I'm going to start fiddling around in Suikoden 2 and checking out a bunch of different party combinations, rune combinations to see what happens and how effective some fighters can be. If you watched my LP, you can see my favorites and who's solid. But can there be surprises? I'm going to find out.

I always found my best party to be Riou, Luc, and Clive in the back row and Flik, Viktor and Humphrey in the front. Didn't watch all of your LP so I'm not sure who you used.

Sometimes I would switch in characters like Kennison and Shiro, or Stallion.

I finished with Flik, Viktor, and Pesmerga in the front, Riou, Tengaar, and Luc in the back. I'm going to post up the combinations in here and the unites. Also some other tidbits that I can think of as they come.

So I have finally gotten to the point where I can start recruiting characters and forming different teams. So, here's the list of characters I can get to this point and let's look at how they're useful. As a side note, I will recombine some parties later in order to show their growth as they can add on runes (since I can't do it right now to see effectiveness).

Fighters
Riou
Jowy
Nanami
Gengen
Mukumuku
Rikimaru
Zamza
Kinnison
Shiro
Millie

Team 2
Front Row: Riou (M), Gengen (S), Zamza (S)
Back Row: Jowy (M), Nanami (M), Mukumuku (L)

What does this team have to offer? Honestly, besides the three Kyaro friends and their unites, not a whole lot. Riou and Jowy have a unite attack that hits all enemies for their combined damage x 1. Say Riou hits for 40-42 damage and Jowy hits for 35-38 damage. You get a lower bound of 75 damage to and upper bound of 80 damage. This is a very nice attack and is pretty lethal against normal enemy parties early on in the game. Then there's the Family Attack that Riou and Nanami have. It dishes out Riou and Nanami's combined damage x 2 against one enemy, good for bosses. However, this attack unbalances Nanami, therefore making it an every other turn move. Sometimes, though, she'll do some goofy thing where Riou does all the work and she just chills out. She heals and does not unbalance, but the damage goes down (I think to x 1.5).

The rest of the team at current is mediocre at best for a combination. There are no other unites in this group, so that makes this group a bit useless. However, it's not a lost cause. Zamza is one of the first characters you can get with a Rune, with Millie being the other one. Zamza's rune has a nice touch to it, but it comes at a cost, too. His rune is a fire based rune called the Fire Dragon and dishes out 2x damage, but the catch here is he also takes half the damage (base) dealt. So you're sacrificing your fighter to deal damage. Not a safe bet for someone who doesn't equip items (like me). So now Zamza looks a little useless, but he's a decent fighter with above average physical and magical stats, though his luck and speed are poor. Early on he's a good slugfest guy, but will eventually disappear into the backdrop as there are better mages and fighters than him. What's worse is he's a front row fighter which makes him even more useless. I grade him as a C fighter at best in this game.

Gengen alone is pretty weak. His physical stats are average for a front line fighter. His one saving grace is his ability to equip shields, making him a more tankish character, but his physical defense leaves plenty to be desired. He's also a weak mage, so equipping runes later on will do nothing for you except deal less damage than you should. What's the point of Gengen then? He's got unites. His first unite comes with Shiro, but that's a subject for another section. Then we have Mukumuku. He is one of the animal characters (that does not use a weapon) that you can get. The only thing good about him is his physical attack and defense and his long range attack. If you're down for using animals, Shiro will be a better option, though Shiro is a front line fighter. Shiro does have the luxury of unite attacks though, making him more valuable than the flying squirrel. Equipping runes to Mukumuku is also a mistake as he is horrible with them, just like Gengen.

Team Grade: C-, mainly because of the Kyaro group. Very stripped down and basic, but can get the job done with mainly Riou and Jowy.


Team 2
Front Row: Riou (M), Gengen (S), Shiro (S)
Back Row: Jowy (M), Nanami (M), Kinnison (L)

Now here's where it gets a little more fun. The Kyaro team is still intact, so we won't have to discuss them. However, we can now discuss Kinnison and Shiro and Gengen. As mentioned previously with Gengen, he's an average fighter at best and works best in unite teams. Well, here's his first shot at one. He and Shiro can do a unite together called the BowWow Attack (or something like that). It dishes out 1.5x combined damage to a single enemy. Now we're talking. Since Shiro is of the beast family of party members, he will no doubt have a higher attack power and defense early on in the game, making him great pick for your party, with or without unites. He also has high speed so he can take advantage of that raw power. However, he also shares a unite attack with Kinnison. Their unite attack dishes out 1.5x combined damage to a single enemy just like the Gengen-Shiro unite, BUT... this has an additive. It also does 0.5x combined damage to enemies in the same column. So you dish out 1.5x damage to the selected target and 0.5x damage to the other enemy in that column. So in normal, random battles, this is the better choice. For boss fights, it's a bit more sticky. Both unites that Shiro can be a part of dish out the same multiplier, so you have to now look at Gengen and Kinnison and compare you who'd rather have on your team.

Kinnison is not a mage, but he's not horrible with magic. He is best with a Wind or Earth rune, so he at least has some use there. His attack will most likely always be lower than Gengen's but not by a large margin. The thing that hinders Kinnison the most as far as damage goes is his weapon, which I believe has the third lowest attack rating in the game next to fist weapons and rods/staves. But what gives Kinnison the upper hand is his range. He can attack from the front or the back row and can hit enemies in the front or back row. He is a much more versatile, loose character than Gengen is, and is much more useful in the magic game, though not very useful with magic. This magic advantage will prove beneficial later in the game for Kinnison. From an overall standpoint, having Gengen and Kinnison in the same team with Shiro is wasting a slot for a better fighter. Removing Gengen is the most likely choice here, as Kinnison has more to offer.

Team Grade: C+. I give this grade because you now have 3 unite attacks (4, really, but one is obsolete with the other), Shiro is a powerful early game character, and you have a more versatile long range character in Kinnison that has the unite with Shiro. Gengen becomes more effective with Shiro, but is considered obsolete with Kinnison in the party. I would swap him out with Rikimaru or Zamza at this point.


Team 3
Front Row: Riou (M), Rikimaru (S), Shiro (S)
Back Row: Jowy (M), Millie (L), Kinnison (L)

In a move to get Millie, we have to dump a character so she can be in our party. I chose to dump Nanami for the boss fight ahead. I'd rather have the Shiro-Kinnison combo every turn than the Family attack every other turn. Our team loses a bit of fire power with the loss of the Family Attack and Nanami's strength in comparison to Millie's, but we also drop Gengen's mediocre ass for a more pure fighting force in Rikimaru. To put it best, this guy is ridiculous in HP. He, without a doubt, scores the most HP in this game, making him a likable character early on when you don't have a lot more versatile fighters. He's got good strength, but it's not extraordinary either. His defense is above average, so he's no tank. Everything about him is average to above average. He's also not a good magic user (his affinity with runes sucks). However, down the road pimping him up with some other runes might make him more lethal, but that analysis will come later. Right now, he's a good guy to have in your party because it takes a while to knock him down with his high HP.

Millie is a more magic based character, but get this. Her magic stat doesn't grow all that well. Basically, you're going to have to find good runes to fit to her that allow her to overcome her weak physical abilities. One thing that bodes well for her is her ability to open rune slots fast. Before level 40 (I believe around 35-36) the rune slot on her head opens up, giving you 3 (2, in actuality) rune slots open. Once you get her pet Bonaparte, you will only have room for 2 runes. She has a high fire affinity, so when you can get a Fire rune, attach it to her. She has high magic defense which makes her appealing to use against foes that like to use magic. She also has a high luck stat which makes her great to bring along for luck games and for getting critical hits, which she needs with her low attack rating. Her Groundhog rune is pretty useless as it only works once per battle. The only good thing about it is its 2x damage.

Team Grade: C. The Buddy Attack with Riou and Jowy, and Kinnison and Shiro's unite make this team have a better score. At this point in the game, I can't rate them too high since I haven't opened their capabilities. However, I would use these guys over team 1 any day.

I love trying out random people on Suikoden 2! Luckily, leveling up is not hard, and you can just switch anyone and get them almost to the average party level quite fast. I think I even gave Tuta a try for a while, but he can easily deplete your medicine stock quite fast (since his rune makes him heal party members with them automatically without losing a turn if I remember correctly)

I haven't played Suikoden 2 in a while, but isn't there a rune or accesory (or something!) that nullifies fire damage? Because that would make Zamza more useful.

Remove the Medicine Rune off Tuta and give him a Water Rune, as it's the only element he's good with (ranked A). Working other runes on him might make him a little more useful, but he sucks overall. We'll analyze him later on. Now what you say is true about Zamza. However, if you use the Fire Sealing Rune on him, you use up his only other rune slot, which in effect makes him even more useless. Sure you can deal 2x damage, but it's only physical and he's not your best physical fighter. He could be more useful as a mage with a Fire or Rage Rune, so The Fire Dragon Rune pretty much hurts his stock as a fighter in this game.

Now on to another team analysis.

New Fighters
Hanna
Tsai

Team 4
Front Row: Rikimaru (S), Gengen (S), Hanna (S)
Back Row: Riou (M), Jowy (M), Nanami (M)

At one point early in the game, 3 random teammates will be thrust into your party, sometimes leaving you a bit dry on the offensive side. This becomes the case when I had Rikimaru, Gengen, and a new addition, Hanna, thrown into my party. With this team we lose a lot of offensive power because there are no unites with these three, and none of them are good magic users. I had picked up a Fire rune earlier which would work well with Millie, but since she wasn't included, we lose the magic offense.

Now, we know about Rikimaru and Gengen, so let's talk about what Hanna brings to the table. Hanna is yet another average fighter. She's got good strength, but it's nothing stellar for a physical fighter. Her strength is less than Riou's but that should be expected. She's not leagues over Gengen, so this makes her a bit of an obsolete character when stronger characters enter the fray. She is the first true tank you get as her defense is the best you'll get before you get your home base. Most of her other stats are mediocre, making her not a very desirable character to use as she doesn't have much versatility. However, she's a good meat shield like Rikimaru.

This team benefitted from some Double Beat runes on all 3 sword user in the front row. This would basically double their offensive power. This was a necessity because combat would take much more time without them.

Team Grade: C-. A pretty much average standard team that doesn't stand out. If not for Double Beat runes, this team would've performed horribly in the boss fight they encountered. The Kyaro team makes this group better than they would normally be.

Oh, so it was a rune... yeah, that would make Zazmza more useles...

New Fighters
Anita
Tuta

Team 5
Front Row: Riou (M), Anita (S), Jowy (M)
Back Row: Nanami (M), Tsai (M), Tuta (L)

Now that our Kyaro team has nifty runes (Riou and Jowy at least), let's re-analyze them and then the party. First off, Riou obtains the Bright Shield Rune and Jowy gets the Black Sword Rune. The Shield Rune is primarily a healing rune, but can attack as well. Spell #1 is Great Blessing which heals all allies for 70 HP + whatever Riou's magic stat is. This is a very good overall healing spell, and if you attach a Magic Drain to his weapon, this spell can keep being used almost infinitely, provided you use a normal attack to get the magic drain. The next spell is Shining Light, which deals 130 damage to all enemies + some formula involving his rune affinity and his magic stat. This spell is decent, but there a lot more hard hitting spells than this in the game, and more often than not, you'll be using this rune to heal your party rather than attack. The third spell is Battle Oath which cures your team for 300 HP + Riou's magic stat. An additive to this spell is the chance to put your characters into berserk, which only gives them an attack boost in this game, so you still have control over the characters. There is a fourth spell, but throughout most of the game, you go without it. It is unlocked later in the game, but you have to meet certain conditions. We'll talk about the spell when we get it.

The Black Sword Rune is Jowy's true rune, and it does what you'd expect… cast attack magic. And it does so very well. The Sword Rune is of the dark magic affinity, and Jowy is proficient with it. The first spell you have is Flash Judgment, which deals 120 base damage to a single enemy. Since you do not have a Lightning Rune yet at this point in the game (besides a brief stint with Flik in your team), this is the strongest level 1 spell there is available to use (and still is even without the Lightning Rune). The second spell is Twinkling Blade which works like Shining Light, but only deals 100 damage, but offers a 30% chance of instant death. The third spell is Piercing One, which has a pretty cool attack animation and deals 700 base damage to one enemy. Ouch. It does good damage to the first boss you can hit with this. The last spell is Hungry Fiend which doles out 1200 damage to all enemies. However, this early in the game, you cannot get this spell unless you use the Matilda glitch.

These two runes greatly increase the team's effectiveness, and I forgot to include this in the last team's profile. So I will bump the grade up a slight bit from a C- to a C. The rest of Team 4 was still pretty lame duck, so the runes can't really save them.

Now on to the other members. We have new members and one who I just began to use. Let's start off with Anita. Anita is a swordsman who is a pretty good fighter, especially early on. Her stats are similar to Riou's, but she's not just like him stat wise. Her failings (in comparison) come in the speed and luck stats. Her speed isn't bad, but it's not all THAT quick, but she is faster than some of the other characters you have. Statistically, she's got goo HP, similar to that of Riou's, her attack is a little lower than his, as is pretty much every other stat. Basically at this stage in the game, she's a stripped down version of Riou. She has a rune attached (permanently) called the Falcon Rune which deals 2x damage with a miss rate of 10%. This increases her stock and can be a more useful fighter with a Fury rune. A very good character to use early on, but she will eventually be pushed aside by better fighters. However, I've always found a place for her in my party through the first 2/3 of the game, essentially.

Tsai is sometimes hard to judge. He's kinda strong, but at the same time, he can be easily overshadowed by other fighters. However, early on his defense stat is one of the better ones. His technique is very high and about on par with Riou and Jowy. His magic, MDEF, and speed are ok, but nothing to be amazed by. His luck is fairly good and can be useful early on in luck based mini-games. His HP is not bad, but is a step down from Riou's, though it's a little better than Jowy's. He also comes equipped with a Unicorn Rune which deals 2x damage to a column of enemies, which is great in random encounters and large bos parties (which you won't find many of). The thing that makes Tsai a hot commodity early on in the game, though, is his high weapon level and attack power. He steps in with a weapon level of 6 and its attack power at that level is 37, easily making him the biggest bruiser on the team, even outdoing Rikimaru so far. He and Zamza (if you know where to go) are the two strongest melee characters at the early stages of the game because you can level Zamza's weapon up to level 5 and get the attack to 31 or something in that area. Here, Tsai is very worth having in your team.

Tuta… one of the worst characters in the game. I originally said in a response to Guar that you can remove Tuta's Medicine rune. However, I was wrong about that. It is a permanent fixture, therefore he's pretty much a tool. In the grand scheme of things, he SUCKS. All his physical stats are weak and his HP is severely low (to put it into perspective, Riou has 200 HP at level 20, Tuta has 76 at level 18). The only good stats Tuta has are his speed and luck, and frankly, they're not spectacular. Not much to say about him other than the fact that he's near useless. He only becomes slightly useful when you can equip a Fury and Double Beat rune to him… if you can fill 3 rune slots with him.

Team Grade: B-. The reason this team doesn't get a higher grade is because of Tuta and the fact that Anita and Tsai do not have a unite attack in this party. However, their runes do pick up some of the slack on that. With the runes Jowy and Riou have, the party becomes more effective, but this comes to an end eventually. But as a team, these guys are pretty solid, though the loss of Tuta takes away some fire power.

New Fighters
Rina
Eilie
Bolgan
Flik
Viktor
Freed Y
Kahn (temp)

Team 6
Front Row: Riou (M), Viktor (S), Freed Y (S)
Back Row: Nanami (M), Kahn (M), Eilie (L)

We have new members! As you may notice, Jowy is no longer with us. As part of the plot, Jowy leaves us and we no longer have the Kyaro team and the Buddy Attack which was so potent. However, this team is actually good enough to make up for the lost comrade. So let's start talking about the new fighters and what they bring to the table.

Viktor was put to use early in the game, but it was only temporary and he and Flik clobbered every single enemy you came across, so we didn't count that time. This time however, he's at your level and is now a functioning member of the team. Viktor brings total brute force to the line up as he has one of the highest attack powers in the game for a human, as well as one of the strongest weapons. He also has pretty good defense and high HP. Everything else is average or slightly above except his magic stat, which sucks. He proves to be an effective force throughout whole game and he can even be a great choice for the final dungeon and boss. The rune selections for him can make him extremely dangerous. At current we have a Double Beat rune on him so he can attack twice in one turn. We use this instead of the Fury Rune I still have in stock because the Fury Rune only boosts a character's attack by 1.5. So we go with the Double Beat here because Viktor also has no unites with this team (but he does with Flik). Overall, a very solid fighter that you wouldn't mind having in your party at any time.

Freed Y is a guy that you get thrust into your party and is Flik's replacement for a plot point in the game, which is why he's here right now. To put it simply, Freed is a VERY average character. Nothing about him stands out from the rest of the bunch except his luck stat, which is on par with Riou's. Freed can't even be an appropriate tank character as his HP is kinda low, and his defensive stat is not great. His ability to wield a shield helps him, but not by a whole lot. What also hurts the guy is he has a locked accessory that has +6 DEF, which is good now, but becomes obsolete later in the game when you find better accessories. He has a lightning rune attached to his sword which could possibly not be able to be taken off (I'll have to check… I don't think it can be removed). So any enemy that is immune or strong to Lightning will not fall at Freed's knees. Pretty much a character you won't use often… unless you somehow like him (and his personality is not lovable either.

Kahn is a mysterious dude that joins your party at this plot point temporarily. He's not the flashiest fighter in the line up as nothing really stands out, but he is the second best mage in the party and has a good rune called the Resurrection rune, which yields the only revive spell in the game (though I don't need it), and eventually yields a 300 HP healing spell. Charmed Arrow is a good attack all spell that belts out 400 damage and does TRIPLE damage to undead enemies. Scolding is the first spell for the run but pretty much sucks, dishing out only 30 damage to one enemy. The triple damage to undead is great though. Kahn's affinity with the Rezz rune is high, so you'll get the most out of that rune when he has it on. Otherwise, not a statistical standout, though he has around the same HP as Riou.

Eilie was a temporary member from earlier in the game, but at the time I didn't find it necessary to throw that whole team into the analysis. But now Eilie is a permanent member so we can talk about her. Also not a statistical standout, but is a serviceable character at this stage of the game, and her weapon levels nicely in the early goings, having 31 ATK at level 6. She's got pretty good MDEF and decent speed. Her HP is higher than Freed's which is kind of sad. She comes without a rune, but equipping her with a Fire Rune makes her a little more useful, though her MP doesn't grow too well, but she has enough spells at the right time, so no big. Overall, not flashy, but effective enough. I wouldn't use her past her forced point though. There are better fighters that are similar to her.

Team grade: B. Grossly effective, even with the loss of Jowy. Despite some statistical average and above averageness, these characters seem to work well in a party, even lacking a bunch of unites. Viktor and Kahn's runes definitely help this party out at this point in the game and both are pretty good fighters for the long haul, though Kahn does fade later after you get him for good.

New Fighters
Oulan

Team 7
Front Row: Zamza (S), Oulan (S), Hanna (S)
Back Row: Riou (M), Nanami (M), Kinnison (L)

We see the re-inclusion of Zamza, Hanna, and Kinnison in our party, but we now also have a new member, Oulan. She is a fierce melee fighter who has goo attack, defense, and magic defense. However, she tends to stumble after that. Another one of her shortcomings is the fact she has a rune called the Angry Dragon Rune and it deals 2x damage but it's only good for one use per battle. However, this can be fixed and ridiculous once she reaches level 33 when her right hand rune slot opens up. If you have a Fury Rune and want to use Oulan, then you will get a force. Since the Fury Rune puts a fighter into Berserk status forever, this will allow Oulan to use her rune every turn in battle all the while dishing out 3x damage now. Not bad, huh? She and Hanna can perform a unite attack called tackle which deals 0.75x damage to all enemies. The catch, though, is that both Oulan and Hanna will be unbalanced for a turn after the unite is executed. This only makes it worthwhile in random encounters (weak to mid level enemies) and not as useful as the Buddy Attack was.

Now we have Zamza to where he can now have another rune attached, so throwing a Fire Rune on him will be useful. He gains his second rune slot at level 15, but this is the only other one he'll have, and the only one you can outfit yourself. The Fire Rune is probably the only useful rune that can be put on him. Since he's not the best melee fighter, wasting a Fury or Double Beat on him would be… well, wasting a rune. However, he does get his much needed attack boost from leveling his weapon up to level 5 and 6 (39 and 42 ATK respectively). However, he still has no unites with anybody, and he doesn't have many good armor upgrades right now. He is considered more mage than anything, so he wears robes for armor, and these are hard to come across, and the best robe in the game (from a store) is the Magic Robe which only boosts defense by 22. Every other robe must be found and there's only one or two of them.

Kinnison is looking pretty average without his buddy Shiro. The only way to make more use of him is to give him a Great Hawk Rune which deals 0.5x damage to all enemies. However, he is a bit on the weak side, so it may not amount to much, but most, if not all, of the bow users are pretty weak. So how effective this will be, I'm not sure, but I'll find out soon enough.

Hanna is still the tank-ish type of character. She deals a decent amount of damage and absorbs it pretty well, too. However, she's just not a big force for the party, and will get into some trouble against enemies that use magic based attacks. Her HP is about on par with Riou's, so nothing special here still.

Team Grade: C to C+. Just not THAT effective. No one truly excels as a mage, and Oulan can't yet use her rune forever. The unite attack for Hanna and Oulan is limited, which cuts back on the grade. While it's not a bad team, it's not one I'd go through the game with.


New Fighters
Luc
Yoshino
Amada
Clive

Team 8
Front Row: Gengen (S), Freed Y (S), Shiro (S)
Back Row: Riou (M), Yoshino (M), Luc (S)

Now that we have a lot more leeway with our team selections, here's one of the first after obtaining our castle and naming it. We have some new additions like Yoshino and Luc, and we bring back Gengen, Shiro, and Freed.

Luc is a magic powerhouse and is possibly the best mage in this game (depending on stat growth). He severely lacks in the physical stats department, but that doesn't even matter. He's made to fight with magic and that's exactly how I plan to use him. Right out of the gate he is able to equip runes to all three rune slots, AND they're all able to be edited by you. Along with his high magic and magic defense stats, he has really high speed, one of the highest in the game, which makes him come in handy against a lot of normal foes and bosses alike. My current rune set up for Luc is a Blue Gate to his head, Wind to his right hand (will change to a better wind rune later), and a water on his left. With the current set up, you have to sacrifice a 3rd level spell for his runes to attack. I prefer to go ahead with The Shredding on the wind rune as he seems to have a hidden A+ affinity for wind magic. Once we get the Cyclone rune for Luc later in the game, this will no longer be a problem. He has no unites with anyone, but he doesn't really need one with his ability to cast many many spells.

Yoshino is Freed's wife, so you already know a unite attack is in the mix. First let's take a look at her statistically. she's a very average fighter where she has no statistic that stands out, but nothing that's too damning. This is fine for this stage of the game, but she will eventually become someone who isn't really needed. She is better with magic than Freed and has a high water affinity, although it doesn't really mean much with a Water Rune which just heals and does some other little things, but no damage. However, she is pretty effective when paired with Freed because they have their Husband-Wife unite attack. It dishes out 2x combined damage, but it does leave Yoshino unbalanced for a turn. If Freed is outfitted properly, then this isn't a big issue. She fits in as a serviceable party member, but not an essential one.

Gengen and Shiro are added back into the line up for a good Bow Wow Attack. Now that we can level Gengen and Shiro, we can look at them a little more positively… hopefully. Shiro is without a doubt a monster at this stage of the game as his attack power is leagues better than everyone else's, and his defense is very high, too. This greatly helps out a very average Gengen who proves to be about on par with Freed. However, Gengen is still pretty obsolete, but we brought him along to try and recruit another character. Shiro's speed helps get the unite attack off early in a turn.

Team grade: B. The thing that holds this party down is the lack of true versatility. Yes, we have more unite attacks, BUT what can these fighters do outside of that? Luc is very effective as a fighter and will bring every team's grade up, but the lack of versatility in other makes this team unable to get a higher grade. However, they are still decently effective and the unite attacks score some big damage, especially if they go into berserk. Overall, I'd keep Luc, but the rest aren't that desirable.

I always liked Luc. It helps that he's useful too, and less... Bratty than in the previous game.
I like Oulan too, (that's the red headed bodyguard, is she?)

Yeah, she's the red headed body guard. She's pretty much useful up until the end of the Luca Blight fight. After that, there are plenty of better characters. Actually, she might even be kinda useless before then.

New Fighters
Chaco
Stallion
Wakaba
Meg
Gadget
Gabocha
Tai Ho
Shilo
Sid
Hai Yo
Hix
Tengaar

Team 9
Front Row: Riou (M), Amada (M), Rikimaru (S)
Back Row: Clive (L), Kinnison (L), Stallion (L)

This is not a bad team in the least, but at the same time, it lacks, too. This team is worthless on the magic end the spectrum as these are all physical and technical fighters. We have many new additions and running through them all will be a fun look. But a bit challenging on the leveling side as I don't have the ability to teleport just yet. Anyhoo, let's move on.

Amada is a guy who is pretty much Rikimaru's other half in combat. Not as physically imposing as Rikimaru, he makes up for it in the more technical statistics. His luck is higher, thus giving him a better chance for critical hits. His magic stat is slightly higher, but not by much, and his magic defense is better. But aside from that, Rikimaru has the edge in most categories. Amada only dishes out more damage right now because his weapon level is better at this stage of the game (he comes in with a level 8 weapon, Rikimaru can only get up to 6). If you're going to give this guy runes, it better be anything to boost his physical stats because he's not good with magic at all (all rune affinities are D). However, he can do a pretty sweet unite attack with Rikimaru, and since they're both decently strong this helps them out. They have a unite called Manly ATK which dishes out 2x their combined damage to a row of enemies. It's actually column, but whatever. This means in a random battle you can hit up to two enemies and the damage will not halve. It's strictly 2x damage to a row, unlike Shiro and Kinnison's unite. Great if one or both are in berserk.

Clive is an interesting character as he is the only gun wielder in the game (but his attack goes up like a throwing weapon, not a bow). Clive is not an imposing character physically, but you can almost guarantee that he won't miss and he's pretty good about getting multiple hits past a certain level. His strength is not impressive (though it can be fixed with runes and equipment later on), nor is his defense, magic, and luck. But Clive is not about luck. He's about skill. Unfortunately, he either doesn't have a unite, or just doesn't have one yet. I will find out eventually (or just look at a guide). His HP isn't all that impressive, but most long range fighters aren't impressive in that regard. His speed is decent enough to work with and should get his attack(s) off before most enemies. So, not the biggest threat, but can be pretty useful in the right capacity.

Stallion is one of the fastest characters in the game behind Sasuke and Kasumi (if you opt to get her). But he does come in strapped with Winged Boots (but all the fast characters seem to have a locked accessory with speed boosts). He's essentially a more beefed up Clive statistically, though at current it's hard to tell on some stats, as Clive is a few levels below Stallion. However, Stallion's speed is what makes him great for combat in a team. If you give him the Spark Rune (which I currently have on Nanami), then your team will pretty much be guaranteed to get their licks in before the enemy. He also has the True Holy Rune (not one of the 27 True Runes) which allows dashing on the world map, which is great when you don't have teleportation and the Blinking Mirror. He kocked a bit for his weak weapon though, and weak unite with Kinnison and a future bow user. With one partner, they have the Bow ATK which deals 0.5x damage to all enemies, which would be great if they were stronger, but since they're average strength wise, it's not super effective. Good for under leveled enemies though. From a magical standpoint, Stallion is pretty good with Lightning, and of course his best affinity is with Wind magic. So if you don't care about jumping on the enemy in turns, then give him a Wind Rune.

Team Grade: B-. It's effective, but it's not diverse enough to really warrant using them the whole game. It is better than previous teams I've used, but it could stand for more prowess magically.

Team 10
Front Row: Riou (M), Wakaba (S), Hix (S)
Back Row: Sid (M), Chacho (M), Stallion (L)

More new teammates and new things to be brought to the table. Let's take a look.

Wakaba is almost what you could call pure fighter, but she (yes, it's a girl, despite the how she looks in the portrait) has mediocre magic that's enough to put her in the 5/2/1/0 MP range at only level 32. Her strength isn't as high as you would think, but it's not bad in comparison to others. She starts off with tremendously high HP, though her level up increments suggest that she is really average in HP. Her technique and luck stats are probably her highest stats, which is good. It means she can connect with enemies better and can probably get in more critical hits than some of our other allies. Her magic defense is pretty good, and her defense is not bad for an attack oriented character. What hurts her is her poor rune selection. She can work with a Fire Rune when she opens up her second rune slot, but she'd be better off with some Double Beat or Fury Rune (probably Fury to enhance her White Tiger Rune). The White Tiger Rune allows her to dish up to 2x damage to a single enemy, but comes with a chance of unbalance. But the good news is she doesn't always get unbalanced, so you could possibly string together some good White Tiger combos. Unfortunately her unite partner can't be obtained until later in the game, so her effectiveness drops. She also comes attached with a Fire Rune on her weapon. If it's possible to take it off, it would probably be wise to do so.

Hix is a front line fighter, but not a very good one. Everything about him just says AVERAGE. His HP is okay, his strength isn't very good, his magic is not great, and his defense is average. Why does he fight on the front line? Best guess would be the fact he can tank out a little bit with shields, but he won't be that effective as a tank character as there are others better suited for the task than him. He's decent technique, but there are plenty others that are better than him in that regard and his speed isn't blistering, but it's not bad either. His magic defense is good, and better than plenty of the other front line guys. And unlike Suikoden 1 (which I will cover in the future), Hix's luck isn't as high in this game. WHY?! Hix has a unite with Tengaar (which we will evaluate later). Overall, Hix just isn't that good.

Sid… this guys is just creepy to look at and be around. He is one of the two Wingers that you can have with you and he is probably the better of the two and I will tell you why in a second. Overall, choosing between Chaco and Sid is practically a no brainer from a statistics standpoint. The two are VERY similar in most of their stats, so choosing the two could be tough, but the selling point statistically is Sid's superior HP. He will probably end up having 40-50 HP more than Chaco, so it should be no doubt who gets the nod when everything else is pretty much even. Sid is better defensively and Chaco is a little bit more powerful on the offensive (not that you'd notice much of a difference. Sid comes equipped with a Waking Rune which has him starting off asleep, but once he wakes, he is in berserk status. This is cool and all, but I want get him in battle pretty soon. So I removed it from him. Here's where choosing between Chaco and Sid becomes easy. Sid is better with runes. They both share common affinities, but Chaco has an E affinity for the Darkness rune, meaning he can sometimes screw up and hurt the party instead. Sid does not have this problem, therefore making him the safe pick. He has a B affinity for dark magic and both have a B affinity for Rezz magic. So, clearly if you wanted to choose between the two, go with Sid. He's just better. The two can do a unite attack together called the Winger ATK. It dishes out 1.5x damage to one enemy and has a 30% chance of poisoning. If poison does as much damage to enemies as it does teammates, then it's pretty much useless. Statistically, the two are a little above average, but have pretty decent magic defense. I wouldn't really use either of them, but they're not bad.Their downfall comes to equipment. Not a good selection.

Team Grade: C+. Not all that great. No one really sticks out and I'm at a point where I can't even get a Rezz Rune or a Darkness Rune. How lame. But overall, it's okay, but nothing I'd keep using.

Team 11
Front Row: Riou (M), Flik(S), Nanami (M)
Back Row: Millie (L), Tengaar (L), Luc (S)

So now we finally get to use Flik again (and now you can use him just about any time), and we also have our new addition, Tengaar. Nanami forces her way into the party, but the choices for entering Greenhill the first time are limited to teens. I could've picked the other 3 based on how much I don't use them, but I figured I'd hit it up with something a little familiar. I promise I'll be using others.

Anyway, let's talk about Flik. Flik is built almost like Riou from a statistical standpoint. They have similar strength, HP, and defense. However, Flik loses out on technique, luck, speed and magic defense, but has a leg up on magic. Flik is really strong with Lightning magic (hence his nickname), so I see no reason to remove the rune he has already (until you have access to a Thunder Rune). Like previously mentioned, he's pretty much on par with Riou in strength, but Flik will get an early edge in attack power (though that will change as the weapons level up) since Flik is at a higher weapon level (from 7-10, depending on how high your weapon was in Suikoden 1). He's also a tank character. He can wear all the same equipment as Riou, but he gets the bonus of a shield, which by the end of the game can give him a 34-36 point jump on Riou defensively with just equipment. Again, his magic is good and he'll be the first person, that isn't Luc, that will unlock their 4th spell. Since he comes in with a Lightning Rune, you'll have the powerful 1000 point damage Thor Shot at your disposal, and can do upwards of 1200 damage with Flik using the rune. Not bad. He is a very solid fighter and can easily be a permanent fixture in your party.

Tengaar is a new ally that we hadn't used yet, but she's a pretty good back row fighter. She doesn't boast great physical statistics, but she is a pretty good long range mage which easily makes her a more flexible fighter than someone like Luc. Plus, her weapon isn't too bad, but not the best by level 16. However, she has some decent affinities with several runes (B rank for Fire, Earth, Rezz, and Wind). So you would probably be best giving her a Fire Rune, unless you're new at the game and would like to protect yourself, then an Earth Rune would be better for her. Her technique is nothing super, but it's serviceable. Her magic defense is good, too. Her speed and luck pretty good too. She's not as nimble as Stallion, but her speed will at least get her to attack before some enemies. Overall, she's a good fighter to have on your team because she brings versatility with her. If she runs out of spells to attack with, she can always throw her knife and dish out some damage. A character that can have a permanent spot in your party.

As for Millie and Luc, not much as changed for them except they've gotten more powerful. Millie is currently working a Fire Rune, but her usefulness has pretty much expired now that Tengaar has been recruited and is essentially better in all areas (except luck and magic defense). Also, Tengaar has pretty good HP for a long range fighter. I would liken it to Jowy's HP.

Team Grade: B+ or A-. A very solid team, especially if Nanami has a Spark Rune. This will guarantee everyone will attack before the enemy (unless the enemy happens to be faster than Nanami). You have several good casters on your team now and Tengaar adds good all purpose ability to your party. Now understand I'm not trying to outfit everyone with Fury Runes and Double Beats or Double Strikes because that pretty much cheats the experience of the game and can make ANYBODY a threat in combat. I want this to be as natural as possible. So this is a very good team to have, though if you can find someone to oust Millie, it'd be even better.

New Fighters
Shin
Nina

Team 12
Front Row: Riou (M), Shin (S), Hai Yo (S)
Back Row: Gabocha (L), Tai Ho (M), Shilo (L)

I'm going to just ahead and say this team is pretty bad. They are good physical fighters, but if you get in a jam, you're pretty screwed. Let's review.

Shin is Teresa's bodyguard and he shows why with his pretty good strength and his high tech and luck stats. But statistically, that's all that make him good. Look at his HP and you can say that he's not that great. Tengaar has better HP than this guy (barely, but still). While it's not horrible, you'd think a guy who wields a sword and is dependent on his strength would have better HP. Shin does not. His shoddy defense is definitely a big knock on this guy because as a physical, frontline fighter, you'd expect him to be able to take some hits, but he in fact cannot take them very well. You could say that his higher tech skills means he has a better chance at dodging attacks. This is true, BUT look no further than his magic defense. It is pretty low, which now brings up the case, why would you want a guy on your team that can't take hits well and isn't super fast to get his licks in ahead of time? The answer is, you don't. DO NOT. Shin is not worth much as he has poor rune affinities and worst of all… NONE OF HIS OTHER RUNE SLOTS OPEN! So all you have is his permanently attached Spider Slay Rune which does 3x damage, but only once per battle. You would do best not to include this man in any of your teams.

Hai Yo is a highly customizable character by the end of the game, but right now, that is not so. We'll worry about that in time. In any case, by all looks, Hai Yo is pretty average in all stats (and his HP is higher than Shin's… and Hai Yo's a CHEF!). If you play the game normally without customizing like a maniac, Hai Yo is a guy you probably wouldn't want to bring with you. His tech stat is pretty low and nothing about him really stands out. He is also no good with magic, so outfitting him with casting runes is out of the question. However, if you wish to equip some stat increasing runes or Double Beats, he could be a little more useful. But overall, there's not anything that makes him formidable. Plus he has no unite with anyone.

Gabocha is a long range Kobold, so he has a little more value than Gengen (can hit all enemies and has a better weapon earlier on). He has pretty decent speed, but it's nothing to brag about, but it is better than several characters. He has pretty good luck which means critical hits are likely, and his tech stat is pretty good. But get past that and he's pretty bad. His HP flat out sucks. Essentially, he's hardly worth the time to put in your party as a fighter, especially if you have Tengaar. She is pretty much more fit than Gabocha is. The only thing that may give the kobold an edge is his ability to wear armor, not robes. Overall though, he's not great, and he's no good with magic. The only way to make him a decent fighter is to outfit him with Fury runes or Double Beats. But I'd rather use those on better fighters. He does have a unite with Gengen… actually he has 2. One is the Kobold Attack, the other is a 20% chance unite called 100 Kobold Attack. The first one only deals out their combined damage (1x) and causes Gabocha to become unbalanced. Pretty useless if you ask me. However, the 100 Kobold Attack, if able to be executed will dish out 3x damage to ALL enemies. However, it's a 20% chance, so you're probably not gonna get it very much. Plus, I'd rather not rely too much on the Kobolds when Gabocha is unbalanced when they can't get the 100 Kobold Attack off.

Shilo is a formidable fighter, but at the same time, he's like the long range version of Shin with better technique and luck. His strength isn't too bad and is actually pretty damn good for a long range fighter, but his struggles come with taking hits. Physical hits aren't what I'm worried about the most as I can handle the frontline pretty well (unless they're s**ts like Shin). It's the magic spells that worry me about Shin. His low magic defense make him VERY vulnerable to getting the piss knocked out of him when a spell is cast. And if a long range attack goes for him? He's in trouble. This also isn't helped by the fact that he can only wear karate uniforms and robes. He's also no good with magic, so outfitting him with any magic runes is a complete waste of time (unless you want to give him an Earth or Water run for support type stuff). He also has no unites, so this knocks him down the totem pole.

Tai Ho is the best out of this bunch. He's got good strength, good technique, and his magic defense is pretty good too. His physical defense isn't great, but it holds better than the rest of these buffoons. He is a bit slow and his magic attack isn't great, so that does make him less versatile than we'd like, but he already comes with a Killer Rune, so he's got crates in him. His weapon is also very good in the early goings, especially around the time to go to Matilda the first time. You can level to level 11 and spear type weapons can go up to 88 attack. Not shabby. His HP is a bit low, especially for a mid-range fighter who must bank on physical skills, and his armor selection kinda sucks. He's a guy you could use, but not someone you'd want to finish the game with.

Team Grade: D+. Pretty much useless unless you get stock piles of physical attribute runes. There's just no one on this team that can make the team better. And with lack of any magical prowess, this team pretty much throws itself under the bus in normal battles, and probably most boss battles. Stay away from making this team.