RPG Review FAQ

Budehuc Castle
Your Flame Champion starts off at Budehuc, after the events at the Syndar Rune with the True Water Rune. Sebastian wakes you up and asks if you want to do anything.

Caleria
Put one child, two women and three men in your party. It can be tricking determing who the game considers a 'kid' (Hugo is a kid, for example). So, I had Hugo, Mua, Juan, Piccolo, Nei and Queen.

Go to the top part of the Inn at Caleria. Nadir was glad to join the 108 Stars of Destiny.

Ruins of Cyndar
Take the Ancient Highway. Save as you get to the Ruins of Cyndar, and take the east route again ( the one that leads north straight to the covered ruin area). Where you saw the True Water Rune is now a treasure boss! Likely a Copper Sun enemy. You have seen these guys before, they attack with the ring-type attack on one character or the earth-based attack on everyone.

The real prize is the treasure chest, with 120,000 Potch, Mega Medicine A x4, Champion's Rune, Custom Helm, Chief's Hat, Armor of Rage, CustomChainMail, Ninja Suit, Custom Robe, Earth Shield, Power Gloves, Mega Medicine Dx2, Mega Medicine C x4, and Recipe #17. The Champion's Rune is very nice. For enemies that you can 'let go' (enemies that are under your level), you won't even fight them! Put this on a high-level character if you want to cruise through an area without fighting those pesky random battles.

Check out more treasure bosses if you'd like. Otherwise, talk to Sebastian in the main room at Budehuc to rest, and continue the story.

Budehuc Castle
Next morning, travel to the gate. An injured Franz is here. After he rests, he comes out to say that the Harmonian Army has turned on Le Buque, and is going to send the villagers to Crystal Valley. Franz asks for help, for his villagers and Iku.

The whole army cannot be sent, so Geddoe and his group go. They are used to this sort of thing, and quite a powerful six-man team. Build up their weapons to level 15 and get new armor / runes if need be.

Then, quickly leave Budehuc Castle and re-enter. Jefferson will be at the gate, giving people distinctions. He eventually joins, and he can appoint your characters to different classes giving them different boosts. All the Medal Sets, they pertain to Jefferson.

Return to Anne to put in a good support member. Preferably someone like Mio, Goro or Tuta so you can recover your HP easily.

Worst part is...you have to walk all the way to Le Buque. Viki will not teleport you. Please equip a Thunder Rune on Geddoe preferably, or a Lighting Rune if you have no available Thunder Rune.

Mountain Path
At the mountain path, you will fight an improved version of the Twin Snake. It's moves are not different, but it has a buffed attack and defense to go with your higher levels this time around. Continue to employ the same strategy as before, taking out the left head that uses Wind magic, and let the weaker fire magic hit you. The EXP you gain is higher too as you will likely reach the mid-50's in levels, in addition to the nearly 200,000 potch, Rare Rune, Blessed Helm, Flame Casque, Wizard Hat, Blessed Armor, Dragon Scale, Blessed Leather, Premier Tunic, Custom Robe, Earth Shield, DragonTailOrnmt, and a ? Painting. This defensive equipment should be a fabulous addition for Geddoe's party. Onto Le Buque you go.

Le Buque
Le Buque seems empty. Check out Iku / Franz's house, by the Inn, and a scene occurs with the party.

Go inside the house a few levels to talk to Franz a bit about Crystal Valley. Then Aila comes to show you an injured Mantor Legionnaire with his mantor.

Mt. Senai
Head to the back of Mt. Senai (just going straight north). Of course, save along the way. This upcoming part is vital for acquiring the rest of the Stars of Destiny. Save, incase you screw it up.

All the Le Buque villagers are at the end, where the treasure boss usually is. Alas, a barrier is blocking Franz and you from reaching them. Luc and Sarah then show themselves.

Luc then discusses his motivation for the True Rune hunt. His eternal life leaves him feeling empty, and he has more grand ambitions. Luc summons monsters, a trick he learned from 'his mentor', as it is becoming harder for him to deploy the Harmonian Army.

This upcoming battle pits you against Luc, Sarah, two Salamanders, and three Mirages. Use Level 3 True Lightning Magic for Thunder Storm, likely wiping everyone out in turn 1 besides the two boss enemies. Like previous battles with Sarah, you will be hoping for her to burn a turn on turn 1 using heal on everyone. If you can get Aila to hit Luc, along with the Ace / Joker combo, you might be able to waste this huge group in just 1 turn. Your reward? Wind Magic Ring, which raises your Wind magic a grade.

Sarah seems to have acquired the True Earth Rune, and with Luc's True Wind Rune, they wipe out your entire party. Luc then uses a painful procedure on Geddoe to acquire the True Lightning Rune.

This is why you kept a Lightning Rune or (preferably) a Thunder Rune on Geddoe. But, Franz and Iku reunite.

When you regain control, talk to the villagers. You can actually rest, and save for sure. Start heading out of Mt. Senai.

Luc's present seems to be a big one, in the form of about 50 monsters. Really though, if you have an A+ healer in Tuta as your support, you should be fine with your HP essentially restored after each fight. These enemies can take off some damage, but likely won't push you to the edge. Even if you used up your magic in previous battles, you could have rested / saved with that villager anyway. So whatever you do, do not abandon the townspeople. Choose A, to continue mauling through the enemies. Chances are you won't even be as fatigued as your characters are acting. Abuse the Thunder Rune if you have it for Geddoe, though physical attacks should suffice if you've built up your weapons to level 15 or so. You get another opportunity to bail on the townspeople, but stay there and continue to finish off the monsters.

Duke and his boys are here to save you, of all people. Allow them to, and Duke, Nicolas, Gau, and Elaine join the 108 Stars of Destiny.

Le Buque
Back at Le Buque, Geddoe punchs a villager. Ruby, Iku and Franz join the 108 Stars of Destiny.

Budehuc Castle
The flame then switches to Chris. Roland, Borus, Salome and Louis accompany Chris to Brass Castle to report to a Zexen messenger. Again, you cannot teleport to Brass Castle. But Chris at least has a horse to burn through Yaza Plains.

At Brass Castle, you see soldiers rushing to the east side of Brass Castle. Head there to see Yumi, but things seem odd. She asks you to go to Alma Kinan Village with her - bring a powerful party to help Chris.

As you get to Kuput Forest, Yumi makes her move. Chris and Borus sense that she is Sarah in disguise, and a fight ensues. Sarah summons three Azzodess enemies, the same ones you fought at FlameChampHdaway in Chapter 3. Sarah will use Ice magic or heal the party. The Azzodess' have that spell that can silence your party, and does decent damage. Thankfully, these Azzodess' have much less HP to bring down. Sarah has little HP as well, and if you have someone with high swing and continuous attack like Juan, they can bring Sarah down in one sequence. You get a Drain Rune for victory.

Sarah still has enough power to steal the True Water Rune from Chris.

The scene shifts to Hugo at Budehuc Castle. Get a group together, then leave to Yaza Plains. You can't go out towards Brass Castle or Mt Hei Tou, as it says you should return.

Budehuc Castle
Back at Budehuc, a zexen knight emerges. Hugo decides to go to Brass Castle ahead of time, with Sergeant Joe and four others of your choice.

Fortunately Hugo has a steed to make travel faster. Rest and save at the Brass Castle Inn, then go to the east bridge. Roland and Salome are fighting the Harmonians, but there is something strange about these Harmonians. Anyway, you have 15 total to defeat, in 3 battles.

Afterwards, Luc, Sarah and Yuber come in to greet you. Luc wastes no time taking the True Rune from Hugo, and now has them all with his vessel to seal all 27 True Runes.

Chris, Yuiri and the real Yumi come to Brass Castle from the Grasslands. Yuiri and Yumi join the 108 Stars of Destiny, and then back in the castle, Caesar deems it time to press the attack on Luc and his friends, as Sarah is weak.

Brass Castle War Battle
Move your armies ahead and do battle. That is, except for against Yuber. He is too dangerous to fight, plus you can only take off half his damage for now. Meanwhile, mop up the enemy units and retreat from Yuber. Try to work your way to the far east just below Yuber's unit.

Eventually, Sasarai shows up in the northeast. He then joins the Fire Bringer, as Luc has betrayed Harmonia and Hikusaak. At this time, start using all of your Lightning Rune and Fire Rune magic (Jeane / Estella) on Yuber. You should be able to really drain his HP before even going in battle with him, which is good because he likes to dodge all of your attacks.

For a Major Victory, you acquire a Flowing Rune.

Budehuc Castle
Go to the meeting room, as Nash Clovis comes in. He seems to know where Luc's ritual is taking place, and you can order the attack here. I suggest you take some time to recruit any characters you missed, and build up other characters in anticipation of upcoming war battles. If nothing else, rest / save and check your squad formations.

Iksay Village
Go to the Item Shop. At this point, the Golden Hammer should be in the rarities.

Alma Kinan
Check out the Item Shop, to find that Killer Runes are being sold here (chapter 5 only).

Fight some more treasure bosses if you need to build up characters. FlameChampHdaway consistently gets characters to level 54, so that is your best bet.

Speak with Caesar to alter the formations one more time, then proceed to battle. Sasarai and Dios then join the 108 Stars of Destiny. They should be your last two (despite four 'empty' spots that are saved for the bad guys).

Final War Battle at Cyndar Ruins
All but about 4-5 of your characters will be used in this war battle. Unfotunately, you can only move about 4 / 5th's of your units since you have so many.

You are fighting monsters, but as you defeat them Sarah will create reinforcements in the form of Zexens, Karayans and Lizards. The Harmonian Soldiers might be the toughest crop out of them all, with their long, powerful weapons that often-times attack twice. Use your better warriors for those groups, and for the group with three Chimera's and a Siren.

Either go after Sarah or keep destroying enemy units, and she will eventually get 'tired' and flee. In battle, she is hard to defeat because like the Siren group, Sarah is in the back row behind three 900 HP Chimera's.

Yuber is who you need to defeat, but be careful of that powerful monster. You will want to use up your Fire Rune magic spells, along with both Sasarai and Jeane's lightning rune magic. Fortunately, Yuber is in the front row so if you need to attack him to win, you can do so quickly (assuming he doesn't dodge / counter every attack).

Ceremonial Site
You are to split up into four groups. Chris' group, Hugo's group, Geddoe's group, and Sasarai / Cecile / Thomas.

If Geddoe is your Flame Champion, Hugo will be fighting Yuber. If anyone else is your Flame Champion, it will be Geddoe's party fighting Yuber. Bring Ace, Geddoe, Joker, Queen, Aila and Jacques for a special scene. Tough enemies are inside, so try to sustain your HP and don't waste rune magic.

At the end, you will meet Yuber. Rest up before this battle. I would use Kindness Drops on turn 1 as you will likely get some heavy damage from Yuber, especially if he uses his rune attack for about 300 on one character. Hellsteed has a lightning attack for 100 on everyone, so you will want to take that out quickly. Yuber also has a regular attack that is highly accurate and often times critical. He also has the Thunder Storm spell for about 200 damage on each character. Worse yet, Yuber has a ton of hit points, upwards of 3000. And gets berserk at the end.

Fortunately, victory nets you level 58 or so, along with a Reflection Ring. Just as Geddoe gets ready to cut Yuber down, he flees. The True Lightning Rune however, is yours.

Next up is likely Chris going after the True Water Rune. If Chris is your Flame Champion though, it will be Hugo going for the True Water Rune. Anyway, bring Chris' main party with - Leo, Percival, Salome, Borus, Roland and Louis in support. You get a zexen knight special scene.

This might be the toughest fight ahead, in large part because the Zexen group is pretty weak by and large. You are to fight Sarah, two Azzodess' and two Horrobeasts. Hopefully Sarah burns her first turn on a healing spell right away. If she picks a Pale Gate spell, you're in deep trouble. The Horrobeasts will likely attack one ally for 150 damage, or so. The Azzodess' are the real wild card. They can use Thunder Storm for massive damage on your entire party, plus the silence attack. This can all seem like a lot, especially for the crappy knights. This is why it might be worth using Healing Rain in the first turn with Percival, but chances are that move will go before a lot of the enemy spells. Thus, you will be in trouble if the enemy uses the toughest possible attacks on you. You will be wishing for the Azzodess' to use their weak attack on one ally, and for Sarah to continually heal. Her Pale Gate magic is devastating. For victory, you will get to about 57 or 58 in level. Chris knocks out Sarah and retakes the True Water Rune.

Only the True Fire Rune is last. Obviously, your Flame Champion will be going to reclaim this.

Meanwhile, Dios, Sasarai, Thomas and Cecile go for the Earth Rune.

With Hugo as the Flame Champion, you will have the option to have a very versatile party as his main party only consists of Fubar and Sergeant Joe. Caesar comes with, and then three other party members and a support.

Save your game at the nearby save point. Albert and Caesar meet up here. Albert just gives you the True Fire Rune back, and tells you to stop that crazy bishop Luc.

The True Water Rune and True Lightning Rune users come running in. Meanwhile, you can hear Bishop Sasarai get the True Earth Rune. The big door opens.

You can choose your party with any of your members, including Geddoe and his True Lightning Rune. He obviously must be brought with. Bring who you want though. Note that Futch and Viki have a scene with Luc at the end since they know him from Suikoden I and Suikoden II.

Luc is just ahead. He takes your Flame Champion to a strange world. It varies depending on which character you use (Hugo's is Karaya Village, for example). Either way, your Flame Champion will get to about level 61-62 with these Guardian fights.

The True Wind Reincarnate Dragon has a green, rain-down attack for about 150-200 damage on each character. The Fire Crystal and Lightning Crystal are in front, with the Earth and Water Crystals in the back. The Water Crystal can revive previously destroyed crystals. Unfortunately it is hard to attack this one since it is in the back row. The WindRincar has a longer, more powerful attack that it pulls off near the end, but you will likely have most of the crystals destroyed at that point so it should not matter.

Everyone goes up to level 62-63 after winning this battle. Sarah and Luc stay back as the Ceremonial Site is crumbling fast.

Budehuc Castle
Some scenes with Chris and Hugo departing Budehuc castle. Then you get the ending, and if you finished with 108 Stars of Destiny you get the sixth and final point of view, Luc's. This allows you to see the Lizard clan chief assassination first hand, along with everything else. Not to mention you get to see how powerful Luc, Sarah and Yuber are in battle.