Canon Video Game Review: Suikoden 3

Continuing with the reviewing of the Suikoden series, I recently finished playing Suikoden 3, the first Suikoden game to be released for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2002 by Konami, Suikoden 3 is also the first Suikoden game to be rendered in 3-D and unlike most other RPGs, the story does not have one single hero. Instead, you get to play through the story as three different main characters, Hugo, the son of a the chief of the Karaya clan, Chris, the female captain of the powerful Xexen Knights, and Geddoe, a mysterious mercenary squad leader. Each character has three separate chapters in the story, with all three characters and their forces combining in the final chapters.

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org

The strength of Suikoden III is it's deep and gripping story. True, there is some overlap with the three main protaginists often bumping together at the same time, but even so, this is welcome because the player gets to see the same events from a different perspective. For example, Hugo and Chris often come across each other as enemies, but if you play through both chapters you will get an understanding for each person's actions and feelings. Also, there's two optional chapters you can play through as Thomas, a young man who has been thrust into becoming the master of a castle full of eccentric people. Overall, the story provides a lot of twists and turns and plenty of character development, which isn't all that easy when you have 108 characters to go through.

Like the first two Suikoden games, there are three types of battle modes in Suikoden 3, regular battles, war battles, and one-on-one duels. Like the first two games, you can control a party of up to six people in battles, but unlike the first two games, you control the players as three rows rather than six individual players. For example, the front and back player on each row is assigned to attack the same enemy. This is kind of frustrating, especially when you have one person use a magic spell while the other person just stands there or, if you're lucky, attacks a random enemy. Also, unlike the previous two games, you are not limited by where you can put certain characters, as you can put anyone in either the front or back rows. There are also a variety of combo attacks, and a few 'mounted' attacks, in which a person can attack while riding on the back of another character. For example, Hugo and his pet griffon Fubar have a particularly devastating combo attack. War battles are somewhat similar to regular battles, only you control a unit of up to four people and have them attack another unit. Provided that you develop each character's skills to a high level, these battles aren't too hard. Duels work just like the previous two games, in which you have to guess what the enemy is going to do based on what they say before each attack. A new twist to the game is the implementation of a skills system, in which each character has their own separate set of talents that are either automatically gained or bought with skill points that are earned after each battle. By improving skills, the characters become more powerful or more likely to dodge attacks. However, you must be diligent in assigning skills, as different characters pick up on different skills quicker than they do others. For example, Hugo is more adapt at using combat skills than magic skills, while another person would be more adapt at using magic skills. This system adds to the uniqueness of each character, and you can mix and match skills to come up with the perfect skillset for each fighter.

The graphics in Suikoden 3 are solid, but not spectacular. While it was a step in the right direction to go into 3-D, the graphics in this game aren't quite up to the level of other RPGs released around this time, but that's only a minor problem for me. The soundtrack in this game is inferior to the first two Suikoden games, as there's not really a lot of themes that stick out, and each song just kind of blend together with a few exceptions. Suikoden 3 also provides a lot of mini-games, such as horseback racing and a couple of card games as well, but none of the mini games stack up to the Iron Chef mode found in Suikoden 2. Like the first two games, you get your own castle to play around with, and you can customize it by adding painting and vases to make things look better. Also, like Suikoden 2, there's a suggestion box and a detective, tools that allow you to find out more about the other characters. Perhaps the best little addition to Suikoden 3 is the ability to put on plays with your characters, as you can collect up to six scripts and stage performances. Depending on who is cast in these plays, the results can be quite hilarious.

Overall, I'd have to say that Suikoden 3 is a minor step back from Suikoden 2, but still is a fine game and one of the best RPGs to ever come out for the PlayStation 2. Sure, there are some flaws, but the strong story more than compensates for whatever flaws this game has. Overall, I'd give it a 8.1 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this game or review, than feel free to leave a comment. Also, if you have an idea for a future review, then send those to me at KtheC2001@gmail.com.

Canon Game Review: Suikoden I

After playing Suikoden 2 last month (and reviewing it right here), I decided to go back and play the original, Suikoden 1. Released in 1995 and developed and produced by Konami. Suikoden I follows the story of the son of the great general Teo McDohl. After Teo leaves to take care of a rebellion against Emperor Barbarossa, who is under the spell of an evil sorceress named Windy.  Tir and his friends begin performing tasks for the empire, and what a group of friends they are. Most of them are servants hired to serve the hero, including Gremio, who looks at the hero as his own son, Cleo, and Pahn, who likes to complain about how hungry he is. The hero has also befriended a mischievous kid named Ted, but there's more to Ted than meets the eye. After a few incidents went against the hero and his friend, they eventually find themselves fighting for the rebellion against the empire, the one the hero's father fights to protect. Obviously, this will cause problems for the family down the road.

Image courtesy of hardcoregaming101.net

Although Suikoden has a lot of similarities to Suikoden 2, there are a few differences that make Suikoden an inferior game. Probably the most infuriating difference is that you don't have an option to put items aside for the group. Instead of a 'community' bag, so to speak, to put items in, you have to give it to someone in your party. Each person gets 10 slots, but since armor takes up four or five slots, you don't have a whole lot of room for medicine and hidden objects and such. There were many times throughout the game that I'd have to drop something valuable in order to get something else, something that didn't happen too much in Suikoden 2. Yes, it's a minor difference, but it is still quite annoying. Also, each player only gets one rune slot in Suikoden 1 instead of the multiple rune slots available for characters on Suikoden 2. This makes assigning runes critical, as you don't want to waste a super powerful rune on someone with low magic skill.

Like every other Suikoden game, you must collect the 108 stars of destiny to get the super duper happy ending. Most of the 108 stars also can help you in battle, with each ones having different strengths and weaknesses. Some are just there to provide support during war battles against the Imperial Army, and some are there so they can open shops in your castle and provide you with a one stop shop for all your wartime needs. Some of the characters you have to go out on your own and search for, while others are forced upon you whether you like it or not. In the case of Krin, I didn't like it all, but that's another story. Anyway, like Suikoden 2, characters are group in three fighting ranges, short range (S), mid range (M) and long range (L). Short range fighters can only fight in the front row of your six man party, while the other two can fight wherever they darn well please. Since nearly half the characters seem to be short range fighters, this somewhat limits the use of a lot of quality fighters. Plus, since the front row is attacked constantly, you'd better make sure that whoever's up front has strong defense skills. Also, there will be times where you (the hero) must duel one on one with another character, and there are also a few Advance Wars style battles here as well. These basically work as a rock-paper-scissors game, where charge beats bow, bow beats magic, and magic beats charge. As long as you know which attack is coming (and with the Ninja ability, you can find out what the enemy is going to do), these are rather easy battles to win.

The graphics and the artwork in Suikoden have some strong and weak points. The strong points being that, despite being in 2-D, the towns and other areas are drawn with great detail, and the animations of the characters in battle are rather smooth. However, the drawings of most of the characters aren't always well done. For example, Mathiu has his eyes closed at all times, and Marco just looks plain goofy. But, graphics aren't everything, and the compelling story more than makes up for what shortcomings the graphics may of had. Also, the audio is nicely done on this game, with a score that is both catchy and adds an 'epic' feel to many of the proceedings. Although Suikoden has a lot of dialogue and a enthralling script, there are some points where it gets repetitive, as most characters will just say the same thing over and over again once they join your army and enter the castle. In Suikoden 2, at least that was some variety in the characters' and townspeople's dialogue depending on the situation.

Overall, Suikoden is a rather enjoyable game that has something to offer for every RPG fan out there. Yes, the game has a few flaws, and there are Super Nintendo games that have superior graphics, but overall the story, the variety of characters, and all the different twists and turns should keep the average gamer entertained from beginning to end. Overall, I'd give it an 8 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about Suikoden or this review in general, then feel free to leave a comment. Also, if you have an idea for a future review, then send me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com

Canon Video Game Review: Suikoden 2

Over the past three weeks or so, I have been immersed in playing the Role-Playing Game Suikoden 2. Released by Konami in Japan in 1998, and in North America in 1999, Suikoden 2 takes place three years after the events of Suikoden 1. In Suikoden 2, you control a young hero that seems to always find himself in the middle of some very tough situations. At the beginning, the hero and his friend, Jowy Atreides, are caught in an ambush of their unit in the Highland Army Youth Brigade. They escape by jumping into a river, only to be separated. The hero finds himself taken prisoner in a mercenary camp, but eventually Jowy frees him and the two go back to their hometown of Kyaro to reunite with the hero's sister Nanami. Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, you can't go home again, and the two are captured as spies for the City-State army. Just before they are to be executed, the three are freed by the hero's former captors, Viktor and Flik, and they head back to the City-State to prepare for war against the Highland army led by the evil Luca Blight.

Photo Courtesy of gamefaqs.com

One of the strengths of Suikoden 2 is the amount of characters involved in the story. For one, you can recruit up to 108 members for your army, each characters offering different strengths and weaknesses. Remarkably, almost each character has a rather detailed background and, while some are more featured than others, each character has their own distinct personality. You also can find out more about each characters by having an in-game private investigator named Richmond 'investigate' them for a small fee. While this isn't necessary to complete the game, it does add something to the gaming experience as a whole. However, not every character will be available for fighting, as some can only be used in the 'battle mode' and others are just there to serve specific purposes. For example, one person opens an armor shop in your castle, while another is responsible for storage of objects that aren't needed at that time.

There are three different modes of combat in Suikoden 2. The majority of battles will take place in a regular battle system that is similar to other RPGs, where a party of up to 6 people will fight off random enemies and bosses. Each character can be assigned runes to perform magic spells and special attacks, while some characters will pull off a combo attack. For example, the hero and Jowy have a combo in which they attack every member of the opponent's party at once, while a trio of circus performers can pull off a 'fire-breathing' attack that will result in major damage, but unfortunately will leave one of the performers unbalanced for the next turn. Also, instead of buying new weapons for each of your characters, you can get each one sharpened by a blacksmith, which can be found in various towns. The second battle mode is a duel mode, in which the hero squares off mano-a-mano against an opponent. The battle screen offers three choices (attack, defend, wild attack), and you must choose which option to do based off of clues given by the opponent's words in a text box. It kind of works like rock, paper, scissors, as for example, if you choose defend of a wild attack, the wild attack will fail and you will score major hit points. This is probably the simplest battle mode in this game, especially once you can figure out what each player is going to do. The third mode is a battle mode that is somewhat similar to Advance Wars, and will take place during major battles. In this mode, you lead various units composing of up to three characters and their armies into battle against the Highland army. Some of your units will have different abilities, as one unit may be composed of archers while another may attack with magic, depending on which character is in which unit. While this is an interesting mode and a nice change of pace to the regular battle mode, the one problem I had with this is that each battle's outcome is predetermined, so even if you're kicking the other side's head in, you may have to withdraw because, well, that's what the story calls for. I kind of wish they made these battles more open-ended instead of having a pre-determined outcome. That way, I could have more of an impact in these battles through using the right strategy and tactics instead of just going through the motions and waiting for the end.

Another interesting aspect of Suikoden 2 is that, as your army grows bigger and bigger, so does the castle that houses the army. As the castle evolves, your character goes from sharing a little bedroom with Nanami, to having your own penthouse suite on the top floor. Also, different stores will open up as you get more characters, so you can buy all your armor, runes, and equipment at your own headquarters. There are also mini-games to play at the castle, from fishing in the docks to playing wack-a-mole in the garden to having Iron Chef style cookoffs in the kitchen. Yes, you can have your own cooking competitions, offering up a variety of meals based on recipes you've collected throughout your travels and cooking up three meals to be judged by four random party members. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've competed in a cookoff with a unicorn and a bald antique collector serving as two of the judges.

Graphics wise, Suikoden 2 is kind of lacking when compared to the Final Fantasy games that came out during the same time, as the game is done in 2D. Even so, at least the graphics are crisp and well-organized for the most part. The sound is a strength in the game, especially the score, as there are quite a few tracks that are well done and will stay with you for awhile. Plus, the game offers a wide variety of tracks, so you don't hear the same song over and over again. Although this game isn't a direct sequel of Suikoden 1, players of the first game will recognize some of the characters from the first game, including Flik, Viktor, and Kasumi. Also, if you loaded up the save from a completed Suikoden 1 game at the beginning, there are a few bonus scenes, and you can even play as the hero from the first game, McDohl. If this game has a weak point, it's the translations of the text from Japanese to English, as sometimes it seems as if the characters are speaking in some form of broken English, and on one occassion, a female character is accidentally called 'he'.

Overall, despite some minor quibbles, Suikoden 2 is a great game. The storyline is engrossing and has enough twists and turns that will put you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. The battles in this game aren't too tedious, and with such a wide variety of characters to use, you'll have fun mixing and matching runes to each character. Add to that the minigames, the excellent soundtrack, and multiple endings, and Suikoden 2 is one of the finest RPGs of its era, if not of all time. Overall, I'd give it a 9.25 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post, or ideas for future posts, then share them with me either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com