Since the early 1980s, Japanese video game developers and publishers have provided us with many of gaming's most beloved role-playing series. While not the first in the genre, Enix's Dragon Quest became an overnight phenomenon and really set the stage for popular role-playing games in Japan.
Squaresoft had an unexpected hit with Final Fantasy, which despite its name, continues strong to this very day with sequel after sequel. And Atlus's Persona tore up the JRPG rule book with its contemporary setting and dark fantasy themes. But when I think of the Japanese role-playing franchise that has had the biggest impact on me over the years, it's one that's a little less conventional, a little less cinematic, and a little less...weeby...and that would be Konami's flagship RPG series Gensou Suikoden, simply referred to as "Suikoden" outside of Japan.
The series' wonderfully unique blend of eastern and western aesthetics, fantastic storytelling, and unforgettable soundtrack all left an impression in me that most other games I've played haven't even come close to making. In particular, the first and second Suikoden games really played a big part in my life growing up. So much so that on December 31st, in the year 2000, I set up a Suikoden II endgame file to play as soon as midnight rolled around just so I could lay claim to the title of "First Person to Beat Suikoden II in the New Millenium." Yes, this story is true, and I've just always been that cool.
As a huge fan of the Suikoden series, I was more than a little disappointed in the road the franchise would take from the second game. It would steadily continue on for several years, seeing sequels and spin-offs that were met with mixed reception from fans and critics, until the fifth game dropped in 2006, which was almost universally met with praise by Suikoden veterans and newcomers alike, and was hailed as a return to what made the series great in the first place.
Sadly, as of summer 2017, also known as the Summer Of Suikoden, it seems like the final chapter in the main Suikoden storyline has come to a close, since for over a decade there hasn't been a follow-up title, and Suikoden VI probably won't be a reality for quite some time, if ever. Suikoden V ended up being the final title in the series' main cannon, but it wouldn't be the final game to bear the Suikoden name, as Konami would put out two spin-off Suikodens developed for handhelds a few years later.
The first was Suikoden Tierkreis for the DS, which saw a Japanese release in late 2008 and international releases in 2009, and then there was the very last Suikoden game up until now, which remained Japan-only-Gensou Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki for the Sony PlayStation Portable. This PSP entry in the Suikoden series was published on February 9th, 2012, and is much like previous spin-off Tierkreis in that it's set in its own world separate from the one that Suikoden I through V took place in.
Gensou Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki can be translated to Gensou Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century, and at first glance it may seem very similar to one of the proper Suikoden titles. While it shares many of the same story themes and visual and audio cues of the games that came before it, the many, many scenes of dialogue make it feel like a hybrid of a traditional role-playing game and a visual novel.
Starting up a new game is much like the other Suikoden games, where the player is greeted with the classic main theme of the series and the character naming screen. No official name was given to the protagonist, so I just named him "Hapa," and I'll refer to him as such from here on out.
The Woven Web of a Century begins with an animated cutscene, where we are introduced to Hapa as a five year old boy having a conversation with his mother, Signey. She tells him the story of his ancestor, Torwad Albreck, a legendary swordsman who led a small band of heroes to vanquish a horde of terrifying monsters nearly 100 years previously. In their world, it is said that every 100 years, horrible creatures suddenly appear and wreak havoc on anything and anyone in sight.
These monsters don't go by any particular name in the current era, but were known as the Terras Falma in a forgotten age. The turn of the century is little more than a decade away, and Signey has been preparing for the arrival of the Terras Falma for nearly her entire life. It's at this point that Hapa vows to learn the ways of the sword like his mother and aid her in the battle that is inevitably to come.
Fast forward several years into the present, and the boy is all grown up. He and two childhood friends, the tomboyish Myura and her wise-cracking younger brother Gino, are gathering materials and hunting wild animals at the old abandoned ruins of a lakeside fortress near their hometown, Telbe. The aforementioned monsters have yet to make their appearance, and hunting provides a way for them to practice their combat abilities.
The battle system in Woven Web of a Century marks a bit of a departure from the standard Suikoden formula, but is not unlike most other role-playing games. For starters, there are no more random encounters, and enemies are engaged only when physical contact is made, allowing the player to pick and choose most battles.
Enemies in the field aren't very aggressive, so running past them to avoid fights is almost always an option. You may choose up to six party members at a time and arrange them in a 3 by 3 grid, with the front spots meant for melee fighters and the back row for long distance attackers and support characters. When a fight begins, characters have access to the standard options like attack, defend, run away, and special skills, but can also change equipment midway, and some characters have special defense and counterattack options, depending on their class.
Each character that can be used in battles falls into one of nine different classes. There are swordsmen, who obviously specialize in sword attacks. Mages perform spells by using a variety of elemental stones. Medics are the healers of the team and use various potions to increase HP and other stats. Spearmen are soldiers proficient in the use of, well, spears. Martial artists are tonfa-wielding melee attackers. Sorcerers, who are magic users just like mages, utilize magic stones to focus on inflicting status ailments rather than elemental damage.
Ninjas have high agility and the ability to use ninjutsu to overtake their foes. Archers use bows and a range of arrows to strike from a distance, and musicians perform songs mostly to raise the stats of allies. Rather than choosing each party member's actions at the start of a turn and watching everything play out in real time like in most Suikoden titles, turns are determined by individual character stats.
The actions that can be performed are dependent on willpower, which is displayed above the character's HP bar. As mentioned earlier, mages and sorcerers cast spells by using magic stones, but these spells also consume willpower, with stronger magic requiring the use of more willpower and stones. Some actions, such as defending, won't consume any willpower, and is a good option for charging up so one may use more powerful attacks, as 20 willpower points are gained every turn.
Unlike other Suikoden games and most RPGs in general, normal items cannot be used during battle, and typically the only way to heal is by having a medic in the party. After their business at the fortress ruins is finished, Hapa makes an observation regarding the large tree there, remarking that for as long as he can remember, he's never seen it bloom any flowers, which makes it rare and different from any other ordinary tree. As the trio returns to Telbe, they run into Hagall, the village chief, and Iria, another childhood friend of the hero's, who are traveling to the city of Shuraat. They plan to meet with Iria's adopted father, Aaron, mayor of Shuraat, and prominent voice among several settlements opposed to the ever increasing encroachment on their territories by the Holy Empire of Aionia, the dominant power in the region.
Much of the area falls under the jurisdiction of Aionia, and its long history of strong-arming, brutal methods of conquer and submission have given rise to resentment among many, particularly those who live in towns that have maintained their independence from the empire, such as Telbe and Shuraat. As the turn of the century draws nearer, Aionia has been putting more pressure on those outside of its domain for support and allegiance to quell the centennial menace. Hapa himself has a personal reason to despise the empire, as his mother was tragically killed three years previously in a skirmish with Aionian military forces.
From here, you are allowed to rest up a bit and explore the village of Telbe...well, perhaps the use of the word "explore" is a bit of a stretch. You see, in other Suikoden games, you had the option to run around towns and cities, talk to people, go shopping, discover treasure, and really get a feeling of exploration while doing so.
In Gensou Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century, however, all towns are basically just point-and-click affairs, severely limiting that feeling of exploration. Several icons on screen mark areas of interest, allowing you to buy weapons, armor, and items from shops or engage in conversation with the locals. This functions just fine for taking care of business, but most disappointing about the town system in this game is that you won't find any new recruitable characters hanging around for you to discover, unless it's part of the story, making revisiting residential areas sort of pointless.
There are no inns in towns, either, as saving can be done at any time or place outside of story cutscenes. As Hagall and his envoy are away meeting with Aaron to discuss what approach they should take in dealing with the Holy Empire of Aionia, a small regiment of soldiers from the Aionian Fourth Legion arrive just outside of Telbe, and Hapa, Myura, and Gino are forced to confront them in the absence of the chief.
Tensions are at a peak until the leader of the Fourth Legion, a scruffy but fair and compassionate man named Ducas, explains that the Aionians have come only to get an answer from the Telbe chief in person regarding support in the upcoming fight with the Terras Falma, as they never received a reply to their written request. After a brief conversation, Hapa and friends insist Ducas and his troops have no business being in these lands and ask them to leave immediately, to which the soldiers comply, and a potential scuffle is avoided...but the heroes aren't in the clear yet, because on their way back to the village, strange and hostile creatures suddenly appear seemingly out of nowhere...the time has finally come for the monsters that plague the land every 100 years, the Terras Falma, to rear their heads once again.
Talk about bad timing. Because Gino isn't a figher like Hapa and Myura, he reluctantly runs off to warn the villagers about the arrival of the new threat, while his companions attempt to hold off the beasts. Unfortunately, their combined efforts are not enough to strike down the Terras Falma, who are powerful and can apparently multiply at will, and they're forced to flee to the old lakeside fortress. As they take refuge in the ruins, they fear for the worst, but then realize the monsters did not pursue them, and in fact it seems they are repelled from doing so, as if there was some kind of barrier protecting them.
It's at this moment that Hapa notices that the odd tree there that he commented on earlier is now abloom with brilliant, beautiful flowers. He has a feeling that this strange phenomenon is responsible for keeping the Terras Falma at bay, and just as soon as he comes to that conclusion, the voice of an unseen presence confirms his belief. That voice belongs to a mysterious young man hidden behind the large tree named Zephon, who speaks with a vague, almost puzzling manner of speech, and offers to help the two fleeing warriors.
He passes along a precious gem to the protagonist and only asks for him to touch the tree, and when questioned as to what will happen, he simply says they would never believe him and the only way to find out is to do as he says. Worried about Gino and the villagers and realizing he has nothing to lose by doing so, Hapa obliges. A bright flash of light envelops the three of them, and when it fades, they notice something has changed...it looks like the old fortress ruins have been completely rebuilt! Zephon explains that the strange tree with the shining blooms is a called a tree of time, and the fortress has not been rebuilt, but rather, the three of them have traveled back in time to when the tree was first planted...100 years in the past, to be precise.
The protagonist and Myura find that hard to believe, but are taken by surprise that the Terras Falma that were previously chasing after them have somehow vanished. Then, any doubts to Zephon's claims are laid to rest, as they run into the legendary hero from 100 years ago and ancestor of the protagonist, Torwad Albreck. Not only does he look like he could be Hapa's long lost brother, but he is also in possession of the same ceremonial short sword that Hapa inherited from the late Signey, confirming that they have indeed traveled back in time.
At this point in Torwad's time, he and his allies have already slayed the Terras Falma, and asks to travel back to the present with Hapa so he may help him in his fight, as well as see what the future is like. They rush back to the tree of time to travel to the present, but when they return, Torwad is nowhere to be seen. Zephon, who always knows much more than he ever lets on, informs the befuddled Telbe youth that the tree of time cannot bring people and items from the past into the future.
The three of them return to break the news to Torwad, and while they ponder what can be done to improve the situation in the present, Hapa gets an idea, which is for the legendary hero to teach him his sword style, as he was unable to complete his training due to the untimely death of his mother. Myura reasons that doing that would take months, but Torwad thinks otherwise and agrees to instruct his descendant. In Gensou Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century, special skills can be taught to other characters in battle through a partnering system.
In addition to arranging characters on a 3 by 3 grid, you can group them under a leader, which will cause every member of the group to take their turn during a fight at the same time. Doing this will add damage bonuses to attacks, give the option to use standard attacks together all at once, as well as open up the possibility of performing unite attacks, which in this game are just stat boosting combinations.
By pairing two characters of the same class, however, the leader character can transfer his special attacks to another by having that character mimic his actions. After a few rounds of practicing, the protagonist and Torward are surrounded by a flash of light, and a powerful new special attack is mastered. The skill transfer system is a major component in Woven Web of a Century's game system, and there are dozens and dozens of skills that have been lost in time, essentially, for which heroes from the current time period can travel back in time to recover and learn from the masters of old. Transferring the skills of people from different eras won't take much time at all, but that isn't the case when it comes to two allies from the present.
Skill transfer doesn't apply only to fighters either, and a majority of the techniques that can be learned are actually meant for use by non-playable support characters, such as chefs and craftsmen. Sometimes you'll bring an NPC to the past in order to learn a skill from someone in person, but other times finding an item left by an important figure of the past, such as a book or a weapon, will trigger the transfer of a skill.
Every time a new skill is acquired, there is a flash of light and the knowledge is passed on instantaneously and more often than not without any actual instruction taking place. It is said that the will to teach is all that is necessary for the skill to be learned, for reasons that will become much clearer later down the road. With the newly inherited skills of his ancestor, Hapa and his time traveling companions thank and bid farewell to Torwad, and make plans to visit him again once the chaos in their own time period has settled.
Upon their return to the present, the heroes resume their battle with the monsters, who are no match for the legendary sword technique of Torwad. The unexpected victory gives Hapa and Myura a much needed sigh of relief and lifts their spirits...feelings which won't last very long. They rush back to Telbe to check on Gino and the villagers, only to stumble upon a shocking, horrible scene-despite their best efforts, they did not act quickly enough and the entire village has already been decimated by the ferocious Terras Falma.
Gino survived just long enough to speak with his friend and sister one last time, and dies peacefully before their eyes. Zephon shows up and angers the grieving Hapa and Myura with his indifference to the tragedy that has occurred. When called out on his insensitivity, he reminds the two that they have the ability to travel back in time and can prevent the village's destruction from happening altogether. Although they can only travel back no sooner than 100 years, there is a way to save Telbe, which is how Hapa and Myura were able to flee from the Terras Falma in the first place.
They return to the tree of time, from which Zephon retrieves a seedling. He tells Hapa that each tree of time produces exactly one seedling, and by planting one right outside of Telbe, the power of the tree will keep everyone safe. They return to the past, where they meet Torwad once again, but in their desperation, Hapa and Myura rush past him to get to the village to plant the seed as soon as possible.
However, before they reach the village, they are abruptly whisked away to the present! The two make their way back to where they had left Torwad and Zephon, and learn that the time traveling powers of the tree only affect a small radius surrounding it, so it is not possible for them to plant the seedling themselves. Torwad offers to help yet again, and Hapa passes along the seedling for him to plant outside of Telbe. When they return to the present once more, they discover a tree of time in full bloom outside their village, realizing that their plan seems to have worked.
They know for certain that they successfully altered history when Gino meets up with them moments later, suddenly back from the dead. Overcome with joy, Myura embraces her brother, clueless as to why the older sister who is so often firm and angry with him is now holding onto him for dear life. Altering history through time travel is another major component to Woven Web of a Century's gameplay, used not only to gain character skills as talked about earlier, but also to progress through the story.
Whenever there's some obstacle preventing the player from getting from point A to point B, the solution is almost always found by traveling through time, passing on a tree of time seedling to an ally to plant in a different area of the world, and accomplishing a goal in that newly opened up portion of the past to change the present. It can be as simple as doing a little pest control in a field to prevent overgrazing so people in the future will have access to medical ingredients to treat the wounds of the victims of war, to aiding a village in a battle with the Aionian military to prevent the wholesale slaughter of an entire tribe of people. At one point in the game, the heroes must cross a vast body of water, but in the present, shipmaking has been declared illegal by the Holy Empire of Aionia and there are no ships left in the world, so the only way to get around this is by convincing a carpenter in the past to secretly store and preserve one of the last remaining ships in the land and hand down the burden of that work to his family members for generations.
Initially, Hapa is concerned about the effects of altering history and what he sees as erasing the past, and is a little reluctant in doing so, but Zephon assures him that there is nothing to worry about. He explains that the world everyone knows is just one of a million others out there, and by changing the course of events in the past, they are essentially creating a brand new world, while the other is left untouched and continues on. Zephon uses the tree of time they stand before to make his point more clear, stating that if each branch represented one world, changing history as they just did only adds another branch to the existing one.
With Telbe safe, Zephon bids his new friends farewell. He won't say where he's going, but it won't be too long before he's back in the picture again, as one would expect. Hapa and Myura decide to travel to Shuraat and meet Hagall and Iria to tell them about the arrival of the Terras Falma, but before they even set out, the village chief and his entourage return. When everyone is brought up to speed on the situation, Hagall asks Hapa, Myura, and Iria to travel to Shuraat to speak with Aaron about the Terras Falma. When they arrive in the city, the trio is greeted warmly by Aaron, a gentle man with a noble air to him, as well as his secretary, Rochelle.
The two are quickly briefed on the recent events at Telbe, and to the surprise of Hapa, Myura, and Iria, Aaron and Rochelle ask them to keep the news of the Terras Falma a secret, mainly due to fears of being subjected to the growing influence of Aionia. But just as they argue over the best course of action, the door busts open, and an unwelcome guest enters the room-the captain of the Fourth Aionian Legion, Ducas. He explains his barging in by saying that he heard rumors of warriors who had skirmished with Terras Falma, and that they were currently in Shuraat.
Hapa tells the Aionian about his encounter with the Terras Falma, contrary to Aaron's wishes. Mostly against their will, Hapa and friends are soon escorted across a large bridge into the Aionian motherland and straight to the humongous, sprawling capitol of the empire, Taxis, for an audience with the emperor himself, Lenesferias XIII. The young Telbe natives are struck with awe at the sight of the regal-and quite feminine-monarch of Aionia, and are surprisingly met with good will by the him and his retainers.
Leneferias listens to the account of his guests, and after praising their efforts, sends off his loyal subjects to prepare to battle the Terras Falma. That the emperor would take action so quickly surprises Hapa and his companions, but Lenesferias reveals that the entire existence of the Aionian empire is to battle the Terras Falma every 100 years, as that was the reason for its founding three hundred years ago. Lenesferias asks the three for their cooperation in the upcoming battles with the Terras Falma, even if only by defending their own homelands, and concludes the meeting, asking Ducas to escort them back across the long bridge leading to Shuraat.
But before they leave, he has one more request, which is for Hapa to engage in a sparring match with his most valuable guard, Makia, as they both are trained in the same sword style. The two agree, and while the young and inexperienced Hapa is no match for the top swordsman of the empire, he is praised for his efforts. As Hapa, Myura, and Iria are about to depart, Ducas gets word of some very bad news-in the time they had their audience with Lenesferias, reports have come in that the Terras Falma have invaded Shuraat.
Ducas tells his escortees to stay put as he and his soldiers head over to deal with the menace, promising to return once its safe. However, the three are worried about Aaron and the people of Shuraat and decide to follow Ducas and help out. When they arrive, they find the Aionian Fourth Legion in dire straits, and join the battle.
They finally meet Ducas, who is locked in battle with an unlikely opponent-strangely-dressed humans who are summoning forth the Terras Falma to attack the Aionian soldiers. After dispatching this new, mysterious enemy, they are hit with an even bigger shock. The person in charge of this operation is none other than Aaron, who seems to have become a completely different person from the kind, mild-mannered man they met earlier.
Twenty years ago, Aionian soldiers set his hometown ablaze to combat a horde of Terras Falma that had somehow appeared before the turn of the century. That act would end up claiming the lives of his friends, Iria's family, and his own wife and child, and in the time since then, the hatred he had for Aionia continued to burn deep within his heart. He formed a secret military force called the Vermillion Axe and plans to get his revenge by controlling the Terras Falma to once and for all cut down the Aionian empire, who he sees as the true monster in this world.
The Vermillion Axe has all but wiped out Ducas's Fourth Legion and is about to cross the bridge into the Aionian motherland, but Lenesferias's generals intervene and destroy the path. His desire for vengeance unshaken by this setback, Aaron decides to find another way in and travel around the continent to strike at the heart of the empire, and as he makes his escape, tells Hapa and his companions that when they come to their senses about Aionia, he will welcome them into his ranks with open arms. The heroes, demoralized from the recent events, return to Shuraat, which has been left in shambles from the clash between the Vermillion Axe and the Aionian army.
From here on out, Hapa, Myura, and Iria, along with the sole remaining member of Aionia's Fourth Legion, Ducas, resolve to chase after the Vermillion Axe as they make their way to Taxis, in order to persuade Aaron to end his campaign of destruction, potentially by any means necessary. The world map in Woven Web of a Century is handled much like towns, and you'll just move a cursor to an area to travel to it. As you progress through the game, more parts of the map will open up to be explored, and icons mark story missions and where new trees of time have been planted.
As they journey through different lands and settlements, the heroes will meet and recruit many allies along the way. They'll form bonds with a diverse group of people who have different motivations to join their cause, also with differing views on Aaron's ambitions. Humans aren't the only ones to lend their support, either. Members from the cat and bird hybrid race, the Feathered Lives, and the hulking, reptilian warriors known as the Scalehorde will also join in the fight.
The mysterious Zephon will also touch base with the heroes once again and tag along for the long run, though his true intentions mostly remain unclear. As Hapa and his companions grow larger in number, and their focus becomes more defined, they formally establish themselves as a battle company, headquartered at the old fortress by the lake near Telbe, which is no longer in ruins in the present, as a brief passing mention of its condition to Torwad in the past led to its preservation for future generations. You'll get to choose a name for the fortress, as well as your battle company, similar to other Suikoden games. Also like other entries in the series, the fortress starts off small, but will gradually fill up with more areas and things to do as recruits move in.
The music even gets more lively as it grows, too. What is different about the headquarters system in this game is that it features a day and night cycle, and certain actions can only be performed at the right time of day. Magic stone, medicine, and arrow makers will craft items for you, as long as you have the materials to make them, with each of these craftsmen able to work on two orders at a time per visit. Weapon and armor blacksmiths and ringmakers improve equipment stats and add special attributes to items for a limited number of times.
There's a small shop to buy basic materials and sell unneeded items, and a dungeon where you can commission one of three different expeditions per day, with the added option of paying extra to increase the odds of finding more and better items. Any items ordered from craftsmen or found in dungeons can be collected whenever you return to the fortress from the world map. Once an archer character named Ryuseri joins up, she brings with her the ability to go on hunts, which are timed battle challenges you can compete in once a day that award victory with items, progressively getting more difficult as you move up the ranks, and is actually a great way to level up.
In order to exit the fortress, you'll have to enter the dining hall and eat a meal with your allies. There are four chefs and a full menu to choose from, provided you have the recipes and ingredients in hand to prepare the dish you want. Each meal gives a certain set of stat boosts that carry over to the next day, but more important than that, sitting down and sharing a meal allows characters to converse and bond with one another.
Increasing bond will improve performance in battle when characters are grouped together, and when certain characters increase their friendship enough, they can unlock a second subclass and use its special attacks. Other things to do at the fortress include listening to most of the game's music tracks in a sound test mode, rewatching any of the previously viewed animated cutscenes, checking out enemy stats and models in a bestiary, and viewing the stone tablet that displays the names of the 108 Stars of Destiny currently enlisted.
108 Stars of Destiny? Yes, Gensou Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century continues the long Suikoden series tradition of gathering 108 allies known as the Stars of Destiny, though there are a couple of noticeable changes to how the feature is implemented here. First off, the meaning behind the Stars of Destiny is kept mostly vague throughout the story, and it isn't until near the very end of the game that the reason for gathering the Stars becomes more clear. And second, most Stars are considered recruited when their skill is passed down, and that is the extent of their impact on the gameplay and story.
While there are people in the past who can join your party for story events or to teach a skill, in the present, only eighteen characters can be added into the active party, with the rest taking up residence at the fortress headquarters as craftsmen or chefs. It's disappointing, as the gathering of the Stars of Destiny in Woven Web of a Century basically serves only as a collection of side-quests, and the non-battle skills received from the Stars are often not necessary or useful.
On the bright side, though, seeking out the Stars will give you a better understanding of the game world's lore, and finding them all before the final showdown unlocks an alternative, true ending. From beginning to end, Woven Web of a Century is filled with numerous twists and turns. Eventually, Hapa and crew will discover a tree of time already exists in the age of Torwad, which allows them to travel back even further in time to two hundred years in the past.
There, they meet the person who planted the tree of time seedling-Astrid, the empress of Aionia and the legendary heroine of her age who led the charge to face and defeat the Terras Falma. Hapa and his companions have many questions about the monsters and things about their time period that don't quite add up. She and her comrades are astonished by how little they actually know about the Terras Falma, their origins, and history in general, and offer to expose them to a terrible truth about their world.
Hapa wishes to know this truth, and travels with Astrid to the edge of a desert in the south, where she uses her magic to open up a portal. What Hapa sees through this rift in space is perhaps the greatest shock of all-hundreds, thousands of cannibalistic Terras Falma, occupying miles of scorched earth.
Astrid reveals that 100 years before her time, the Terras Falma made their first appearance and ravaged the land and that most creatures in the world perished in the onslaught. A group of wisemen established a magical barrier to keep out the monsters and protect the remaining survivors. So essentially, the last remnants of humanity is preserved in a small sandbox in the middle of a huge park, which is the world Hapa and everyone else has known all their lives.
No one is able to cross this barrier, and attempting to do so will give the illusion of the land repeating itself over and over again, something the heroes experienced earlier in their travels. Additionally, about every one hundred years, this barrier weakens and must recharge, which is why the Terras Falma are able to cross into the protected area, if only for a short period of time. And the final thing Astrid reveals is that the mechanism that keeps this barrier up is located in Taxis, and if the empire falls, so will the barrier, which makes it even more important to stop the Vermillion Axe than ever before.
When the heroes finally catch up to Aaron, they tell him about what they learned from Astrid 200 years in the past about the world, the Terras Falma, and Aionia. While he doesn't quite believe Hapa's story, even if it is true, he figures he'd rather have his revenge and risk the extinction of all life in the world than to stop short of his goal of destroying the empire. Not long after this exchange, Hapa and his allies track down the Vermillion Axe at a secret Aionian facility, where the two sides suffered many combat casualties.
When they make their way to the top of this structure, they find Aaron, all alone and laughing uncontrollably, and discover a terrible secret that this facility holds-the empire has been raising Terras Falma of their own for years, and the Terras Falma that appeared decades earlier and led to the destruction of Aaron and Iria's hometown came from this very Aionian facility. Aaron also comes to the realization that the Vermillion Axe was practically doomed from its conception, as an Aionian spy infiltrated their ranks many years ago-Aaron's most trusted accomplice, Rochelle.
She explains that for order to exist in the world, people must unite against a common enemy. Twenty years ago, the Terras Falma escaped from this facility in an accident, and the resulting cover-up and destruction of Aaron's hometown gave birth to the potential appearance of a mightier, more threatening enemy to unite the people against-the Vermillion Axe. With this revelation, Aaron resolves to let the world know of Aionia's secret.
He implores the heroes to live on and carry out his goal of destroying Aionia, and lets loose the hundreds of Terras Falma stored in the facility, being devoured by the monsters as a result of his close proximity to some of the cells. As Hapa and his comrades make their escape from the building, they run into Rochelle once again, who plans on overloading the facility's power supply to wipe out all the Terras Falma in order to prevent them from creating an even bigger tragedy than the one from 20 years ago.
Hapa offers to help, but is refused, and in an attempt to get him to leave, Rochelle divulges that it was she who killed his mother Signey three years ago when she learned of this facility's secrets and attempted to put a stop to Aionia's plans. Despite that, however, he still tries to help, but is blocked from doing so by a magic barrier, and he has no choice but to flee. Rochelle sacrifices herself to blow up the facility, and a large scale crisis is averted. The recent events raised more questions than answers, especially regarding why the Aionians would be raising Terras Falma in captivity.
For some reason, Zephon has the same ability as Astrid to peak past the magic barrier, so he and Hapa travel to the northern edge of the land in the present to investigate the current state of the world outside their tiny, protected box. What Hapa sees through the rift is perhaps more of a shock than what he saw 200 years ago-magnificent scenes of lush, green nature spread out as far as the eye can see, without a hostile creature in sight.
It turns out that the Terras Falma have gone extinct beyond the barrier, and have been extinct for over a hundred years. They later discover that from the time of Astrid and onward, the Holy Empire of Aionia has been secretly raising the monsters for generations to release in the wild at the turn of the century, and forces within the empire have been traveling through time much like the heroes to alter history and arrange the capture of the Terras Falma.
But even acquiring all this knowledge about Aionia doesn't explain the reasons for keeping up the illusion of the threat of horrible monsters and essentially holding the whole of humanity hostage in a giant, open air prison. The time comes to strike the imperial capitol, confront Lenesferias, take down the magical barrier, and break free of Aionian bondage.
Hapa travels back to the past two more times before the final showdown to talk to his ancestor, Torwad, and the Aionian empress Astrid, both of whom he had been reporting to as he discovered the secrets of the Terras Falma and Lenesferias' plot. He lets them know about his plan to destroy the magic barrier, and as Hapa speaks to Astrid, she inquires as to whether or not he hadn't considered just killing her to cut out the bloodline of Lenesferias and end the scheme altogether.
He tells her that he could never do that, which she knew he would say, and states that doing so would be futile anyway, since her husband Lenesferias IV and Lenesferias XIII of Hapa's time are actually one and the same, as the emperor is gifted with immortality. The heroes from the past wish Hapa luck in his final battle, lamenting that they cannot travel with him to help directly. But both Torwad and Astrid decide there is something they can help him with...
Before embarking for the Aionian palace, you're warned that there's no coming back once you decide to go, a helpful reminder for those who still have Stars of Destiny to gather or need to level up. The heroes rally together at the old fortress by the lake, and begin their final assault. The palace is huge and littered with elite Aionian soldiers, and deeper within, powerful Terras Falma roam wild. A familiar face awaits in the throne room prepared to lay down her life in defense of her lord-Makia, the emperor's personal guard and protector.
Hapa has grown stronger and more skilled in the sword since their sparring match so long ago, and this time, emerges the victor. In her dying breath, Makia apologizes to Lenesferias for failing in her duty, and Hapa enters the secret room beyond the royal court. An enormous tree grows wildly from the center of this room, and Zephon explains that this is the tree of time from which all other tree of time seedlings they have planted trace their roots, and has been in this spot for 300 years. Hapa and Zephon use the tree to travel 300 years into the past to the age when the Terras Falma nearly wiped out all life on the planet.
When they arrive, they are soon approached by a figure in the background, Lenesferias. He wrongly assumes the pair came from 100 years into the future, as no one from beyond that era ever came to visit him. Hearing that they are actually from 300 years in the future, Lenesferias is delighted to know that humanity has survived past a century.
He is apparently already acquainted with Zephon, at least the Zephon from his own time period, and recognizes Hapa as the leader of the Stars of Destiny, the Tenkai Star. Hapa informs Lenesferias that the people of his time know almost nothing about what took place 300 years in the past, and asks the emperor to tell him what occurred in this era, who gladly obliges. In this time period, there was a great war between a mighty kingdom and a force called the Stars of Destiny. The latter wielded a mystical power that overwhelmed the former, prompting the kingdom to research that which granted the Stars their strength.
They concluded that a True Tree of Time was the source of the Stars' strength, and began trying to harvest the tree's power to use for themselves. It's in these efforts that the kingdom made a grave mistake, as their attempts to use the power of the tree gave birth to hideous creatures that multiply endlessly and consume anything and everything in sight-the Terras Falma. Wishing to prevent the complete genocide of the remaining people in the world, Lenesferias and a small group of wisemen harnessed the power of the True Tree of Time to put up a magical barrier so as to ward off the increasing number of Terras Falma. The True Tree to Time is located in another place, but the tree in the Aionian capitol draws on its power in order to keep the barrier in place.
Additionally, Lenesferias is connected to the tree in that as long as he remains near it, he will never age, and has chosen to take on this burden to make sure the barrier never falls, ensuring that the people will always be protected from the Terras Falma. Hapa is astounded at how the selfless, noble Lenesferias of this era could eventually transform into the controlling, oppressive person he becomes in just over 100 years.
The emperor would rather not know how the future turns out and is content to know life will go on at least another 300 years. With that, he bids his guests from the future farewell, and Hapa and Zephon return back to their time, soon to be accosted by the present day Lenesferias.
Hapa demands an explanation for why the emperor would obscure the true nature of the world from the people and prop up a fake boogeyman in the form of the extinct Terras Falma. Lenesferias claims that all he has done was necessary, as he feels that once mankind regains its freedom, another dreadful incident like that which created the Terras Falma in the first place is bound to occur.
Hapa agrees that while the mistakes of the past are sure to be repeated, it's not up to one person to determine what is the right course for all humanity, and the people should be the ones in charge of that decision. But based on his own experience through the centuries, Lenesferias strongly believes people cannot be trusted to hold fate in their own hands.
Unyielding in his position, the emperor is suddenly consumed by the tree of time, which collapses through the floor, uncovering a dark underground chasm. What they discover is that the tree has merged itself with the Terras Falma and now, Lenesferias. As the heroes prepare to strike and cut it down, it awakens to its true form, a hideous, powerful abomination. It proves too strong for them to handle, but suddenly it begins to weaken, as if some unseen force was lending a hand.
Two hundred years in the past, Astrid gathers her loyal companions and investigates the Aionian tree of time. One hundred years in the past, Torwad does the same, and both groups of heroes unearth the secret underground crevasse and the Terras Falma and tree of time hybrid beneath. The final battle of the game involves the heroes from all three ages working together to systematically destroy parts of this monstrous tree, with those in the past dismantling certain parts of it so that the heroes in the present may succeed in defeating the tree completely.
When the deed is finally done, the setting shifts to Telbe. Hapa, Myura, Gino and Iria are about to travel beyond where the magic barrier once restricted their movements, and they say good-bye to Hagall, who will remain in the village. They lead a small group of people to the new world, and upon discovering a rich, beautiful landscape, the game ends. However, if you defeat the final boss after gathering all 108 Stars of Destiny, you'll get the true ending. All three heroes of the different ages, Hapa, Astrid, and Torwad find themselves transported to a white void, allowing for what was thought to be an impossible meeting between them.
As expected in strange times like this, Zephon shows up, and thanks the heroes for their hard work, especially the Tenkai Star for finding all of the Stars. The gathering of the 108 heroes brought the power of the True Tree of Time to its maximum, allowing for this meeting to take place, and also the alteration of history in each of their worlds, giving them the freedom to pursue their own destinies, without the restriction of the magic barrier or the threat of the Terras Falma. Before the heroes have the chance to ask for more clarification, Zephon disappears into the void, and they are transported back to their own times and worlds.
Each decides to embark on adventures in the unexplored lands outside the former sandbox they were once trapped in, and an alternate animated cutscene plays for the ending of the heroes of the present. Overall, it took me about 35 hours to complete the game without the 108 Stars of Destiny, and 42 hours to achieve the true ending. It probably would have taken much longer if I didn't have the complete guide, which was very helpful in picking up the last remaining characters I missed on my first run through.
As an end game bonus, you have the ability to save a clear file to use for a new game plus playthrough, if desired. And in keeping with the tradition of the Suikoden series, before the end credits, the player is treated to the individual endings of the 108 Stars of Destiny, many of which change drastically depending on whether or not you found all of the Stars. You even get information on the people who were recruited simply by finding their items, who sadly lack any sort of character portrait.
There are a lot of problems with this supposed "Suikoden" game. First off, in stark contrast to the main games, finding the 108 Stars of Destiny is a chore and a bore, and aside from getting the alternate ending, there's not really much point in spending the extra time to find them. Most of the special attacks they teach for use in battle are great, but a majority of the skills for NPC craftsmen are kind of useless.
Speaking of useless, the weapon and armor smiths and ringmaker services can be ignored completely, as the stat boosts they provide aren't all that necessary, especially because most enemies are pushovers, even bosses, which are often times weaker than the standard foes leading up to them. There is an extreme lack of exploration, mainly because of the way the world map and towns are handled, but also because most field areas and dungeons feel cramped and are sectioned off into rather small partitions. Aside from the hunting challenges and a few secret boss fights, there's not really much to do outside of the main game. Dramatic scenes are hampered a bit by the visual novel setup, as large character portraits cover most of the screen, obfuscating the actual character models.
And unfortunately, many of the characters you meet have only a few lines of dialogue in the entire game, even those that join the main roster to take into battle. However, the characters that are fleshed out are very memorable and likable, and while my depiction of the game's story potentially made it sound like a bad anime movie, it's actually quite engaging and well-written. A large majority of the dialogue in the game is fully-voiced, including the Stars of Destiny that you actually get to interact with, and each has a distinct personality that shines thanks to the efforts of the voice actors. Battles are pretty easy, but getting into them is never really annoying, and thanks to the good game balance, there's no real need to go EXP grinding.
It can be difficult to implement time travel into any story without causing the audience to continually scratch their heads, but it's done well enough here, and the circumstances regarding altering history makes sense...well, as much as it can, really. And finally, I think Woven Web of a Century has a wonderful soundtrack, especially the main theme that is repeated in many of the tracks.
There are certain pieces that seem like they are doing their best to replicate the amazing tracks from the first game. Even recruiting a new Star of Destiny plays a familiar sounding jingle. I really enjoyed every minute that I spent with Gensou Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century, and recommend it to role-playing game fans who like a good story.
While it doesn't share much with the rest of the Suikoden series outside of Tierkreis for the DS, it's a great game in its own right, that probably would have been better received if it hadn't carried the Suikoden name. With a little more polish and tweaks to the game mechanics, it could have been one of the classics. It's a pretty cheap game, definitely one of the most affordable PSP RPGs out there, and can also be downloaded on the PSN service to use on the PlayStation Portable, Vita, or PSTV.
While it never got the limited edition treatment like many of the other Suikoden games, there was a special online bundle offered through Konami's online store, konamistyle.net, where you could choose to add on a 3-disc soundtrack and drama CD set, an illustration board, a post card, and a materials album loaded with promotional images, concept art and sketches, and storyboards. Unfortunately, as this game is extremely text heavy, players without Japanese language skills probably won't get much out of the experience, and there hasn't been an unofficial English fan translation for it...but who knows, maybe that will change somewhere down the line.
As of 2017, this may be where the Suikoden series has ended, but that doesn't mean that the series doesn't still have a strong presence in the hearts and minds of its many fans. Because of that, I organized the Summer Of Suikoden collaboration event with some fellow video makers and Suikoden fanboys. Avalanche Jared, the Dali Popka, Game Dave, Karcamo the Forger of Pain, Super Derek and myself are all spending the summer of 2017 making videos about the Suikoden games, through reviews, retrospectives, and possibly more. Check them all out and be sure not to miss out on this celebration of all things Suikoden.
We're not the only ones who still feel a particularly strong fondness for the series, and if more people make that known, who knows, maybe Konami will revive the series...and hopefully not as a gambling machine or mobile exclusive. Anyway, I myself will be sure to continue on with the Summer Of Suikoden by working on a few more videos about the series, so I hope you'll stick around and watch those too. And remember, even at its most powerless, the Suikoden series is never without fanboys.