All 108 without help?

[Ujitsuna]

Did anyone actually do this on their first or second playthrough of Suikoden V? I literally think it is impossible, some characters (the missable ones in particular) can be completely invisible to you unless you're in a specific place at a specific time, it can be frustrating. The biggest example for me was probably Cathari, at the time you can recruit her you can teleport with the blinking mirror so on the second time you need to talk with her (at Port Spinacks) you usually skip over it. Or theres the frustration of Haleth dissapearing if you didn't speak to him right after Hershville becomes accessible.

I like how it is a challenge, but do you think this kind of thing is a desirable trait in Suikoden? Perhaps for Suikoden VI?

[Milan Fiori]

Suikoden V was by far the hardest to do without a guide. It's been such a long time since I played it originally, but I believe I recruited all the SoD's but missed two of the DoReMi Elves. Though I might have missed Zegai, I can't really remember.

Surprisingly I didn't have a problem with Haleth or Cathari or even the stupid armorer in Doraat/Leclar. And I believe I stumbled upon Urda and Zegai completely by accident as I had Takuma in my party at the time.

And I lied above, now that I think about it more. I did miss someone. And that was Athebald. I had no idea he was there, and even if I did, I doubt I would know about the not pressing buttons technique.

As for do I think they should keep this or not. Yes. I like the challenge honestly. I shouldn't think they'd make all of them impossible. But having those one or two really really hard ones, what makes Suikoden fun. I'd also prefer to have more side quests for recruiting. They started them with V, with Jeane and Eresh and even Babbage. I'd like to see more of those.
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Be awed by our prowess!

[Failure_Urn]

I had a hard time in SI getting Crowley and Clide even WITH the guide telling me where they were it would have to be pure luck for anyone to get them all on their first try unless they tried like every possible place for a person to hide.
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[Overdose]

I only managed it with suikoden 1, crowley i happened to find and figured i needed more people, Clive just happened to be in that inn wen i went in.

Fuma I found as I was playing and always look round areas so i dnt miss items etc and Vincent i just remembered seeing him wen i rescued viktor and warren and went back for him.

2 I nearly did in one go just missed the Sigfried and Gordon I think 1st time.

4 annoyed me I got everyone apart from the characters you get at the trade shop on Nay island. I would not have found snowe eitherway without a guide. Ted I found by accident by going to the war room at the right time.

5 I have yet to finish yet but some people have already been a pain, i may play through with a guide 2nd time on my + game.
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"In the rain, I'm calling you dear, find my way, can't you see me standing right here" ~ I.V - X Japan

FOREVER X!!!

[Onimaru]

I as well was only able to get all 108 without a guide in suikoden 1, and even then it took me my 2nd playthrough to reach that goal. All of the rest I started using a guide, and I think that Konami knows that players are going to do this - that's why they upped the difficulty of the recruiting in Suikoden III, IV, and V. It's part of the expereince and there are enough "spoiler-free" recruitment guides out there to make this easier. I don't know If I personally enjoy it though, it can be frustrating and it feels like it complicates the game. I'd like to see future suikodens drop the "right place, right time" technique of finding stars and instead introduce more story based character recruitment. Not just ones that are given to you, but ones that are determined based on the choices you make. Using elemets of suikoden V's "points" system could be a good way to work this into future games and get rid of the character hunting, something that I feel detracts from the story.
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[Sage]

I was never able to get all 108 on my first try in any of the games. I usually end up with 104-106 stars and I'm happy with that. I typically keep track of how to recruit people on my own, so I kinda build my own walkthrough of sorts as I'm playing along. So I can't say I play a second time without any help, as I have my notes. I also tend to run to other sources to see where I screwed up with the last remaining few.

I like the way it was in Suikoden V. Simply going up to random people standing around that just happen to look different than the generic people and asking them to join (i.e. Suikoden I) was kinda boring comparatively. With V's way, I have to think and have timing down perfectly in some cases. Plus, I, like others apparently, stumbled upon many stars by accident and I like the thrill of discovery. The one thing that would have been helpful was more clues. Sometimes, there's just nothing pointing towards certain people. For being able to affect destiny, some of them sure are inconspicuous.

[Geddoe-9]

I personaly think its imposible to collect them without the guide.I tried it in my first playthrough but ended up missing 12 characters.

[Buff]

only game i've played where i never used a guide or any help was with suikoden one. took a hell of a long time to figure out where crowley and the window crystal for window was. think it took about three or four years to do that.
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Devoted protector of Ferid and Arshtat

[Ezekiel]

Nope, i've never been able to do it. And to be honest, I never think I will be able to. Sometimes you have strict timeframes, and have to go to random ass places.
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[ferrouslupusrex]

Exactly. Trying to recruit all 108 is like pulling your teeth out with pliers if you are foolish enough to do it without a guide.
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- 108 Soldiers, 1 for EVERY star.
Keynes' (Chapter 1 Hero) performing his kata

[Sialeeds]

i´m proud that I beat Suikoden V at my first playthrough with 107 characters, without help.
ANd now you can guess which bastard didn´t wanna come with me.. Mister Killey.

[Ujitsuna]

[poorguy171]

While V's character recruitment is probably the hardest in the series, I don't think most people should have any problems missing SoDs unless they're lazy. We've had to search areas and such in every game, and most characters aren't too hard to run into in V. I think they can continue V's style, but only if they make the detective a bit more useful. Oboro did help with locating characters, but not with the actual recruitment process.

I think III had the best recruitment in the series. II and IV are too easy, I has no detective and it's often hard to figure out how to actually recruit someone, and V is the hardest (having a number of missable characters and a lot of specific actions needed to be taken that are barely hinted at).
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[Sage]

[Ezekiel]

Egbert would be impossible to get without any information beforehand. Finding him isn't too hard, but that whole "Wait and listen to him to talk" thing is just odd.
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