!" four times and Rowd will show up again with more soldiers to battle. This is a good way to make some easy potch early in the game as Riou and Jowy's unite Buddy Attack will deal heavy damage to the opposition. There is also a side effect of these battles: If you battle 108 sets of soldiers, the upcoming scene will be colorized as opposed to the usual black-and-white. I think that's a bit excessive, but decide for yourself. When you are done fighting soldiers, agree with Jowy to jump into the river and to promise to reunite here if you are separated.
Riou, absent Jowy, will be awakened by a familiar face on the banks of the river. Answer his questions and you will be taken back to his fortress. Watch the scenes and you will be asked to do a bit of work in a warehouse. Push the crates (By walking against them) up against the walls and pick up the bundle of Rope that is near the door before leaving and talking to Pohl. The next morning, Pohl will ask you to do some errands. He needs 2 pairs of Boots, 3 Flints, and 2 bags of flour.
Talk with Barbara in the bottom-left corner for the Boots. This is the reason why we gave Jowy Riou's Boots a bit ago. Ask her for 3 pairs, equip two of them to Riou, and then ask for 3 more. This will net you 4 extra pairs for your characters or to sell for some extra potch.
For completionists, this is an important selection in the game. This is your ONLY chance in the game to get a Flint item in your inventory. Talk to the blacksmith and select to get 2 Flints; then talk to him again and select 3. This will move one Flint item to your special items and you will have two spare ones in your inventory. A bit pointless, but for those that like to have everything, like myself, it is important. Aftewards, talk with the shopkeeper upstairs and he will tell you that you need to go to Ryube for the flour.
Return to talk with Pohl and he will direct you to Leona, whom is behind the counter, and Gengen and Tuta will temporarily join your party for the trip to Ryube. Now you can head out to the world map.
You can fight your first sets of battles out on the world map, but the enemies in this location will change a few times, and at the moment none of them are worthy to note. For now, head over to Ryube Village which is nearby to the northeast of the Mercenary Fortress. In Ryube, there isn't much here other than to do some basic shopping and pick up the flour from the item store. Make sure to visit the armor store at least once to add their inventory to what will later become your own castle's inventory; the shops in Ryube are only open for a limited time. Missing this shop can cause the Robe armor to be a missable item later on. Visiting every shop in towns should be your first priority in every new one you encounter to build up your castle shops later on in the game. You can also talk to with some characters around town you will get to know better soon. When you have the flour, return to Pohl at the Mercenary Fort.
Bringing the flour to Pohl, Gengen and Tuta leave your party, and he puts you on another chore. He'll give you a Rag and you'll need to go around the Fort and wipe up oil spills (From what??). They are scattered throughout the area, and one inside of the war room where Flik is. When you are done, talk to Pohl again to advance the game.
That night, Jowy will break into the Fortress to rescue you; rejoining the party. However, Viktor and Flik will prevent your escape. After dinner, follow Jowy's instructions as he uses the Flint, Oily Rag, and Rope in your inventory to escape from the Mercenary Fortress. On the world map, head back to Ryube Village.
