#mcdohl

Suikoden 2 character sprites

Character Study #4:

Name: Gremio Game: Suikoden MBTI: ISFJ

So here is my favourite character, and to a lot of you who played the game when you were younger I’m sure he’s a fan favourite too. While there are other characters I think have incredible design and seem interesting (Fu Su Lu and Crowley come to mind) the problem is those characters don’t have enough about them in the game. Even if these characters had more info, I’d probably still prefer Gremio.

Gremio is a sweetheart. There’s no other way to put it. He can be a bit of a worried soul but in the end he is nothing more than a kind and caring soul.

When Gremio was young he lost his parents in war. He spent many years wandering but was eventually taken in by Teo McDohl. He worked under McDohl as a servant and soldier to repay Teo for his generosity.

Teo McDohl was a busy soldier and was constantly traveling. When Teo’s wife gave birth to a son but died during childbirth, Gremio was charged with nurturing and raising the boy while Teo was out fighting.

Teo could not have picked a better soul. Gremio was the greatest ‘mama bear’, Tir could ask for. Gremio cooked and cleaned and always made sure to keep Tir safe. When Tir was young he was kidnapped in an effort to use him as bait against Teo. Gremio went and saved Tir but gained the scar on his face. From that moment on he swore to protect his young master no matter what.

This became problematic, however, when Tir became an outlaw. Gremio was torn between trying to protect Tir and stay loyal to Teo. At every turn Gremio tried to convince Tir to leave the rebels alone and find Teo to ask for forgiveness. He never abandoned Tir though, and Gremio quickly realised that his loyalty had shifted from Teo to Tir; and that he would be willing to give his life in order to protect Tir.

Gremio is sometimes clouded by his fear, but it’s never fear for his own life. He worries about Tir, the boy he had raised who wasn’t even his own son. That’s not to say he is not an intelligent man either.

When their plan to fake their identities at the Fortress Kwaba is put at jeopardy when a high ranking official almost recognises Tir, Gremio’s quick thinking pulls them through. Gremio freaks out at Tir, accusing him of always causing trouble and threatening to cut his head off if the Imperials would prefer that. The Imperials​ become very awkward and kind of scared by this show of abuse and let the group through.

More than just intelligent though, he is a man who believes in hope. He is sympathetic and is quick to understand the suffering of the Liberation Army. He doesn’t want to join Odessa for Tir’s safety but is more than willing to help save the bandits they had wrongfully imprisoned.

Another time he shows his kindness is to Kirkis, the elf. When the elf village is destroyed and Kirkis believes everyone is dead, including his love Sylvia, he throws the ring he planned to give her away. He gives up hope. Gremio picks up the ring though, and helps console Kirkis. Sylvia turns out not to be dead and Gremio gives Kirkis back his ring.

Of course, his greatest show of heart is when he sacrifices himself so the others can live. In the prison Soniere, General Milich released Spores of Agony, flesh eating microorganisms which devour a person whole. Gremio locked himself within to prevent the spores from escaping and harming the others. Gremio died and gave Tir even more reason to fight against the vicious Empire.

Luckily you can bring him back by the end of the game! Yeah! And it’s lucky too because the lonesome path Tir takes after the war would be much less exciting without his mentor, guardian and friend by his side.

Gremio is an incredible character, and his death had a pretty big impact on me as a kid. With his overprotective nature and his constant worrying, Gremio often becomes the butt of a lot of jokes. You can pull his ear when he’s making soup, Viktor steals his wallet, the list goes on and on. So when I was young I saw him as comic relief and at times a nuisance.

The game is notorious for its fake choices where you’re forced a certain direction (“Not if it’s bitter.”) and one of those moments I distinctly remember is when Gremio forces to come with you when you are discovering a way to beat Milich Oppenheimer. As a kid I remember wanting to try all the new characters I was getting and I didn’t want to be forced to have a 4 of the 6 slots taken up by Tir, Flik, Viktor and then Gremio on top of it. But I really learned the lessen that you don’t know what you truly have until it’s gone. All of his nurturing, loving personality just disappeared and all that remained was his green cloak and his axe. I was devastated.

And that being said, learning that I could bring him back was one of my happiest moments. There are honestly too many parts where Gremio is awesome and I don’t want to just list them all off. So I didn’t even touch on his friendships with Pahn, Cleo and Viktor. As well as all the other fun interactions and comments he makes to other characters. It’s really better to see for yourself than to read it from me.

Overall Suikoden is an incredible game, and if you enjoy story driven RPGs and nice sprite styles then I definitely recommend playing the game.

Tried to make a Castle Toran inspired Display with Lego and figured out that I am anything but a Lego builder. 😅

"Let us celebrate and being satisfied."

Also loving the google translate names for these collab drinks they showed…