Charles Stewart

Suikoden 3 PS2 - Non-spoiler review ---------- Story - 10/10 Four branching stories, all varied with different POV and tone. A Grassland kid, a Zexen Knight, a Mercenary leader, and a youth charged with a castle.... I can't say much more without spoiling so I'll probably end it with... if you're an RPG fan or have played Suikoden I/II you need to play this game. You can't really get better at storytelling than this. So many different cultures and ideologies represented without being heavy handed. It's my favorite Suikoden game so far and probably the best RPG on PS2 and could be my favorite RPG/game. Characters reappear from the other two games and that's always nice to see, not just thrown in but actually have a part to play. You don't need to play the other games first but you'll get more from the story if you do. ---------- Technical - 9.5/10 First thing I had to get used to was a fixed camera, and it's the only hiccup in a nearly flawless game, but after I did everything was second nature. The game is dated in graphics by today's standard but if you get your mind into the days of early PlayStation 2 era of RPGs you'll notice it's a well designed game especially when you have over 100 characters of unique style most of which you can use in your party to battle. ---------- Music/Sound/Voice - 10/10 The music in this game is some of the best you'll hear in RPGs. At times it fades in and out in places as you get near/further away to set the scene or event taking place. Some of the villages have music you'll go into and just let it play without continuing the story. Sound effects have that Suikoden style and they're all rememberable. The enter a command, backing out, save, and recruiting sounds kinda carry over from every game and it's a very nice nod to the previous two games. ---------- Gameplay - 10/10 Characters everywhere! You have your choice of so many making a party unique to your playstyle and combining them is wonderful. As you play the game you'll make use of almost all of them. This is the best Suikoden game to make use of all those characters instead of the previous games where you get used to certain characters but end up not being able to use them in certain scenarios. In this game you'll make use of almost all of them with three different storylines and the flow of the game will have you use more than one main party. Unlike most RPGs the grind is low because leveling up a group is rapid, and the game prevents you from over-leveling in a way. Recruiting all the characters, this is the first game I ever done so blindly, is as easy as recruiting a character and then asking him to investigate where to find them and he'll give you a clue and it's really that simple. Battles can get tough later in the game which is fun because I'm used to wiping out bosses without a hassle in most JRPGs. Duels make a return and aren't very hard to do if you've learned the rock, paper, scissors mechanic although some optional ones are very challenging but the game never expects you to win them. It's a well paced game and easy to play to each chapter's end before ending your gaming for the day or to do other things. ---------- Score - 9.8 "The best Suikoden game I've played and my favorite game on PS2".

I really miss this game.