One of the most beloved cult RPGs of the original PlayStation era is about to reach a completely different audience.

Suikoden: The Anime will premiere in Japan on 3 October 2026, with its opening episode presented as a 60-minute special. The date was confirmed alongside the anime’s third trailer.

And in an interesting move, this adaptation is not beginning with the first Suikoden.

It is adapting Suikoden II.

Why start with Suikoden II?

Konami released Suikoden II for the original PlayStation in 1998.

The story centres on childhood friends Riliu and Jowy, young members of the Highland Kingdom’s youth brigade whose lives are pulled apart by war.

The anime follows that central conflict, with Toshiki Kumagai voicing Riliu and Shinba Tsuchiya playing Jowy. Ayumi Hinohara voices Nanami, Katsuyuki Konishi is Viktor and Yuichi Nakamura plays Flik.

Later cast announcements added characters including Luca Blight, Jillia Blight, Pilika, Luc, Shu, Apple and the immensely important flying squirrel Mukumuku.

Yes, Suikoden fans know why Mukumuku deserves the mention.

The creative team

YUZO directs at KONAMI animation, with Michihiro Tsuchiya handling series composition and Ryo Yamauchi responsible for animation character designs. Koji Nakamura is composing the music.

The third trailer also previews the ending song, “closed eye sun”, performed by Nakamura with Regallily’s Honoka Takahashi as guest vocalist. Amazarashi performs the opening theme.

A game that grew into a cult classic

Suikoden II was never one of the PlayStation’s biggest mainstream releases, but its reputation grew enormously over time.

Its political story, enormous cast and 108 Stars of Destiny made it one of those games that players continued recommending long after the original hardware generation disappeared.

That legacy eventually helped turn it into one of the most sought-after RPGs of its era.

Now an anime has the opportunity to introduce that story without requiring viewers to find an old PlayStation disc.

Suikoden: The Anime begins in Japan on 3 October 2026, and it is opening with a full hour.

For a story containing 108 Stars of Destiny, it probably needs the extra time.