Suikoden 3 is a turn based role playing game that was developed by Konami and was released in the fall of 2002. In this game the player plays through multiple story lines all which have different characters and goals. This game has tons of characters that are either playable, or available as support characters throughout the game. The combat system is fun, although traditional, and takes the form of a turn based style. Overall if you consider yourself a RPG fan then Suikoden 3 is a must play!
This fall the third game in the Suikoden series hit the Playstation 2. The game hasn’t received as much attention as some of the PS2’s other greats, like Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts, but it’s one of the best RPGs released this year.
Suikoden III takes place on the verge of peace talks between the Zexen Federation and the six clans of the Grasslands. But, as peace talks begin, the six clans suddenly attack the Zexen forces, and all out war engulfs the continent! At the same time, rumors are spreading that the Holy Harmonian Empire is moving its troops into the Grasslands. Why did the clans attack the Zexen forces, and what are Harmonia’s intentions? Throughout the course of this extraordinary game those questions and more will be answered. This may seem like little more than a tale of two warring countries, but I assure you it’s much more than that. The plot is filled with amazing twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat for hours. This is an epic tale of duty, honor, love and betrayal that will surprise any RPG fan.
What makes the story to Suikoden III so great is the characters, and the fact that you can see the game from the perspective of three different characters. This is called the “Trinity Sight System” and it will give you the opportunity to see what’s going on elsewhere on the continent, or will allow you to see something from another perspective. This strengthened the story a lot and really helped to develop the characters. You can see how each character reacts to an event, and you’ll get a good idea of how everyone thinks and feels. At one point you’ll absolutely despise a character for their actions, but after seeing their side of the story, you’ll change your mind completely. The cast is magnificent, and there are 108 recruitable characters! You’ll have everyone from a dragon to a robot joining up with you, and they’re surprisingly well developed considering there are so many. The main three characters are Hugo, Chris and Geddoe. Hugo is the son of the leader of the Karaya clan from the Grasslands. At the game’s start he’s sent out to relay a message to the Zexen council. You also can play as Geddoe, a mysterious man who leads the 12th unit from Harmonia. He’s been sent out to investigate the return of the Flame Champion. Last comes my personal favorite, Chris, leader of the Knights of Zexen. She has been sent out by the Zexen Council to negotiate a treaty with the Grassland Clans. Each of these characters will have their own party, meeting dozens of allies during their mission. As the game progresses you’ll have a huge army at your command, and you’ll be fighting to save the world.
You can have a group of up to six characters in a party, but they perform actions in groups of two. This was one of the few truly negative points to the game because you didn’t have total control over your party. Also, items could only be used on a party member who was in your group, which grew pretty annoying. Each character can gain access to magic spells and abilities from runes, which are attached to rune slots each character has. Some runes will increase your counter rate, while others will allow you to cast powerful healing spells, but not all runes can be equipped by everyone.
You can stop by an education or training center to increase your skills. At an education center you spend skill points, which are earned in combat, to upgrade your magic abilities, such as your spell casting or magic resistance. The more you upgrade a spell the faster and more powerful it will cast. At a training center you increase such skills as armor and attack damage. Between the runes you attach to each character, and the way you spend your skill points, each character can become pretty customizable. But, some characters are naturally better with some skills than others, and where one character may be able to upgrade their armor to A+, another may only be able to upgrade to B. I enjoyed the skill point system, and with it I was able to assemble the ideal party.
There are three different types of combat you’ll encounter throughout the game. The most common type of combat is your regular turn based combat, such as random encounters and boss fights. These are the only types of battles that result in gaining experience and skill points. You’ll also encounter several duels, which are basically a one on one fight where your control of the fight is restricted. You can attack, defend or use a deathblow attack during a duel. The final type of battle is a lot like the game Risk. You’ll be shown a battlefield with several portraits on it, which represent a unit of soldiers. You maneuver your forces around the battlefield in attempt to defeat the enemy. The different types of combat in Suikoden III give us a taste of something different in console RPGs, so if you’re getting sick of turn based battles, then here’s a chance to mix things up a bit!
The world map was a little dull though, and you were lead on a linear path from dungeon to dungeon. It grew very annoying when you were backtracking to pick up a missed item and had to go back through all of the dungeons on the way. It’s certainly a forgivable annoyance, but after you’ve gone through the same dungeon 10,000 times you’ll know what I mean.
Suikoden III is the first in the series to be fully 3D. The character designs are beautiful, and the detail is amazing. The huge variety in appearance of characters is very impressive and overall the character design is the best I’ve seen since Xenogears. The backgrounds are equally impressive, and the spell casting effects are great.
The sound isn’t one of the game’s high points, but it’s still above average. There’s no voice acting, which is pretty disappointing, but other sounds, like the clashing of swords and hooves beating against the ground as an army approaches, were done very well. The soundtrack featured a variety of nice tunes, but nothing particularly memorable.
For those of you looking for length and replay in a game, look no further! With 108 characters waiting to be recruited and 3 different perspectives to view the story from, Suikoden III will keep you busy for hours. Not to mention it’s easily over 50 hours long even without the side stuff!
If you play any of the many RPGs released this fall, be sure to make Suikoden III one of them. Fans of the series should be pleased, and anyone who missed the previous games will find this a good place to start.
