Page 1: Genso Suikoden
Suikoden III / Genso Suikoden III - Playstation 2 (2002)
American Cover
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Characters:
This is not only the first installment for the Playstation 2, but also the first with fully 3D graphics. The character models are fairly simplistic, but they generally capture the look and feel of their illustrations, which are once again provided by Fumi Ishikawa. The music style has expanded from the original, replacing some of the Asian influenced music of the original game with more tribal themes, in addition to some standard militaristic orchestrations. The music is supplied by a variety of composers, including Michiru Yamane, usually known for her work in the Castlevania series, as well as Keiko Fukami and Masahiko Kimura. The standout theme is played during the gorgeous anime intro sequence, by far the best in the series, a gorgeous vocal piece called Exceeding Love, sung in a made-up language by the Japanese musical group Himekami.
There are also a number of substantial differences beyond the graphic and musical styles. The "Trinity Sight System" lets you see the plot from the viewpoints of the three main characters, showing the various motivations that caused the war. As a result, you'll see some events being repeated a couple of times, but from different sides. While it provides some interesting perspective, it often means you'll need to traipse through the same dungeons several times, just with different characters, so it's a bit of a drag. The first three chapters are played from the view of each these characters, while their plotlines unite for the fourth and fifth chapters.
In addition to the three main characters, there are also two chapters that focus on Thomas, the master of your army's castle. Although not important to the plot - they're completely optional - they flesh out the storyline from the viewpoint of a civilian. There's also a minor fifth chapter which lets you play as a dog named Koroku, which lets you listen to some interesting conversations. The data transfer feature is still present in Suikoden III. If you load up your data from Suikoden II, some of the returning characters will get increased parameters.
Suikoden III has some pretty significant changes on all areas.
The regular overworld is gone, instead replaced with a map screen which lets you quickly move between areas. The standard battles have changed significantly, and uses something called the "Buddy Pair System". It still consists of six people in battle, but you're required pair up characters into a single unit, essentially cutting down the number of commands by half. When you choose a command for one character, the other person will have a certain reaction on the command. Sometimes they'll follow it, sometimes they won't. If you pair up characters based on their relationship, you might trigger a Unite attack. The weapon range system found on the PS1 Suikoden games is gone. Executing an action in battle flows a lot like a Strategy RPG. It takes time to execute your attacks, which sometimes carries over into next turn. Also, some attacks can hurt your own party members.
Every character possesses passive abilities and each of them can reach to their highest potential. For example, some characters have abilities to rack up more damage or see how many times an individual can attack in a single turn. This is quite an interesting addition because now there's more advanced customer characterization beyond inserting runes. Finally, Suikoden III introduces support characters. They have numerous functions that produce an after-effect once the battle is over. For example, a support character that specializes in nursing will restore a fixed amount of health after battle, while another increases their chances of getting rare treasures. Thankfully, you can no longer miss any of the Stars of Destiny, as they can all be recruited in the final stages of the game. Instead of changing the ending, finding all of them will let you play a whole new, albeit fairly disjointed, scenario from the point of view of the villains.
The Duel system hasn't changed much from the PSOne Suikodens. The only addition is a duel gauge - as you consistently win rounds in a bout, the battle falls in your favor. In other words, you get priority every time you successfully attack your opponent. Keep in mind that heavy damage also affects the duel gauge. The army battles, on the other hand, have changed once again. This time, the battlefield is comprised a set of panels. You move around in a turned-based fashion and attack the enemy on the adjacent panel. When you face off with your opponent, the format is similar to the regular battles, except it's controlled automatically by the computer. Both sides will attack each other for a number of turns until the battle is over.
As Suikoden III was approaching the release date in Japan, there were conflicts between Konami executives and the director. As a result, Murayama left Konami. Because of this, the rest of the development team has to patch things up in order to complete the development. As a result, it's no surprise that some people might notice a drop in the overall quality of the writing towards the end of the game. Despite the fact that Suikoden III went through development hell, there are still many aspects of the game that revolutionized the Suikoden formula. For the same reason alone, some of the fans felt that it's too different from the PSOne Suikodens. Tragically, it is the only mainline Suikoden game to have never been released in PAL territories.
MP3s Download here
Exceeding Love
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III
Suikoden III Manga
Suikoden III
Page 2: Genso Suikoden II
Page 3: Genso Suikoden III
Page 4: Genso Suikoden IV
Page 5: Suikoden Tactics
Page 6: Genso Suikoden V
Page 7: Suikoden Tierkreis
Page 8: Suikogaiden Volume 1, Volume 2 and Card Stories
The third Suikoden is set fifteen years after the events of Suikoden II. This time, the story focuses on the Grasslands, an area a little further north from the City-States of Jowston. The area consists of two major factions: the Grassland tribes, an assemblage of relatively primitive natives, and the Zexen Confederacy, a more advanced, militaristic nation. Despite the tensions between them, the two are waiting for a cease fire agreement.
Just when everything is going smoothly, a series of unfortunate events breaks out to undermine their efforts. A Tribal leader is assassinated, profound generals from the Confederacy are executed, and certain tribal groups are displaced by the chaos, causing heightened hostilities between both sides. But little do they know that someone in the region is pulling strings behind the conflict. While the war between the Zexen and the Grassland tribes continues, the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia is preparing to invade the region for their own mysterious purposes. Suikoden III puts in you the roles of three different individuals from different backgrounds, giving three perspectives on the events as they unfold.
Hugo
He's a young individual from the Grasslands. He's also the son of Lucia, a former chief of the Karaya Clan and a minor character from Suikoden II. He travels with his friend, Lulu, along with an anthropomorphic duck named Sgt. Joe and a griffon named Fubar (which probably should've been translated as "Hoover".)
Chris Lightfellow
She's a knight from the Zexen Confederacy who is known as the "Silver Maiden". She devotes herself as a knight due to her father's death.
Geddoe
He's the leader of the 12th unit from the Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force. He and his team members - Ace, Joker, Queen and Jacques, all named after card suits - act as a third party, observing the conflict between the Zexen and the Grasslands from the outside.
Thomas
A shy young individual who is appointed as a lord in Budehuc Castle. Due to the tense political condition of the land, Thomas faces many trials that goes along with his new job.
Caesar Siverberg
The main strategist in Suikoden III. Compared to his forebearers, he's quite a laid-back person.
Masked Bishop
A mysterious figure who frequently appears from the three protagonists scenarios. What are his intentions during the conflict between the Zexens and the Grassland tribes?
Sarah
A powerful magician who aids the Masked Bishop.
Flame Champion
Wielder of the True Fire Rune, he's responsible for the end of the Fire Bringer War, where Harmonia previously attempted to invade the Highlands. The player will need to choose which of the three main characters will succeed his legacy and end the fight with Harmonia once and for all.
Beutiful Grasslands
Destroyed by Fire
The Awaited Wind
Blade
Although numerous manga based off Suikoden games were released in Japan, only Suikoden III made it to North America, beginning in 2004 and published by Tokyopop. It's drawn and written by Aki Shimizu, and is 11 volumes long. For the most part, it's a faithful adaptation of the story, and it's a good read for those who want to follow the narrative but are put off from the gameplay mechanics. One major hiccup: at one point in the game, it asks you to choose which of the three main characters to succeed the Flame Champion. Obviously, the manga makes its own decision, which might potentially conflict with your own. Also, the artwork isn't nearly as good as the game, which is disappointing.
