Suikoden/Awesome

• The Climax Boss battle against Luca Blight in Suikoden II.
  • Don't forget his death speech.

It took hundreds to kill me, but I killed humans by the thousands!!!! Look at me!!!! I am sublime!!!!!! I am the true face of evil!!!!

• There's a semi-missable one in Suikoden V late in the game, during Lyon's duel with Dolph. If he attempts his Super Move and you pick Guard, he'll attempt to sneak up behind her for a lethal strike, and Lyon, without even turning around, simply reverses her weapon and stabs him right in the stomach before he gets the chance. A true Crowning Moment of Awesome for a character who certainly doesn't get a lot of them.

I see right through you!

• And while we're on the subject of Suikoden V, who can forget Roy's epic death scene? It's a damn good scene, especially considering a lot of players will probably never see it, since you have to defend the castle to see it, and the game gives you three chances to change your mind, pretty much telling that defending the castle is a very bad idea. Still, it's definitely worth watching at least once.
• One of my own personal favourite moments in Suikoden V is actually missable (even with One Hundred Percent Completion): namely, recruiting Euram Barows as a Star Of Destiny. He's the absolutely last person you would ever expect to be a Star of Destiny, but his Heel Face Turn (and subsequent desire to change himself for the better) turns him from a one-dimensional joke into a genuinely admirable character.
  • Seriously, what's with all the best moments in Suikoden V being missable?
  • Dunno. Have a couple more, though. Take Richard to the duel with Raging Childerich sometime. If the enemy uses his super, Richard gets sprayed in the eyes with some sort of noxious-looking green gas. But if you had Richard defend, he'll still manage to parry every single one of the following blows before landing a counterattack. While blind. He doesn't even look like he's trying. And finally, Speedrunning through Suikoden II is worth it just so you can see the game's time-sensitive sidequest. Spoil it for yourself if you want, but it turns out that Elza's baiting of Clive has really been an elaborate Batman Gambit designed to ensure that she dies at Clive's hand. Or not. With Elza, you can never really tell.
• Geddoe's response to Luc during Suikoden III's final confrontation:

Luc: Now, if you understand me, return your rune to the pedestal. I'll use human willpower to change the future!
Geddoe: "...Have you finished your speech, kid?"

• The Suikoden III manga, fulfilling its role of concentrated fanservice, has a lot of these.
  • Salome was a rather goofy looking character in the game and was fairly unpopular in the fandom, looking at the manga you can only guess that the author took pity on him. At one point, faced with political corruption that is hindering him from properly fighting the war against Harmonia he works for a political solution¦ right up to the point where they insult one of his friends and try to transfer him to a quiet spot where he can't cause trouble. Then he proceeds, in easily the best divergence from the game's storyline, to mount a brilliantly executed coup dâ'etat and arrests the entire council. One of the councillors, astonished at this turn of events, wonders how Salome managed to find incriminating evidence that the councillor in question had personally destroyed. It's then revealed (though only to the readers) that Salome beat the council at their own corrupt game by forging the evidence of the councillors' treason. His superior later charitably describes this as reckless (and she doesn't even know just how far Salome went to accomplish his objectives), obviously forgetting to add ˜totally awesome".
  • Dios, a non combat character in the original game, grabbing his injured superior and proceeding to break through the lines of his own, extremely confused, army.
  • Geddoe misses out his crowning moment from the original game, punching a whiny NPC. In compensation he gets to punch the whiny main character. A fair trade.
    • Also see any time him and Yuber are on screen/panel together. Game or manga.
  • Chris effortlessly beating Hugo before completely demolishing his self indulgent revenge fantasies in true Warrior Therapist fashion.
  • Goofy Kid Hero Hugo's first kill, after worrying about it for so long. No being sick, no long musing on the nature of life and death, just him covered in blood and hacking down men left and right in the chaos of battle. A little later on he tears a man's throat out before wordlessly moving on.
  • And Thomas, handing out medical supplies, managing inventory and helping a lost boy find his mother as great heroes bustle about around him. Despite having him on the cover Volume 8 gave him about six pages at best but man, they were worth it.
    • Or the fact in Luc's side story in the game, after Luc easily blast away Sarasai in a duel. Thomas proves to be a determinator. He gets blasted back, and knocked off his feet no less then FIVE times, but kept getting up, more or less telling one of the most powerful Rune-users in the series that he would never give up, or run away - even though Thomas is one of the weaker characters in the game and is de facto Non-Action Guy.
    • There's also that Thomas starts off as a rather timid young man who seeks acceptance. When he tells off the Zexan councilman who are chasing after Hugo, you want to cheer and hug him.

Thomas: Did you come all the way here just to insult my guests? I didn't know that you had the free time.

• In the first game, if you choose to spare Milich, Pahn, Cleo and Viktor will flip out at you, asking if you're really gonna let Gremio's murderer live. Cue Flik calming everyone down and supporting Tir's decision, showing that he finally, finally accepts Tir as his leader.