is a two volume series of

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

s from the ''

Suikoden is a series of role-playing video games created by Yoshitaka Murayama. The games are loosely based on the classical Chinese novel ''Water Margin'', whose title is rendered as in Japanese. Each individual game centers on themes of politics, co ...

'' series of

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

s. was released in the autumn of

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

; was released in the spring of

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. Both volumes are

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

s, rather than role-playing games the other ''Suikodens'' are known for. The games were only released in Japan and never officially translated into other languages. The events of the game intersect with those of ''

Suikoden II is a role-playing video game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation video game console and the second installment of the ''Suikoden'' video game series. It was released in late 1998 in Japan, 1999 in North America, and in 2000 in E ...

'', but are more of a side story, hence the name '' gaiden''.

Volume 1: Swordsman of Harmonia

Nash Latkje is a role-playing video game published by Konami. It is the first installment of the '' Suikoden'' series. Developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, it was released initially in 1995 for the PlayStation in Japan. A North American relea ...

, the protagonist controlled by the player and an agent of Holy Harmonia's Southern Border Defence Force, has been assigned to obtain information to either verify or disprove a rumour concerning the appearance of one of the

27 True Runes is a series of role-playing video games created by Yoshitaka Murayama. The games are loosely based on the classical Chinese novel ''Water Margin'', whose title is rendered as in Japanese. Each individual game centers on themes of politics, c ...

in the Jowston City States. During his travels, he encounters

Sierra Mikain is a role-playing video game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation video game console and the second installment of the '' Suikoden'' video game series. It was released in late 1998 in Japan, 1999 in North America, and in 2000 i ...

, a female vampire, who decides to accompany him on his journey. As a result, he soon becomes entangled in the larger conflict involving the events of ''

''.

Volume 2: Duel at Crystal Valley

After the completion of the Dunan Unification Wars (the events of ''

''), Nash intends to return to the capital of Holy Harmonia, the Crystal Valley. However, his travels involve more adventure than he anticipates. His journey involves traveling through the Grasslands, where one village happens to be celebrating the legend of the Flame Champion and the Fire Bringers who stopped the Harmonians from invading some sixty years ago; an unfortunate stop over in Caleria, the base of operations for mercenaries of Southern Harmonian Border Defence Force; helping stop a wild dragon from terrorizing a village before finally reaching his destination. As ''Volume 2'' was released roughly a year before ''

Suikoden III is a role-playing video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 video game console, and the third installment in the '' Suikoden'' video game series. It was released in 2002 in Japan a ...

'', it presumably helped set up and introduce the Grasslands, which were the main focus of ''Suikoden III''. Nash also returns in ''Suikoden III''; outside Japan, ''Suikoden III'' is Nash's first appearance in the series.

Development

The ''Suikogaiden'' games were made by a separate development group at Konami. After ''Duel at Crystal Valley'' was completed, the ''

'' team and the ''Suikogaiden'' team merged and began work on both ''

Suikoden IV is a role-playing video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and published by Konami exclusively for the PlayStation 2 video game console and is the fourth installment of the '' Suikoden'' video game series. It was released in A ...

'' and ''

Suikoden V is a role-playing video game developed by Konami and Hudson Soft and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console and the fifth and final main installment of the ''Suikoden'' video game series. It was released in 2006, and h ...

''.

English fan translation

In August and September 2013,

fan translations Fan translation (or User-generated content, user-generated translation) refers to the unofficial translation of various forms of written or multimedia products made by fan (person), fans (fan labor), often into a language in which an official tra ...

of both games were released to the public by a group of ''Suikoden'' fans led by RinUzuki.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Genso Suikogaiden Suikoden PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games 2000 video games Japan-exclusive video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Miki Higashino Visual novels Single-player video games