Why the Silverbergs seem to be the only good strategists in the world

[Felipe]

You know,there is always a Silverberg against a Silverberg why not put a strategist that is not a SB.You must be thinking about Klaus and Shu,but Klaus lost to Shu and Shu learned tactics from Mathiu(a SB :!: )and Klaus later become student under Shu.
And another question(well I dont want to make another topic).How the SB are in almost all parts of the world,they are in Duna,Toran,Grasslands,in Suiko4 they are in the Island Nations.
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[Exile]

Well, they have plenty of time to move between those places...they're a family of strategists, it's what they do, but it's not like all of them are good at it, George Silverberg anyone?

Salome Harras wasn't a Silverberg and he did some strategising. Perhaps being born into a family that has a wealth of extensive knowledge of the subject of military tactics pays off since they get the best tutelage available.
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Cry woe, destruction, ruin, and decay -
The worst is death, and death will have his day.

[Wataru]

The Silverbergs are based out of Toran. That's where they were from and that's where they (mostly) serve. Elenor and Shu were both expelled (her from the nation, him from Mathiu's school) and both went to nations that were adjacent to Toran, or SME if the case be that way. Leon was summoned to Highland by Jowy. Albert went to Harmonia looking for a way to further his career and Caesar was in Grassland on a journey. He made it clear that he just got there. When the Silverbergs leave their home nation I always took it as them being able to tell where hotbeds of political and military unrest would be and heading there to make themselves of use (like Leon says, "We're forgotten in times of peace").

It would be nice, though, to have a strategist who is in no way related to the Silverbergs. Already we've seen five Silvergerg strategists (Mathiu, Leon, Albert, Caesar and Elenor) and four students of the SIlverbergs (Apple, Shu, Agnes, Tanya). The only holder of one of the three "strategist stars" (Tenki, Chikai and Chifuku) who was in no way connected to the Silverbergs when they were introduced was Klaus. Whatever the reason, the Silverberg stranglehold on stragegy is getting a little old. Harmonia has a top-class strategist school (Klaus went there and I believe Mathiu did, too) and I believe the Nameless Lands does, too (isn't the school Boris Wizen attends a school for strategists?). There are enough other places for strategists to come from rather than being Silverbergs.

Maybe the designers are using them like they use Jeane and Viki: name recongition to give the different games of the series a more tangible connection to each other.
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[Kalidor]

I like the Silverberg hold on strategy, and I don't find it unrealistic in the slightest. The Silverberg's are a dynasty family; one of those families that has done the same thing for so long that they have a stranglehold on the field. This isn't necessarily because of a natural talent, but because they have been doing it so long that they have a huge wealth of experience that has been amassed over the years. Even with that though, in the case of the Silverberg's, they all seem very intelligent.

Consider it this way. The Silverbergs, judging by Suikoden 4, have been a family of strategist for at least 200 years, and probably more since Eleanor isn't the first of the Silverberg line. If you're nation is involved in a war, what strategist are you going to try and hire? It won't be the untested strategist without any credentials; no, it will be the strategist that have proven themselves before, and have a family history of glorious victory. Doing this only cements the Silverberg's stranglehold on strategy. Since they are involved in nearly every conflict of importance, they have a first hand view of the new tactics and tricks that are being employed, and can assimilate them into their already vast store of military knowledge. Also, being so well schooled in strategy will lead the Silverbergs to be on the leading edge of developing new tactics themselves. All of these factors combine to make them nigh untouchable when it comes to strategy.

Other strategists may come along, but I doubt they will come close to matching the Silverbergs. The Silverbergs just have too much going for them. Besides, I like it how you know that whenever you see a Silverberg, or one Silverberg trained, you are going to witness some surprising tricks and tactics.

[Aurelien]

The only thing that I don't like with the Silverberg's involvement is that they're everywhere. Though based in Scarlet Moon Empire/Toran Republic, they just somehow on "travel" or "moved to" the current location of the game. It's just a bit too much IMO, and in the end, it hurt the credibility of the story. It would be better if they don't help out so easily either considering that they're supposed to be the best family of strategists.

I'd rather see a non-Silverberg strategist in the game, and then having a Silverberg making an appearance but not actually helping or just as an enemy.
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~City-States of Jowston and Tinto Republic~
06.06.2004 - 20.01.2008

[John Layfield]

Salome Harras, Shu, Apple and Klaus. Yes, the final three all studied under Silverbergs or Silverberg trained startegists, but they are NOT Silverbergs, no matter what slant you try to pull on the situation. Losing a battle does not negate your skill as a strategist, so those four can all be considered 'good' in one form or another.

The original Silverberg was a genius who helped Scarlet Moon leave Harmonia without a single casualty, even when keeping the old Harmonian capital of Rapunda. Elenor is shown to be merely competent, Odessa was hardly a genius, Mathiu was, in-game at least, a very good strategist and Leon Silverberg is of course the uber-strategist. Finally, Ceaser and Albert were just in the right (wrong?) place at the right (wrong?) time.

The Silverbergs are obviously the first strategists we see and acknowledge as the player but in the wider world it's more likely that they are merely talented and therefore often chosen.
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One day, I shall come back. Yes, we shall all come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

[Aurelien]

(I know that your post wasn't really a reply to mine, JL, but I'll reply anyways hehe)

True, but in the end, I still find it a bit "cheesy" that every strategist (bar Salome) is somehow connected to the Silverbergs (may it be them being Silverbergs themselves or studied under or whatever). It's really weird IMO because Suikoden World is a big place, and somehow it's as if they cannot find competent strategists that weren't connected to Silverbergs.

While yeah, not all Silverbergs are strategists, I just expect non-Silverbergs to have some important roles and actually take the hot seat of the main strategists.
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~City-States of Jowston and Tinto Republic~
06.06.2004 - 20.01.2008

[Kalidor]

Yes, the Suikoden world is huge, but I don't think it is that far a stretch to say that the Silverbergs would be sought by those nations that wanted the best strategists possible. Also, from what I know about Suikoden I and II, most often the strategists had a reasonably plausible excuse for being where they were. Mathiu, Apple, and Leon lived in Toran. Leon was requested by Jowy, while Apple was travelling in Jowston, and Shu lived there.

Keep in mind how long of a time disparity there is between the various conflicts that the Silverbergs have been involved in too. When you are as reknowned for your Strategy as the Silverbergs, you are going to know when conflict is brewing in a given area. You're also likely to want to be involved with that, both to expand your skills, reap whatever rewards you can, and also to preserve your reputation. The fact that so many excellent strategists, throughout the world are Silverbergs, or trained by them, is only a testament to their skilled.

Of course, that doesn't make your feelings any different, Black Pesmerga. I'm sure that there are a lot of good, even great strategists out there that aren't Silverbergs, and they quite likely aid nations around the world all the time. However, the events of the Suikoden games aren't just small skirmishes, they are events that change the shape of the nation, and potentially of the entire world. Just like the Stars of Destiny are present at these events, it makes sense for the Silverbergs to be too, at least to me.

[Scarlet Assassin]

[Glen Cott]

The way I see it, the Silverburgs don't have a monopoly on strategy or anything like that, but they are just linked to the Stars of Destiny like Jeane or Viki, so the hero sees a lot more of them, that's all.

[Urn]

Well, when you are THE family when it comes to strategizing against war and waging it, then it's only natural that you appear during wars. I think it's just their niche. When you think war, you think Silverberg. I don't considerate it a monopoly, but just them being the best. I guess you can call the Silverburgs the McDonald's of the Suikoden World and war. ;-)
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~ Humbly walk the path of death

KOOLUK SUPPORTS TINTO MINERS

[Exile]

[Kalidor]

[Urn]

Well, you read to far into the analogy. I just used McDonald's because there is one almost everywhere, not to emphasize the quality of the product.
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~ Humbly walk the path of death

KOOLUK SUPPORTS TINTO MINERS

[Dragonstar13]