"Suikoden 4 Known Facts
Concerning the Hero and the Rune of Punishment
Based on information gathered from various sources (Japanese gaming magazines Dorimaga, Dengeki Playstation, and Weekly Famitsu), the hero will be a Tenkai Star and you will be able to name him. The main character's age is unknown, but Kawano (the producer) states that he is in his late teens. As far as background, he is an orphan, and has been employed by Snow's household as a servant (Snow is a son of a local aristocrat). His weapon will be "dual swords" as explained in an interview. Also, it is confirmed that he will be a bearer of the Rune of Punishment.
The Rune of Punishment Gives great power to its bearer while eating away at the bearer's lifeforce. After all life is eaten away, the rune randomly looks for a new bearer to leech life from. This makes it sound somewhat similar to the Souleater (Rune of Life and Death), the chief difference being that the Souleater took the life of others around the bearers instead.
Based on the released screenshots, it seems like the initial bearer of the Rune of Punishment is "Brand the Pirate." It is already official that Brand will die early in the story. Glen (The brown-haired man with a beard) will be the second bearer of the Rune of Punishment. The hero will probably receive the rune from Glen... which means that Glen would most probably die as well. But regardless, Glen seems to be one of the most important characters during the early part of the game.
Another characteristic of the Rune of Punishment is that it retains a fragment of the previous bearer's memory, like a sudden flashback. The main hero is supposed to be tormented repeatedly by these flashbacks of dark, dreary events that never happened to him. Perhaps one of the previous bearers would be someone we have heard of in previous installations.
Setting: Location will be the Island Nations, era is a "secret."
During an interview, Matsukawa stated that the era Suikoden 4 will take place is a "secret." Hopefully we will find out soon enough, such as during the TGS. However, one thing Matsukawa said stirs imagination--"When I was thinking about 'what to do with 4,' I thought that, like 2 was to 3, 1 should be to 4. But the era is still a secret." This can be interpreted a few different ways. The time between Suikoden 2 and 3 is 15 years, so if we apply the same rule to Suikoden 1 and 4, that would mean Suikoden 4 will take place 3 years before Suikoden 3. However, a semi-reliable source in an internet message board in Japan stated that the plot would take place 3 years AFTER suikoden 3 (and That Edge and Sharon will be among returning characters--Edge will apparently have longer hair). So at the moment, we really do not know. There are many rumors about prequels, but that is also uncertain.
Concerning whether Suikoden 4 will resolve any of the "loose ends" that existed in previous installations, Matsukawa stated "There will be no hints." I'm not sure how to interpret that comment though, but it seems like we really have no idea at this moment whether characters like Lorelai, Killey, or Georg will make a comeback.
The setting is the Island Nations. Where is that? It is located south of the Toran Republic (Where Suikoden 1 takes place). Please refer to our [url=http://www.http://www.suikox.com/geo/map.html/]Suikoden Map[/url] to look at its hypothetical location (The location of the Queendom of Falena is WRONG on that map based on recent research).
The Island Nation is often mentioned as being "south of Kanakan," and thus we can assume Kanakan will make an appearance in the game in some way or another. Also, the Island Nations was one of the chief trading locations that Shu dealt with, so it is assumed that there is a lot of transport between the Island Nations and the Dunan region (and Toran as well, naturally). This means it is not far-fetched to assume that we will be able to visit Toran or Dunan (or even Budehuc) because arguably anywhere a ship can go, the hero can go as well.
Character & Plot
Only a few names have been released, but a few other characters have been witnessed in screenshots. Here are some explanations concerning these known characters
Snow
The son of a local aristocrat who governs an area within the Nameless Lands. We have already seen two different portraits and character sets (one where he is wearing ornate armor and another wearing a green coat), so we know he is a pretty important character. He'll definitely have an important role in the story. He is supposed to be a "friend" of the hero, but because the hero is a servant of Snow's household, their relationship is a bit more complicated than mere friendship.
Eleanor Silverberg
A flask-swigging, rough-talking middle-aged woman strategist. She looks like a retired strategist based on what she says. Seems like we will have to convince her to join just like how the Tenki Star was recruited in Suikoden 1 and 2.
Leknaat
She will be coming back. Only one screenshot has been revealed, so her role is quite unclear at this moment.
Brand the Pirate
He seems to be the first bearer of the Rune of Punishment during Suikoden 4. Unfortunately, it is official that he will die.
Glen
A burly mercenary-style swordsman with a beard--he looks pretty strong. Based on the screenshots, it seems like he will be the bearer of the Rune of Punishment after the death of Brand the Pirate. That also means, Glen would also probably die (and the rune would probably go to the Hero). He'll doubtlessly be a pretty important character.
Female Pirate
You can only see her tattoo and buttocks in the screenshot, but Kawano states in an interview that "This person is going to be very cool." She is apparently a pirate.
Cat Person
Seen in a combat screenshot, this cat person looks pretty weak. He(she?) seems to be a martial artist of some sort (although his clothing doesn't look really like it).
Warrior with Spear
Seen in a screenshot aboard a ship. He has very pale blond hair and a goatee, and looks pretty strong. He is seen to be fighting together with soldiers wearing conical hats.
Conical Hatted Soldiers
Because two people are wearing the same clothing, it seems to be a uniform. They are wearing a long conical white hat, and what looks like a military uniform. Their swords are also identical. Perhaps they are soldiers of the Queendom of Falena?
Elven Warrior
An elf is seen peering out to the horizon at the edge of a ship. He wears armor similar to what the hero is wearing (when he is with Snow).
Combat System and Music
Combat
Not much is known yet about the combat system, but the graphics are supposed to be heavily improved, especially magic. Also, for magic that takes an extra long time, a feature is said to be included that will allow the player to skip the sequence.
An interesting comment made in Dorimaga is that the "Buddy System" will be back. However, because this is merely a comment made by the writer of the article, hopefully this isn't true.
One definitely cool news is that weapon graphics will change after their name changes from sharpening. Previously only the name changed and weapons looked exactly the same, so this would be a good change.
Lastly, Matsukawa states, "There are many things we want to try, but when the final product goes to the hands of the end users, we want to make sure the gameplay element is honed out." Hopefully we would not have all the awkwardness experienced in Suikoden 3.
Music
As far as music, Matsukawa has said, "You would be able to feel "Genso Suikoden" from the music," and "We are working on music that is catchy and suikoden-like." "
"Sometimes justice is just a word, but sometimes justice is also three feet of sharp steel smashing in your face."
