8 / 10 .
A story of friendships seen by 6 different characters ( the 3 main characters , a dog , an ennemy's and an ally's ) and their Point Of Views . A story of war , origin , and trust .108 Characters to recruit in your army
GAMEPLAY : 9 / 10 .
An innovative fighting engine , the ability to build your character's strengh . Combo attacks and a Magnificient magic system .
DURABILITY : 9 / 10 .
Lots of mini games ( plays , 2 card games , trading ) , 108 characters with their background to discover thanks to one of them being a spy . Sideqests to get all the characters and armor sets .
GRAPHICS : 8 / 10 .
Anime like graphisms that will make you dive in a breath taking universe . However , characters lack polygons .
SOUNDS : 7 / 10 .
Pros-Wonderful BMGs and effescts .
Cons-No voice .
OVERALL : GO AND BUY IT !
026 4 STORY : 8 / 10 .
A story of friendships seen by 6 different characters ( the 3 main characters , a dog , an ennemy's and an ally's ) and their Point Of Views . A story of war , origin , and trust .108 Characters to recruit in your army
GAMEPLAY : 9 / 10 .
An innovative fighting engine , the ability to build your character's strengh . Combo attacks and a Magnificient magic system .
DURABILITY : 9 / 10 .
Lots of mini games ( plays , 2 card games , trading ) , 108 characters with their background to discover thanks to one of them being a spy . Sideqests to get all the characters and armor sets .
GRAPHICS : 8 / 10 .
Anime like graphisms that will make you dive in a breath taking universe . However , characters lack polygons .
SOUNDS : 7 / 10 .
Pros-Wonderful BMGs and effescts .
Cons-No voice .
OVERALL : GO AND BUY IT !
071 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
thank you god for having someone FINALLY make this game . I've been waiting for the 3rd installment for so long , that it's great enough just for that fact alone ! Now all we need is a Lufia 3 for PS2 ! !
072 4 thank you god for having someone FINALLY make this game . I've been waiting for the 3rd installment for so long , that it's great enough just for that fact alone ! Now all we need is a Lufia 3 for PS2 ! !
018 4 I'd just like to start this out by thanking the makers for the first ever RPG that made me think . I'm hours into the game and actually still consistently thinking . All of my life I've been sick of those boring , dull , just push a few buttons , everything's already done for you video games that they cleverly nicknamed RPG's . This makes any other RPG a disgrace . Never before have I used a brain cell in a video game , and I'm willing to guess 4 year olds have beaten many of the top named RPG's . You're probably thinking this guy is so full of it , but you know the truth . They are all so pathetically easy . Suikoden 3 offers a very sophisticated system with the Trinity Site System , which offers 3 main characters and 3 minor characters in the middle pedestals . It's amazingly done and involves a plot thicker than it's predessors . I will complain about the no alternating camera angles , the cheesy background music , and the lacking of noise during long dialogues . Everything has to have something wrong with it , otherwise all of us gamers would have no lives and constantly be playing that game ! ! ! I give you my best recommendations for Suikoden 3 , but some advice beforehand . If you didn't get Suikoden 2 , you best do it , because Suikoden 2 makes things so much better !
016 4 I was late to get this game and have only played it for about four hours now . I enjoyed Suikodens 1 and 2 so much that I bought this one without hesitation . The storyline is engaging once it gets going , and some of the music and characters are familiar if you've played the first two games . The menus are easy to access and logically laid out as is the battle system . The only thing I don't really care for is the clumsiness of the character control when you're in a village or town . You can't alter the point of view of the camera , which makes things awkward sometimes when you're trying to get in or out of certain places . I also have never cared for the 3 - d polygonal characters that all the games seem to use nowadays , but Suikoden 3 ' s characters have a little expression and personality and aren't too bad . Overall , I'm enjoying this game based on my past Suikoden experience .
057 4 The coming of suikoden 3 was , I believe a long and desired event yet I do not feel that it is exactly hitting alll of the standards bieng set by many of the favorites Rpg's . long ago the means for a role playing game was simply the deep and intense storyline , meaning either the bountiful events and cherished moments , to a more than plentiful array of bonuses and secrets . Yet now in this day and age of limitless freedom piled with sick graphics , rpg's have had to find a new method of adapting in order to keep in the pack . although collecting all 108 stars of destiny is in itself a whole other story , the lack of solid play is kind of an upset.the bosses may be limitless but once all of the 6 are beaten nothing seems to be left in the fighting department . A Lack of those so called breath taking momentents , left an empty spot in that gamers expectation of what a true rpg should contain , even the fabled ff7 almost topped this state of the art game . well on a lighter note this game has not lost any of the charm and truth that many practically all other rpgs fail to deliver .
021 4 Most of the next gen RPGs have great cuts scene and graphics , but no real story or game play substance . This is the first ps2 RPG that seems to have a great mixture of everything . No annoying 10 - minute cut secences . Lots of action , memerobal characters and much as 100 + game play . There are a few minor problems , and some areas seemed unfinished . Looking forward to Suikoden IV .
045 4 Definitely different than the typical Final Fantasy type RPG , I would say perhaps even better . The non-linear story is great because you can play the game several times , choosing your character's chapters in different sequences . There's no doubt that being able to choose from over 100 characters is beyond fun and adds so much variety . I still had trouble with the battle system , where you choose all of your charc's actions at once . There are virtually no bosses in this game , just optional bosses that you go out of your way to find in order to get money and treasures . The war-battles are surprisingly easy , often last minute reinforcements come in and help you out - so don't get too scared . Money is extremely difficult to come across in this game too , you often end up doing a lot of extra battling to save up for equipment . Also , the world map is very expansive - it can take a long bothersome time to get from one side to the other . There are plenty of side-quests for extra fun too . Another great game from an underrated series and company .
068 4 I am sorry . I just bought this game and have been playing it for a week and have come to the following conclusion that it is not all it appears to be . The first two games in the series were awsome but this game has none of the things that made those games great . The game is totally linear with almost no freedom to explore and the 3d graphics do nothing to enhance the game and any similarity to the first two of the series seems to be put in as an afterthought . They attempt to make this a more plot filled game but the plot is unispired . The trilogy system just means you have to go through the same boring plot over and over again with different characters . I looked forward to this game so much and am hugely disappointed . Don't wast your money on this game . Rent it first and you can make your own decision .
091 4 I have been looking forward to the next generation game in the series . The first 2 in the series were for the playstation , and were overlooked , but considered by many , to be one of the best rpg's for the system . Already the most popular rpg of the year in japan , Suikoden 3 has the potential to be one of the best rpg's in the ps2 history .
079 4 If you're a fan of the Suikoden series , you'll be bound to love this . New comers should be impressed by the original storyline and game play as well . Suikoden III let ` s the gamer play how he or she wishes with the trinity system . At the very start of the game you are able to pick between three very different characters , who will look at the same events happening around them from their point of view . It's really interesting to see these different angles , and adds a great deal to the storyline . Because the Trinity system is broken down into chapters , you aren't forced to stick to the one character that you choose in the beginning , you can play all three if you wish . Since I've been alternating characters every chapter I'm not sure if you can just play one character the whole way through , but you probably could . I find the chapter system very helpful , like reading a good book . It pushes me to want to finish that section of the game , and it prevents the overwhelming feeling of too many quests at the same time , dishing out just the right about of game at a time . Also , they provide a chapter summery at the end of each section so if you go on to another character and forget what happened to the one you were playing before it will tell you what was taking place , and what they were about to do before the end of the chapter . Moving on to other aspects of the game , the music calls back to the previous Suikoden titles style , making fans feel right at home with the game . The opening title music and cut scenes are absolutely haunting and really give you a feeling for the seriousness and heartbreak of the game . In so far , I haven't seen any in-game cut scenes , ( I'm about 13 hours into the game ) but from the quality I saw from just the opening title I certainly hope some are included . As for the graphics , some might say they would prefer more realism for such a serious game , but the large faces on the characters really allows for a lot of facial expression lacking from other games . The only same qualms I have with the game is the inability to turn the camera around and extensive silence when characters are talking for an extended period of time . Otherwise , this is a splendid game that will provide a lot of enjoyment to many RPG fans .
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This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Pros : Good story , memorable characters , decent music , good battle system , multiple protagonists , very satisfying
Cons : Graphics aren't spectacular , slow start , random battle systems are outmoded , connector-maps are tedious
Other thoughts : Sure , the graphics aren't great , random battles are irritating , and having to go through the same pointless maps over and over again to travel the map sucks . But this game will thoroughly please any Suikoden fan . The protagonists are really very likable characters , and even the antagonists can be sympathized with - there is more to ( most of ) them than LOOK AT ME I'M EVIL ! You will again be recruiting hoards of characters for your own castle and army , and may need to use a walkthrough to get them all ( there is a very satisfying special ending if you do . ) The game starts slowly but stick with it - it quickly picks up and becomes one of the most memorable PS2 experiences .
033 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Pros : Good story , memorable characters , decent music , good battle system , multiple protagonists , very satisfying
Cons : Graphics aren't spectacular , slow start , random battle systems are outmoded , connector-maps are tedious
Other thoughts : Sure , the graphics aren't great , random battles are irritating , and having to go through the same pointless maps over and over again to travel the map sucks . But this game will thoroughly please any Suikoden fan . The protagonists are really very likable characters , and even the antagonists can be sympathized with - there is more to ( most of ) them than LOOK AT ME I'M EVIL ! You will again be recruiting hoards of characters for your own castle and army , and may need to use a walkthrough to get them all ( there is a very satisfying special ending if you do . ) The game starts slowly but stick with it - it quickly picks up and becomes one of the most memorable PS2 experiences .
034 4 Pros : Good story , memorable characters , decent music , good battle system , multiple protagonists , very satisfying
Cons : Graphics aren't spectacular , slow start , random battle systems are outmoded , connector-maps are tedious
Other thoughts : Sure , the graphics aren't great , random battles are irritating , and having to go through the same pointless maps over and over again to travel the map sucks . But this game will thoroughly please any Suikoden fan . The protagonists are really very likable characters , and even the antagonists can be sympathized with - there is more to ( most of ) them than LOOK AT ME I'M EVIL ! You will again be recruiting hoards of characters for your own castle and army , and may need to use a walkthrough to get them all ( there is a very satisfying special ending if you do . ) The game starts slowly but stick with it - it quickly picks up and becomes one of the most memorable PS2 experiences .
066 4 Suikoden 3 takes place maybe 10 - 15 years after the events of Suikoden 2 ( which , probably , most people don't know about ) . This game is quite a bit removed from its predecessors , and knowledge of past storylines is not essential ( and in fact , is quite useless ) to the plot of this tale . Here , we are treated to a multi-person storyline , as the player follows the exploits of Hugo , a war chieftain in the grasslands ( the son of Lucia from Suikoden 2 ) , Chris , a knight in the service of Zexen , and Geddoe , a mercenary of the holy kingdom of Harmonia . The peace of half a century is about to be broken by an old friend ( who shall remain nameless ; the surprise is half the fun ) and these three countries are about to wage war on one another . Only the Flame Champion , a nearly mythical hero of fifty years past , can stop this carnage .
The problem with Suikoden 3 is twofold . The graphics are terrible . Konami has decided to bring Suikoden in the world of 3D , with disastrous results . Every country , every person looks washed out , and the stars of destiny ( which , by the way , are taken from an excellent Chinese novel , Outlaws of the Marsh ) look pretty much like commoners . Also , the tripartite storyline fails to impress , as we never get a feel for ANY of the characters , except ( surprisingly ) the villain , which is playable if the good ending is found . I enjoyed the game somewhat , but always found myself asking , OK , so when will this take off ? Unfortunately , the game never does . Here's to hoping that Suikoden 4 gets it right ( it's been announced in Japan ! ) .
067 4 Unless you are the type of person who listens to elevator music for pleasure , this game will put you to sleep . Other than the soothing lullaby soundtrack and occasional sound of footsteps , the game is virtually * silent . *
As for graphics , the characters look good ( except for the fact they look like they are wearing snow boots ) , but the environments are pretty lackluster . Considering the fact the world in this game is not very big , you will be seeing the same scenery over and over and over again , as you play the same story line from each of the four characters ' point of view .
At times , I spent hours just going from place to place talking to every single NPC I'd already talked to several times before , just to try to find the story . After a while , the game became a Quest for Cutscenes for me .
If you can stay awake long enough to get far enough into the story ( around chapter 3 from at least 3 different perspectives ) , you will find that the game has just enough charm about it to keep you coming back .
My advice , if you want to play this game , trade in all your other games so this is the only one you have access to , because if you have Xenosaga sitting there on the shelf too , you will never come back to Suikoden 3 .
088 4 to sum this up quickly , this is one of the most bland , boring , slow , and inspirationless RPGs i have ever played in my life . the battles reach a new level of monotony and the EXTREMELY stiff animations , bland backgrounds , and a total lack of texture variety contribute to this . the hugely frequent random battles are a huge turn-off , as you'd think RPG designers all realized that random battles are not fun . the story is absolutely ridiculous and in the five or six chapters for all the characters that i trudged through , nothing happened that was at all interesting . nothing . of the three main characters , only Hugo is worth playing , since he's the only one that EVER shows emotion or does ANYTHING worth watching . Chris and that mercenary guy whose name i forget are complete jokes . they're the most pointless character designs i've ever seen . their stories are absolutely NO fun . don't even get me started on the secret chapters that you can unlock . Tom's , for example , is a quest across the same three towns where you recruit people . you don't know who you can recruit , so you have to talk to everyone in every town , and sometimes buy an item for them to convince them to join you . Fun . as for the music and sound , they're just as sub-par . sound effects are SPARSE , and the music is as uninspired as it gets . i actually kept this game thinking it would get better considering the raving reviews ( and the awesome intro ) , but it's absolutely pathetic . a massive tarnish on the suikoden series .
082 4 i am a big fan of the suikoden series so naturally i bought the third one and i never thought i would ever write a bad review . . . and i really really hate to say this but i am dissappointed . They took out the old game engine that everyone loved to make it 3 - d . they had their heart in the right place but you have no control over the camera making it a little hard to navigate . the battle system has also changed and is a little awkward but i know true fans will get over this as i have . while the trinity system is neat it is just almost as if it isn't suikoden anymore . . . but the on the up side the artwork is still as great as it ever was and the cut scenes are way better than the previous games . . . if you are a true fan dont miss this game but if you are new to suikoden try the first two before judging the whole series on this one .
029 4 If you're looking for a game that has knights on horseback fighting huge red dragons then look no more . Suikoden 3 is an amazing game that has just that . The fact that you can have other players point of views adds to the playability . It never gets dull because the story is excellent and trust me , you'll be staying up late with this one . This gem is right up there with such games as Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy 7 .
031 4 Suikoden 3 is a great game . But , Konami only released a few copies and it is almost impossible to find . If you do happen to find it for sale , buy it now ! I'm still trying to find a place to buy the game .
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
I was an avid fan of the Suikoden series going into this game ( namely one and two ) , so i was teeming with anticipation with the series debut on the PS2 . This game is far from a disappointment , it has beautiful scenery , great character designs , a varied character lineup , and a very intriguing story that makes good use of characters from previous games . I was spellbound when I first started diving into the game and couldn't wait to play it again when i stopped to eat . However , this excitement took a back seat ride when I discovered a severe flaw in the game's makeup .
This absolutely stunning piece of video game art is the victim of a very poor attempt at innovation . Anyone familiar with either of the previous two Suikoden games knows that the battle system functions on a six character formation ( front and back row , 3 character each ) . This allows you full control of all six charcters , and the dynamics of character functionality changes depending upon where they are . If two characters that are friends , have a past experience with each other , or simply have similar fighting styles are placed near each other they can perform combo moves that can either be hokey or completely devastating . Combo maneauvers are not limited to just 2 characters either . This setup gave the player a great deal of option for attack and placed a great emphasis on stategic formations of characters .
The problem with Suikoden 3 is that they kept the 6 character formation , but eliminated the ability to control all six characters independantly of each other . The battle system in this game operates on controlling rows as opposed to characters . if you choose to have your row attack then they will both attack . if you choose for someone to cast a spell then that one person will cast a spell and the other character will attack a random enemy . This does not sound like a lot , but when you add in the difficulty of some of the battles in this game you will be fuming . This poorly designed setup makes it difficult to even kill some groups of random enemies , which will make powering up an experience you will altogether not want to do . This has forced some people I know to stop playing the game because it's incredibly frustrating . If two rune users are in the same row then only one can cast a spell at a time , this gives you 3 commands to issue among six characters , which automatically makes your battle efficiency 50% right from the get go . It doesn't make that much difference in the first few steps of the story , but when you get to spots where carefully maneuvering your group in battle becomes crucial , you'll find yourself playing the same battle over and over and over again trying to figure out how what went wrong .
Those that have braved one of the most frustrating RPG gameplay screwups ( the most frustrating easily being Xenosaga 2 ) , have found an amazing game with a luscious story to entertain even the veterans of such games . This is a good purchase , but beware , it requires a great deal of patience . I suggest playing this game with your room locked so people don't barge in to see why you're swearing at the television .
009 4 This game was very good , It was very interesting . If you like RPG's you should play this one . I liked the graphics . It was enjoyable , but I became desperate to know how the story ended and 82 hours for me are like forever , it took me like seven months real time . So that's why I had it with RPG's . But the game is very good . The story is extremely good and keeps you interested throughout the game . I like the fact you play the game from three diferent point of views , one per main character . I was anxious to know the truth about the Flame Champion . Anyone can like this game because of gameplay , story , graphics , cutscenes , but this game is perfect if you like long games , and have time to spare . The only thing I would have liked different is that the characters actually talked , instead of making sounds and their dialogues being written .
019 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
I was an avid fan of the Suikoden series going into this game ( namely one and two ) , so i was teeming with anticipation with the series debut on the PS2 . This game is far from a disappointment , it has beautiful scenery , great character designs , a varied character lineup , and a very intriguing story that makes good use of characters from previous games . I was spellbound when I first started diving into the game and couldn't wait to play it again when i stopped to eat . However , this excitement took a back seat ride when I discovered a severe flaw in the game's makeup .
This absolutely stunning piece of video game art is the victim of a very poor attempt at innovation . Anyone familiar with either of the previous two Suikoden games knows that the battle system functions on a six character formation ( front and back row , 3 character each ) . This allows you full control of all six charcters , and the dynamics of character functionality changes depending upon where they are . If two characters that are friends , have a past experience with each other , or simply have similar fighting styles are placed near each other they can perform combo moves that can either be hokey or completely devastating . Combo maneauvers are not limited to just 2 characters either . This setup gave the player a great deal of option for attack and placed a great emphasis on stategic formations of characters .
The problem with Suikoden 3 is that they kept the 6 character formation , but eliminated the ability to control all six characters independantly of each other . The battle system in this game operates on controlling rows as opposed to characters . if you choose to have your row attack then they will both attack . if you choose for someone to cast a spell then that one person will cast a spell and the other character will attack a random enemy . This does not sound like a lot , but when you add in the difficulty of some of the battles in this game you will be fuming . This poorly designed setup makes it difficult to even kill some groups of random enemies , which will make powering up an experience you will altogether not want to do . This has forced some people I know to stop playing the game because it's incredibly frustrating . If two rune users are in the same row then only one can cast a spell at a time , this gives you 3 commands to issue among six characters , which automatically makes your battle efficiency 50% right from the get go . It doesn't make that much difference in the first few steps of the story , but when you get to spots where carefully maneuvering your group in battle becomes crucial , you'll find yourself playing the same battle over and over and over again trying to figure out how what went wrong .
Those that have braved one of the most frustrating RPG gameplay screwups ( the most frustrating easily being Xenosaga 2 ) , have found an amazing game with a luscious story to entertain even the veterans of such games . This is a good purchase , but beware , it requires a great deal of patience . I suggest playing this game with your room locked so people don't barge in to see why you're swearing at the television .
022 4 let me just say that this is quite possibly the best RPG out there . yes better that all the final fantasys and pretty much every ohter game out there . the only game i would consider to be on this level would be chrono trigger but still .
now on to the reason for the awsomeness , point 1 the plot is quite possibly the most complex and enjoyable out there . I honestly think that it could be made into a movie .
Point 2 the trinity sight system . this just adds to the amazing plott letting you view the plot from all three of the main charaters and how this changes what in fact is going on .
Point 3 its darn pretty the backrounds and the charcters are just amazing .
Point 4 you can have more than 108 playable characters . yes more than . All of them with there own special powers and personalities and jobs . such as a spy a blacksmith a rancher a chef a journalist and a gambler . . .
024 4 this is undoubtedly the best RPG I have ever played , in terms of storyline and how much time lapses before I absolutely have to turn it on again . I've played a lot of RPGs , and though Square-enix's Final Fantasy series produce the best graphics , they have much to live up for and in the process , can disappoint . Suikoden was a pleasant surprise , maybe because I've never played the prequels . Nothing was overdone , everything was perfect for this game . If you have some time on your hands , and like being challenged , get this game for the summer .
028 4 I do not know where all these people get off on their bad reviews for this game . Suikoden III is a master piece of a game .
I am a huge fan of the other suikodens and was kinda disapointed by the 3d eviroment . I thought they was going to go all for looks and gameplay and start lacking in what I loved about the other 2 games . The story . I am very happy to say that I was wrong . The trinity site system is a most original way to bring about a differnt perspective . You see someone do something so wrong that you hate them for it and then see it from their angle and find yourself doing the same thing if you was in their shoes . I don't understand where people say this game isn't as good as the others . It's just different . I would wager that those same people would love the game if it would have kept the same format , but lets face it , the other suikodens did not recieve the reconition that they truly deserved . I think that everyone who played them loved them , but a lot of people didn't play it because of the snes looking graphics . It was time for change and just because it didn't change the way you wanted doesn't mean to say it's a bad game .
I do have a few quirks about the game that didn't let me give it 5 stars . The lack of camra control is the biggest . I find myself hitting the L R buttons to try to change it , but it doesn't happen . The camra has never really puts anything in the way , but there are times when I would like to see where I'm going . The other thing is lack of noise during the dialoges and it would be nice for some voice acting .
I just want to say ; don't judge this game by how it is different than the others . Go at it with an open mind and allow yourself to be pleasently surprised .
035 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Although Suikoden 3 is still a fairly good RPG , it pales in comparison to Suikoden 2 . In place of updated graphics also comes increased time for screen loads . The story is not nearly as strong as Suikoden 2 , and the music is overall unimpressive and uninspiring .
Additionally , I found the switching between 3 characters to be somewhat tedious , because it continuously interrupted story lines and broke the continuity that you were able to develop with the storyline and characters of the first two Suikoden games .
036 4 Although Suikoden 3 is still a fairly good RPG , it pales in comparison to Suikoden 2 . In place of updated graphics also comes increased time for screen loads . The story is not nearly as strong as Suikoden 2 , and the music is overall unimpressive and uninspiring .
Additionally , I found the switching between 3 characters to be somewhat tedious , because it continuously interrupted story lines and broke the continuity that you were able to develop with the storyline and characters of the first two Suikoden games .
037 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Suikoden 3 was the first in the series to debut on the ps2 . This game came with high expectations after the stellar second game in the series . For the most part it lived up to these in my opinion even though it took some risks with the format .
This game uses what is called the Trinity system in which you have essentially 3 main characters . In my opinion this was a great concept because you see similar events through the eyes of each main character . Later in the game as all characters come together it basically starts playing like the earlier versions .
The battle system is slightly different in this version as well . Instead of choosing actions for each of the six characters , 2 characters act as a team . So you only input 3 choices . For the most part this works , although boss fights can be challenging , because only 1 member in the team can use a rune . Instead of blasting a hard boss with 6 runes a turn , you are only allowed 3 .
The graphics and music are acceptable , but not outstanding . I will say however that the opening CG has very beautiful music . It still rates as one of the best intros to a game in my opinion .
The main draw to this game is the story and the fun of trying to find the 108 characters in the game . The castle building is still fun and the minigames at the castle are also enjoyable . If you find all 108 you are awarded a very nice bonus at the end of the game .
While I think Suikoden 2 and 5 are superior to this one overall , this is still and excellent game . Get this game now while you can still find it for an affordable price . Both 1 and 2 in series sell for an insane amount of money .
Hope you enjoy the game
038 4 Suikoden 3 was the first in the series to debut on the ps2 . This game came with high expectations after the stellar second game in the series . For the most part it lived up to these in my opinion even though it took some risks with the format .
This game uses what is called the Trinity system in which you have essentially 3 main characters . In my opinion this was a great concept because you see similar events through the eyes of each main character . Later in the game as all characters come together it basically starts playing like the earlier versions .
The battle system is slightly different in this version as well . Instead of choosing actions for each of the six characters , 2 characters act as a team . So you only input 3 choices . For the most part this works , although boss fights can be challenging , because only 1 member in the team can use a rune . Instead of blasting a hard boss with 6 runes a turn , you are only allowed 3 .
The graphics and music are acceptable , but not outstanding . I will say however that the opening CG has very beautiful music . It still rates as one of the best intros to a game in my opinion .
The main draw to this game is the story and the fun of trying to find the 108 characters in the game . The castle building is still fun and the minigames at the castle are also enjoyable . If you find all 108 you are awarded a very nice bonus at the end of the game .
While I think Suikoden 2 and 5 are superior to this one overall , this is still and excellent game . Get this game now while you can still find it for an affordable price . Both 1 and 2 in series sell for an insane amount of money .
Hope you enjoy the game
042 4 Suikoden 3 is one of the best games I have ever played . With a great story and lots of great characters it is really addicting . It's fairly long with a view point from 3 main characters ; one being a mercenary , a knight , and a boy from a village . The battle system is one of the best I have ever seen with up to 6 characters in a battle ; you can do strong combo attacks depending on who is in you party . The magic in this game is great it is so in-depth with the magic you can create your characters how you want them using the different elemental runes . With 100 + characters this game can keep you going for a long time . The game has 3 different battle types ; normal - You have six people and you face the enemy , Duels - 1 on 1 fight with who ever challenges you , and my favorite Strategy battles - You and your enemy have a certain number of units and you move them across the field . . . . however in these battle you can't control the actions of your people . Well I rate this game a 4 out of 5 but honestly I think anyone of any age could get into
this game it is one of the best I have ever played . The 3 main viewpoints are fun to play and you can also unlock 3 others . One being a little boy named Thomas who becomes the owner of a castle which becomes your main base later in the game . If you unlock all 108 characters before the end of the game you can unlock the viewpoint of the main enemy Luc and his followers . The last viewpoint is of a dog . You can't do much but it's still fun nevertheless . Well that's all I have to say about this great game , anyone who can should really try to play this game .
044 4 Suikoden III is a very good RPG series and i would highly reccomend it to a RPG fan . It has a great story and there are tons of side quests . You can have up to a choice of 108 people to be in your party of 6 if you search around enough . You take control of four different people these four people all have different timelines which end up connecting with each other towards the end . A very cool way of going about the story . A good 30 - 50 + hours depending on amount of side quests done and the time you spend leveling up .
Only problems with the game is that the battle system can become slightly tiresome but is nothing that should warrant you not getting the game .
047 4 This is a Suikoden game ? Could have fooled me . I'm sorry , but I got used to all the little dohickeys and 2d graphics that I forgot this was a Suikoden game ! The beginning sequence is definetly something to awe at . And it's ANIME ! Too many changes , huh ? Well , of course the Trinity Sight , allowing you to play as Chris , Hugo , or Geddoe , ( actually , two others also , but I can't tell you , I'd spoil your fun ) and you decide who will be the heir to the Flame Champion . The story is 15 years after Suikoden II , but you still see characters like Jeane , Lucia , Sasarai , and of course APPLE : ( She bothers me ! Anyway , pick up this game and buy it or rent it if you don't believe me . Almost totally new battle system , stunning graphics , music is so-so , but the best part of this game had to be the diversity of the characters . A duck and lizard clan adds a whole new era to the book of Suikoden . Now you might be wondering . . . how did they come about . Just buy the game . You may not think it's great , but theres no way you could possibly hate it . No way .
050 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
For all of those Suikoden fans out there that are wondering how the series would fare in it's first installation for PS2 . . . rest assured !
There are vast differences between Suikoden's 1 and 2 compared to 3 . . . Much revamped graphics , comparable soundtrack , tweaked battle system , and the very innovative Trinity Sight system !
You can look forward to many hours of pure enjoyment and I'm sure you shouldn't be disappointed in the least !
I'd say it's a 95 / 100 ^ ^
051 4 For all of those Suikoden fans out there that are wondering how the series would fare in it's first installation for PS2 . . . rest assured !
There are vast differences between Suikoden's 1 and 2 compared to 3 . . . Much revamped graphics , comparable soundtrack , tweaked battle system , and the very innovative Trinity Sight system !
You can look forward to many hours of pure enjoyment and I'm sure you shouldn't be disappointed in the least !
I'd say it's a 95 / 100 ^ ^
055 4 Reviewed for Big Boss Games by : Eschneider6
This is the third part in a long running series from Konami , there's Suikoden and Suikoden II both worth checking out .
Enter the land of Grassland in Suikoden III , where war and conflict have been between the six clans of Grassland , Zexen Federation , and Holy Kingdom of Harmonia . What's different in Suikoden III is that you play the story through the eye's of 3 characters . Geddoe , Captain of the small defense force of Harmonia , Hugo , a son of Grasslands Chief Lucia , and Chris who is Captain of the Knights of Zexen . You choose whom to start the game out as , and see the story unfold by 3 points of view .
There are many secrets to this game , so I won't spoil them for you . This game took me 89 hours to beat , and that's including opening all the secrets ! It's a deep game with traditional RPG battles , but also includes strategic battles later in the game as well . Also , the gathering of the 108 stars of Destiny . Each person has a skill to help you during the game . This game has a great story , great characters and some good cinemas as well . Two things make the score 8.5 , the fetch quests and the lack of places to visit . I recommend you buy this game , so stop reading this review so you can go play this great RPG !
My review score for Suikoden III = 8.5
Score 1 = Throw out
Score 10 = Must Buy
056 4 Suikoden was my favorite game of all time , Suikoden 2 was also a masterpiece , and lived up to the original . Suikoden 2 however , took me a bit to realize how great it was . After playing this game , I soon realized that Suikoden 2 lives up to number one extremely well , and this game doesn't .
3d graphics seem weird at first , I really liked the 2d sprites better , they rocked . The 3d looks fine though , I mean it feels alright after a while , and I do enjoy the character detail . I thought there would be the same models for 108 charactes ; however , every character looks different , and actually has their weapon sheathed on them when they walk around . When they attack , they take it out . I love how they made the models seem fluid , and look like their 2d portraits .
The runes are alright . Ruins can now hit your party . If you aim the fire ruin wrong , it can destroy everyone , I dislike this idea greatly , mostly because sometimes my party walks into the rune by themselves . The new runes are fine also . True fire rune , true water rune and so on .
Battles are alright . Much like the first 2 games , except characters can move around , which only really effects runes , and now you can like double team some guys , which looks cool . There are still uniting attacks , where character combinations do killer moves , which is always fun and nice to use .
Main character ? No , not this time . There is the flame champion , in which you customize his name , and he doesn't play that big of a role . There is that dude , the castle guy , I played his mission once and was bored . Then there are Hugo , Geddoe , and Chris . These 3 are the main characters . Their chapters all occur at the same time , yet you can see different perspectives and such . I loved hugo's missions . Geddoes's were longer , but fun , and Chris had some boring characters backing her , but fun missions none the less . Basically there is a war or something ? Big war , and the flame champion is alive , and what is going on . It really doesn't matter .
The world map , now , if you want to get across , you need to go through the plains and towns . I haven't gotten the blinking mirror yet , but im not even sure there is one . I really despise walking across the plains every time I need to go to a town , but I get use to it .
My opinion of the game ? Not as good as 1 or 2 , which had great fights , nice battles , terrific storys , extremely well done sprites , creative characters , dramatic stuff , and the occasional laugh or two . This game can't live up to the previous ones , but it is a fun game to just fight and slash monsters apart .
058 4 Man , all this bashing on the graphics , jeezz , cant everyone just follow the story and enjoy the game ? anywho , the skill system is great , trinity sight system is by far the best advancement ( i mean how often do you see the story from every side including the bad side ? ) The game is evolving . . . its been proven you cant sell 2d rpgs as much as you can 3d . thats business , all i am concerned is the story and character development . . and by far this definatly is considered a perfect sequel to suikoden 1 and 2 . . . . . . . thats my two cents . . . . .
069 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
this is a great game if you like the suikoden and it have all new game plays and there are charaters from part one and part two
070 4 this is a great game if you like the suikoden and it have all new game plays and there are charaters from part one and part two
073 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
The story is interesting enough I suppose but do I ever hate the battle system and the forced camera angles as you move around . The battle system and the camera angles ruined the whole game for me , I couldn't play it . . . and having a donald duckesque character as my body guard really doesn't help me take this game any more seriously . I am a huge fan of Suikoden 1 and 2 and this game ended up disappointing me to the point of wanting to stay far far away from any new Suikoden releases .
074 4 The story is interesting enough I suppose but do I ever hate the battle system and the forced camera angles as you move around . The battle system and the camera angles ruined the whole game for me , I couldn't play it . . . and having a donald duckesque character as my body guard really doesn't help me take this game any more seriously . I am a huge fan of Suikoden 1 and 2 and this game ended up disappointing me to the point of wanting to stay far far away from any new Suikoden releases .
075 4 I could not handle this game . I love role playing games , as opposed to shoot-em-up games , but this was way too boring . I had no idea what I was supposed to do , and hated the battle style , you just sit and wait ! AH ! I could not get past the beginning part to even get to the more exciting stuff . I could not sit through it , the pace drove me crazy . It may be cheesier , but I prefer Gauntlet over this game any day !
077 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Ok heres the story . . . your a boy from a native american / aztec ish tribe . . . your also a leader of a division in the harmonian army . . . . also a knight in the zexen army . . . . my memorys a little fuzzy . . . . u play as these three for three chapters . . . then u choose who u want to play as for the next two chapters . . . these peoples destinys are interwinded . . . . the thing i love about this game is that its storyline revolves around war / goverment / politics I LOVE THAT . . . which is why i really enjoyed this game . . . the abd thing is theres no voice overs and the bad thing about no voice overs is . . i cant pronounce geddoes name . . . how do u pronounce geddoe ?
078 4 Ok heres the story . . . your a boy from a native american / aztec ish tribe . . . your also a leader of a division in the harmonian army . . . . also a knight in the zexen army . . . . my memorys a little fuzzy . . . . u play as these three for three chapters . . . then u choose who u want to play as for the next two chapters . . . these peoples destinys are interwinded . . . . the thing i love about this game is that its storyline revolves around war / goverment / politics I LOVE THAT . . . which is why i really enjoyed this game . . . the abd thing is theres no voice overs and the bad thing about no voice overs is . . i cant pronounce geddoes name . . . how do u pronounce geddoe ?
080 4 Having played RPGs for a number of years with pencil and paper , I found this game to be very weak . I expect an RPG to have a plot and a story to tell , this is what Role Playing Games are all about . Suidoken III's start is slow and reminiscent of Nintendo's style of RPG's which involve a lot of wandering around , hacking and slashing , with little plot to back up all of this wandering . The lack of voice overs for cut scenes also made the game a real eye sore after an hour of play .
If you want a game with a real plot , buy Xenosaga . If you just want to beat things up , then this game is for you .
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Since I was 8 years old I've been a fan of console RPGs like Final Fantasy . Now I loved a number of the Playstation 1 & 2 RPGs , but after getting a recomendation to play the Suikoden series , and playing this game , well , there are only a few that stand up to this game now .
If you're looking for a game like Final Fantasy or Xenogears / Saga , then this is not that game . If you want the high end graphics and music that accompany these games , then you'll be dissapointed . But if you're looking for something that has the depth and character development of the Super Nintendo-age Final Fantasy's then this game will come as a breath of fresh air .
I never realized how bad the RPG genre had gotten on the console until I played this game , but that's not this game's fault . Simply by comparing this game to all the others available ( FF7 through FFX - 2 , Xenogears / Saga , previous Suikodens , etc ) I was at once blown away by the greatness that was this game , and depressed by the mediocrity of it's competitors . And don't worry I'll tell you why I think this way .
This game has something that in my opinion all others from this series should adopt ; the Trinity Sight System . One story is told from 3 points of view .
A war is being fought between two countries , the Kingdom of Zexen , and the Glassland barbarian clans , but the war is being perpetuated by a third kingdom , the supposedly ' holy ' Harmonia .
You can choose one major character to act as a figurehead for the furthering of the story . You can choose from the points of view of the Captian of the Zexon Knights , the captian of a Mercenary group employed by ' holy ' Harmonia , and the son of a clan chief of the Grasslands .
The Zexon POV : Chris Lightfellow was just named captian of the Zexon knights , after a battle saw the demise of the previous captian and vice-captian . She is given a parade to celebrate her heroism . But she's not having any of it . She doesn't feel like a hero and doesn't want the burdon placed on her . She is already something of a living legend being one of the elite 6 mighty Zexon Knights , and her fame continues to grow with every task she fulfils . She is a person bound to doing what she believes is right , and what is best for her kingdom . Until she finds out that the council is being bought by Harmonians .
Grassland POV : Hugo is the teen-aged son of Chief Lucia of the Karaya clan . Hugo is a bright-eyed , serious , and strong-willed boy who is sent by his mother to deliver a message to the Zexon Council in regards to a peace treaty . He is accompanied by a member of the Duck clan , Sargeant Jordi , and a childhood friend Lulu . They find that the council doesn't intend to read the message , and only want to detain the son of the clan chief as a hostage . Hugo and his friends escape to find his village in the midst of being razed and his best friend , Lulu is slain by the newly appointed Zexon captian .
Mecenary POV : Geddo is a mysterious man who has friends in high places , and no one knows why . Geddo and his mercenary group play witness to the assassination of the Lizard clan chief , and the razing of the Karayan clan . But Geddo also has ties to one of the mighty 6 Zexon knights , and while he can't deny what he's seen , he also knows that the Zexon Knights are not the type to ruin peace treaty negotiations nor assassinate a clan chief .
As time goes on this game gets so in depth with its cast of characters , that going about the task of recruiting many of the 108 characters that is among the hallmarks of this series , is a matter of simply learning more about the Fire Bringer , the Flame Champion and why the attacks on the grasslands were blamed on the innocent Zexon Knights .
To aid in this effort a new , lesser POV is opened up to the player which deals with the newly appointed master of a run-down castle on the border of Zexon and Grassland . It is his job to bring its habitants out of poverty and to revitilize the castle to its past splendor . Thomas comes up with the idea of leasing castle land for free trade between all lands , as he goes about his task of recruiting many ( if not most ) of the 108 stars , he is faced with the tasks of finalizing the paperwork on his ownership , fixing many of the dilapidated facilities on the castle grounds , and decorating the castle itself to act as a museum of culture featuring rare artifacts , paintings and sculptures as well as stocking an extensive library .
I very much enjoyed his two chapters because Thomas was no warior . Starting out at level 20 with the knights and mercenaries kind of shields you from the leveling aspect so that you can focus on the more important aspect that is the story . But when you start at level 1 and find creatures that the others found to be little more than nuisences a real threat it puts an emphasis on the dangers of travel around the world that most RPG's tend to overlook .
If you can successfully recruit all 108 stars then when you beat the game a 5 major POV opens up to you . This final point of view is from that of the antagonist of the story . There is very little in the way of gameplay ( the game's already been beaten anyways ) but it directly addresses all the questions that were raised during the playing of the 3 chapters from the 3 major characters earlier in the game .
This was a reward that as far as I'm concerned is unparalelled in video games . It truly makes the somewhat overwhelming task of finding and recruiting 108 characters well worth your time , as all discrepencies in the story , and questions raised are answered in a concrete way that won't disapoint . It has none of the end of the world 500 years later aspects that you see in other so-called great console RPGs coughFF7cough > .
Among the nicest things about this story is that the children , and there are a number of them , aren't the sort that are out to show their parents are ignorant fools , but rather they take on quests such as finding out what happened to one boys ( Melville's ) father . The characters in this game are adults , and they act like adults . Though the members of the duck clan are a bit hard to take seriously , you'll find no remote controled stuffed dolls thrown in as little more than an afterthought to satisfy the younger players .
All in all , I went in with little in the way of expectations , and left with such a high opinion of the game that I can only hope that Suikoden 5 goes back to the Trinity Sight System , as it was truly the great innovation and feature of this game .
001 4 I own the japanese version of this game , and it is quite impressive . Fans may or may not be disappointed by the 3D graphics from the 2D sprites . I will admit , though I love this game and the series to death , the graphics themselves don't compare to some of the earlier RPGS ( Final Fantasy X comes to mind ) . However , facial expressions are done extremely well and accurately . The music is very nicely and correctly put together and it's not overly annoying ( though I will say you might get irritated with the battle music after hearing 100 + times in the first 2 hours or so ) . The anime intro really gives the game a unique feel that can separate it from most other RPGs on the console . The most compelling of the game , however , is the story and the character development . Both of these dig much deeper than any of the previous Suikodens . Everything isn't as it seems and you'll be very surprised where this game leads you . After all , in war , who is really right ?
This game is for the people looking for intelligent , fun rpg that keeps you guessing and intrigued by the storyline . You'll get very attached to the characters . However , graphics wise or to a casual gamer , this may not be a good choice to choose . Square is much better for just picking up a game and trying it .
One thing I cannot speak for is how people will like the Trinity System ( I thought it was an interesting way to approach the story and very powerful ) . Also , I cannot say how well the translation is on the english version , since I only played the japanese version . From what I've seen , aside from some irritating name alternations from the translations of japanese to english , everything seems to have been quite nicely .
002 4 The Suikoden RPG series has always been about people who get caught up in events far beyond their control , and how they rise up to that challenge . Hallmarks of the Suikoden games are the necessity of gathering 108 allies ( based on an old Chinese legend ) and building a castle headquarters where your main base ( and source of mini-games ) will be .
Suikoden 3 is different from past games since it gives you the option of choosing from one of 3 initial heroes to play as . These include a female knight , a tribal youth and a mercenary , each of whom represents a different side of a dangerous , escalating war .
To actually finish the game , you WILL have to play all the 3 chapters of each character ; this is no problem however since each character's story is compelling and always intriguing . The great thing about this system , or Trinity Sight , is that you see the story from various viewpoints , so the depth and secrets that are revealed are really rewarding as you play through the game .
And that is what Suikoden 3 is all about . Do not look for flashy CG and cinematics , since there are none ( except for a magnificent anime movie ' trailer ' of the game at the start screen ) , but that really shouldn't matter . It's the game's story and the characters you will grow attached to that will captivate you .
Graphics are mixed ; the art style is wonderful Japanese anime fantasy style , though the 3D in-game models are slightly cartoony in proportion but not too cutesy - the best part is that they express emotion better than any other game out there ; this makes for entertaining cut scenes . The environments are detailed and wonderful .
As for gameplay , this is still a turn-based combat system , with the requisite ' army ' and one-on-one duels present . Overall though , the gameplay is easy , control is excellent and loading times are only a few seconds in length . No detraction from the fun .
Finally , as for replay , there are hidden characters to play as , multiple endings , 108 allies to recruit , a castle with tons of fun stuff to do and the option to load save games from past Suikodens to unlock more secrets .
In terms of story , replay , depth and compelling characters , Suikoden 3 is unquestionably the best RPG out there now . Fans of Suikoden MUST get this game , but I heartily recommend it to everyone who loves RPGs or at least a deep , involving story .
What are you waiting for ? Get this game NOW !
003 4 This third installment in the Suikoden series proves to be as good as its predecessors if not better . This game signals the series first time in 3D and first game on the PS2 .
GRAPHICS
This game is completely in 3D and it couldn't look better . It's the second best looking RPG on the PS2 ( Final Fantasy X is the only game that looks better ) , and the characters and locations look great . Though some may shun the switch from 2D to 3D the change was really necessary and improves the experience . Afterall there were those who didn't like Final Fantasy going into 3D and Final Fantasy 7 is one of the series best .
GAMEPLAY
One of the keys to sustaining an enjoyable RPG is a battle system that doesn't get tired after hours of play , and Suikoden 3 succeeds . Once again you have six characters in your party , but this time you have to control them in pairs adding a new level of strategy and helping the battles go faster .
STORY
By far this games strongest quality is it's story . This is probably the best story for an RPG on the PS2 so far . It's compelling and thanks to the Trinity Sight System ( A system that allows you to switch between 3 characters at the end of every chapter ) the game has alot of varitie . There is also a big plot twist for those who played the first two games , though you don't have to be familiar with the first 2 installments to enjoy this game .
OVERALL
A must own for anyone who likes RPG's or even just enjoys the occasional Final Fantasy . This game is long , I clocked in about 70 - 75 hours playing it and it never once gets boring . There's also plenty of side-quests to enjoy and extra stuff to do . So go buy this game !
004 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Parents : If your child likes RPGs or story telling games . This is perfect for kids . . . or adults for that matter . This is one is still on my all time favorite games list . ( :
Anyway . . .
This game was monsterously entertaining to me . The story was a masterpeice with an army of potentially 108 to recruit for your use . Granted not ALL of the will be able to be used on your combat team of six , but most of them will be and you can custimize all of them to a point .
Keeping a story interesting with a potential number of 108 personalities , over three veiwpoints and four main characters would be a challenge for most book writers . Stuffing so much content in one story can sometimes cause it's down fall . To many cooks in a kitchen ruins the soup and all that . Somehow Suikoden III , made a masterpiece with it all instead of hindering themselves . I was truly impressed .
During the course of the story you can alternate between four different veiwpoints : a barbarian kid , a lady knight , and a mysterious mercinary , and the unlucky new ower of a run down castle that is looking for residents to stay afloat . Each of the first three member resprisents a veiwpoint into each side of an upcoming war with a unseen evil pulling the strings . Through most of the game each group of friends find themself getting sucked into the mystery without even really meeting each other untill the end of the game . During each veiwpoint or Chapter each characters can come by and potentially recruit 108 hidden charcaters , not all of them able to be pick up by a single main character or all at once . Some of them are hidden , some are given to you ether way they all end up hanging at Thomas ' run down castle while they are not being used because this old castle happens to be the boarder of each waring party making it a neutral and protected area from all sides . The way the story makes this all seem very logical and conicidental is ingenious .
The gameplay is also nothing short of amazing . Like any RPG it takes charcter building to survive , but because the characters always switch and you have only a certain amount of money you cannot become godlike in the very begining and make the game effortless for yourself . The mini-games are also challengeing because are large scale battle moments that resemble risk and one on one time duels . Not to mention puzzles galore . Unlocking characters can also be considered a minigame .
Not to spoil much , but the replay value is also high for if you find all 108 characters the first time around you can unlock the mini storyline of the main villan .
So if you like RPGs than this one is a MUST . I can't stress that enough . Get Suikoden III . Do NOT , however , mistake Suikoden III for Suikoden 4 . Suikoden 4 was terrible .
005 4 Parents : If your child likes RPGs or story telling games . This is perfect for kids . . . or adults for that matter . This is one is still on my all time favorite games list . ( :
Anyway . . .
This game was monsterously entertaining to me . The story was a masterpeice with an army of potentially 108 to recruit for your use . Granted not ALL of the will be able to be used on your combat team of six , but most of them will be and you can custimize all of them to a point .
Keeping a story interesting with a potential number of 108 personalities , over three veiwpoints and four main characters would be a challenge for most book writers . Stuffing so much content in one story can sometimes cause it's down fall . To many cooks in a kitchen ruins the soup and all that . Somehow Suikoden III , made a masterpiece with it all instead of hindering themselves . I was truly impressed .
During the course of the story you can alternate between four different veiwpoints : a barbarian kid , a lady knight , and a mysterious mercinary , and the unlucky new ower of a run down castle that is looking for residents to stay afloat . Each of the first three member resprisents a veiwpoint into each side of an upcoming war with a unseen evil pulling the strings . Through most of the game each group of friends find themself getting sucked into the mystery without even really meeting each other untill the end of the game . During each veiwpoint or Chapter each characters can come by and potentially recruit 108 hidden charcaters , not all of them able to be pick up by a single main character or all at once . Some of them are hidden , some are given to you ether way they all end up hanging at Thomas ' run down castle while they are not being used because this old castle happens to be the boarder of each waring party making it a neutral and protected area from all sides . The way the story makes this all seem very logical and conicidental is ingenious .
The gameplay is also nothing short of amazing . Like any RPG it takes charcter building to survive , but because the characters always switch and you have only a certain amount of money you cannot become godlike in the very begining and make the game effortless for yourself . The mini-games are also challengeing because are large scale battle moments that resemble risk and one on one time duels . Not to mention puzzles galore . Unlocking characters can also be considered a minigame .
Not to spoil much , but the replay value is also high for if you find all 108 characters the first time around you can unlock the mini storyline of the main villan .
So if you like RPGs than this one is a MUST . I can't stress that enough . Get Suikoden III . Do NOT , however , mistake Suikoden III for Suikoden 4 . Suikoden 4 was terrible .
006 4 There are several instances in the RPG world where sequels are often disappointing and lack the charm in the original . However , Suikoden 3 is one exception . With a solid storyline and great characters , Suikoden 3 aims to please gamers just as much , if not more , as its predecessors .
While its graphics are not up to par with Final Fantasy X and various other games , Suikoden 3 makes up for this with the Trinity Sight System , an innovative idea that puts the gamer in the different characters ' shoes . The characters are done very well , particularly the main characters , and within a few hours , gamers can find themselves growing increasingly attached to the characters . Some scenes are touching , others are filled with powerful storyline twists that will shock both old fans and newcomers to the series .
The music is nice , and fits the overall mood of the game . The tension can be felt as a war is played out ; the peaceful setting of a castle can be experienced through the smooth music rolling out . The plays that the man Nadir hosts are interesting and fun to play around with . With about 100 characters to use in the place of plays such as Romeo and Juliet , William Tell and The Boy Who Cried Wolf , gamers can be kept laughing in their seats . The way some characters act also adds a certain depth to them .
Battles require a certain degree of strategy . The levelling-up system ensures that a challenge is present throughout the various major battles in the game . The challenge factor of Suikoden 3 is definitely better than average , since the battle system mostly disallows gamers from building their characters up to ridiculous levels and pummelling the enemies into pulp . Wars have to be played out correctly , or it may result in one or more of the 108 Stars of Destiny's deaths , which is very undesirable . Duels require correct guessing of the opponent's intentions , so that they may counter . Mess up , and the gamer might find himself in a precarious situation .
And there is , of course , the 108 characters to obtain . While some of them are gotten automatically , others have to found , and this adds to even more fun and hours of gameplay in Suikoden 3 .
A minus factor of the game , however , is the removing of the freedom to traverse the world map . This restricts gamers ' movements to merely within towns and dungeons , which can get very mundane after a while . Also , the world map in Suikoden 3 is tiny compared to Suikoden 1 and 2 . There aren't many places to go , and there are no side quests to perform , unless defeating ' treasure bosses ' are counted in . Navigation is removed here as well , since just about every location in the game has a map , which allows for easy navigation , thus removing the challenge in trying to find your way in a complicated dungeon . Camera angles are fixed , and more often than not gamers may find themselves growing frustrated that they are always going back and forth between two screens because of the sudden switch in camera angles . Hold the analog or directional button in a fixed direction , and the gamer might very well find himself getting out of a room , only to find himself running back in because of the directional switch .
However , on the overall , Suikoden 3 is still a very enjoyable game , easily providing 40 + hours of gameplay with its storyline and characters . Buy this game . You won't be disappointed .
007 4 Though I consider myself a fan of the Suikoden games , they honestly never managed to completely snag my interest . It took me upwards of a year to beat Suikoden II because there were spots where the story lagged and made me want to rip my hair out in frustration . I figured that I'd rent Suikoden III first just to try it out , and then shell out the money for the game later when the price went down .
I beat it on the rental .
Storyline - 10 / 10
We're treated with a story that starts out like the previous two did , with tension between two countries and the flames of war threatening to consume the land . Enter your three main characters : Chris , the Silver Maiden of the Zexen Knights ; Hugo , son of the Karaya clan chief and a child thrown in over his head ; and Geddoe , a mystery-shrouded mercenary working for Harmonia in the Southern Frontier Defense Force . Each character has three chapters of their very own , from their point of view and influenced by their own opinions .
The Trinity Sight system was done remarkably well , and though you watch the same events , you're watching them through different eyes . You may think a certain thing about one character , only to have your opinion drastically changed because of a chapter of another character . Because of the Trinity Sight system , more characters get time in the spotlight compared to the previous two games , allowing for more characterization . That , and you now have to use more characters in battle , so you can't just stick with the same party through the whole game .
Graphics - 8 / 10
The graphics are nice , but they're nothing compared to games like Final Fantasy X , Metal Gear Solid 2 , Shadow of Destiny , or really any game where the characters look REAL . The sprites kinda remind me of Grandia II ( and that isn't a bad thing , because I rather liked Grandia II ) , but their facial expressions are always drastic ; the eyebrows are never only slightly raised in surprise , they're either in neutral position or trying to climb up into the character's scalp . While it's nice to know that they actually put facial expressions into consideration , I honestly think they could've done a better job with it .
Sound - 7 / 10
If there was one thing I LOVED about the Suikoden series , it was the music . Suikoden III , however , has lost that edge . Most of the music is done by synth , doing away with actual people playing the music . Doing away with that was a really stupid thing for them to do , in my opinion , because hearing music played by musicians puts a sort of emotion into the music that you just can't hear from a computer . That's not to say the music is HORRIBLE . . . in fact , I liked the soundtrack more than I like most RPGs ' soundtracks . But for a Suikoden game , the music was below par .
Sound effects are your average bag of RPG fare . Wind magic sounds like wind , water magic sounds like water , lightning magic sounds like lightning , and fire magic sounds like someone let off enough antipersonnel explosives to reduce the Grasslands to a paste-filled crater , etc . Nothing ground-shaking , just average .
Gameplay - 10 / 10
If you've played the previous two games , the first thing you'll notice is the change in the battle system . Instead of inputting six commands for six characters every turn , you'll be inputting three commands for six characters every turn . That means you can only use three rune attacks or three items a turn . Rune spells now have a chanting time , which depends on your support character ( as some characters , like Jeane , can reduce chanting time ) and your character's compatibility with that specific rune . Characters who are chanting can also get interrupted by attacks , so there's a possibility that you'll have to start all over again .
The major battles , while back again , are severely disappointing . They're more like glorified regular battles , except you do less damage , you can't heal , and your characters are controlled by a [ unintellegent ] AI . If the leader of the group dies , the entire unit is killed , even if the rest of the unit was in perfect health . This adds a level of frustration , since the opposing unit generally heads for your leader first ( if only the AI controlling YOUR characters was so smart ! ) .
Character customization is back and perhaps better than ever with the introduction of a skill system . Your characters gain skill points for every battle they fight , and they can spend those skill points on fighting skills at a Training Center or magic skills from a Tutor . Abilities like Swing , which allows your character to attack twice , completely do away with the need for Double-Beat runes .
One thing that needs to be noted about customization is the severe lack of runes compared to the previous two games . You'll notice that Darkness , Spark , Gale , and a multitude of other runes have bowed out of the picture for now , only to be replaced by a plethora of command runes . In fact , most characters start with at least one command rune attached , and 99.9% of the command runes that characters come with are completely non-removable . As far as magic runes go , the Jongleur rune ( which is godly in the hands of characters compatible with it ) and the Shield runes are really the only two new additions . And you get to play around with quite a few True Runes by the end of the game , so that makes up for it .
Overall - 9.5 / 10
Honestly , I don't think I could've asked for more in a Suikoden game . If you're a sucker for interesting characters and a good plot , then I highly recommend buying it . However , if you're hellbent on keeping things the way they were , I think a rental would be more appropriate . Though I adored this game , I know that it doesn't suit everyone's tastes . But despite what you want in an RPG , Suikoden III most definitely warrants a rental at the very least .
008 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
This game was very good , It was very interesting . If you like RPG's you should play this one . I liked the graphics . It was enjoyable , but I became desperate to know how the story ended and 82 hours for me are like forever , it took me like seven months real time . So that's why I had it with RPG's . But the game is very good . The story is extremely good and keeps you interested throughout the game . I like the fact you play the game from three diferent point of views , one per main character . I was anxious to know the truth about the Flame Champion . Anyone can like this game because of gameplay , story , graphics , cutscenes , but this game is perfect if you like long games , and have time to spare . The only thing I would have liked different is that the characters actually talked , instead of making sounds and their dialogues being written .
010 4 There are several reasons this game is ingenious . First of all , the plot . With three major characters ( and three additional characters that are unlocked during the game ) , you play most of it through different points of view . You see some of the conflicts played from both sides , actually fight against one of your other characters at times . Aside from that innovation , the plot is amazing . Almost half the game is in story mode ( I'm guessing the reason they didn't do voice acting in this was because it would have been way too much memory or something ) , and it's an amazing story for an RPG . Hell , it's an amazing story period , which is something I can say for almost no non-Suikoden RPGs . There are many surprises and it really gives you a feel for all these different characters . Some reviews I've read I think are clinging a little too much to RPG tradition . If you're looking for an RPG where , after you kill the villain , a big demon comes out and you have to kill Satan at the end , this is NOT your game . This one actually has a story .
Also , there are about 85 or so playable characters , and it manages , using a relatively concise number of skills , etc . , to make them all fairly individual .
ANother AMAZING aspect of this game is its brilliant design . Everything is designed to be convenient , non-repetitive , etc . Like old Suikoden games , there really isn't the necessity of fighting a bunch of pointless lengthy battles to build your characters . It pretty much happens along the way . Unless you want to build up all of your 80 or so characters , in which case , it may take you a little longer . Also , like the older Suikoden games , the teleport and blinking mirror function you can get later in the game make it so once you've already went through an area a few times you don't have to drag it out by walking through it again and again . Even so , the dungeons and plains are fairly short . The game is a challenge at times , but mostly you'll be in it for the incredible story .
The extras are another huge plus . I did miss the cooking competitions from Suikoden 2 , but the theater function ( make your characters act in a play ) , comment box ( the other characters write you notes ) , horse race , card games , etc . etc . etc . well make up for it .
I don't play a whole lot of FF ( see role-playing games where a big demon comes out of someone's body at the end and you have to kill Satan ) , but to me Suikoden 3 ' s graphics were pretty damn cool . Music is prettty good ( I ended up not turning it off and playing records during gameplay ) .
The fighting system is good and strategic though , as I said , not that hard . Dungeone are re-used very succesfully ( for instance , you come back to the same dungeon with a different character , it doesn't feel repeated ) . Numerous battle functions ( normal , one-on-one duel , war style battle with armies and such ( kind of ) )
All in all , if you're looking for a clever RPG that won't insult you or put you through too much run around , you all know Suikodens are your best bet . I'm not really a hard-core RPG fan because of the usual ba story-lines , abusive repetition , etc . , so I don't know what expectations you all have . I've heard some Suikoden fans say it's too different for them . With any new addition to a series you're going to be giving up some of the old , but what they replace it with is well worth it .
011 4 Suikoden 1 was decent . Suikoden 2 was excellent , perhaps my favorite console RPG of all time . Suikoden 3 was good and rich , but somehow , it didn't grab me like its predecessor .
This game certainly surpassed the first 2 visually . However , I didn't care for the battle system - - more specifically , I didn't care for the two-person team system . It was clumsy and made little sense ( okay , I almost don't mind the challenge of only being able to do combo attacks once per fight , but not being able to control half my fighters ? ! Sorry , I don't go for that ) .
I had issues with replaying the same scenarios OVER and OVER and OVER . Yes , I understand the purpose of this was to get different characters ' perspectives , but honestly , there was more annoying redundancy than variation , and when I found out the actual storyline was only 5 chapters deep , and that I was supposed to consider the first 3 chapters to be 9 chapters because I had to play them 3 times each , I felt very cheated . Still , I enjoyed the surprise about one of the characters in particular , and that ultimately grabbed me .
You'll see far fewer familiar faces in this game than 1 / 2 , and I'll spare you the disappointment right now : your rewards for loading a fully completed , 108 - star-achieved save file from Suikoden II are almost nonexistent . Certainly nothing compared to the pleasant little surprise that II gave you .
Finally , my biggest problem was that I just didn't care about any of the main characters of this game the way I cared about Michael , Jowy and Nanami in S2 . Granted , the main villain won me over , but a game should not have its central character interest around the villain . I'll admit the characters in this game are varied , but I found the S2 trio to be far more lively - - in the first 5 minutes of that game , I felt closer to the three main characters than I felt to the multitude of heroes in this game after completing it .
Overall , If you loved S2 , you'll find S3 to be decent . Where S2 snatched you right up , you need to hack and crack at S3 for awhile before it keeps your attention , but I'd say it's still worth the money .
012 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
I've never given four stars to a game I liked , so I won't but this Suikoden has a few problems that may tick Suiko fans off . I especially got hooked on this Suikoden solely because of the Lizard Clan . They are actually what convinced me to give this game five stars , otherwise . . . it would have received a dreaded four . In any case . . .
Story : The Suikoden series has always followed an intricate and amassed story of a leader gathering an army to fight against a great threat . This Suiko does not fail here , especially since you play the story roles of not one , but four people . In each story , you guide the central character through a series of events that makes him / her meet up with the other three main heroes . Also , the story of the True Runes is brought into the spotlight more in this Suiko than the previous volume , so if you've been wondering , you should be satisfied with what you learn . However , the whole gathering of the Stars of Destiny bit has taken a nap and is not even mentioned in this game and Leknaat will not be there in classic form to explain it to you .
Characters : The four main characters are Geddoe the Harmonian mercenary , Hugo the Karayan hunter , Commander Chris of the Zexen Knights and Thomas the soon-to-be castle manager . Each of them have their doubts and reasons for being involved in the game's events . Each of them , along with their most trusted group members , are developed enough to not to appear boring . At one point , you will have to choose someone ( not Thomas ) to be the final leader character to guide the 108 Stars of Destiny and their army to victory . Although , if there are characters who deserve praise , it's definitely the Lizard Clan and the Duck Clan party members . They along with the members of their Clans make for another classic Suiko experience since the previous games also had non-human allies .
Music : Uh-oh . Well I'm not one to complain about music , but I find some songs in this game a little lackluster . The boss , event and town themes are great , but the standard battle themes are very mediocre because they sound either too perky or too lacking . The standard battle theme is very important in RPGs , so if it stinks , it's hard to enjoy combat . This game also seemed to lack a good song of sadness , which is surprising since the other two Suikos had heartbreaking sad themes .
Gameplay : Another gripe here . Map travel is quite annoying in this game since in order to get a certain area , you are required to go through a rather unnecessary hike along a meadow road to get back on the main road . This is something you will end up doing a bit too much and it may bore the heck out of you . Gathering the Stars of Destiny seems to have remain unchanged as you either receive people by story automatically or you go on some errand to earn their aid .
Battle : Double uh-oh . What happened here ? The battle system is somewhat of a joke in this game . Thankfully you still can have six people at a time , but you pair up the characters into three teams . What this means is you have three teams of two people who are responsible for each other only . For example , Alanis the mage girl is teamed up with Dupa , the Lizard Clan chief . Alanis can use medicine to heal Dupa but she can't use it on Koruku the dog or Geddoe the mercenary . Also , if you want double combination attacks at all , you must always pair up those same two people ( can be annoying if your setup is composed of various characters ) . Magic also has a new system where there is an actual charge time to spells before they can be cast . The speed is determined by skill level ( which you can raise at schools and libraries ) and if the character is generally very good with that elemental rune . What makes this bad is that one element has to be cast with caution : fire . If you're not careful with the spell's actual execution , you can end up cooking your teammates instead of the monsters . Thankfully , a turn meter is available during battle to show you the point at which the spell will be cast . On a final note , there is no longer a Rune combination feature for the big spells , so don't bother trying to cast two spells at the same time for a big Rune attack .
System : Well the newest system in this Suiko is the skill system . Skills are the abilities of characters that improve their combat efficiency . Skills are either innate ( by level ) or bought at learning centers to add to a character's list . Each character can reach a certain grade level with skills . Anything from B + to S is great while B and below is average / horrible . Skills cost skill points ( which are earned after battles ) to first attain from a center as well as upgrade . Depending on what the highest letter grade they can attain , the point cost for upgrading can either be grossly high or happily cheap . You can also tell how good a character can be with a skill by reading the skillmaster's comment . If the master says you need way more practice , skip it ; if he says you have unbridled potential , grab it . These skills greatly improve your fighting and spellcasting to the point monsters may not ever get a turn in , so you should definitely invest in skills to get anywhere .
Overall : Suikoden 3 is cool in some ways , while quite lame in others , and because of this odd contrast , Suikoden 2 will seem way better to fans of the series . Give it a try if you're a fan , otherwise beware the downsides . For completing the game , you do get a nice extra which will please fans of a certain character who has been in all the Suiko games to date . If anything , the game's ups outweigh its downs .
013 4 I've never given four stars to a game I liked , so I won't but this Suikoden has a few problems that may tick Suiko fans off . I especially got hooked on this Suikoden solely because of the Lizard Clan . They are actually what convinced me to give this game five stars , otherwise . . . it would have received a dreaded four . In any case . . .
Story : The Suikoden series has always followed an intricate and amassed story of a leader gathering an army to fight against a great threat . This Suiko does not fail here , especially since you play the story roles of not one , but four people . In each story , you guide the central character through a series of events that makes him / her meet up with the other three main heroes . Also , the story of the True Runes is brought into the spotlight more in this Suiko than the previous volume , so if you've been wondering , you should be satisfied with what you learn . However , the whole gathering of the Stars of Destiny bit has taken a nap and is not even mentioned in this game and Leknaat will not be there in classic form to explain it to you .
Characters : The four main characters are Geddoe the Harmonian mercenary , Hugo the Karayan hunter , Commander Chris of the Zexen Knights and Thomas the soon-to-be castle manager . Each of them have their doubts and reasons for being involved in the game's events . Each of them , along with their most trusted group members , are developed enough to not to appear boring . At one point , you will have to choose someone ( not Thomas ) to be the final leader character to guide the 108 Stars of Destiny and their army to victory . Although , if there are characters who deserve praise , it's definitely the Lizard Clan and the Duck Clan party members . They along with the members of their Clans make for another classic Suiko experience since the previous games also had non-human allies .
Music : Uh-oh . Well I'm not one to complain about music , but I find some songs in this game a little lackluster . The boss , event and town themes are great , but the standard battle themes are very mediocre because they sound either too perky or too lacking . The standard battle theme is very important in RPGs , so if it stinks , it's hard to enjoy combat . This game also seemed to lack a good song of sadness , which is surprising since the other two Suikos had heartbreaking sad themes .
Gameplay : Another gripe here . Map travel is quite annoying in this game since in order to get a certain area , you are required to go through a rather unnecessary hike along a meadow road to get back on the main road . This is something you will end up doing a bit too much and it may bore the heck out of you . Gathering the Stars of Destiny seems to have remain unchanged as you either receive people by story automatically or you go on some errand to earn their aid .
Battle : Double uh-oh . What happened here ? The battle system is somewhat of a joke in this game . Thankfully you still can have six people at a time , but you pair up the characters into three teams . What this means is you have three teams of two people who are responsible for each other only . For example , Alanis the mage girl is teamed up with Dupa , the Lizard Clan chief . Alanis can use medicine to heal Dupa but she can't use it on Koruku the dog or Geddoe the mercenary . Also , if you want double combination attacks at all , you must always pair up those same two people ( can be annoying if your setup is composed of various characters ) . Magic also has a new system where there is an actual charge time to spells before they can be cast . The speed is determined by skill level ( which you can raise at schools and libraries ) and if the character is generally very good with that elemental rune . What makes this bad is that one element has to be cast with caution : fire . If you're not careful with the spell's actual execution , you can end up cooking your teammates instead of the monsters . Thankfully , a turn meter is available during battle to show you the point at which the spell will be cast . On a final note , there is no longer a Rune combination feature for the big spells , so don't bother trying to cast two spells at the same time for a big Rune attack .
System : Well the newest system in this Suiko is the skill system . Skills are the abilities of characters that improve their combat efficiency . Skills are either innate ( by level ) or bought at learning centers to add to a character's list . Each character can reach a certain grade level with skills . Anything from B + to S is great while B and below is average / horrible . Skills cost skill points ( which are earned after battles ) to first attain from a center as well as upgrade . Depending on what the highest letter grade they can attain , the point cost for upgrading can either be grossly high or happily cheap . You can also tell how good a character can be with a skill by reading the skillmaster's comment . If the master says you need way more practice , skip it ; if he says you have unbridled potential , grab it . These skills greatly improve your fighting and spellcasting to the point monsters may not ever get a turn in , so you should definitely invest in skills to get anywhere .
Overall : Suikoden 3 is cool in some ways , while quite lame in others , and because of this odd contrast , Suikoden 2 will seem way better to fans of the series . Give it a try if you're a fan , otherwise beware the downsides . For completing the game , you do get a nice extra which will please fans of a certain character who has been in all the Suiko games to date . If anything , the game's ups outweigh its downs .
014 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Since I was 8 years old I've been a fan of console RPGs like Final Fantasy . Now I loved a number of the Playstation 1 & 2 RPGs , but after getting a recomendation to play the Suikoden series , and playing this game , well , there are only a few that stand up to this game now .
If you're looking for a game like Final Fantasy or Xenogears / Saga , then this is not that game . If you want the high end graphics and music that accompany these games , then you'll be dissapointed . But if you're looking for something that has the depth and character development of the Super Nintendo-age Final Fantasy's then this game will come as a breath of fresh air .
I never realized how bad the RPG genre had gotten on the console until I played this game , but that's not this game's fault . Simply by comparing this game to all the others available ( FF7 through FFX - 2 , Xenogears / Saga , previous Suikodens , etc ) I was at once blown away by the greatness that was this game , and depressed by the mediocrity of it's competitors . And don't worry I'll tell you why I think this way .
This game has something that in my opinion all others from this series should adopt ; the Trinity Sight System . One story is told from 3 points of view .
A war is being fought between two countries , the Kingdom of Zexen , and the Glassland barbarian clans , but the war is being perpetuated by a third kingdom , the supposedly ' holy ' Harmonia .
You can choose one major character to act as a figurehead for the furthering of the story . You can choose from the points of view of the Captian of the Zexon Knights , the captian of a Mercenary group employed by ' holy ' Harmonia , and the son of a clan chief of the Grasslands .
The Zexon POV : Chris Lightfellow was just named captian of the Zexon knights , after a battle saw the demise of the previous captian and vice-captian . She is given a parade to celebrate her heroism . But she's not having any of it . She doesn't feel like a hero and doesn't want the burdon placed on her . She is already something of a living legend being one of the elite 6 mighty Zexon Knights , and her fame continues to grow with every task she fulfils . She is a person bound to doing what she believes is right , and what is best for her kingdom . Until she finds out that the council is being bought by Harmonians .
Grassland POV : Hugo is the teen-aged son of Chief Lucia of the Karaya clan . Hugo is a bright-eyed , serious , and strong-willed boy who is sent by his mother to deliver a message to the Zexon Council in regards to a peace treaty . He is accompanied by a member of the Duck clan , Sargeant Jordi , and a childhood friend Lulu . They find that the council doesn't intend to read the message , and only want to detain the son of the clan chief as a hostage . Hugo and his friends escape to find his village in the midst of being razed and his best friend , Lulu is slain by the newly appointed Zexon captian .
Mecenary POV : Geddo is a mysterious man who has friends in high places , and no one knows why . Geddo and his mercenary group play witness to the assassination of the Lizard clan chief , and the razing of the Karayan clan . But Geddo also has ties to one of the mighty 6 Zexon knights , and while he can't deny what he's seen , he also knows that the Zexon Knights are not the type to ruin peace treaty negotiations nor assassinate a clan chief .
As time goes on this game gets so in depth with its cast of characters , that going about the task of recruiting many of the 108 characters that is among the hallmarks of this series , is a matter of simply learning more about the Fire Bringer , the Flame Champion and why the attacks on the grasslands were blamed on the innocent Zexon Knights .
To aid in this effort a new , lesser POV is opened up to the player which deals with the newly appointed master of a run-down castle on the border of Zexon and Grassland . It is his job to bring its habitants out of poverty and to revitilize the castle to its past splendor . Thomas comes up with the idea of leasing castle land for free trade between all lands , as he goes about his task of recruiting many ( if not most ) of the 108 stars , he is faced with the tasks of finalizing the paperwork on his ownership , fixing many of the dilapidated facilities on the castle grounds , and decorating the castle itself to act as a museum of culture featuring rare artifacts , paintings and sculptures as well as stocking an extensive library .
I very much enjoyed his two chapters because Thomas was no warior . Starting out at level 20 with the knights and mercenaries kind of shields you from the leveling aspect so that you can focus on the more important aspect that is the story . But when you start at level 1 and find creatures that the others found to be little more than nuisences a real threat it puts an emphasis on the dangers of travel around the world that most RPG's tend to overlook .
If you can successfully recruit all 108 stars then when you beat the game a 5 major POV opens up to you . This final point of view is from that of the antagonist of the story . There is very little in the way of gameplay ( the game's already been beaten anyways ) but it directly addresses all the questions that were raised during the playing of the 3 chapters from the 3 major characters earlier in the game .
This was a reward that as far as I'm concerned is unparalelled in video games . It truly makes the somewhat overwhelming task of finding and recruiting 108 characters well worth your time , as all discrepencies in the story , and questions raised are answered in a concrete way that won't disapoint . It has none of the end of the world 500 years later aspects that you see in other so-called great console RPGs coughFF7cough > .
Among the nicest things about this story is that the children , and there are a number of them , aren't the sort that are out to show their parents are ignorant fools , but rather they take on quests such as finding out what happened to one boys ( Melville's ) father . The characters in this game are adults , and they act like adults . Though the members of the duck clan are a bit hard to take seriously , you'll find no remote controled stuffed dolls thrown in as little more than an afterthought to satisfy the younger players .
All in all , I went in with little in the way of expectations , and left with such a high opinion of the game that I can only hope that Suikoden 5 goes back to the Trinity Sight System , as it was truly the great innovation and feature of this game .
015 4 Since I was 8 years old I've been a fan of console RPGs like Final Fantasy . Now I loved a number of the Playstation 1 & 2 RPGs , but after getting a recomendation to play the Suikoden series , and playing this game , well , there are only a few that stand up to this game now .
If you're looking for a game like Final Fantasy or Xenogears / Saga , then this is not that game . If you want the high end graphics and music that accompany these games , then you'll be dissapointed . But if you're looking for something that has the depth and character development of the Super Nintendo-age Final Fantasy's then this game will come as a breath of fresh air .
I never realized how bad the RPG genre had gotten on the console until I played this game , but that's not this game's fault . Simply by comparing this game to all the others available ( FF7 through FFX - 2 , Xenogears / Saga , previous Suikodens , etc ) I was at once blown away by the greatness that was this game , and depressed by the mediocrity of it's competitors . And don't worry I'll tell you why I think this way .
This game has something that in my opinion all others from this series should adopt ; the Trinity Sight System . One story is told from 3 points of view .
A war is being fought between two countries , the Kingdom of Zexen , and the Glassland barbarian clans , but the war is being perpetuated by a third kingdom , the supposedly ' holy ' Harmonia .
You can choose one major character to act as a figurehead for the furthering of the story . You can choose from the points of view of the Captian of the Zexon Knights , the captian of a Mercenary group employed by ' holy ' Harmonia , and the son of a clan chief of the Grasslands .
The Zexon POV : Chris Lightfellow was just named captian of the Zexon knights , after a battle saw the demise of the previous captian and vice-captian . She is given a parade to celebrate her heroism . But she's not having any of it . She doesn't feel like a hero and doesn't want the burdon placed on her . She is already something of a living legend being one of the elite 6 mighty Zexon Knights , and her fame continues to grow with every task she fulfils . She is a person bound to doing what she believes is right , and what is best for her kingdom . Until she finds out that the council is being bought by Harmonians .
Grassland POV : Hugo is the teen-aged son of Chief Lucia of the Karaya clan . Hugo is a bright-eyed , serious , and strong-willed boy who is sent by his mother to deliver a message to the Zexon Council in regards to a peace treaty . He is accompanied by a member of the Duck clan , Sargeant Jordi , and a childhood friend Lulu . They find that the council doesn't intend to read the message , and only want to detain the son of the clan chief as a hostage . Hugo and his friends escape to find his village in the midst of being razed and his best friend , Lulu is slain by the newly appointed Zexon captian .
Mecenary POV : Geddo is a mysterious man who has friends in high places , and no one knows why . Geddo and his mercenary group play witness to the assassination of the Lizard clan chief , and the razing of the Karayan clan . But Geddo also has ties to one of the mighty 6 Zexon knights , and while he can't deny what he's seen , he also knows that the Zexon Knights are not the type to ruin peace treaty negotiations nor assassinate a clan chief .
As time goes on this game gets so in depth with its cast of characters , that going about the task of recruiting many of the 108 characters that is among the hallmarks of this series , is a matter of simply learning more about the Fire Bringer , the Flame Champion and why the attacks on the grasslands were blamed on the innocent Zexon Knights .
To aid in this effort a new , lesser POV is opened up to the player which deals with the newly appointed master of a run-down castle on the border of Zexon and Grassland . It is his job to bring its habitants out of poverty and to revitilize the castle to its past splendor . Thomas comes up with the idea of leasing castle land for free trade between all lands , as he goes about his task of recruiting many ( if not most ) of the 108 stars , he is faced with the tasks of finalizing the paperwork on his ownership , fixing many of the dilapidated facilities on the castle grounds , and decorating the castle itself to act as a museum of culture featuring rare artifacts , paintings and sculptures as well as stocking an extensive library .
I very much enjoyed his two chapters because Thomas was no warior . Starting out at level 20 with the knights and mercenaries kind of shields you from the leveling aspect so that you can focus on the more important aspect that is the story . But when you start at level 1 and find creatures that the others found to be little more than nuisences a real threat it puts an emphasis on the dangers of travel around the world that most RPG's tend to overlook .
If you can successfully recruit all 108 stars then when you beat the game a 5 major POV opens up to you . This final point of view is from that of the antagonist of the story . There is very little in the way of gameplay ( the game's already been beaten anyways ) but it directly addresses all the questions that were raised during the playing of the 3 chapters from the 3 major characters earlier in the game .
This was a reward that as far as I'm concerned is unparalelled in video games . It truly makes the somewhat overwhelming task of finding and recruiting 108 characters well worth your time , as all discrepencies in the story , and questions raised are answered in a concrete way that won't disapoint . It has none of the end of the world 500 years later aspects that you see in other so-called great console RPGs coughFF7cough > .
Among the nicest things about this story is that the children , and there are a number of them , aren't the sort that are out to show their parents are ignorant fools , but rather they take on quests such as finding out what happened to one boys ( Melville's ) father . The characters in this game are adults , and they act like adults . Though the members of the duck clan are a bit hard to take seriously , you'll find no remote controled stuffed dolls thrown in as little more than an afterthought to satisfy the younger players .
All in all , I went in with little in the way of expectations , and left with such a high opinion of the game that I can only hope that Suikoden 5 goes back to the Trinity Sight System , as it was truly the great innovation and feature of this game .
017 4 Suiko 3 has some major issues that make it disappointing . . .
- The battle system : everybody's whining about it and so will I . The ' buddy system ' is a terrible addition . In general , the gameplay hovers between tactical ( like a strategy game lite ) and classical ( press X button to attack , now do it a million times ) . You are unable to accurately control anything . It is nigh impossible to predict where they will run and who they will attack . However , it has the startings of a great system ( minus the buddies , with more control of movement and consequences for moving / attacking from different positions or angles )
- The pacing : This game moves SLOW . Now that everything is 3d , it takes forever for cutscenes to play out . All the characters have to move around and act , which is a joke because of their poor rendering . There's always delay in the text boxes popping up , making a scene that would be gone fine in Suiko 1 or 2 take 4 times as long .
- The linearity : Painfully linear . Very little to explore . You'll enter an area where you get to run around , and it will be a straight path . The whole game you are running along trails , with mundane backgrounds and little to nothing to explore .
- Repetition / Confusion : Playing through 3 sides of the story is a great idea , but you end up running around the same towns with people saying basically the same thing 3 times . Most of the plotpoints seem to consist of randomly coming across somebody . You don't figure out what to do next , you wander around until you find the cutscene trigger .
- Sound : what sound there is is 16 bit era stuff . The majority of the time there is basically no sound but the roachlike skittering of your character's feet .
It's not all bad , the story is okay , though a bit canned . The bigger boss battles can be fun , despite the buddy system . Some of the characters are enjoyable enough .
020 4 I was an avid fan of the Suikoden series going into this game ( namely one and two ) , so i was teeming with anticipation with the series debut on the PS2 . This game is far from a disappointment , it has beautiful scenery , great character designs , a varied character lineup , and a very intriguing story that makes good use of characters from previous games . I was spellbound when I first started diving into the game and couldn't wait to play it again when i stopped to eat . However , this excitement took a back seat ride when I discovered a severe flaw in the game's makeup .
This absolutely stunning piece of video game art is the victim of a very poor attempt at innovation . Anyone familiar with either of the previous two Suikoden games knows that the battle system functions on a six character formation ( front and back row , 3 character each ) . This allows you full control of all six charcters , and the dynamics of character functionality changes depending upon where they are . If two characters that are friends , have a past experience with each other , or simply have similar fighting styles are placed near each other they can perform combo moves that can either be hokey or completely devastating . Combo maneauvers are not limited to just 2 characters either . This setup gave the player a great deal of option for attack and placed a great emphasis on stategic formations of characters .
The problem with Suikoden 3 is that they kept the 6 character formation , but eliminated the ability to control all six characters independantly of each other . The battle system in this game operates on controlling rows as opposed to characters . if you choose to have your row attack then they will both attack . if you choose for someone to cast a spell then that one person will cast a spell and the other character will attack a random enemy . This does not sound like a lot , but when you add in the difficulty of some of the battles in this game you will be fuming . This poorly designed setup makes it difficult to even kill some groups of random enemies , which will make powering up an experience you will altogether not want to do . This has forced some people I know to stop playing the game because it's incredibly frustrating . If two rune users are in the same row then only one can cast a spell at a time , this gives you 3 commands to issue among six characters , which automatically makes your battle efficiency 50% right from the get go . It doesn't make that much difference in the first few steps of the story , but when you get to spots where carefully maneuvering your group in battle becomes crucial , you'll find yourself playing the same battle over and over and over again trying to figure out how what went wrong .
Those that have braved one of the most frustrating RPG gameplay screwups ( the most frustrating easily being Xenosaga 2 ) , have found an amazing game with a luscious story to entertain even the veterans of such games . This is a good purchase , but beware , it requires a great deal of patience . I suggest playing this game with your room locked so people don't barge in to see why you're swearing at the television .
023 4 I bought this game originally for myself , but my step-daughter loves the graphics and the music and the characters . As with most RPG's , the gameplay is slow-paced , so she can actually play this game . From exploring all the gorgeous and lively locales , to engaging the party in battles , to following the map to the next destination , my 6 yr old can do ( most ) of it all .
We also take turns reading the dialogue between all the imaginative characters , so this helps with her reading skills .
But if you don't have kids , DO NOT be put off by this review ! This is still a fantastic RPG by any of the highest RPG standards .
! Great storyline ( that makes sense and you are interested in seeing it to the end )
! Not overly complicated battles or controls ( some die-hard RPGers may actually be upset by this )
! Fantastical graphics , characters , and environments ( my step-daughter wasn't at all interested in Final Fantasy X , mostly because , I think , the graphics were TOO good . ) Suikoden 3 graphics are great - the characters have a cartoony fun feel to them ( which is a good thing ) .
! Length of game will be good , I think . I / we are almost 20 hours into it , and we've only completed the Chapter 1 ' s of the 3 main characters . We are close to completing the Chapter 1 of a secondary character , but it looks to be a long haul to finish because my party of 4 is too weak to take on the Giant Boar that we must defeat .
! Random battles / wandering monsters is not annoying , as they do not happen CONSTANTLY . And the way the fighting system is set up , you can usually go to Auto to slay quickly .
! I think we will be playing this for quite some time to come , and I / we look forward to finding and meeting as many of the 108 Stars of Destiny as we can ( in almost 20 hours of gameplay , we've only recruited / found ONE so far ) .
Why is this game already UNavailable on Amazon ?
I grew bored with FFX quickly , and wasn't at all hooked by Wild Arms 3 , but Suikoden III snagged me hook , line , and sinker from the beginning ( I'm not an anime fan at all , but the opening collage of very well done anime of characters from the game , along with haunting and lovely Japanese J-Pop is simply GREAT ) .
030 4 Maybe my expectations were too high after reading some rave reviews ( and paying more than its original worth since by the time I found out about the game , they had been discontinued ) or maybe this just wasn't my type of game but this loooong game certainly doesn't seem to be as great as some make it out to be .
Don't get me wrong , it was still a very good game that makes for some fun RPG time but something about the game just bugs me .
Graphics certainly are nothing to write home about . They are not well equipped to display action of characters in detail nor are they able to show character's face expression to something you can interpret or at the very least make the expression believable . A character running also doesn't feel like running since it's usually too damn slow . I also understand it probably wouldn't be too cost efficient to do a voiceover for all of 108 characters but in this day and age where voiceovers are done for most of the games and done very well in many cases for great games , they should've at the very least paid more attention to having quality music played most of the times to make sure players don't get bored during cutscenes . Such is not the case for this game . These are all cosmetic factors and gameplay is what's important , I know , but they are still very needed for enjoyable experience . After all , you have to play anywhere from 50 - 80 hours depending on whether you want to get every little character and item or not , and you don't want to end up just having to read every dialogue without even some music to get you into the mood .
The gameplay , especially battle system , is good but not without its faults . I haven't played I or II so I don't know 3 groups of 2 is required for mounted attacks ( I do know it's not required for combo moves ) , but mounted attacks are awesome . Especially combo of Fubar and Hugo can deal unbelievable amount of damage . But aside from that , I'd rather have full control of every member in the party . If you are doing magic or if you are using items , this becomes real problematic . Forget that you have no control over the other character if one of the characters in the group is doing magic or using items . But , for instance , if both of you are near death , you can only use one potion to heal both and you never know exactly how much of it they are going to share . One potion certainly is not enough in those situations . Also if I remember correctly , you can only use items on your group of 2 , meaning if you are in a boss fight and the group you need to use potions on also happens to have a character essential to your strategy , you are in trouble . The system does make for interesting situations but not enough to overcome its negatives .
I didn't really get the strategy battle and duelling is simple enough so I won't comment about it .
Trinity system was a very interesting and fresh concept . For the fans of the series , I would think it'd be worth it to play in different combinations of chapters with different characters . Japanese console RPG's are often crticized for being too linear and this helps the player have somewhat of a control over how the story is going to unfold . One downfall would be that sometimes story can lose focus since you jump from character to character and most certainly have to replay some of the stuff you already got through ( admittedly from a different point of view , allowing you to understand somethings you did not get before ) .
The number of characters and how one could use any combination basically to beat the game deserves a praise . 108 characters and most of them are interesting enough , too .
As for the story itself , it's good . Complex and fulfilling . But it's drawn out too long and often feels like a chore to get through from one point in the plot to the next . Doesn't help that music is inadequate or not present at all in some cases , so you really can't get into the mood of things . Due to this , I did not at all feel the desire or need to play the game over to play the game in different order with a different flame champion . That and the fact I got other games to play and other things to do in life . Although , if one were to really enjoy the experience ( I CAN see that many people , especially fans , would / could despite my personal feelings ) trinity system is certainly a huge bonus .
Side quests are very interesting . Especially the plays and bath . Lack of voiceover hurts but again , I don't think it would be feasible to do a voice over in a game that's got as many important characters as this one . The bonus for all 108 characters though IMO was not worth it .
Again game feels too long . I don't know why exactly but it just does . A game like Final Fantasy X can and will take just as long but it doesn't feel as long as Suikoden does . Confusing , I know , but just the way it is .
Suikoden III certainly has its moments but if you are not fans of the series or are a casual RPGer then you probably will have to struggle through it at times .
039 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
The greatest aspect of this game had to have been its usage of the system which allowed the user to see the same scene from different points of view . While you start off completely disliking one character for their portrayal in the eyes of another you quickly understand their point of view as you begin to control them later on .
It just adds a new twist to the way RPGs are played and helps to make what would seem like an interesting story into a classic . The story itself is interesting but nothing too dramatic or world view changing . General evil power out to destroy so you must counter by becoming stronger and facing off with it plot . It is interesting , however , in the way the characters interact and the different factions at work in the story . What the stock lacks it definitely makes up for through this .
As mentioned in other areas the six man teams is a bit awkward although the usage of ridden animals makes me glad they did use it . It does allow you to customize a rather large party and keep people leveled up easily but probably isn't worth its benefits just because of the added complexity .
Side quests are really fun in this game though . One thing you'll notice is that as you collect more of the stars more of your home base is unveiled . So once you collect a farmer , for example , now you can farm food yourself at your home base and so on . It's an interestingly fun way to open up mini games which keep you coming back for more .
Another great aspect of the game is the war mode . You assign your characters to squadrons and battle off against incoming troops so you really have to be strategical how you layout your team .
Suikoden seems like a solid story . This particular one had an interesting plot and while it wasn't ground breaking was delivered in a unique way which adds to the user's enjoyment . I suggest playing it although it is kind of dated at this point .
040 4 The greatest aspect of this game had to have been its usage of the system which allowed the user to see the same scene from different points of view . While you start off completely disliking one character for their portrayal in the eyes of another you quickly understand their point of view as you begin to control them later on .
It just adds a new twist to the way RPGs are played and helps to make what would seem like an interesting story into a classic . The story itself is interesting but nothing too dramatic or world view changing . General evil power out to destroy so you must counter by becoming stronger and facing off with it plot . It is interesting , however , in the way the characters interact and the different factions at work in the story . What the stock lacks it definitely makes up for through this .
As mentioned in other areas the six man teams is a bit awkward although the usage of ridden animals makes me glad they did use it . It does allow you to customize a rather large party and keep people leveled up easily but probably isn't worth its benefits just because of the added complexity .
Side quests are really fun in this game though . One thing you'll notice is that as you collect more of the stars more of your home base is unveiled . So once you collect a farmer , for example , now you can farm food yourself at your home base and so on . It's an interestingly fun way to open up mini games which keep you coming back for more .
Another great aspect of the game is the war mode . You assign your characters to squadrons and battle off against incoming troops so you really have to be strategical how you layout your team .
Suikoden seems like a solid story . This particular one had an interesting plot and while it wasn't ground breaking was delivered in a unique way which adds to the user's enjoyment . I suggest playing it although it is kind of dated at this point .
046 4 Suikoden III is simply the best RPG I & #8217 ; ve ever played . You get to follow an interesting story with an enormous number of characters in a flawless gameplay environment . The world is very large , with several detailed cities . The play is only vaguely linear , with a really wide range of activities at any given time , though never so many that I found myself reaching for pen and paper . The enemies generally make sense and come in a wide variety of forms with excellent AI , and the battle system is also excellent . To top it all off , you play as three different characters in overlapping timelines and ( mostly ) get to choose the order of play ! There are 108 major characters in all ( plus tons of more minor ones ) , and a variety of gameplay settings to keep things interesting . You get to pick and choose your party members ( from almost the whole lot of 108 if you play long enough ) , which is especially cool nearer the end of the game . There are a huge number of sub-games , and one of the best is watching your choice of characters perfom plays ( usually hilariously badly ) . The underlying plot is also excellent and helps to drive the play . I hadn't played the previous Suikoden games , but the few times it's helpful , the game seamlessly fills in the background , so I didn't feel I was missing anything at all .
There are very few drawbacks to this game . The main one ( these days ) is that it & #8217 ; s apparently getting hard to find a copy of the game . Most of the gameplay is challenging without being impossible , but the major battle gameplay ( fighting with military units , which happens rarely ) is so easy with a minimal level of strategy that it & #8217 ; s really a waste of time . The non-linear nature of the game sometimes lets you face enemies who are far too powerful , but it & #8217 ; s usually pretty obvious when you & #8217 ; ve strayed too far off track . At the end of the story , after fighting a hideously challenging battle , you go back and play as the enemy . I can only speak for myself , but I never want to play as the bad guy in an RPG after investing scores of hours playing as the good guys .
I couldn & #8217 ; t recommend any game more highly , and would love to know what moron decided to stop or limit production of Suikoden III , making it so hard to find . I won't spoil anything , but I recommend playing as Chris first . You'll see .
048 4 I'm not too keen on 3D worlds due to loading time and such and how graphics can be really deformed , but it seems Kanomi has spent their precious time with Suikoden 3 ( And no , that isn't sarcasm ! ) . I admit to not being very far at all into the game , the graphics are gorgous and the anime is eye popping ( Especially just the opening movie ) . Once again , in Suikoden 3 you have to gather the 108 Stars of Destiny and get your own stronghold ( this time it is a castle town , not just a castle ) . The battle system is a little different since it is 3D , but it makes since . Again , you have a 6 person party . You pair 2 characters together and they fight together ( one guards the front , one guards the back ) and if you have a rideable beast paired with someone , then you are able to mount the beast in combat ! The downside is you lose a character during combat , but the upside is that your HP and fighting strength are combined , so it's as if two characters combine into one stat wise . The equipment and inventory is much like Suikoden II , you can equip a helmet , armor , shield , and 3 misc . items and the rest goes to the parties bag . Now , as for the TSS ( Trinity Sighty System featured in this game ) , it's alright . You're not forced to keep switching between all 3 characters , but you are forced to play them in the end ( as far as I can tell ) you just have to do them at one point , but that's just so you can do the whole story of the game which is fine by me . The only downside I can really think of is the loading . The loading time is not long at all , but in towns , the areas you can explore before switching zones are fairly small , but since loading is fairly quick ( Unlike 3DO games like Shifters and Warriors of Might and Magic ) it is forgivable . If you're unsure about the game , rent it first , but so far , I'm loving it and if you're a fan of Suikoden , I know you're love it . Try it out and see !
049 4 Don't believe 1 word you hear from those criticizing this game . They're completly unfounded . As someone who has played the vast majority of RPGs ever made i can tell you first hand that the Story in Suidoken III isn't just great , it's one of the best ever . In fact when judgeing all the RPGs available on the modern systems ( GC , PS2 , XBOX ) Suidoken III in my book is tied with Zelda The Windwaker for best RPG .
The trinity sight system is simply an amazing concept , and works well throught the game . Just playing the first chapter the player goes through a rollercoaster of emotions seeing the opening events play out through the different perspectives of those involved .
The combat has very little of a hack and slash feel - it's very much turned based , with a realistic real time feel . What does that mean ? It means that you direct your characters to perform actions , attacks are done in turn ( based on individual speed ) and characters will redirect attacks as practical based on changing battle conditions ( formation changes , deaths etc . ) The battle system blends real time action and strategy very well ( erasing the down side of turn based combat - realism and the lack of strategy that comes with real time combat ) and this just scratches the surface , there are also individual duals , and military comand combat ( where you direct groupings of soildiers )
The only real downside of this game is what is often a lack of direction . I often seemed a little lost trying to figure out what to do next , but this really does little to distract from how great , and addictive this game is . This game is a MUST BUY , especially if you love games like Chrono Cross , Zelda and Final Fantasy
052 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
I've seen a lot of reviews here about all of the grievances people have with Suikoden III , comparing it to other games and saying that the story is not up to par . Honestly the only problem I had with it would be the lack of direction when going to recruit characters . However in the case of the story I see no flaws . The story's seen mostly in 3 perspectives ( I don't really count Thomas , he's not that big of a character interesting ) . The biggest charm I'd feel about this story is the mystery of it all . There's a lot of twists in the plot and I feel the characters are very likable , much more so than a traumatized hero who has one big crisis and twist that will be revealed at or towards the end of the story . The characters are more understandable and realistic than most RPGs . The other big draw of this game and another mysterious element is Holy Harmonia and Hikusaak ; two things that konami has been teasing about since Suikoden II , and the area that hopefully Konami will end the series in . I can't say much about the plot without giving it away except that it's very much based around discovering what the truth really is , kind of like Myst or games of that sort .
As for gameplay many feel this game lacks , however I only saw it as an extra challenge , sure it makes it tough having 6 characters only able to work in pairs , but that adds on the strategy of who goes with whom and how to work around it . Honestly the suikodens were never really that challenging , and this only makes it a bit more challenging . Also , there are many battles , but after a few of them you can just start letting the enemies go like in every suikoden .
As for the music , it is a change , a change that I think bred a lot of amazing songs , and some not so good ones . Michiru Yamane ( I'm pretty sure she was the main composer ) has a very European style of composing ( Just like Miki Higashino of the first two had a very Celtic style ) , a very festive european style . This is a large contrast from the typical japanese based sountracks of most composers . The feeling that most songs give kind of make you think of the Basque , or maybe that's just me . This has amazing songs and is honestly a gem .
With all of these factors in mind , it's not hard to see that Suikoden III is a black sheep but it's one that does things very well and has one of the most gripping stories . Perhaps others played through it too quickly and didn't take the time to actually think and wonder what happened . However I will say that if you do get it you should look up a guide without spoilers to try and see what the best order to play through is .
053 4 I've seen a lot of reviews here about all of the grievances people have with Suikoden III , comparing it to other games and saying that the story is not up to par . Honestly the only problem I had with it would be the lack of direction when going to recruit characters . However in the case of the story I see no flaws . The story's seen mostly in 3 perspectives ( I don't really count Thomas , he's not that big of a character interesting ) . The biggest charm I'd feel about this story is the mystery of it all . There's a lot of twists in the plot and I feel the characters are very likable , much more so than a traumatized hero who has one big crisis and twist that will be revealed at or towards the end of the story . The characters are more understandable and realistic than most RPGs . The other big draw of this game and another mysterious element is Holy Harmonia and Hikusaak ; two things that konami has been teasing about since Suikoden II , and the area that hopefully Konami will end the series in . I can't say much about the plot without giving it away except that it's very much based around discovering what the truth really is , kind of like Myst or games of that sort .
As for gameplay many feel this game lacks , however I only saw it as an extra challenge , sure it makes it tough having 6 characters only able to work in pairs , but that adds on the strategy of who goes with whom and how to work around it . Honestly the suikodens were never really that challenging , and this only makes it a bit more challenging . Also , there are many battles , but after a few of them you can just start letting the enemies go like in every suikoden .
As for the music , it is a change , a change that I think bred a lot of amazing songs , and some not so good ones . Michiru Yamane ( I'm pretty sure she was the main composer ) has a very European style of composing ( Just like Miki Higashino of the first two had a very Celtic style ) , a very festive european style . This is a large contrast from the typical japanese based sountracks of most composers . The feeling that most songs give kind of make you think of the Basque , or maybe that's just me . This has amazing songs and is honestly a gem .
With all of these factors in mind , it's not hard to see that Suikoden III is a black sheep but it's one that does things very well and has one of the most gripping stories . Perhaps others played through it too quickly and didn't take the time to actually think and wonder what happened . However I will say that if you do get it you should look up a guide without spoilers to try and see what the best order to play through is .
054 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Reviewed for Big Boss Games by : Eschneider6
This is the third part in a long running series from Konami , there's Suikoden and Suikoden II both worth checking out .
Enter the land of Grassland in Suikoden III , where war and conflict have been between the six clans of Grassland , Zexen Federation , and Holy Kingdom of Harmonia . What's different in Suikoden III is that you play the story through the eye's of 3 characters . Geddoe , Captain of the small defense force of Harmonia , Hugo , a son of Grasslands Chief Lucia , and Chris who is Captain of the Knights of Zexen . You choose whom to start the game out as , and see the story unfold by 3 points of view .
There are many secrets to this game , so I won't spoil them for you . This game took me 89 hours to beat , and that's including opening all the secrets ! It's a deep game with traditional RPG battles , but also includes strategic battles later in the game as well . Also , the gathering of the 108 stars of Destiny . Each person has a skill to help you during the game . This game has a great story , great characters and some good cinemas as well . Two things make the score 8.5 , the fetch quests and the lack of places to visit . I recommend you buy this game , so stop reading this review so you can go play this great RPG !
My review score for Suikoden III = 8.5
Score 1 = Throw out
Score 10 = Must Buy
059 4 Note that this game might not be a good choice if you haven't played the previous Suikoden . But for anyone who have played and knew what previous Suikoden were like , this is a must have of the year .
The game's strong point lies on its well written script and storyline . You will have to think , guess , and use your own skill to fully enjoy the story the game provides and to accomplish missions . Same thing applies to any Suikoden in the serie . Suikoden 3 , too , make my tear drops when I played it . You will become heartfully into the character , a feeling FF series can NEVER give you .
The drawback is , in the saddest part of the game you will NEED to know the character to fully got into the game and get the feeling . Anyone who has never played any Suikoden might not find it too enjoyable .
The 3D isn't a super realistic modelling like FF . Instead it got a Japanese style comic quality to it and the model itself represent the character's exactly the way they were drawn . Very nice in my poit of view . The movement and the emotions the characters express are GREAT . You should note that Japanese style comic drawing is a LOT difference from US comic drawing style . And this game really has the japanese feel of comic to it .
There are not much CG movies , animations , or any cut scenes . If you are looking for only eye candies like FF I'm sorry this isn't the game for you . Even the Ending of the game is simply in-game models but very very impressive story and conversation in it .
060 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Suikoden 3 is an excellent RPG in almost every way imaginable .
The Good : Fun battle system , variety , tons of characters , cool story , trinity sight system , fun feel , combos .
The Bad : Bland graphics and characters . No cutscenes .
Bottom Line : An excellent RPG that should be played by an RPG PS2 owning fan . I highly recommend it .
061 4 Suikoden 3 is an excellent RPG in almost every way imaginable .
The Good : Fun battle system , variety , tons of characters , cool story , trinity sight system , fun feel , combos .
The Bad : Bland graphics and characters . No cutscenes .
Bottom Line : An excellent RPG that should be played by an RPG PS2 owning fan . I highly recommend it .
062 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
Although the story to this game is awesome , I had to push through the annoying aspect of no real main charater for the first half of the game . A very tedious combat system . And finally the never ending annoyiance of running to and from CONSTANTLY . It took me forever to beat the game cause I had to force my self to play a horrible game in order to enjoy a good story . I loved suikoden 1 and 2 I thought this made for a poor excuse for a suikoden game .
064 4 Though the Trinity Sight System in itself was a wonderful idea , I think it may have been able to be put to better use . Many people who have played this installment of the Suikoden series were disappointed in how repetitive this game got , playing in the same areas again , and again , and again .
However . On the plus side , the variety of characters ( 108 to be exact ) , almost anime-style art , excellent graphics , and creative storyline make this a game worth playing . It can become rather difficult at times , without an ability to ressurect your characters when defeated in battle , there were times when I got frustrated with this game . However , once you're past the harder points , it becomes much more enjoyable . Running around trying to collect the 108 characters was , to say the least , interesting . I have yet to complete one of the three storylines , however . . the replay value is higher than most games , but still not high enough .
065 4 I think this a great rpg . But the makers are getting away from a real true rpg . I have almost all rpg that have been made . I truely enjoy FF series . FF10 was great also . But unless the makers don't change something the rpg are going to be history . the earlier rpg are great They are losing their touch . I am a gamer . So come on companies let's keep a rpg a rpg .
076 4 . . .
BUT
Let me preface this by saying I am about as big a Suiko fan that you are likely to find .
Secondly , this is not a new gen vs . old gen bash post , or a 2d is better than 3d post .
I will say , however , that I chalk this on the list of games I liked better in 2d .
If they were insistent on copying FFX , at least make the 3d vibrant , interactive , and a lot less stilted than it is here .
Just like FFX , you know you are in trouble when you have a map with one , linear road , in every place you go . . . . .
I didn't know 3d could be so danged linear . I feel claustrophobic sometimes .
Guess what ? Zero camera control . You are at the complete mercy of the computer , and believe me , you are going to be reaching for those shoulder buttons , wishing you could rotate the cameras .
Konami did what I was afraid of : They looked at Final Fantasy X , saw the sales figures , and responded in kind . Usually , Konami is a industry leader , but here , they decided to be a follower . I know Final Fantasy is popular with a lot of people , but I partially blame it for spawning off responses from other companies like this game . This is why the RPG genre is dying , folks . These games aren't fun anymore !
There's something to be said for the old adage : Less is more .
FF's have become so overrated and watered down . . . why did they have to imitate this yet again ? !
Here's yet another RPG with NO world map ! That's big kiss of death number two !
That's disgraceful on Next Gen systems . No excuse !
The environments were more interactive in the old Suiko games than they are here . And that's saying something !
The fighting is pretty good . More or less an upgrade of the same old , faithful Suiko fighting engine .
The music is the big disappointment of the year , right along with Xenosaga's music . . . .
Bland , new agey muzak that is completely indistinct .
An uninspired effort FOR an uninspired effort .
I wish Konami had had the guts to release a Suiko title in the vein of their new Contra game and their previous amazing hit Castlevania : SOTN . Release a title true to its roots with the bells and whistles of present day . Don't change the whole freakin ' thing !
Suiko has lost all its charm in this conversion . I can't even really call it a Suiko game because it just doesn't feel like it at all .
What should have been :
Imagine a lush , gorgeous looking Suiko with 3d type graphics in a 2d or pseudo 2d / 3d environment . You all can imagine in your minds what you wanted this to look like .
Why couldn't that have been done ?
Maybe the camera wouldn't be completely overhead , but as is , everything is eye level , and I sure miss being able to see everything from overhead like in the old games .
I understand that they wanted to bring it out of the Stone Age . That's fine . But after playing good , vibrant 3d games like a Kingdom Hearts . . . this is simply unacceptable . I am not against 3d , but this game is another example of why I hope 2d doesn't get killed off .
Game designers : If you are insistent on jumping to 3d , make it worthwhile please .
I guess this will be another series that hopefully gets a GBA incarnation , so I can get my true sequel that way .
It is a big game . I have heard figures as high as 200 hours of gameplay . I doubt that , but . . . if you have the patience to stick through it , the story is amazing and deep .
I advise everyone to rent this first .
081 4 After playing the two best RPG's on the PSX console , I was excited to see Suikoden 3 come out on PS2 . I was angry that they made the graphics look too nice . Suikoden was known for its classic RPG graphics , and I loved them more than the PS2 graphics .
This game's plot is very weak and stupid . First of all , you have to follow the story through three different people's lives . If you don't do this in order ( no true order is actually specified in the game ) then it gets really confusing . You don't understand the plot until you go through everyon's character .
This game is so bad , that I dont even consider it a Suikoden . This game is so horrible , that I haven't heard Konami talking about a Suikoden 4 . If it is anything like 3 , I hope they don't . Go buy Suikoden 1 and 2
084 4 This game was just amazing . Dont listen to waht some people said when they gave it a 2 or 3 . They were just being pricks . Buy this game . FF10 was a horrible game but Suik . 3 is the epitome of an RPG .
Yours truly
HBK
085 4 At first , I was totally disappointed with the new game in the series . I didn't like the trinity system , the new battle system , the new 3D look , and it sort of reminded me of Final Fantasy X , a game I hated . In other words , it was like a completely different game , instead of a game continuing the famous Suikoden series ( which I must say is my favorite series of all time ) .
In my opinion , this game is more for people who have not played the first two and are looking for the traditional Suikoden style .
Even though I was expecting more of the same old stuff , Suikoden III still happens to be a good game . If you love RPG's and are looking for a unique and awesome war story , this is the game for you .
086 4 This review is from :
Suikoden 3 ( Video Game )
To me , the appeal of Suikoden 3 to so many people is one of the world's greatest mysteries , right up there with Roswell , Stonehenge , Easter Island and JFK's assasination . Why did so many people enjoy this game so much ? My theory is that someone switched the discs in my game when I bought it , and that I was actually playing a fake version of Suikoden 3 that really , really , REALLY sucked .
Well at any rate , I'll review the game that * I * played .
Suikoden 3 is terrible . It is one of the most boring games I've played in my life , and I played all the way through it . Up to the very end , I kept telling myself that the game MUST get better ( based on the reviews I read ) . Yep , right up to when they started rolling the credits I promised myself the game would get better .
It didn't . Elizabeth R . Powell's review is actually a pretty good description of my experience , though I would disagree with her contention that Hugo's plotline was worth playing . It wasn't . The worst part of the game hands are the game triggers ( those events that happen when you enter a certain place that triggers the game to progress ) . Some of the game triggers are so random it's ridiculous . Sometimes , the game doesn't even tell you what you need to do next ( like the chapter you spend recruiting people , and you have to talke to EVERYBODY in ALL the towns you visit ) . I spent countless wasted hours running from screen to screen trying to figure out how to progress that damn game , baffled because apparently I was supposed to know I to go to some remote corner of the castle to speak with some character I've never even met before . How in the world was I supposed to know to do that ? And of course the overly high random encounter rate , coupled with the boring terrain and terrible music made the whole experience dreadful .
The story hardly makes up for the game either . In fact , if the game had good gameplay , I'd probably complain about the boring storyline . The uninspiring characters make you think Konami game designers flung darts at a personality chart to come up with their characters .
All in all , not even worth a rental . But I do implore you , if you are the least bit curious about the game based on the other reviews ( reviewers bribed by Konami no doubt , CONSPIRACY I tell you ) , RENT , don't buy , the game . Don't worry , I'm sure you won't mind if you don't finish it in time .
087 4 To me , the appeal of Suikoden 3 to so many people is one of the world's greatest mysteries , right up there with Roswell , Stonehenge , Easter Island and JFK's assasination . Why did so many people enjoy this game so much ? My theory is that someone switched the discs in my game when I bought it , and that I was actually playing a fake version of Suikoden 3 that really , really , REALLY sucked .
Well at any rate , I'll review the game that * I * played .
Suikoden 3 is terrible . It is one of the most boring games I've played in my life , and I played all the way through it . Up to the very end , I kept telling myself that the game MUST get better ( based on the reviews I read ) . Yep , right up to when they started rolling the credits I promised myself the game would get better .
It didn't . Elizabeth R . Powell's review is actually a pretty good description of my experience , though I would disagree with her contention that Hugo's plotline was worth playing . It wasn't . The worst part of the game hands are the game triggers ( those events that happen when you enter a certain place that triggers the game to progress ) . Some of the game triggers are so random it's ridiculous . Sometimes , the game doesn't even tell you what you need to do next ( like the chapter you spend recruiting people , and you have to talke to EVERYBODY in ALL the towns you visit ) . I spent countless wasted hours running from screen to screen trying to figure out how to progress that damn game , baffled because apparently I was supposed to know I to go to some remote corner of the castle to speak with some character I've never even met before . How in the world was I supposed to know to do that ? And of course the overly high random encounter rate , coupled with the boring terrain and terrible music made the whole experience dreadful .
The story hardly makes up for the game either . In fact , if the game had good gameplay , I'd probably complain about the boring storyline . The uninspiring characters make you think Konami game designers flung darts at a personality chart to come up with their characters .
All in all , not even worth a rental . But I do implore you , if you are the least bit curious about the game based on the other reviews ( reviewers bribed by Konami no doubt , CONSPIRACY I tell you ) , RENT , don't buy , the game . Don't worry , I'm sure you won't mind if you don't finish it in time .
089 4 Common sense to me in making a good video game sequal , would be sticking to what made the previous installment / s great . . . NOPE ! That ain't gonna happen in this age ! For some reason game developers are almost sadisticaly compelled to add new stuff and completely throw away the tried and true elements that veterans of a series have come to know and love .
Suikoden 3 is the fourth RPG that I have played for the PS2 which originated on an older system.And like the other three ( Wild Arms 3 , Legend Of Legia 2 and Final Fantasy X ) it [ bites ] because they change way too much ; almost to the point of feeling like an entirely diffrent game instead of a sequal .
I hate to say it , but I think the death of good rpgs is upon us .
Fun and traditonal gameplay is being replaced with eye candy and foreign concepts.I'd rather play good ol ' dragon warrior on the 8bit nintendo than these peices of junk !
I STRONGLY advise lovers of the first two installments of suikoden to rent this game before buying it .
090 4 Don't let the flashy beginning sequence fool you , this game is bland throughout . I guess maybe I was expecting too much ( had just finished playing ff10 ) who knows . I just couldn't get attached to the characters at ALL , and the plot / storyline can be completely ruined if you play it the wrong way . The dialogue was incredibly dull and seemed rushed and choppy . The backrounds and towns are somewhat comparable to those of Kingdom Hearts . . . but you have to keep revisiting them OVER AND OVER AND OVER . I'd say by the 50th time you go through Brass Castle , you just want to burn down the place and call it a day . And the music . . . UGHHHHHH ! Nobuo Umatsu ( music director for ff7 ) , please visit the poor composers at Konami and smack some talent into them ! ! I just couldn't believe how bad the backround and battle themes were , nothing fresh or new , every peice sounded like a bunch of dry keyboard effects . Movement in the game ( as well as when moving in the game ) goes very slow and becomes like a tedious chore . I will say that there are a few plot twists , but nothing you'll care about 2 months after you finish it . But kudos to the character designers , there are 108 characters that are semi-drawn and playable ( for the most part ) , that must have taken A LOT of work . Its a shame the game couldn't have turned out better , but its games like these that make the Final Fantasies look good right ?
