Daddy Wasn't There!

[Ezekiel]

So, I'm sure everyone has noticed this. If you're the Hero in Suikoden, chances are you won't have parents with you.

Suikoden I - Who was Tir's mother? Uknown.
Suikoden II - Riou's real parents? Who knows! And he only had one adoptive dad.
Suikoden III - Hugo's dad? Who knows! Chris' family...a mystery for the most part, until the Wyatt thing is discovered.
Suikoden IV - We know who his father is, but no mother present? Surprise, surprise.
Suikoden Tactis - No mother, and we saw the fate of his father.
Suikoden V - Finally, someone with parents. Oh, wait, we all know what happens.


So, do you assume this will happen in Suikoden VI? And why do you think this is such a popular story for a hero?
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[Ujitsuna]

Suikoden I: She was around, she just died whilst Tir was young.

Suikoden IV: Lazlo's mother is probably (almost definately) the Queen of Obel who gets killed by the Rune of Punishment.

[Ezekiel]

[Inko]

in number one it is stated that Tir's mother died, and that Gremio took care of him during his youth. In 4 it's never really stated who the hero's father was, but you can attempt to figure it out, and you still don't know who exactly his father is but you have a guesstimation. In tactics well... the hero does have a mother, it's just very very very odd...

[Overdose]

Suikoden 1: Imagine if Sonya was Tirs Mum!
Suikoden 2: There is never anything mentioned at all
Suikoden 3: Im not sure but I notice that Chris's mum is not well documented
Suikoden 4: I just assumed Lino was the dad due to the coincidence of stories, it just fitted.
Suikoden 5: He just loses them, but nice to see a hero who had them.

It can been seen as quite tragic I guess, a hero alone find the company of the Stars of destiny. Its a story that never seems to get old, makes for a good 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!!!

[Ezekiel]

Well...why do you think the absence of real and natural parents is so common? We're yet to just see two normal birth parents sticking around through the game.



And yes, i forgot about that weird weird weird Tactics secret.
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[Onimaru]

I suppose the lack of parents is a defining feature of a hero, generally one's parents take care of you, while a hero who leads an army can't have anyone to take care of him/her. Someone who everyone relies on, can't have anyone to rely on himself. I guess it's cliche, but it somehow makes the character more independant and really all of the hero's have been independent, even if they never say so - you need to be indepenant to take on the government or enemy army. I suppose they could easily encorporate a characters parents, but I don't see it as being an issue or something that defines being a "hero" it's just a cliche' story hitch they use to single out the hero character type.
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[Ujitsuna]

[Master McDohl]

Indeed one of the defining features of a hero is the lack of parentals. I mean put yourself in any SoD's shoes for one moment. Would you want to follow someone into battle who's been spoon fed all their life? ( Though in the case of the Prince I suppose that's hypocritical ) I wouldn't want too. How would that person be able to decide what's in the best interest of an entire army of warriors if his or her parents pampered them their entire lives.

They'd have no sense of responsibility, and in retrospect; no ability to lead whatsoever. I suppose that this pattern will continue with all heroes of Genso Suikoden. It only makes sense.
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[Ezekiel]

I suppose losing your parents makes you have to grow up real fast. And when you're commanding an army, you don't have time to grow up on the battlefield, with other's lives at stake.
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[Sophita]

[Calvin]

I think there is a difference between being spoon fed by one's parents and simply having parents at all for a good portion of one's life. Honestly, the simplest answer is its a typical cliche for many stories. The hero who is all alone has to overcome immense odds. Typically, I believe it is done more out of laziness than anything. You learn more about a character when you observe their relationship with their parents. Storytellers want to kill off the parents because they probably figure its easier to assign traits typical to many RPG characters once they have experienced the loss of one's parents. It also lets them avoid having to explain things more and have to create more relationships for the character.

Suikoden V is a good example. The events of that game wouldn't have happened the way they did if the parents weren't killed, so obviously it was a plot device to continue the story. In Suikoden IV, you had the orphan who conveniently didn't know who his parents were, and they didn't go in depth much about his relationship with his adoptive father. We find out much later his "real father" after all the stories have played out and there isn't anything more to write about. All the main character's in Suikoden III had at least 1 parent, except for Geddoe, so I won't comment on that game. In Suikoden II, again, the real parents were nowhere to be found, and the adoptive parent died before we could meet him. You have your typical lonely heros in that one. In Suikoden 1, Tir at least had his father, and it was a driving point in the story.

Anyways, as I said, when one or both parents are dead, it can likely be attributed to the developers just not wanting to take the time to flesh out those characters and relationships.
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I changed the number on my phone so you can't call me up at home, and you can't say those
things to me, that make me fall down on my knees.

[Master McDohl]

[Calvin]

You're right, there are exceptions. Most of the time, however, that's not the case.
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I changed the number on my phone so you can't call me up at home, and you can't say those
things to me, that make me fall down on my knees.

[Phamex]

I can see how the presence of parents might undermine the development of the main hero, but I'd still like to see them included in a game and not split up or die. Wouldn't it be interesting to see some hero with deadbeat parents that show up and try to ride his coattails and hit him up for money?

Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised to see the "Orphaned Hero" routine in VI, but after the fantastic job they did with Ferid and Arshtat in V I'd like to think they'll move away from that trend. I can hope anyway :roll:
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