Suikoden III

"Konami scores with the best game in the series!"

I consider myself to be a hardcore RPG fan, and like most RPGers, I have played the Final Fantasy series to death. However, in the midst of all the hoopla concerning Square's cash cow, other notable games can easily fall through the cracks. The Playstation has several examples of games which were ignored because they did not have the words ''Final'' and ''Fantasy'' in the title, but one of the most criminally-overlooked franchises was the Suikoden series by Konami, which had two installments on the PSX. Now that we are fully into the 128-bit generation of consoles, Konami has released another wonderful RPG in Suikoden III, the best game in the series. Hopefully, this one will get the respect and the high sales it deserves. RPG fans should be ashamed of themselves if they miss out here.

Graphics:
Okay, the graphics are definitely not up to par with Final Fantasy X, but that doesn't mean they're not great. Suikoden has traditionally been a 2D series, but Konami made the push into full 3D with this entry in the series. The result is not perfect, but it is nice to look at. The graphics are very detailed, and character designs are original and unique. The camera is not adjustable, however, which can present some problems when you're searching for things in certain environments. I must give praise to the opening anime cinema, though, which is tremendously cool and detailed. It would have been nice to have seen more scenes like this sprinkled throughout the game, but the lack of them doesn't damage the game too much.

Score: 8/10

Sound:
I have always loved Suikoden's soundtracks, and the third game also has some outstanding music. The music is not as heavily orchestrated as you might find in Final Fantasy or Xenosaga, but it is very listenable and cool. One notable exception here is the lack of voice acting for the characters. Some may see this as a minus, but I see it as a plus. Traditionally, American voice acting is horrendous and does much to disrespect the hard work the Japanese voice actors put into their jobs. While I would like the original Japanese voices to be left in games with subtitles for translations, that's just realistically not going to happen in the United States. So, I much prefer Suikoden III's option of not having any voices at all instead of having to listen to bad ones.

Score: 10/10

Gameplay:
Suikoden III is super addictive and very fun to play with many different modes and a great battle engine. The meat of the game, of course, is the traditional random encounter/boss fight battles with a party of characters you control. However, unlike previous Suikoden games, you do not have total control over your entire party. You can have up to six characters in your party at a time, and they are arranged into a front rank and a back rank in pairs. Instead of commanding all six, the characters attack in pairs, so you are entering three sets of orders instead of six individual ones. I wasn't sure how good of an idea this was before I started playing, but once I got used to the idea, I love it! The battles are very fast-paced, and the random encounter rate is set just right, so you don't have to fight every two or three steps. The major way to improve your characters, besides leveling up, is raising your skill levels. After a battle, your characters will receive a certain number of skill points. Later, you can go to a training center and use those points to raise the abilities of your various characters. What is really neat about that is you can your characters' aptitudes for the skills they are best in, and you can avoid wasting your time on skills that they will never fully master anyway. Characters are also pretty well-rounded, and you'll eventually have someone to take care of any situation. Using magic requires the use of runes, which you can attach to appropriate characters and have them learn various spells to be used in combat. There is also a cool one-on-one duel mode, and a combat mode which involves entire armies similar to the other Suikodens. With battles which never get old and original ideas, Suikoden has one of the best gameplay engines you'll ever find in an RPG.

Score: 10/10

Story:
RPGs are built on their stories, and Suikoden III does not disappoint. From the beginning, you have the choice of three main characters: Chris, Geddoe, and Hugo. You will play through the chapters in each of the three characters' stories until they finally meet later in the game. Each character, of course, has his or her own personal struggles to overcome, and Konami does a great job of delivering the story to you. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but believe me when I say the story is suitably epic and engrossing. You won't want to stop playing until you find out what happens to all the characters.

Score: 10/10

Replay value:
Can an RPG really have replay value? Well, in this case, I would say yes. Suikoden III is very fun to play, and you will probably want to play through it a few more times after you beat it once, especially if you don't get all 108 stars. This isn't one that you will just throw in your closet and allow to collect dust after you are finished.

Score: 9/10

Overall impressions:
Suikoden is a series which needs much more mainstream attention in the gaming world. Suikoden III does appear to be getting some proper recognition, and many gamers will likely be sorry they did not play the first two games in the series, which can be hard to find. Hopefully, RPG fans will show their appreciation to Konami with their wallets, and the company most famous for Metal Gear Solid will continue its excellent RPG franchise. I would definitely recommend a buy here. This game is superb enough that you will be hooked from the beginning and will be begging for more once you have completed it.

Overall score (not an average): 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/03, Updated 01/24/03