Suikoden II takes place 3 years after the events of the original and centres on an invasion of the City-States of Jowston by the Kingdom of Highland. The player controls a silent protagonist who is the adopted son of Genkaku, a hero who saved the City-States of Jowston in a war against Highland years ago. The protagonist and his best friend, Jowy Atreides, each gain one half of the Rune of the Beginning, one of the 27 True Runes of the Suikodensetting, and become caught up in the intrigues of the invasion and the dark fate of those who bear the halves of that Rune.
