Suikoden III

"This is a great game, but after 70 hours of gameplay I was glad when it was over."

Unfortunately the Suikoden series has not reached the level of popularity that Final Fantasy or even Xenosaga has. But the people who play these games always appreciate them. Suikoden III doesn't contain top notch FMV's with award winning graphics, and isn't backed by an outrageously high production cost. It is simply a solid game composed of a good story, memorable, original, and realistic characters, an innovating and overall fun combat system, hundreds of optional side-quests, and about 70+ hours of enjoyable gameplay. Suikoden III is a great game. Is it perfect? No. Is it as good as Final Fantasy VII? Of course not. But honestly, what is? Suikoden III is as good an RPG as any released in the last 4 years. The Suikoden games have been more of “cult-classics” if anything and I implore you to play Suikoden III because it is a great game, and I feel that anyone who takes the time to play it will find their time well spent.

Story - 30/30
The story is what I believe to be the backbone of an RPG. Sure great gameplay is essential, but an RPG is an experience. It is like a book that you are playing through. Would you want to read a book with a poor story? The answer is no. So why should anyone want to play an RPG with a poor story? Fortunately the story in Suikoden III is not a bad one but a good one.

One of the things that makes the story so great are the many different angles you will see it from. You play as 3 different characters. Each of them have their own unique story, but they all interact with one another. In some parts of the story their paths will even intertwine. There is Chris, the beautiful, but swift Knight of Zexen who is looked upon by her own people as a hero and labeled as the White Maiden. There is Hugo, the young, but talented son of the Karaya Clan Chief Lucia. And Geddoe who is the captain of a small defense force of the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia. Not a lot is known about Geddeo, everything from his past to his age is cloaked in mystery.

The main story is good, but simple. The nation of Vinay del Zexay has been at war with the tribes of the Grasslands for years. The fighting has lasted a long time. Both sides have suffered abundant casualties and have grown tired of war. Recently the hopes of negotiating a peace treaty have surfaced. Chris Lightfellow and her entourage of knights have been sent to the Grasslands by their superiors to negotiate a peace treaty with the Grasslander's. During negotiation talks, one of the Grassland clans attacks a knight ensettlement. A battle pursues and The Knights of Zexen find themselves under an ambush by the Grasslander's and suffer a lot of casualties. In order to save themselves they retreat and raid a nearby Grassland village in hopes to draw some of the Grassland fighters away from the battle. Because of this. the talks of a treaty have been thrown out the window, and the land is once again thrown into a full-scale war. Unbeknownst to the people fighting is the fact that to the east, the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia has been patiently awaiting an appropriate time to start their siege on the Grasslands and Vinay del Zexay. Both nations have turned a blind eye towards the mighty Kingdom to the east because they are engaged in a heated battle with each other. What better time for Harmonia to begin their invasion than now?

One of the things I loved in Suikoden III was the characters. Once again there are 108 playable characters. Normally such a large cast means that character development will be virtually nonexistent, and naturally some characters will not play a vital role in the story. But in Suikoden III they incorporate about 65% of these characters into the main story. My favorites are Chris, Geddoe, Percival, Lucia, Lilly, Jacques, Fred, Hallec, Sasari, and just about every one of the antagonists. The character personality, designs, and development are certainly a sight to behold. Another wonderful thing about Suikoden III was the bad guys. Reluctantly I can't go into detail about them because some of them are returning characters and that would unveil a numerous number of spoilers for the reader. With all the work the makers of this game put into the characters and story I couldn't give it a score less than perfect.

Gameplay - 17/20
The gameplay in Suikoden III is near perfect. The reason it isn't is because of one major flaw that happens when you fight. Upon battling you get to use 6 characters in a fight. So one would normally think you would be able to give each character their own individual command, right? Well no. The 6 characters are divided into 3 groups. You give battle commands to each group, so there are only 3 commands given per round of combat. Confused? Well here's an example: You have in one group Geddoe and Queen. Instead of attacking with Queen and using Geddoe's magic you have to give them one command. So you choose attack and then Geddoe and Queen will both attack. Why you can't just give each character their own command is beyond me.

Other than that Suikoden III employs your normal RPG qualities. There are random encounters, armor, equipment, upgrading weapons, leveling, learning skills, magic and so on. There are actually 2 other new qualities that I like that are employed in Suikoden III. One is the option to use a 7th party member. This member doesn't fight in the actual battle, but they are at work behind the scenes. Whether it is refilling life after battle, healing status, earning you more money, finding rarer treasure, or just providing you with a portable equipment shop or what-not, they will help you one way or another. The other thing that I liked was that in each area of the game there is a slim chance you will encounter a rare battle with a special enemy. If you kill this opponent and live you will be heavily rewarded with mucho experience, skill points, and items. Beware though these rare enemies are not to be taken lightly. Overall I enjoyed the fighting in Suikoden III. It's nice to play a game where battles are fun and not a chore.

Funfactor – 15/15
I was surprised upon writing this review to find that I couldn't recall a point in this game that irritated me beyond belief. Normally there will be times when I throw little tantrums, whether its because of a ridiculously high random enemy encounter rate (Final Fantasy VI), enemies getting 3 turns per my 1 (Final Fantasy IX), fighting continuous battles while trying to conserve fuel (Xenogears), or cheaply being wiped out by spells that are capable of killing my whole party in 1 hit (Final fantasy X), none of these cheap and frustrating tactics were employed in Suikoden III, thus making my overall gaming experience a more enjoyable one. Plus competing in over 20 optional side quests ranging from recruiting 108 characters, to racing horses, playing card games, or putting on plays on stage (my personal favorite) make this experience even more joyful.

Graphics – 8/15
I was surprised to see that the graphics in Suikoden III are not very good. They aren't bad, but they certainly don't show off the capabilities of the PS2. The characters look very blocky and their facial expressions look they have been glued onto their faces. Someone said the characters looks reminded them of Final Fantasy VII's looks, and I couldn't agree with this statement more. Surprisingly the backgrounds look a lot better than the characters do. They are very detailed and provide great scenery during certain stages of the game. The graphics here are just plain old average.

Music - 3/15
Aha! The first bad category of this game! The music in Suikoden III is terribly uninteresting, uninspiring, and flat out boring. The tracks are actually known to put people to sleep. After about 30 hours I played the remainder of this game with my cd player blaring. The song during the opening of the game is gorgeous, but that is the only song worth remembering. Even the final bosses theme is boring.

Controls – 4/5
I don't especially care about controls in an RPG because they don't really matter, but the controls in Suikoden III are not perfect. I feel they are too loose and should have been tightened up more. Other than that they are fine.

Replayability/ Lastability (Bonus) - 2/5
If you didn't get all 108 characters you may want to play through this game again, because after finishing the game with all 108 characters recruited and alive you get to play the game through the antagonist's point of view. Plus you can choose a different Flame Champion than you originally did to shed some new light on Ch. 4 and beyond. Other than that there a few little things you may miss like recipes, scripts, books, etc. But those little things will no way entice me to sit through another 70 hours of gameplay again. I recruited all 108 characters my first time through and I don't feel any rush to ever play through this game once more.

Overall - 79/100
Suikoden III is a great game. In my opinion it is the 2nd best RPG on the PS2. The only one I liked more was Xenosaga. Suikoden III is not for everyone, but I feel like any fan of RPG's will thoroughly enjoy this cult-classic. Suikoden III is the best game no one is playing. I can't wait ‘till Suikoden 4 surfaces.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/04