Suikoden (Japanese: 幻想水滸伝, Hepburn: Gensō Suikoden; lit. "Fantasy Water Margin") is a series of role-playing video games created and published by Konami. The games were designed by Yoshitaka Murayama and are inspired by the classical Chinese novel Water Margin, which is called Suikoden (水滸伝) in Japanese. Each game in the series focuses on themes such as politics, corruption, revolution, mystical crystals called True Runes, and the "108 Stars of Destiny"—a group of 108 main characters loosely based on the original story.

The events in the games are not in a strict order, but most of the series (except for Tierkreis and Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki) takes place in the same world, with overlapping stories and characters. Some characters appear in more than one game.

A spiritual successor to the series, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, was released on April 23, 2024. A high-definition remaster of the first two games, originally released for the PlayStation Portable, was launched on February 23, 2006, under the title Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars. This remaster was also released on other platforms on March 6, 2025.

Elements

In the Suikoden series, players control a battle group with up to six members, including the main character and five others. However, in Suikoden IV, the group is reduced to four fighters and one support character. The goal of the game is for the main character to defeat opponents who work against their team. This happens because each game in the series focuses on recruiting 108 special characters called the Stars of Destiny. These characters can join the battle group, and each game in the series has its own set of Stars of Destiny. The games involve exploring towns on different islands and entering dungeons filled with monsters or enemies. Players also capture abandoned, monster-filled castles to use as bases or headquarters, which later become busy communities.

The most common type of battle in the series is a turn-based battle, where a six-member team fights opponents. However, other battle types also appear in the games. There are three main battle types that appear in every game: "Basic Battle," "One-on-one Duel," and "Strategic War Battle."

• Basic Battle: This is the most common battle type. The player controls the six-member team and can choose actions such as "Fight" (to attack), "Run" (to escape), "Bribe" (to use money called Potch to pay enemies to leave), or "Auto" (to let the game automatically assign attack commands).
• One-on-one Duel: This is a battle where only one character fights, and it happens during special events. It is a turn-based duel where the player selects commands to attack. Most duels are not time-based, except in Suikoden V, where commands must be chosen within 3 seconds. These duels often include dialogue between the player and the enemy, which gives hints about the enemy's next move.
• Strategic War Battle: This is a turn-based battle between the player's army and the enemy's army. The player can arrange their units in any way they choose. Each game has different types of war battles, such as sea battles in Suikoden IV. Suikoden V is the first game in the series to use real-time strategy battles, where actions happen quickly without waiting for turns.

Development

The Suikoden series was created, written, produced, and managed by Yoshitaka Murayama. He left Konami near the end of Suikoden III's development. Noritada Matsukawa became the Senior Director of Suikoden III after Murayama left. Matsukawa also directed Suikoden IV, but Junko Kawano, who was the chief designer for Suikoden I, produced it. Suikoden V was directed by Takahiro Sakiyama, a person who was new to making RPGs at the time.

In an interview with the Japanese website 4gamers.net about the RPG Frontier Gate, Konami developers said the Suikoden team had been broken up, and its members were working on other projects within Konami or elsewhere. This caused people to think the franchise might have been stopped after poor sales of recent games.

Despite these ideas, Konami showed a trailer for a new Suikoden game at Tokyo Game Show 2011: Genso Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century (Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki). It was released in Japan for PSP on February 12, 2012, and received mostly average reviews.

An article from The Nikkei in 2015 said development on the series had stopped.

In 2020, one of the Suikoden team members left Konami and started a new studio called Rabbit & Bear. The studio was founded by people who worked on the original PlayStation-era Suikoden games, including Yoshitaka Murayama, who directed and wrote the first two Suikoden games. Other members include Junko Kawano, the lead artist for Suikoden I and IV; Junichi Murakami, the art director for Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow; Osamu Komuta, the director of Suikoden Tactics; and composers Motoi Sakuraba and Michiko Naruke. Murayama directed a game called Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, which was inspired by Suikoden and released in 2024. Murayama passed away during its development.

On March 3rd and 4th, 2025, Konami announced through a livestream that they were working with Mythril on a new gacha game spinoff called Suikoden: Star Leap. This game takes place between Suikoden I and V and will be officially part of the main story. The game, along with an anime version of Suikoden II, a stage play of Suikoden I, and a touring orchestral concert, are part of the second phase of Konami's Suikoden revival plan. These projects aim to grow the Suikoden fanbase. The Suikoden I & II HD Remaster was later considered part one of this plan.

World, setting, and concepts

Each game in the Suikoden series follows a similar story. A corrupt leader tries to take control of a country, and the main character is someone who was forced to leave their homeland. The story also includes the dangerous misuse of the True Runes, powerful magical forces. The hero and their friends work hard to restore peace, even when facing great challenges. The final battle happens between the hero and a corrupted version of a True Rune.

The 27 True Runes are the source of all magic and natural power in the Suikoden world. These runes are alive and have their own will. They are as powerful as gods and have caused many wars in the past. Some wars were started because the runes wanted them to happen. Powerful people want to control the runes because they can give immortality to those who carry them. People who bear a True Rune stop aging and cannot get sick or die from natural causes. However, they can still be hurt or killed by accidents or violence.

True Runes can attach themselves to people. When they do, the person gains control over the natural force the rune represents and gains immortality. However, this can also cause problems. For example, the Moon Rune changed its bearer into a vampire. Some runes take the form of objects, like the Star Dragon Sword, which is a physical version of the Night Rune. Other runes can exist without being attached to a person, like the Beast Rune during the Highland-Jowston conflict, where it acted on its own.

The story of how the Suikoden world was created is found in books from the games. One book, "Old Book Vol.1" from Suikoden I, describes some of the True Runes. These include the Gate Rune, Rune of Life and Death (also called the Soul Eater), Rune of the Beginning, Rune of Punishment, True Elemental Runes (Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning), Sun Rune, Sovereign Rune, Hachifusa (Eight-Fold) Rune, Circle Rune, Rune of Change, Moon Rune, Night Rune, Beast Rune, and Dragon Rune.

Each Suikoden game is inspired by a Chinese novel called Shui Hu Zhuan. In every main Suikoden game (except Suikogaiden and Suikoden Tactics), there are 108 important characters who join together to fight a threat. In most games, all of these characters can be recruited, but in Suikoden III, some of them are enemies. While recruiting all 108 characters is not required to finish the game, doing so gives special benefits that affect the story.

The Suikoden series takes place in a world with many countries. The map of the world changes as the games progress. Chronologically, Suikoden IV is the earliest game, and Suikoden V is the most recent. Suikoden III happens later than Suikoden IV but before Suikoden V.

Suikoden, Suikoden II, and Suikoden III take place on the Northern Continent, which includes several regions. Suikoden is set in the Scarlet Moon Empire, located on the southeastern coast of the Northern Continent. The empire is mainly in the Toran region, with Lake Toran at its center. Important places include Gregminister, the empire's capital in Arlus; the Warrior's Village in the Lorimar region; and the Great Forest. At the end of Suikoden, the empire becomes the Toran Republic.

Suikoden II is set in the Dunan region, northwest of the Toran Republic. It includes the Highland Kingdom in the east and the Jowston City-States, a group of independent cities, in the west. Key locations in Jowston include the cities of South Window, Greenhill, Muse, and Two River, as well as the Knightdom of Matilda. After the Dunan Unification War, the Highland Kingdom and Jowston unite to form the Dunan Republic. The Tinto region, west of Dunan and separated by mountains, chooses to stay independent and becomes the Tinto Republic.

The Grasslands are located west of the Dunan Republic and north of the Tinto Republic. They cover much of the Northern Continent and include six clans: the Lizard, Duck, Karaya, Chisha, Safir, and Alma Kinan. To the west of the Grasslands is the Zexen Confederacy, a group of cities on the Northern Continent's west coast. Important places in Zexen include its capital, Vinay del Zexay, and Budehuc Castle, which is near the Grasslands border. The main events of Suikoden III take place in these areas. Northwest of the Grasslands and Zexen is the Knightdom of Camaro and the Nameless Lands.

The largest country on the Northern Continent is the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia, located in the northeast. Harmonia has taken over other countries, like Sanadia and part of the Grasslands (the Kanaa clan became Le Buque under Harmonian rule). The Scarlet Moon Empire was formed after gaining independence from Harmonia and taking over Harmonia's old capital, which was renamed Gregminister. This caused Harmonia to build a new capital in the Crystal Valley. Harmonia is also home to the Tower, a place where members of the Howling Voice Guild train and live.

Other areas on the Northern Continent include the Kooluk region and Kanakan. The Kooluk region was once the Kooluk Empire but later became independent settlements. It borders the Toran Republic to the east and the Dunan Republic to the north. Off the eastern coast of Toran is the island of Kanakan.

South of the Northern Continent is the ocean and several islands, including Obel, Middleport, and Razril. By the end of Suikoden IV, most of these islands unite to form the Island Nations Federation. The largest island, the Dukedom of Gaien, remains independent. West of Gaien is the Kingdom of Zelant.

South of the Island Nations is the Southern Continent, which includes three main countries: the Queendom of Falena, the theocracy of Nagarea in the southwest, and the New Armes Kingdom in the southeast. Falena is the setting for Suikoden V. It has many rivers and lakes, as well as the Ashtwal Mountains in the north. Key locations include Stormfist and Doraat in the west, Rainwall, Estrise, and Sable near the Armes border in the east, Lelcar, Lordlake, and Sauronix in the south, and the capital, Sol-Falena, and the holy land of Lunas in the north. Falena has been protected from Nagarea since a mountain pass between the two countries was destroyed, but Armes remains a threat throughout Suikoden V.

Northeast of Falena is a

Music collections

The Suikoden games are known for having soundtracks that many gamers enjoy. However, these games were only released in Japan until 2007.

A series of arranged soundtracks was released between late 2001 and 2004. Although the first collection was released before Suikoden III and the last was released around the same time as Suikoden IV, the music used in these collections was taken from the original Suikoden games, including Suikoden, Suikoden II, Suikoden III, and (rarely) the Suikogaiden side-stories.

• Genso Suikoden Music Collection Produced by Hiroyuki Nanba – a 10-track arrangement released on December 29, 2001. Hiroyuki Nanba both produced and arranged the music, as the title indicates.
• Genso Suikoden Music Collection Produced by Kentaro Haneda – another 10-track arrangement released on April 24, 2002. Kentaro Haneda was the producer, while Kousuke Yamashita, Michiru Oshima, Rie Akagi, Kenji Yamamoto, and Hiroshi Takagi arranged the music.
• Genso Suikoden Vocal Collection ~La passione commuove la storia~ – a 10-track arrangement released on July 3, 2002. The first track is instrumental, while the others include vocals. Kousuke Yamashita, Hiroshi Takagi, and Megumi Ohashi arranged the music. Yuko Imai, Risa Oki, and Yoko Ueno performed the vocals.
• Genso Suikoden Vocal Collection ~Distant Stars, Echoes of Love~ – a 10-track arrangement released on January 22, 2003. Kousuke Yamashita, Hiroshi Takagi, and Megumi Ohashi arranged the music. Sanae Shintani, Yuko Imai, and Tomoko performed the vocals.
• Genso Suikoden Piano Collection ~Avertunerio Antes Lance Mao~ – a 13-track arrangement released on December 18, 2002, arranged by Shusei Murai. Although the title mentions piano, most tracks include orchestral music, and some also have vocals.
• Genso Suikoden Celtic Collection – a 12-track arrangement in the style of Celtic music, released on March 5, 2003. Yoko Ueno, Mina Kubota, Yuko Asai, Shigeyoshi Kawagoe, and "The Rain Book" arranged the music.
• Genso Suikoden Celtic Collection 2 – a 12-track arrangement released on August 20, 2003. Yoko Ueno, Yuji Yoshino, Yuko Asai, and Shigeyoshi Kawagoe arranged the music.
• Genso Suikoden Music Collection ~Asian Collection~ – a 12-track arrangement released on November 27, 2003. Kiyoshi Yoshida, Hidenori Maezawa, Yuko Asai, and Shigeyoshi Kawagoe arranged the music.
• Genso Suikoden Piano Collection 2 – a 12-track arrangement released on January 21, 2004, arranged by Shusei Murai.
• Genso Suikoden Celtic Collection III – a 13-track arrangement released on April 14, 2004, arranged by Yuji Yoshino.

Publications, adaptations, and other material

Many books, such as the Suikoden World Guide and Suikoden Encyclopedia, are available for the Suikoden series. However, most of these books are only in Japanese. Suikoden and Suikoden II have books based on the games written by Shinjiro Hori, but these books are only sold in Japan. Suikoden III was turned into a comic book by Aki Shimizu, and this comic book was made available in English by Tokyopop. An anime version of Suikoden II called Suikoden: The Anime was announced on March 4, 2025. This anime was created by Konami Animation, with NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan managing the production. At the same time, a stage play based on Suikoden I and a concert tour featuring music from the series were also announced.

Cameos

• Tokimeki Memorial: Forever with You (1995) (PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PlayStation Portable)
• Mitsumete Knight R (1998) (PlayStation). The main character from Suikoden I appears in this game.
• Konami Wai Wai Sokoban (2006) (mobile phones). The main character from Suikoden I is one of the selectable characters in this game.
• Professional Yakyuu Spirits A (2015) (mobile phones). Tir appears as a supportive character.
• Super Bomberman R Online (2021)
• Astro Bot (2024). A VIP bot named the First Star can be rescued in the game. It is designed with the clothing and Bō-staff from the main character of Suikoden I. The Rune of Life and Death appears if the First Star is interacted with.