Most Difficult Bosses To Defeat In Suikoden 1 HD Remaster

Though it starts off like any SNES-era JRPG, Suikoden soon unveils a gameplay loop that showcases its use of the PS1 hardware. This early PS1 JRPG had a comfortable rhythm of dungeon exploration, boss fights, army battles, and one-on-one duels.

Though its strategic elements are basic, Suikoden does excel at granting you a good boss fight. These battles are telegraphed clearly, and though they may not always have introductory dialogue, the bosses all present a fair challenge. We know the 2025 HD remaster gives you the auto-battle option, but you can’t use it to breeze through these bosses. Here are ten bosses you’ll have to take on the old-fashioned way.

10

Varkas And Sydonia

Mt. Seifu

Though you’ll eventually be able to recruit them as allies, Varkas and Sydonia start out as your de facto bandit bosses in the early chapters of the game. Up till this point, you’ll have faced a paltry golem and a Queen Ant who is essentially a cutscene boss: Varkas and Sydonia serve as your first real test of strength.

As the subordinate Sydonia has lower HP and a higher speed, it’s best to target him first to make sure you’ll have a turn advantage against Varkas. You’ll get to make good use of your Fire Rune here: use it liberally, as it does high damage to both.

9

Gigantes

Dwarves’ Vault

Though he guards the Dwarves’ Vault and is subject to much ceremony and urban myths about how deadly and impenetrable he is, the Gigantes is actually rather tame compared to other bosses – even the Zombie Dragon preceding him.

The only way you’ll be at a disadvantage against him is if you have been relying solely on Fire Runes until this point because Gigantes is immune to those. Instead, you should make good use of his weakness to Wind and Thunder-based attacks and keep your party in a cycle of perpetual Medicine usage while you chip away at his health.

8

Zombie Dragon

Castle Of Toran

The Zombie Dragon is the first character to use AOE (area of effect) attacks, making him a deadly challenger. Don’t lose your head if a couple of your party members get wiped out: unless you have multiple characters using Medicine each turn, it’s bound to happen.

For this battle, your new ally, Viktor, is of the utmost importance. He has high HP, but don’t let him get incapacitated regardless. Use Viktor’s CloneOrb to do double damage to the Zombie Dragon on every second turn. Bear in mind that Viktor loses his balance after this special attack and can only defend or use items for the next turn. Alternate between attacks and healing duties for him to wipe out this undead menace.

7

Dragon

Pannu Yakuta Castle

Shortly after your first battle using an army, you’ll run into a live Dragon. This boss is much more difficult than the Zombie Dragon from earlier in the game. He has resistance to all elements except Wind. Given that your party members will largely be dictated by the story for this boss, there aren’t too many strategies you can use against the Dragon.

Keep your weaker characters healing Valeria and Viktor, and use their physical attack runes to keep the Dragon in pain. If you haven’t upgraded your weapons at a forge before, now is the time to do so.

6

Neclord

Neclord’s Castle

Neclord is a two-phase boss, and the first phase is unwinnable. Once you’ve endured the obligatory wipeout in the Warrior’s Village, you’ll get a proper shot at him in his private castle. Neclord can poison your party members, so you’d better have stocked up on Antitoxins. He also must be made vulnerable by a hit from Viktor before you can throw everything you’ve got at him.

If you’ve got Light Runes, use them against him: he’s resistant to other elements but weak to Light. This boss requires more strategy and planning than previous ones and marks the point where Suikoden actually gets tough.

5

Ain Gide

Gregminster

One of the game’s main antagonists, Ain Gide, was part of the same military unit as your protagonist’s father. This cements his status as an endgame boss: your battle with him is fraught with emotion, though if you have enough magic users, it isn’t quite so difficult.

Ain Gide depends on magic attacks, so you should focus on casters in your party, too. Physical attacks aren’t much use, but given that this character has only 8,000 HP, it doesn’t take much to bring him down. This isn’t to say he’s easy, but if you’ve reached the endgame, you’ll be just fine.

4

Venus Shell

Shasarazade

The Venus Shell isn’t much of a challenge to the appropriately leveled adventurer, but it can prove to be deadly if you’ve been foregoing grinding and upgrading your weapons. It’s also softening you up for another boss battle to follow, so you should have lots of Mega Medicine on hand.

This boss has an AOE lightning attack that does massive damage. If you have characters with a high MAG stat, you should put them in your party before setting off for Shasarazade. If you don’t, the Venus Shell will make you turn back soon enough.

3

Crystal Core

Seek Valley

The Crystal Core is rendered more challenging by the fact that two-thirds of your party is dictated by the story at this point. Unless you’ve appropriately leveled all the characters you need, it’s time to get grinding.

The Crystal Core has multiple phases. Like an onion, it has layers that you peel off through consistent damage before you unveil its weak spot. You should prioritize mages for this battle because the Crystal Core is weak to Water and Thunder-based attacks. Fire and magic resistance will be most welcome among your own party.

2

Sonya Shulen

Shasarazade

Shasarazade is an incredibly challenging area of the game for two reasons: it has a couple of boss battles in quick succession, and it gives you no resting place to heal up or restock in between. If you were not frugal in your use of Runes in the previous battle against the Venus Shell, Sonya’s boss fight will be that much harder.

Don’t even bother using physical attacks against Sonya. Rather, you should focus on Rune Spells and Unite Attacks to overwhelm her quickly. In JRPG circles, this is called a damage race: you want to get her HP to zero as fast as possible before she does the same to you.

1

Golden Hydra

Gregminster

JRPG veterans may be amused to note the parallels between Suikoden 1 HD Remaster and Dragon Quest 3’s HD-2D Remake. Both games were released months apart, and both have a golden, multi-headed dragon as their true final boss. Dragon Quest 3’s multi-headed dragon is harder, but that doesn’t mean Suikoden’s Golden Hydra is a pushover.

What makes this boss extremely difficult is the differences between its three heads. Each is vulnerable to different magic and has different elemental resistances. You’ll need to figure them out with trial and error, and after that, you should focus on its right head first because it can revive the other two. It’ll be a tough battle, but keep your chin up: you’ve got the 108 Stars of Destiny on your side.