From Ally to Antagonist: Tragic Luc In Suikoden
- Amethyst
- 8 July, 2025
- Amethyst
- 1 May, 2025
Politics Are As Dynamic In Games As In Real Life!
Players usually face their quests and explore complex adventures filled with various storylines unfolding and fighting their opponents to the end of the game.
One game I played particularly displays the best of how to handle complex political conflict turned into war. That is Suikoden V.
The Queendom of Falena is a powder keg of political madness and the game will have protagonist Freyjadour making tough decisions.
In this case the game doesn’t revolve around just beating the opposing faction or nation.
This one is about understanding the balance of power and how the concept of loyalty functions.
The Queendom of Falena Is Political Fireworks!
Suikoden V displays Falena which is ruled by, you guessed it, a queen. Arshtat is the official ruler, while the Senate holds significant power in the decisions laid out for the nation. As the game unfolds we learn and experience that the Senate is corrupt.
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The most powerful factions, Godwins and Barows, work their people in the Senate to follow their own political agenda.
This is the spark that lights the fuse to political chaos in the Queendom and the game’s story.
The Senate is just a puppet of two leaders, Marscal Godwin and Salum Barows.
Their respective sons, Gizel and Euram, follow their dads path of fame and fortune in their own respective ways.
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Daughter Luserina of Barows however will join Freyjadour’s army, as she sees things in her own point of view.
Not only nations are being drawn apart, so are families at the heart of antagonism.
Freyjadour, The Relucant Leader
Freyjadour is the prince of Queen Arshtat and Command of the Queen’s Knights, Ferid.Sister Lymsleia is destined for her role as queen in the future and the prince is just what he is, a prince. Freyjadour doesn’t seek power out of any form of emotion.
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He’s content and just lives out his life. He’s not a born leader and thus has to grow in his role as the game moves forward. He is constantly pressured with dilemma’s on power and loyalty.
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Does he trust the people most close to him or make risky decisions that could betray them.
Who can he find advise with that will aid him in his quest against Barows and Godwin?
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Lucretia Merces: Chief Military Strategist!
The advise of renowned military strategist Lucretia Merces is also something he cannot count on fully. Lucretia has the habit of following her own path, even when it betrays the party she currently sides with.
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She tells him: “I do what I think is right”. She has so because she betrayed the Godwins in the past as well and was locked up for that very reason. Her offered suggestions are harsh and only helps to navigate the political playing field.
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Freyjadour’s struggles are put on display and you as a player have to help him balance that moral compass.
These decisions will impact on what happens in the game, so your human nature and the cost of decision making will put you to the test.
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A life as leader isn’t as glamourous as it seems.
Gizel Godwin: The Classic Tragic Villain
Gizel Godwin is the prime example of a tragic villain. He really has his beliefs and tries to prove himself to father Marscal, driven fully and solely by ambition. His character and demeanour comes across as ruthless and he uses everything necessary to gain power.
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Yet, he isn’t a typical bad guy. The desire for power comes at a heavy price. He has a souring relationship with his father who doubts his motives and actions. Furthermore, those decisions do lead to his downfall. In the end, it’s what will make him cost his own life, still vowing his road was the best way to go, till his last breath.
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Sialeeds: The Loyal Aunt Turned Betrayer.
Sialeeds starts out as the loyal ally accompanying Freyjadour as everything in the takeover of the Godwins makes them banished from their own palace and nation.
In her own beliefs to stop more bloodshed in this war between sister Lymsleia and brother Freyjadour, she switches sides to the Godwin faction and her old lover Gizel.
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Her story arc displays that she is not a villain at all. In her way of protecting her loved ones, her loyalty was tested enough in the heat of a major conflict. Her betrayal displays forms of love that are hard to grasp till her dying moments. Her passing adds emotional weight into the story.
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Political choices often come at deep personal expenses.
Miakis: The Queen’s Bodyguard
Miakis is another prime example of displaying the complexity of loyalty. She is the bodyguard of Queen Lymsleia, and the counterpart to Lyon, Prince Freyjadour’s bodyguard. She is first-hand witness to the events in Sol-Falena Palace, where Queen Arshtat and Ferid are murdered by George. George is the best friend and confidant of Ferid.
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Only after having doubts on what exactly had happened, she joins the Prince’s cause, until coming across George. She confronts him and only at a later stage found out the motives behind George’s actions. She did not know that it was the request that Ferid had placed if things turned sour.
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Miakis gives you a strong reminder that loyalty is not black and white. The people you trust the most do not always have your best interests at heart.
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These moral grey area’s is what makes Suikoden V so interesting.
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Armes and Island Nations Federation: Exploitative or Diplomatic?
Armes, on the brink of Barows territory, is watching closely on the war of the Sun Rune. When they notice Godwin is on the winning end, they back them with armed forces. Their purpose is to hopefully gain a part of the Barows territory when the war is over. As the civil war drags on and the momentum shifts towards the Prince’s forces, Armes backs out and doesn’t show up at all anymore. Political alliances can shift that easily just based on momentum.
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The Island Nations Federation, founded by the events in Suikoden IV, stays neutral throughout this conflict. Admiral Skald Egan does however send her daughter Bernadette as envoy, considering he was very close to Ferid, being his father. This means another aunt of Freyjadour will join his side, but this time till the end.
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He wants to protect his grandson in this pointless war while not being able to do anything in his position. In this story, the best bet for the relatively new Island Nations Federation to stay out of harm’s way.
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It does raise questions. Where do you stay on the sidelines or where do you intervene?
Which Political Legacy Is Left Behind?
Suikoden V is not just about defeating the Barows’ or the Godwins. This game displays the price of earning, maintaining and losing leadership. It’s about the complexities of the concept called loyalty and the consequences of wielding power by force. All decisions you make as Freyjadour have lasting and far-reaching effects. You have to live with these just like any real-world leader would.
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In the end we learn that Queen Lymsleia becomes a proper ruler of the leader, with the citizens supporting the rulings of the Senate, now independent from both Barows and Godwin.
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What makes it stand out is how it takes these political themes and make them an integral part of the main story. You don’t just do side quests to recruit characters or defeat bosses to level up. You are going to learn to understand the cost of war, power, betrayal and loyalty. In this way, Suikoden V is one of the standout examples of how RPG’s can learn you more on the dynamics of politics. Dynamics shift at every turn and the end result is affected by every decision made.
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My advice for you: With your next step, in games or in real life, think wisely before you act.
Your life can change at every turning point, so make the most of it!
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