The player controls the protagonist around the world map, advancing the plot by completing tasks and talking with other characters. The player can also recruit new characters to his cause, often involving a short sidequest to do so. In towns, the player can gather information, sharpen characters' weaponry, and buy equipment; wilderness areas generally feature random encounters with monsters.
The battle system in Suikoden II features six-person parties. A variety of statistics determine in-game combat ability. The battle formation system allows players to choose where each person will stand, perhaps keeping their weaker characters or spellcasters on the back row, being protected by stronger warrior type characters.
With 108 characters to recruit and use; it gives the player a lot of choice as to which 6 characters to set out with and the length of the game allows players to experiment to find out what fighting style they prefer.
Also, several characters can use their runes (Magic) during battles which can aid allies or cause massive amounts of damage to the enemy. As characters level up, they can use their runes more often and gain access to more spells from their equipped rune.
Some characters can perform a "Unite" attack with others, only certain combinations of charactes are valid, but make for devestating attack potential.
The other types of battles that occur beyond the standard random battles and boss battles; are the duels and the major battles.
Duels
A one-on-one situation where the main character must defeat the enemy, or face game over. No runes can be used during these battles, and they play out almost like rock, paper, scissors or "janken" from Alex Kidd. Simply put; Attack, Wild Attack, Defend. Attack beats Defend, Wild Attack beats Attack, Defend beats Wild Attack.
Major Battles
The game turns into a turn based strategy game, similar to Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle. You control several units on the field, and the objective differs from battle to battle, but is usually to rout a particular unit. Certain characters add attack or defence bonuses to units, or add runes or special abilities such as Cavalry, which allows that unit to be on horseback, or critical, which allows the unit to do double damage from time to time. If your leader is defeated, it's game over.
Although there are statistics in regards to each unit, there is a huge element of luck required when playing these sections. Most of the time, the enemy controls several units weaker, but they will still cause damage, and the same applies to the player when controlling weaker units. One example is the Luca Blight fight where he has 18 attack and 17 defence. No-one in your army commands stats that high, but test reports indicate that there is a 5% chance of inflicting damage as a base minimum.
