.png)
The Celestial Sword (星辰剣, Seishinken), also called the Sword of Night (夜の剣, Yoru no Ken) by Zerase, is a supporting character in Suikoden, Suikoden II, and Suikoden III. The Celestial Sword is an incarnation of the Night Rune and is known for slaying vampires.
In the 1996 localization of Suikoden, and its sequels, the character was called the Star Dragon Sword.
History
Cave of the Past
|
The Celestial Sword is an incarnation of the Night Rune that resided in the Cave of the Past at Qlon Temple. It had a face carved into its hilt which allowed it to talk and held a will and personality all of its own.
The sword was very prideful, perhaps due to its nature as an incarnation of a True Rune, and prone to nagging. It was also a large two-handed sword, making it difficult to handle by an ordinary warrior. It was capable of levitation and limited movement but generally could not travel by itself.
It is one of the few weapons that can kill supposedly immortal demons, such as vampires. It also prevented the reanimation of zombie and skeleton minions defeated by it.
When Viktor and the leader of the Toran Liberation Army traveled to the Cave of the Past on Fukien's advice, they came upon the sealed Celestial Sword. After first throwing the group into the distant past upon awakening, when the sword learned that Viktor aimed to kill Neclord, the Celestial Sword decided to join them.
Wielding the Celestial Sword, Viktor was able to defeat and ostensibly destroy Neclord, as the Celestial Sword was an incarnation of the Night Rune and Neclord was merely a servant of the darkness. This meant that he negated Neclord's normal immunity to weapons and magic.
For the rest of the Gate Rune War, the Celestial Sword remained with Viktor. Following the end of the war, the Celestial Sword was presumed missing, alongside Viktor.
Dunan and Beyond
|
Following the Gate Rune War, Viktor had brought the sword to Jowston before abandoning it in the Cave of the Wind, finally tiring of its bickering.
Once Neclord reappeared, however, Viktor reluctantly returned to the Cave of the Wind with Kahn Marley and the leader of the New Alliance Army to retrieve it. Enraged at having been abandoned, the Celestial Sword attacked the group but was subdued and agreed to be used again after Viktor groveled for its aid.
Later, it helped in slaying Neclord once and for all together with Sierra Mikain. It also inspired the blacksmith Tessai to join the New Alliance Army.
Following the Dunan Unification War, Viktor continued to travel with the sword for a time before eventually tiring of its sassiness once more and "gifting" the Celestial Sword to Edge, after Edge managed to use the sword to vanquish a vampire.
Edge would use the sword to earn a living, wagering it in duels against passing travelers, much to the sword's consternation. Once Edge was defeated by the Fire Bringer, both he and the Celestial Sword would be pressed into service. Following the War of the Champions, the Celestial Sword would encourage Edge to travel south in order to find and defeat a new foe.
Gameplay
- Main article: S.D. Sword
The Celestial Sword is fought as a boss enemy in Suikoden II. It has some ranged magic but is otherwise not a particularly challenging enemy for a party to defeat.
Genso Suikoden Card Stories TCG
| Card # | Name | Type | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 122 | Celestial Sword |  Free
|
Booster Pack Vol.1 |
| CS2-534/R122 | Celestial Sword | Free
|
Remake Booster |
| Non-character cards depicting this character | |||
| 164 | Vanquish Neclord |  Mission
|
Booster Pack Vol.1 |
| CS2-256 | Vanquish Neclord | Mission
|
CS2 Booster Pack Vol.2 |
| CS2-367 | Find the Celestial Sword | Mission
|
CS2 Booster Pack Vol.3 |
| CS2-605/R164 | Vanquish Neclord | Mission
|
Remake Booster |
Gallery
-
Suikoden artwork by Kawano Junko -
Suikoden III artwork by Ishikawa Fumi
.png)
In-Game
-
Suikoden Sony PlayStation portrait -
Suikoden II Sony PlayStation portrait -
Suikoden II Windows 95 portrait -
Suikoden III Sony PlayStation 2 portrait -
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster portrait by Kawano Junko -
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Suikoden II portrait
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Trivia
- The Celestial Sword gained its original Star Dragon Sword name through Konami's translation of Suikoden, when they translated the kanji making up the name of the Star Dragon/Celestial Sword individually - thus 星辰剣 became Star (星) Dragon (辰) and Sword(剣), rather than Celestial Sword. The name Zodiac Sword was also popular in the fan community.
- In the original, the Celestial Sword's name changes when upgraded at a blacksmith from Star Dragon Sword to Black Dragon Sword and King Dragon Sword. It is also the weapon which gives the highest attack boost when upgraded to Level 16 (185). In Suikoden II and Suikoden III, the weapon name does not change when upgraded.
- While the weapon has its own weapon class in the first two Suikoden titles and thus upgrades like no other weapon, its weapon growth in Suikoden III is the same as hammers and halberds.
Other languages and releases
| Japanese katakana | 星辰剣 |
|---|---|
| Japanese rōmaji | Seishinken |
| Chinese simplified (HDR) | 星辰剑 |
| Chinese traditional (HDR) | 星辰劍 |
| Chinese pinyin | Xīngchén jiàn |
| English (PS1) | Celestial Sword |
|---|---|
| English (HDR) | Celestial Sword |
| French | Épée céleste |
| German | Himmelsschwert |
| Italian | Lama Celestiale |
| Spanish | Espada Celestial |
References
- Genso Suikoden Encyclopaedia (ISBN 4-575-16297-3), page 151
- Genso Suikoden Kiwami Encyclopedia, pages 65, 171, 318