After loving the first one so much it was a natural step to go ahead and do the same thing when I saw Suikoden III for the PS2 come out. I didn’t expect much. So many games just couldn’t continue their legacy from the PS1 to the PS2. I picked up Suikoden III, skeptical as ever, and took it home expecting it to be a total flop. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Your protagonists are 3 very different, very colorful people. Geddoe, the leader of a small Harmonian special forces unit with a mysterious past, is sent on a mission to keep an eye on the hostilities between the powerhouse of the Zexen nation and the Grasslands. Fully equipped with a motley crew of drunken mercenary A-team type folks, this guy is obviously a bad ass. Next you have Chris, the prestigious leader of the Zexen Knights. She ( that’s right, she) is the iron fist behind the Zexen government’s bid for power. Truth, honor, chivalry, and upholding the law is what she prides herself on. You know, to protect and serve and all that. Last but not least we have Hugo, the son of a Grasslands chief. Hugo’s your typical youngster, strong and excitable and full of inexperience. It’s no doubt he’ll learn real quick though. So you ask, “There’s 3 people from opposing sides, how can they all be heroes?” Because there’s a deeper and darker force trying to end the world, of course! (C’mon, act like you’re surprised.)

The plot’s good; more than anyone would expect out of other mediocre RPGs. What makes the story shine though is the way it’s presented. Suikoden III gives us this new-fangled gadgetry called the “Trinity Sight System.” Here’s the way it works: You basically pick one of the 3 protagonists and start out through the game witnessing and perceiving the events as they would. After a chapter for that character would be done you can go on and either chose to play one of the other 2 or continue with the one you’re on. This might not sound so exciting at first but the true genius is where the stories interweave. Depending on who you pick, your character will see the same events that might go on in, lets say, Chapter 1 much differently than another character would. Chris sees things that Hugo won’t that Geddoe won’t, and they all see them in terms of their own personality. Even after seeing the same event from three different perspectives you still won’t be sure what’s really behind all the madness. Playing the game from three different points of view makes a great format to present the story in and keeps you guessing.

Graphically, Suikoden III is a subtly beautiful game, not so much in a grandiose Final Fantasy way but in the attention to detail that’s in this world. The character models are simply amazing. If you have 108 different characters; you better damn well get creative -- and Konami did just that. From detailed etchings on plates of armor to the feathers on a giant duck, you get great looking characters each with their own graphical personality.

But the detail doesn’t stop there. The landscapes are just as breathtaking. You could be wandering through the plains and see random rock formations and tufts of grass or see light shining through a stained glass window. There are cats running around on the street and little bends and folds in ice formations. It’s this detail that makes us, the gamer, believe that’s we’re part of an entire world and not just some cartoon.

From first listen you can tell that Suikoden III has its own take on RPG sound tracks. It strays from the typical epic symphony RPG music and tries to set the mood with a softer acoustic feel. Frankly, change is good. The sound effects are crisp and clear, as well. With everything from horse trots to sword clangs, Suikoden doesn’t miss a beat. There’s that attention to detail again.

I do, however, have one beef. Now maybe my standards are just too high but all I really wanted is to hear the characters talk; not the whole game, hell not even part of the time, just once. We’re in the age of DVD media there’s no reason to skimp us on the sound bytes. Would it have killed Konami to hire some voice actors for the heroes? Or even just one actor to play them all? -- Even that would have made me happy.

Mute characters aside, Suikoden pulls of the audio well and is by far above average in terms of what you normally hear. Just don’t expect me to go out and by the soundtrack

Suikoden plays like a dream implementing the wonderful K.I.S.S. approach to gameplay (Keep It Simple, Stupid.) The battle system is speedy and easy to use. Attack, Defend, Magic, Item, what more does a man need? But beneath the surface, your old favorites from past Suikoden games still exist. Combo attacks are still alive and kicking. Not only are they back, they’re as strange and colorful as ever. How can you not love rolling over your enemies with a wheel of dogs or riding a talking duck into battle? There is a tiny new feature. Now if you couple a character and his mount together the character can actually ride him in battle. You have to use the appropriate characters though. No, you can’t have your army giving each other piggyback rides around the battlefield. Weirdos.

There are 3 types of fight modes total, your standard enemy battle, duels, and strategy battles. Duels are done in a Rock, Paper, Scissors sort of format. A deathblow beats attack, defense beats deathblow, and attack beats defense. It’s not completely dumb luck though. Your enemies talk during the whole fight giving you small hints on what they might or might not do next. Plus, the dueling character’s stats factor into how hard a character might hit or get hit. They’re really just a little something slid in to give us some action to couple with the tension between two given characters.

When things happen on a much larger scale you go into strategy battles. This is what is here to replace the large scale battles that the earlier Suikoden’s had. Personally I miss watching little stick-figure mages getting rained on by stick arrows from stick-figure archers, but we can’t have everything we want, now can we. Strategy battles put you on a point-to-point type map with units of 4 at your control where you have to complete some certain objective. Unfortunately you don’t get the same massive army versus army feel of the first game here, though we appreciate the designers staying true to their roots.

Outside of battle, you move around the world map point-to-point. The lack of freedom there isn’t too hindering. All the relevant points are plotted out for you and if it’s not on the map, you probably don’t want to be there anyway.

Like old Suikodens, you can’t buy any new weapons. You have to upgrade them at a blacksmith. Other than that you have your standard issue leveling system, nothing new and excited, but like I said, sometimes the simple way is often the best way. As my Grandpa always said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

You have your army. It consists of about 20 guys. Something’s going to have to be done about that. Good thing there’s 108 characters! (We didn’t see that one coming.) Dogs, cooks, musicians, sexually-confused bathtub builders can all join your illustrious task force. Oh yeah, there’s guys that fight too.

Besides all the extra characters there are also tons of sidequests and minigames to be had. You have to find recipies and set up the menu at your restaurant, find hammers for your blacksmith, there are card games, horse races; you can even decorate your castle. There’s plenty to do outside the story line. Give your fort that down-home feel that would rival Martha Stewart.

Konami does a brilliant job on continuing the Suikoden legacy with this game. Everything in this Suikoden III is amazing, down to every last detail. Quit your job, stop going to class, turn off cable and spend some quality time with this game. You’ll thank me later.

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