00:00This is the Ultimate Suikoden HQ Ranking.
00:04Headquarters in RPGs usually are just a menu disguised as a building.
00:08It's a place to rest, buy gear, or maybe trigger a cutscene and then leave again.
00:13Suikoden gives these places an essential upgrade.
00:16Across its evolution, it is not just a base of operations.
00:19It becomes an accurate and progressing reflection of your army and your choices.
00:24Recruiting valuable non-battle characters don't just add them to your army.
00:28They change the headquarters as you know it.
00:31Some of the HQs become bustling cities.
00:34Some even become your political capitals.
00:37Others remain fractured ruins of what they possibly could have been.
00:41And then there's a mobile warship.
00:43The question is not which HQ is the biggest.
00:46The question should be which Suikoden HQ actually becomes a living ecosystem and economic system.
00:52To fully answer this question, we are going to break down every major HQ from Suikoden 1 to 5.
00:58and Tiercries.
00:59We will rank them based on structure and design, functionality and integration into the overall game.
01:06Number 6.
01:08The Fortress Ruins in Suikoden Tiercries.
01:11The Fortress Ruins represent the opposite approach of what an HQ should be.
01:15It's just some more narrative framing rather than addition in value.
01:19It's a rebuilt ruin that gradually unlocks just limited services.
01:24It has basic rest and support functions, some minimal NPC integration and it unlocks based on progression.
01:31It feels more like a progression checkpoint than something that's alive.
01:35We can be short but bitter about this HQ in Suikoden Tiercries.
01:40It lacks economic and upgrade layering and the structural evolution throughout the game.
01:45It's too heavily tied into the recruitment of your shop owners or certain stars of destiny.
01:51Number 5.
01:52Serious Lake Castle.
01:53Suikoden 5.
01:55The rank of this headquarters isn't suffering from design flaws.
01:58It's suffering because of its narrative limitation.
02:01The Fortress is heavily used during a major phase of the war storyline.
02:06Even at one point possibly leaving it behind for strategic purposes.
02:11It has its basic weapon and ruin system shops.
02:14It's got storage and party management.
02:16And it's got its standard HQ functions in its infrastructure.
02:20It definitely fits the template right.
02:22It works as a complete system while it's active.
02:25It supports full recruitment functionality.
02:28And it provides all the necessary services during its role in the story.
02:32Why does it rank lower than the others that will follow?
02:35It's the duration of the game to which you have access to it.
02:39Taking the game engine and design capabilities of the PlayStation 2 era at that time.
02:43The design of the HQ feels stale and basic in its entirety.
02:48It's not present for the full game cycle and it doesn't evolve across multiple stages like the others do.
02:53It's a complete system but it's removed from the long-term progression design.
02:58Number 4.
02:59The Dauntless in Suikoden 4.
03:01The Dauntless is one of the most unique headquarters in the series because it's not a castle.
03:06We've got an absolute warship ready for you.
03:09It contains a rune shop.
03:11Hello Gene again.
03:11A blacksmith, armor and item stores.
03:15Plus of course all the additional things like lottery machines, training facilities
03:19and of course who could forget the hot spring.
03:22Even a judgment rune comes to mind.
03:25In this case we don't get more floors to visit the more we grow as an army.
03:30Instead the ship fills itself up with the necessary characters and it's able to move at any time.
03:36Plus do not forget that you can alter the exterior design of the ship yourself as well as upgrade the
03:41speed or agility of the ship.
03:43In it's entirety, it's structurally innovative compared to all the normal castles.
03:49Therefore, it's definitely better than Sirius Lake or the Fortress Ruins HQs.
03:53It is lower ranked because it lacks a deep economic layering, has no long-term structural evolution and has no
04:01town-style expansion.
04:02The interior of it also seems, like Sirius Lake, rather stale and basic in some ways.
04:08Number 3, Budu Castle in Suikoden III.
04:12This headquarters shifts away from an infrastructure-heavy design and focuses instead on the people that are running the place.
04:19You already need some important people when you unlock Thomas' first chapter.
04:24You realize that Budu Hooks strategically lies in the middle of the countries.
04:29Because it's not just a centralized castle, this HQ becomes a community rather than just a well-running machine.
04:36Because of the Trinity site system used, this game also focuses on relationships much more than the systems when it
04:43comes to the HQ.
04:44The recruitment here does not just unlock features like trainers or shopkeepers or minigames.
04:49This builds a completely social environment that feels inhabited and personal in some levels.
04:56It's better than the ones before because of this aspect.
04:59Thomas is the oil that keeps things running.
05:02One of the first things you witness is that the people still living there are standing up for it, and
05:07they're not giving ground.
05:08The minus points are in the structure of the castle.
05:12Because it's not a centralized building, that's where it lacks its economic design.
05:16Furthermore, it lacks strong upgrade-driven progression.
05:20Because of that, it also lacks a system identity, which we've gotten to know in other installments.
05:27Number 2, Torrent Castle in Suikoden I.
05:30This HQ is the OG HQ.
05:33It's where it all begins.
05:35Alike Serra's Lake, it's not easily conquered by land.
05:38This is the one that defines every future HQ that the series builds off of.
05:44It's a fully functional fortress HQ system.
05:47It introduces us to everything needed.
05:50From weapon and armor upgrades, runes, storage, an inn, and a bath.
05:55Let's not forget the infinite amount of money you can make with the most popular minigame of all, Chinchie or
06:00Inn.
06:01Gaspar will forever be in debit, thanks to all of you.
06:04You know who you are.
06:06All the essentials are here for the very first time in the series.
06:10It serves as a functioning military base rather than a simple rendezvous hub.
06:15Torrent Castle is mechanically complete for its era, though its systems are much more stacked than integrated.
06:21The NPCs exist to provide the functions, not to reshape the world around them with what they do, or who
06:27they are.
06:28I always hoped that the basement would provide you more than just a teleportation site, maybe some crazy inventions, or
06:35many more cutscenes in the prison.
06:37Though it's proven its worth as the foundation of the HQ in the Suikoden series.
06:43The evolution of the environment is just tied to the recruitment.
06:46It only lacks a sense of a living ecosystem.
06:50Number 1.
06:51Junang Castle in Suikoden II.
06:54The desolate north window village regains purpose when it becomes the HQ for the liberation army of the city-state
07:01of Joustan.
07:02This HQ design was fully evolved into an ecosystem where recruitment directly reshapes the world around you.
07:09This design is not just a fortress with services placed inside it.
07:13It is a rebuilt city that grows as your army grows throughout the story.
07:18All the systems are interconnected as well.
07:21It's got shops that are part of a functioning economy.
07:24The recruits become working citizens with rooms to their own, even the minor characters.
07:29Who hasn't witnessed Gabotcha and Gengen being washed and hung out to dry?
07:33The upgrades physically change the structure of the castle.
07:37Plus, new areas unlock as political and military control expand.
07:42Recruitment in this installment truly equals growth of infrastructure.
07:47Compared to the Torrent Castle, the Dunant Castle feels alive rather than structured.
07:52The first one introduces the systems, and the latter one fuses them together into a collective world to behave like
07:59a city in reconstruction.
08:01This HQ stands out because it's not static.
08:04It grows with every single event into something larger, though it has its limitations.
08:10Once it's fully expanded, some of the services lose their relevance compared to other places you can visit.
08:16The sense of discovery slows down eventually.
08:20Though at that point, when finally stabilizing, it has already achieved something no other HQ in the series fully matches.
08:27That is a complete living RPG ecosystem and economic system, shaped by recruitment.
08:33That makes the Dunant Castle the best fortification of the Suikoden series.
08:38Do you agree with this ranking?
08:40Let us know in the comments, give a thumbs up if you liked this video.
08:44Make sure to reach out to us on social media on what should be next.
08:47May your pixels be plentiful, your adventures prosperous, and we'll see each other in the next video.
Comments