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GENSOSUIKODEN CARD STORIES
GENERAL FAQ
by Dessa
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UPDATES-
9/01/03- Added the General Menu Guide and the Dungeon Mini-Guide, as well
adding more characters to the Main Characters list.
6/24/03- Updated "approved list" to include IGN.com, as well as fixing the
Card Battle section.
6/22/03- Started FAQ and uploaded preliminary version. I know there are a
few errors, but I want to get this up, 'cuz it'll be easier just
updating it.
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CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~
I. INTRODUCTION
II. STORY
III. GETTING STARTED
IV. BASIC CONTROLS
V. THE CARD GAME
VI. GENERAL MENU GUIDE
VII. DUNGEON MINI-GUIDE
VIII. MAIN CHARACTERS
IX. MISCELLANEOUS
X. CREDITS
~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTRODUCTION
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gensosuikoden Card Stories is a video game based off of the Gensosuikoden (or
just Suikoden) RPG series. Instead of a traditional RPG battle system, this
game uses a card game to decide battle outcomes. The game is for the Gameboy
Advance, but unfortunately was not released in the US.
Gensosuikoden Card Stories is based off of the story of the second
Gensosuikoden game, (Genso)Suikoden II. This is how the game fits in with the
other games in the series:
(Genso)Suikoden I (S1)
(Genso)Suikoden II (S2) = (Genso)Suikoden Card Stories (CS)
(Genso)Suikoden Gaiden I (G1)*
(Genso)Suikoden Gaiden II (G2)*
(Genso)Suikoden III (S3)
*The Gaiden games take place roughly within and after S2. However, some events
in the Gaiden games may occur differently from the main game, and are not
completely cannon.
This guide is a companion to my other guides, the Walkthrough for Card Stories,
the Card List for Card Stories, and the Card Shops Guide for Card Stories.
~~~~~
STORY
~~~~~
Note: for the purposes of this guide, I will use the "official" name for the
main character, "Riou." You can name the character whatever you want. Also, the
story listed here is specific to S2. There may be some differences between S2
and CS, but seeing as how I can't read Japanese, and my boyfriend isn't in the
mood to translate the whole game for me, I'll stick with the base story of S2.
You are Riou, the adopted son of a great war hero. You and your best friend
Jowy have been accepted to the Unicorn Brigade (youth corps) of the Highland
Army. However, while you are at camp one night, the camp is attacked. You and
Jowy must now flee for your lives, a trip that ends up placing the two of you
directly in the line of Destiny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GETTING STARTED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first thing you see when the game starts is the Konami logo. After it, the
title/logo of the game pops up (Gensosuikoden in kanji, "Cado Sutorizu" in
kana). Underneath it, there are four options:
Hajimekara
Tsuzukikara
Ruru [kanji][kanji]
Keburu [kanji][kanji]
The first one is for "New Game", and I'm assuming the second one is "Continue".
The third one brings up a secondary menu with one option in it, and returns you
to the main menu. Not sure what that one is. The fourth one appears to be
"cable" something, so I guess you can trade cards between GBAs if you have a
cable. The options that you can't use (cable if you're not connected, continue
if you don't already have a saved game) will be skipped over if you try to
select them.
[NAME SELECT]
Now that you've started a new game, the first thing you have to do is choose a
name. There are four pages of characters to use. The default character set is
Hiragana. To toggle the character sets, use the L and R buttons. The other
three sets (by way of the R button) are Katakana, English Alphabet, and Numbers
and Symbols. Both Phonecian and Roman numerals are available. Every time you
restart the game, a different default name will be given. Here are some of the
default names given:
Teinka Iason Taku Non Kata Guraham Kun Rainharuto
"A" will confirm a selection, and "B" will delete whatever is in the
highlighted slot.
Selecting "ED" will exit you from the name menu and start the game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BASIC CONTROLS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A- Advances text
Confirms Selections
B- Cancels Selections
"D" pad (Directional arrows)- Moves selection in menues
Moves character on screen
L and R- Toggles cards in the view section
Start- Enlarges cards in Card Battles
Select- Gives additional menues in Card Battles
Allows you to exit dungeons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE CARD GAME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The card game is based of of the Trading Card Game (TCG). My explaination of
the game is probably gonna be a little sketchy, 'cuz I'm not completely sure
how to play it myself... I'm playing "guess, check, and refine" just to get
through it.
The card battles themselves are fairly simple to understand, but can contain a
lot of strategies, making them not simple to master.
There are basically three types of cards: Characters, Missions, and Facilities:
·Characters- Character cards are red, and have two subtypes: Leaders and
regular characters.
·Missions- Mission cards are blue, and have three subtypes: Army Battles,
regular battles, and duels.
·Facilities- Facility cards are yellow, and only have one type.
I'll explain each of these cards when we get to them.
BEFORE THE BATTLE-
Before each battle starts, a coin will be flipped. Sometimes you're given the
option of choosing heads (star) or tails (nothing), and others you aren't After
the flip, if the text is pink, then you go first. If the text is blue, then
your opponent goes first. After the coin flip, you draw your hand of six cards.
Too look at the cards closer, press "START" and use "L" and "R" to toggle
between the cards. You can select up to three to put back into your deck,
drawing the same number in return. To do this, highlight the card and press
"down". To return them, press "A", and then select the first option ("hai").
To accept your hand as is, press either "A" (with no cards "downed") or "B",
to start the battle. Both decks are then shuffled, and gameplay starts.
THE FIRST TURN
Whether you or your opponent goes first, the first turn will always consist of
one of three actions:
·Play a Mission Card- Playing a Mission card places that mission's icon onto
the field. This could be either a tent, a hill, a base, a castle, or a
collesium. When you play a mission card, no matter which type, your
opponent is given a chance to play the first card. Players can continue to
play characters as long as they can/want, until the mission is beat or
neither players have characters that they can/want to play. Regardless of
how it ends, it then becomes the other player's turn.
·Play a Facility Card- Playing a Facility card is similar to playing a mission
card. The only difference is what your goals are. I'll explain them more
later.
·Discard Cards- You discard cards the same way you put them back in the deck
before the game starts. The only difference is that those cards go to your
discard pile instead of back into your deck. Regardless, you get that many
cards back in your hand. Bear in mind that while you could only discard up
to three cards before the battle, you can discard up to your entire hand.
LATER TURNS
In later turns, you can still do the above three actions, but, if a Mission or
a Facility is in play, you have two added options:
·Instigating a Battle- This is done by sending a Leader Character to a Mission
or Facility card that does not already have any characters from your side
in battle.
·Add more "troops" to a Battle- If you already have characters at a Mission or
Facility, you can add more characters to that battle.
WHAT THE DIFFERENT CARDS DO
·Character Cards- All Character Cards have 3 number statistics next to them.
These stats are given next to a Sword, a Flag, and a Hammer. The Sword's
number gives you the attack strength of the character. Attack Strength is
used in regular battle Missions. The Flag tells you the number of troops a
character brings to an Army Battle. Needless to say, this is used for said
Army Battles. The Hammer represents their craft skills. This is used when
YOU are playing a Facilities card, trying to build it. Character cards
also have descriptions that tell you about special abilities, etc. that
the character may have. I can't read them, but maybe one day I'll make a
Card FAQ, listing all the info I can for each of the cards in the game.
·Leaders- Characters cannot go into battle by themselves. They need a
Leader to lead them into battle. Leader Cards are denoted both in
your hand and in the Card View. In your hand, the text is over the
image of the card, is colored RED, and appears somewhat like this:
| | /-/"
| |---- \/----
/ /
In the Card View, the same text will appear in bright RED, directly
under the Attack Strength icon. Not all Leaders can go into all
battles, but a message will appear if you try to play the card to
that Mission/Facility. If you are already on the Mission/Facilitie's
sub-screen, then an "X" will appear on that card when highlighted.
·Non-Leaders- If there is not a leader in battle, non-leader characters
cannot go into battle. In Card View, non-leaders are either marked
with a PURPLE kanji, or a light BLUE character set looking like this:
____ | |
/ | |----
/ /
This means "Free". I'm not sure exactly the difference between Free
Characters and the ones with the PURPLE kanji, but, regardless, just
like some Leaders will or won't go into certain battles, some
characters will or won't follow certain leaders into battle, or have
other requirements before you can play them. This information is
listed in the character's description, but I can't read it. If a
character can't go into battle, then they will have an "X" over them
in your hand when highlighted.
·Mission Cards- All Mission Cards have the same three stats as Character cards,
but they are for different things. The Sword icon tells you how much
damage (from attack strength) you have to do to the card to win the
battle. The Flag icon tells you how many net troops you have to have to
win the battle (see Army Battles for extra rules). The Hammer icon isn't
really used in Mission cards, but is still there, marked as "0". Each
Mission card also has a section labeled VP, followed by a number. These
numbers are either 1/1, 1/2, or 2/2. VP stands for Victory Points. The
first number is how many VP you earn for defeating the card. The second
number is how many VP your opponent earns for defeating the card. Like
Character cards, Mission cards also have descriptions, telling you about
any restrictions, penalties, or bonuses that the card gives.
·Regular Battle Missions- These are what you are going to be using most
often. Regular Battles usually have a number for the Sword, and a
zero for the Flag. To win a Regular Battle, the combined Attack
Strength of all of your characters in play must meet or exceed that
of the total for the Mission. In the Mission sub-screen, on the left
side of the mission card, your total Attack Strength and the total
required is shown, with the same on the other side for your opponent.
The first person to meet or beat the required Strength wins that
card. You then must pick one of your characters in battle to "secure"
the card and return it's icon to your side of the screen, as you
recieve the VP from it.
·Army Battle Missions- These are the second most common type of Mission
cards. Army Battles usually have a zero for the Sword, and a number
for the Flag. To win an Army Battle, you must have a net amount of
troops equal or exceeding the total number of troops for the Mission.
However, where this majorly differs from Regular Battles is the idea
of "net troops". You see, unlike Regular Battles, which is more of
you vs. the card, and your opponent vs. the card, an Army Battle is
you vs. your opponent, with the card stating the stipulations. After
each player is done with the cards they can play, the two armies
charge at each other. Whichever team has the least amount of troops
is completely whiped out, and the other team must remove an amount of
troops equal or more than however many troops the loosing team had.
The remaining troops remain with the Army Battle card, and if they
are enough to win the Battle, they win, if not, the card remains
there until one person wins it. For example, I have three Characters
in battle with troops numbering 1500, 1600, and 1000. My opponent has
two Characters in battle with troops numbering 2500 and 500. The
Mission requires 1200 to beat. I have a total of 4100 troops, and my
opponent has a total of 3000 troops. When we charge, my opponent is
whiped out, and I have to subtract 3000 troops from my side. Since I
don't have one or two Characters that add up to 3000 exactly, I have
to take out two Characters, in this case being the 1500 and 1600
troop Characters, leaving myself with 1000 troops and one Character.
Unfortunately, this is not enough troops to win the Battle, so I have
to wait until my next turn to add more Characters/troops to my side,
to try to win the Battle. This also means, however, that my
opponent gets another chance to play Characters, so the battle may
end up starting over. If I hadn't had the 1000 troop Character in
play, all of my characters would also be whiped out, and the Battle
would be as if no characters had been played at all.
·Duels- Duels are one-on-one battles. Duels have zero for all three stats
(Sword, Flag, Hammer), and usually the same VP for both players.
Characters for the duel can either be chosen by the player or
randomly selected (the Mission's description will state which), and
whichever character has the higher Attack Strength wins the duel.
This is the only time that you can play Unique Characters (see
later), but their Attack Strength will automatically be 0. If the
"Character" is randomly selected, and a Mission Card is selected, the
"Character" is a single troop, with an Attack Strength of below zero.
If two characters in a Duel have the same Attack Strength, other
stats are taken into account (I'm not sure exactly what), to
determine who wins, although you can also tie (in which the Duel card
then disappears).
·Other Missions- Some Missions have both Sword numbers and Flag numbers.
Sometimes these become Regular Battles, sometimes they become Army
Battles. Look at what the number on either side of the Card is to
figure out which one.
·Facility Cards- Facility Cards are similar to Missions, but instead of both
players trying to defeat the card, the person who plays the Facility is
trying to build the Facility, and the opponent is trying to destroy the
Facility. Facilities have both Sword numbers and Hammer numbers. The
Sword tells you how much Attack Strength the opponent needs to destroy the
Facility, and the Hammer tells you how much Craft Skills you need to build
the Facility. The total Attack Strength or Craft Skills vs. the total
required is shown beside the card the same as with Mission Cards. Facility
cards don't give you VP, but, if you successfully can build a Facility,
the Facility may give you and your Characters bonuses (described in the
description of the card).
WINNING THE BATTLE
To win a Card Battle, you must earn your required number of VP. The amount of
VP you need to earn is shown by small, darkened dots underneath your name on
the main Battle Screen (in the upper left corner in red for you, the lower
right corner in blue for your opponent). When you or your opponent earn VP, one
(or more) of your VP slots lights up. The more VP you need to earn, the higher
"level" you are. The less your opponent needs to earn the harder the battle.
UNIQUE CHARACTERS
Characters are unique. This means that only one of each character may be in
play at a time, no matter which player has it in play. If a character is
already in play, the text "unique" displays over the card. The text is green,
and looks like this:
_ /___
| -- / /
--- ---- /
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GENERAL MENU GUIDE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are many menus in the game. Here is a rough guide to the in-town menus.
NOTE: All options except for "leave" and "dungeon" have the same 3 characters
at the end.
Inns- Inns will always be the first option in a town, if it has one. The option
for inns has 2 kanji at the start that have a lot of lines in them.
Within the Inn, you will find the following options:
Deck- Lets you create and adjust your decks
Save- Lets you save the game
Talk- Lets you talk to the innkeeper
Exit- Lets you leave the inn
Card Shops- Card Shops are always the second option in a town, if it has one.
The option for card shops has 3 kanji at the start, and the first one has
the fewest lines of any of the starting kanji. Within the Card Shop, you
will find the following options:
Buy Cards- Lets you buy cards
Sell Cards- Lets you sell cards
Card List- Lets you see a list of all of your cards.
Rare Finds- Lets you buy rare cards
Exit- Lets you leave the card shop
Deck Helpers- Deck Helpers are often the third option in a town, if it has one.
The option for deck helpers have two kanji at the start, but not quite as
many lines as the kanji for the inn. Within the Deck Helper, you will find
the following options:
?
Card List- Lets you see a complete list of all of your cards, and how
many are in use in a deck.
Deck- Lets you create and adjust your decks
Exit- Lets you leave the deck helper
Card Files- Card Files are always after the Card Shops, and the Deck Helper, if
the town has them. It is usually the third or fourth option. The option
for card files has 3 kanji at the start, and the third one is the same as
the second kanji for an inn. Within the Card File, you will find the
following options:
Card File Completion- Lets you see how close you are to completing
the set of cards, and lists them in order. If you have a card
and trade or sell it, it is still listed as you having had it.
Card List- Lets you see a complete list of all of your cards, and how
many are in use in a deck.
Talk- Lets you talk with the card file keeper.
Exit- Lets you leave the card file
Trading Post- Trading Shops are always after all of the other options except
for Dungeons and the Leave option. It has 3 kanji at the start, and the
first one as a box with 4 lines over it on the left and 3 vertical lines
on the right. Within the Trading Shop, you will find the following
options:
Battle- Lets you have practice battles for extra cards and potch.
Trade- Lets you trade your cards for new cards. Each trading post
has 5 trades that it can make you (in order), after which it
will give you a reward, and have no further trades.
Exit- Lets you leave the trading post.
Dungeon- A Dungeon is always the second to last option in a town. It has 2
kanji at the start, and two kanji at the end that are different from the
kanji in other options. See the DUNGEON MINI-GUIDE for more information.
Leave- The Leave option is always the last option in a town. EVERY town has a
Leave option.
Other- There are other options that may appear in the city menus. These are
areas that you go to further the plot. In your castle, this is usually
the Great Hall, although it occasionally changes to somewhere else. You
may also run into these areas in other towns.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DUNGEON MINI-GUIDE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dungeons are controlled with sprites, and are really the only areas in the game
that you have complete control of the characters. Here are the important things
to keep in mind when in a dungeon:
1. Allies- Allies give you cards. This is very good, since often they're
rare cards that can't be gotten elsewhere.
2. Lorelai (2)- Lorelai is a card shop. She often has rare cards.
3. Ghosts- Ghosts fight you. Sometimes they're hard, sometimes they're
not. Either way, they usually give you standard cards for that area.
4. Highland Characters- Highland Characters usually fight you, and you get
their card if you can beat them.
5. Rowd- Sometimes Rowd will fight you (see above), other times he'll just
give you a card. Very useful.
6. Random Battles- yes, there are random battles. They're usually not
hard, if you have a decent deck.
7. Chests- Some chests have cards, some have potch, and some have
monsters for you to fight.
8. Stairs- Multi-level Dungeons have stairs that go down to the next
level. The lower levels are usually a little harder. Note that there
is no way to get back UPstairs.
9. Exiting- To exit a dungeon, no matter where in it you are, hit "Select"
and then the first option.
10. Re-Entering- Everything changes when you re-enter; characters, ghosts,
stairs, layout... EVERYTHING.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAIN CHARACTERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are the characters that have images during the game. I'm trying to keep
it as spoiler-free as I can.
Riou- The main character of the game, aka YOU. You were raised by the great
hero Genkaku as a son, although your real parents are unknown. You grew up
with your "sister", Nanami, and your best friend, Jowy.
Jowy- Your best friend, the son of a rich family. You and Jowy joined the army
of the Highland together, as part of the Unicorn Brigade, although were
forced to leave when your group was attacked.
Nanami- Your adoptive sister, who was also raised by hero Genkaku. Nanami is
your constant companion wherever you go.
Flik- One of the heroes of the Liberation Wars, Flik and Viktor find you and
aid you in your quest to bring peace to the land.
Viktor- Another hero of the Liberation Wars, Viktor leads a Mercenary Group,
and finds you after your escape from the Unicorn Brigade. He and Flik work
well together.
Luca Blight- The prince of the Highlands, he is orchestrating the war for
reasons only he knows.
Annabelle- The mayor of Muse, who knows hero Genkaku, and the truth of what
happened 30 years ago.
Apple- A young strategist who participated in the Liberation Wars with Flik and
Vikotr.
Shu- A former classmate of Apple's he becomes the main strategist for the
Allied Army.
Solon Jhee- A general of the Highland Army.
Seed- A general of the Highland Army.
Culgan- A general of the Highland Army.
Sierra- The true bearer of the Blue Moon Rune, who wishes to defeat Neclord.
Teresa- The mayor of Greenhill, who wishes to liberate her town.
Neclord- A vampire who has taken over Tinto.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MISCELLANEOUS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is just for miscellanious things that I've noticed while playing the game.
·The icon used to notify you that text is continued and to press "A" is a card.
·For some reason, they make you press "down" to get to the first option in most
areas.
·I usually just guess at what option to pick, but it seems that the first
option usually furthers the story.
·If you're using an emulator, when the screen fades black, it will actually
continue faster if you DON'T hold down the fast forward key. The fast
forward key doesn't really do a lot of good in this game anyway.
~~~~~~~
CREDITS
~~~~~~~
This Guide was made my Dessa (
[email protected]) for exclusive use on her own
webpage, GameFAQs, and IGN. The text within it is copywrite 2003 Marie Morse,
all rights reserved. Publication on any other site is strictly prohibited. If
you would like permission to use this on your webpage, e-mail Dessa at the
above address with your own e-mail address and your webpage address, and she
will get back to you on if you can or not, and, if your site is approved, send
you an updated version of the Guide that has your site included on the
"approved" list. She will also send you any updates, so that you continually
have the most current version.
List of Approved Websites:
Izzy's Palace (
http://www.geocities.com/dragessa)
GameFAQs (
http://www.gamefaqs.com)
IGN.com (
http://www.IGN.com)
Cheats.de (
http://www.cheats.de)
Thanks for this Guide go to...
..Konami for creating a great series.
..my boyfriend, for introducing me to the Suikoden games.
..Suikosource.com for having nice images and explainations of the different
cards. Everything in here is mine, but looking at their stuff helped clear
up a couple questions I had left.
(Genso)Suikoden, Card Stories, and all chararacters and ideas related are
copywrite of Konami.
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