============ McDohl Guide ============ Ver 1.8 By: Roric (thedragoon@hotmail.com) 3/21/00 What's new this time around: ~ Added complete information about the Kasumi/McDohl scene. ~ Added information about Gremio's Special Stew. ********************* Note: This guide should only be found in six (yep) places: 1 - Accompanied by Sir Aronar's FAQ (which can be found at GameFAQs) 2 - As a separate guide on GameFAQs 3 - On my website (which is actually there this time) http://www.warriors-village.com/ 4 - On http://vgstrategies.about.com/ 5 - On http://www.rpgclassics.com/ 6 - On http://www.rpgvortex.com/ You can always find the most current guide on my webpage or on GameFAQs. If anyone finds this file someplace else other than in the six places specified, please let me know. I promised Aronar that I would do this for him, and I am very weary about finding my work on other places. DO NOT E-MAIL ME TO HELP YOU WITH THE GAME. I got hundreds of e-mails about asking for help. It became just overwhelming. So, rather than help a few people out and leave some in the dark, I'm gonna leave everyone in the dark. So sorry. Also: READ THE GUIDE, PEOPLE! People who are telling me stuff on why loading data isn't working (like you need to be at the last save point in Gregminster) apparently aren't READING what I've TYPED. So, before you ask me any questions (which I probably won't reply to) or e-mail me any facts, read this thing before you even attempt to help me. Anyway, enough with the boring stuff. Let's get to the fun stuff. ********************* =====> It's true that you can use everyone's lovable Suikoden 1 hero in Suikoden 2. And, if you play your cards right, you can even see Gremio as well. You must have Suikoden 1 to even attempt this. There are some things you need to take care of first in Suikoden 1 however. The thing that is definitely required is your saved game must be at the last save point in Gregminster before you battle the Golden Hydra. If you have Gremio alive (get all 107 other stars before Leknaat appears for the final time and she will bring him back to life), then there is an added bonus which I will explain later. But, for the time being, make sure that your last save is in Gregminster before the last boss. When you start a new Suikoden 2 game, it will ask you if you want to load in Suikoden 1 data. The purpose for this is to see what requirements you have met in Suikoden 1. If it sees that the save game you loaded in is at Gregminster, it will release the McDohl lock, and you can participate in his side quest. The game will also detect if Gremio is alive. If he is, the Gremio lock will also be released. ** Below this part contains some spoiler material. Read at your own risk ** The soonest you can find McDohl is after your battle with Luca Blight. As you would expect, he's still in the Toran Republic somewhere, "living la vida loca" (okay, bad joke). Head to Banner Village after that battle, and talk to Ko, the kid who is obsessed with the current hero. Now, if everything was done right, Ko should say how there is someone named "McDohl" staying at his inn, and all he does is go fishing all day, but he thinks it's the current hero. Head to the docks behind the inn. Now, if you have all 108 stars in the previous game, Gremio will stop you. If not, Ellie will stop you. Since Ellie plays the role of Gremio in this side quest if you don't have him, I'll just refer to Gremio and Ellie interchangeably. Talk to Ko again. This time he'll tell you that he'll distract Gremio for you. Talk to Gremio again, and he'll rush off to save Ko. This will free up the dock, and you'll get to see everyone's favorite hero, McDohl! If any major members from Suikoden 1 are in your party (Viktor, Flik, Humphrey, etc...) They'll say things like "It's been a long time" and what have you. There will be a brief meeting at the inn. McDohl agrees to save Ko, and then the Soul Eater will shine, causing McDohl pain. McDohl will stop, but Gremio will convince him to continue forward. Now, you have the option to take McDohl along with you. Ask him to help, and he'll join you. Refuse, and he'll go on ahead by himself. If you choose to take him along, McDohl will join your party at this point to help save Ko, who has apparently got into more trouble than he planned. Travel through the forest as if you were heading to Gregminster. You will encounter another worm, but just when you think you've killed him, he'll evolve into a Poison Moth. It's safe to lose this battle. In fact, I recommend you do. If you decide to lose this battle, you'll see the powers of the Soul Eater and Bright Shield runes in action. Their powers combine and destroy the Poison Moth. Head into Gregminster, and Dr. Liukan will treat the boy. President Lepant will offer the presidency to McDohl. McDohl slowly crawls his way back from your party, and almost makes a break for it at Lepants offer. Eileen will tell Lepant that young men like McDohl should be exploring the world and not cooped up in some air-tight office making executive decisions. Lepant understands, but makes McDohl promise to return some day. There are a few more cut scenes. And then, the next morning, You, McDohl, and co. head back to Banner Village. When you reach Banner, McDohl and Gremio will head back to Gregminster, saying that they will stay there for the time being. The cool part is that you can travel through the woods and back to Gregminster anytime and recruit McDohl for your party! If you bring Kasumi with you, you'll find out even more about other characters pasts from Suikoden 1. It's quite a touching scene, and it really makes you think. If you're keeping up with the cooking mini-game, Gremio will give you a recipe. Is it a worthy trade off for reviving Gremio at the end of Suikoden 1? It may not sound like much, but you do get this warm, cozy feeling inside of you, knowing you saved McDohl's best friend at the end of the game. Recipe #39 - Special Stew. Obtained from Gremio in Gregminster. Items needed: 2 Shrimp, 1 Sheep, 1 Chicken Egg, 1 Potato Combo Name Price In battle effects None Special Stew 1700 Heal 750HP Sugar Sweet Syrup 1700 Heal 750HP - Become Hyper (30%) Salt Adult Stew 1800 Heal 760HP Soy Sauce Clear Soup 1600 Heal 750HP Mayonnaise Mellow Stew 3500 Heal 750HP - Cure Unconcious Red Pepper Spicy Stew 1750 Heal 800HP =====> Troubleshooting: Many people have e-mailed me, saying that loading in their Suikoden 1 data does not work. Now, I'm not a smart man, so I don't know what's wrong. Please don't e-mail me why its not working. I'm no techie expert, I'm just a moron who likes McDohl. The only thing I can suggest is make sure that all the things I outlined above are true. If that doesn't solve your problem, and you can't load it in, then I'm sorry. Like I said, I'm a moron, and I can't solve your save card problems out. Please don't e-mail me about it, since your e-mail will probably just get lost then. From what I understand, there's some sorta deal about European games and American/Japanese games that don't work well with save games. So, if you're European, and you can't load in the data, then keep this in mind. I'll have more definite information about this next update. Here's a fun way to freeze the game. I went to go get McDohl during the Neclord scenario, and Koyu was in the convoy. McDohl joined the party, and Gremio joined the convoy too. I went to leave Banner, and a text-box popped up, as if someone was going to say something, but the game froze at that point. Go ahead. Try it with your friends. =====> The lowdown: Before things are even set in action, Konami messed things up. Even though Suikoden 2 was a great game, their translation sucked. One of the things that was affected was the transferring of McDohl's name from Suikoden 1 to Suikoden 2. For each capital letter you have in your McDohl's one name, will be transfered into McDohl's name in Suikoden 2. So, if you name him Roric, like me, he would be RcDohl. If you're like me, you probably named him using uppercase and lowercase letters. If you used all capital letters, then you lucked out a little bit. If you named him RORIC (see the difference?), then his name would override the first 5 letters of McDohl, and he'd be named RORICl. If you named him ASH, he'd be named ASHohl. If you named him GURNSEY, then his name would be GURNSEY. Also, if you used symbols in McDohl's name, such as an "!", then you'll get a different symbol in the name (an é to be specific). Other than that little bit, Konami did a pretty good job of the transferring of stats and whatnot to Suikoden 2. While he isn't the level 60 tank you left him as in Gregminster, his stats are toned down accordingly, to how the rest of your party is. And even then, he's better than all the rest. It should be noted that McDohl is NOT one of the stars of destiny this time aroud, and is not required at all to get. Hence why this is a mini-quest. Although, it makes you wonder what the Tenkai star is thinking, switching heroes like that. McDohl is a GREAT magic user. Make sure that the Soul Eater isn't the only rune he has equipped on him. Unlike most other heavy magic users, his attack is as high (even higher in some cases) as Viktor's. His defense rocks as well (about as high as Humphreys). It may seem tedious that you have to go through the forest to get to Gregminster just to get McDohl every time, but I think it's a fair trade-off. After all, McDohl can easily become the best character in your party. Not only that, but the "Double Leader Attack" is great for killing off groups of enemies rather quickly. It's not as strong as the buddy attack, but it gets the job done. =====> Credits: Thanks to: SirAronar (sir_aronar@msn.com) - For letting me write for his FAQ and giving me something to write about. Jeremy Steimel (locke@one-eleven.net) - For giving me additional info about McDohl. Joshua Grand (medion@home.com) - For actually giving me some information on how some people's stats are transfered, instead of just saying I'm wrong. xeglon (xeglon@earthlink.net) - For the complete deal with McDohl's name. Æther SPOON! (aetherspoon@hotmail.com) - For informing me about having characters in McDohl's name. Middletails - (http://www.middletails.com) - For the whole Kasumi deal. Ruk Chan - (skysenshi@yahoo.com) - For suggesting addressing Gremio's Recipe. Konami for making a sequel to Suikoden 2, and I hope they consider making a third. (and, hey guys, if you do, make sure to bring back McDohl in that one too, as well as Suiky 2's hero! ^_^). =====> This McDohl guide is protected by copyright laws. All the Suikoden names in it are Konami's, and I don't take credit for it. I just take credit for writing this little diddily. Don't steal it from me please.