Suikoden III

"It lives up to the name Suikoden."

I along with tons of other Suikoden fans were highly anticipating Suikoden III. It did not disappoint. This game is very enjoyable and is easily one of the top 2 or 3 RPGs for the PlayStation 2. Don't worry it remains true to the series in most aspects. You will get the Suikoden feel while playing and that's all that you should need to love the game.

Gameplay: 9

The controls are just a little bit jerky when moving your character in the field. It's nothing to be concerned about but you may notice it's a little strange the first time you try to move.

When you open up your menu you will notice some new things. You gain skill points through battle and can use them to train your characters in certain skills, this can be quite beneficial. You will also see that the game tracks each characters kill count, which is nifty. The game has added lots of small things that make it what a sequel should be.

The Battle System is reminiscent of the earlier Suikoden titles but it has been tweaked. You still have three different styles of combat.

The most common type of fighting is your normal RPG style fights. You can still have up to 6 characters at once plus you can have a support character that doesn't fight but aids the team with various skills depending on who it is. The battle system seems to have been geared towards strategy more than the previous game. You now attack in pairs, which means only one of the two can pull off a special move per round. Combination attacks are still here but sometimes you have to pair the people together to use them. Runes are still used as your magic source. However you will notice that now some spells will take more than one turn cast. You will also have to be careful as some spells can harm your allies. The battles are quite fun and on average they are more challenging than in most other RPGs.

The one-on-one duel doesn't seem to have changed a whole lot. The enemy still says something before they attack and you use the words to anticipate their action so that you can counter it. It's pretty straightforward. Just read your opponent and act accordingly. Simple but entertaining.

The war battles have changed significantly. As always they involve strategy. Perhaps these battles require strategy even more so than the other games in the series. There are now several locations on the battle map. You have the option to move/attack, defend, or use magic/skills. When you actually engage in combat it will take you to a screen similar to normal battle mode. You will only be able to control the entire unit as a whole though. You can attack, defend, or retreat while in combat. Your units have very limited freedom as far as movement on the battlefield goes. There are only a few places to move to. You can have many units located in the same area at once though. When you move into an area occupied by an enemy a battle will break out. The war battles might take a little getting used to but they can be fun and moderately difficult to boot.

Story/Characters: 10

I'll try to avoid specifics and stay as vague as possible here to avoid spoiling anything. The game is based around war but it eventually gets more complicated as is common in Suikoden games. You now play using the trinity system. That means you will be playing as different main characters. That way you see the story unfold from different perspectives. There are three main characters but when you start the game you will notice empty spots where there are three additional character perspectives to play from. The Suikoden series is highly regarded for it's epic and intriguing stories. Suikoden III doesn't fail in this department. You will find yourself to be very interested in what is going to happen next most the time. The story is like a good book and you'll never want to put it down.

There are still 108 stars of destiny. It wouldn't hold true to the name Suikoden if there weren't. With that many characters you are bound to find several that you like. There is a wide variety of personalities and fighting styles. The game is full of small humor here and there. The character interactions are very pleasant. You probably won't burst out laughing but I doubt you make it through the game without cracking a grin here and there. Heck going around recruiting characters is fun all by itself. I'm sure the characters won't disappoint you.

Audio/Video: 8

The music is kind of bland. It's not bad by any means but none of the songs seem all that catchy. The music is adequate I suppose. I don't think it will annoy anyone but it may be a let down to several players.

The sound effects on the other hand are nice. Almost the entire time I am playing the sound effects are noticeable. Pretty much everything that makes sound in real life will make sound in this game. I don't know why but I just seem to notice the sound effects in Suikoden III more than I ever have before in other games.

The first thing almost everyone will notice about the game is the camera angles. Yes, they are annoying at first. The more you play the less you notice though. It grows on you, whether that is good or not remains to be said. In the very least you shouldn't be annoyed by the camera angles after a few hours of playing.

In my opinion the graphics are great. This is pretty much how I would imagine the old Suikoden games should look if they were 3 dimensional. It still has a cartoonish look but now it uses the power of the PS2 to enhance it. I think the graphics are simply put, beautiful, especially the background scenery. Of course we all know that the majority of people don't play RPGs for graphics.

Replayability: variable...

I'm not going to lie; I haven't beaten the game once yet. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I do know I will play this game multiple times in the future. With 108 characters you have a lot of replayability. Beyond that you have some side quests and since it uses the Trinity system you may want to go through the game in a different order next time. If you are the type of person who plays RPGs more than once then the replay value for this game is high.

rent or BUY THIS GAME?

Seriously, I wouldn't bother renting the game. Even if you have tons of free time it is going to take several days to beat it so that you can fully appreciate the experience. It cost the same price as standard PlayStation 2 games, 50 dollars. Suikoden III is an excellent game and it has renewed my love for the genre so it should please most gamers.

Just so I don't make this review completely biased I would like to say that not everyone shares my opinion. There have been a few people out there who have already expressed their disappointment in the game. There is no guarantee when it comes to something as subjective as video game opinions. However, many people have also already expressed their undying love for the game. The end choice is yours...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/02, Updated 10/26/02