The Shrine

FYI, a few spoilers included that I'm too lazy to hide. The game came out in 2002, you've had your chance to play it!

So, I got bored earlier this month and decided to re-visit some of my old and loved PS2 role playing games. This ended up in me deciding to play Suikoden III again, as the last time I played it was in 2003 and I barely remembered the game at all.

So, 64 hour laters, and I've beaten it. This was 6 hours longer than what my saves from 2003 indicate the game took to beat. The only reason for this that I can think of is that I remember when I first got the game, I found it to be quite slow moving and a bit confusing, and I think I put it down for a few months before fully diving into it just to beat it. I tried to power through most of it the first time.

This time around, however, I was fully intent on experiencing as much of the game as I could. Please note that this does NOT include wasting my time with bullshit like the theatre scripts or any mass-playing of the various card games available in Suikoden 3. I just wanted to actually hunt around a bit, optimize my parties, and hoard LOTS of cash for whatever I needed. Not to mention be a little more invested in understanding the various characters encountered to reach the 108 stars by the end of the game.

I will say that Geddoe's chapters are REALLY long compared to those of Chris and Hugo. I did each character's chapters to completion before moving on to another character. I went: Giddoe 1-2-3, Thomas 1-2, Chris 1-2-3, Hugo 1-2-3, and chose Geddoe as my Flame Champion (when I beat it in 2003, I went with Hugo).

After a second playthrough, I still really enjoy this game. Not so much for the gameplay itself, because it is basic, but moreso for the story and the characters. I have a soft spot for sim-type elements in games too (real estate in Fable, etc), so seeing your castle develop after recruiting more people is something I really enjoy.

The story for this game is a little more interesting than the other Suikodens, which mostly focus on kingdom-building and rival country clashes. In this Suikoden, Luc, a character from Suikoden 1 & 2, is the antagonist. His desire isn't power or to see Kingdom A become the super-power in the region, but rather to undo the power of the True Runes, which he thinks will unshackle humanity from the predetermined path of 'destiny'. Sure, war is still present in Suikoden 3, but it's more of a puppet-master scenario via deception rather than various countries pushing for territory (as the game originally presents the conflict).

I also enjoy the 108 SOD bonus for this game (being able to play a chapter as the antagonist after completing the game). This bonus chapter isn't too comprehensive, and mainly hops around to the main points of conflict between the protagonists and the antagonist, but from the antagonist's perspective. Still, fleshes out the story a bit more, which I'm all for because I love the story in the Suikoden franchise (yes, I realize the games are based off of the Chinese novel Shui Hu Zhuan).

Best thing about this Suikoden? Being able to have four True Runes in your party by the end of the game. I love the lore around the True Runes, and the other Suikoden's just don't expose you to as much insight into the True Runes, although I may find that memory of the series to be incorrect as I play more of them.

Worst part about this Suikoden? Having to wait until literally the final battle before being able to freely put Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe in the same party. At least you can still roam at this point, but by the end of the game there is little reason to do so.

So now that I'm done with Suikoden III again, I'm finally playing the original. I've started it twice before, only playing it for a few hours each time, but I'm in it for the long haul this time. So far I'm about 10 hours in (just got the 3rd & 4th floor of the castle). It's no Suikoden II, but the game is entertaining enough.

So after I'm done with Suikoden I, I plan on re-playing Suikoden V, and then Suikoden II.

I really can't see myself playing Suikoden IV or Suikoden Tactics again. The stories in the games were ok, but the gameplay and substandard environment/graphic design in the games make them hard to WANT to pick up again. Tactics and IV really felt like they lacked in direction, and gave me the impression that they were low-budget games, or poorly executed designs.

I am playing through Suikoden 1 now, following a short FAQ I made for myself after studying a much much longer one. Specifically, my goal is to get all 108 stars this time. I will do the same with 2 once I finish the first one.

I am also playing through Tierkreis for the first time. 3, 4, and 5; I am not sure about those, I have kept my eyes open, but I have never seen those ones.

With both one and two, I started them, played about 30% through, then jumped in about a year later.

So, I beat #1 now, took ~24 hours, and I got all 108 SOD. I will admit that I used a walkthrough for a bit of the game, as I don't have much patience for spots in the game that don't really let you know what to do next.

Good game, too bad I missed out on it when it first came out, I woulda loved it then, too. Definitely have more appreciation for #2 now that I know how some of the characters were from #1.

My new appreciation for #2 has made me decide to play it next, rather than #5 which I stated I would be playing next before. I also like that I can now play #2 with loaded #1 data, something I haven't been able to do before.

I started up #2 and got out of the mercenary fort at the beginning, but I think I'll put it down for a day or two now. Need a bit of a break.

Julius Seeker wrote:I am also playing through Tierkreis for the first time. 3, 4, and 5; I am not sure about those, I have kept my eyes open, but I have never seen those ones.

How is Tierkreis? I may have to pick that one up.

3, 4 and 5 are all hard to find (just like 1 and 2 are now, heh). I had to get 3 online three days after it came out because there was not a copy in the city to be found. I worked near the mall when 4, Tactics, and 5 came out, so I just picked them up as new releases. Haven't seen them since.

I enjoyed Tiekreis but it isn't really a true Suikoden game. Its kinda an alternate universe setting, where there are no runes and no tie in to the old world, the only thing that makes it a Suikoden game at all is the fact that there are 108 characters to recruit. A fun game, but not really a true Suikoden game.

The world map interface is identical to the PSX Final Fantasy Tactics.

Town Interface selection is similar to Phoenix Wright.

Everything else is like Chrono Trigger.

Battles are about the same as other Suikoden games.

The game has nothing to do with the City State, the Highlands, or Empire.

There is lots of voice acting, and most of the dialogue is spoken very quickly.

The plot seems a little more developed than Suikoden 1 so far, but not as much as 2. Same deal with the characters.

Overall, I am enjoying it, but I would probably rate it a little below Suikoden 1. Although I'll see when I finish it. I am probably enjoying it more than Suikoden 1 during my first playthrough when I reached about this far. We'll see though.

Oracle wrote:

Julius Seeker wrote:I am also playing through Tierkreis for the first time. 3, 4, and 5; I am not sure about those, I have kept my eyes open, but I have never seen those ones.

How is Tierkreis? I may have to pick that one up.

3, 4 and 5 are all hard to find (just like 1 and 2 are now, heh). I had to get 3 online three days after it came out because there was not a copy in the city to be found. I worked near the mall when 4, Tactics, and 5 came out, so I just picked them up as new releases. Haven't seen them since.

IV, V, and Tactics are still floating around up here. Are they going for a premium on Ebay?

So, after suddenly finding myself without a game to play after the short-lived Two Worlds 2, I figured to fill in the gap, I might as well play Suikoden IV again.

I know I said originally that I wasn't going to play the game again, but then I found out it has a new game+ feature. You get to keep money and items in your inventory (except for some set-specific pieces).

Now, I didn't know this before beating the game so I had very few runes un-equipped, and therefore they did not transfer over. But I had enough loot and cash to make it worth-while.

Game isn't as bad as I remembered it. It probably helps that I already know what's going on, as I remember when I first played the game, I was fairly clueless regarding why things were happening.

I've put a few hours into it. Since the game is fairly shor (~30 hours), I should have an update soon :p

4 was pretty average. I didn't hate it so much that I didn't try to recruit all 108 stars (don't remember if I did), but I'll probably never play it again. Still, it was much better than Tactics.

I'd really like to play 2 again someday, but there's the cost thing. Seems like a no-brainer to bring it to PSN, but I've been barking up that tree since S1 came out.

S3 is still my favorite with 2 and 5 tailing.

I have no idea why they never brought the 1 & 2 compilation for the PSP over here. Idiots

Yeah I dont get why they didn't put it out over here either, I almost imported it just to have it.

Blotus wrote:I'd really like to play 2 again someday, but there's the cost thing. Seems like a no-brainer to bring it to PSN, but I've been barking up that tree since S1 came out.

Don't let your morals get in the way of putting in another play-through of Suikoden 2 :p They don't make it available, phuk em.

Download epsxe for your computer, get a USB controller, and download the ISO. It's what I did :p

I really don't like the Suikoden series in the way they tie the story to the acquisition of the 108 stars that usually require doing a lot of completely stupid things to get. Usually you're not missing much but I think it's a bad idea to assume everyone actually care about those getting all 108 of those guys. Even in the original Suikoden (the book) there were a handful of interesting characters and the story never assumed you cared about what happened to about 90 of the characters.

I thought Luc's motivation was pretty weak, and the game from his point of view seems to show all he had was a string of failures as a villian wannabe. The whole thing about breaking the power of the True Runes is kind of silly since he's only like... 30 years old? It's not like he's Ted being stuck as a child for the 800 years or whatever. It's your standard "I've lived too long" plot except he has not lived too long even by human standards.

M'k'n'zy wrote:Yeah I dont get why they didn't put it out over here either, I almost imported it just to have it.

Konami is not particularly good at paying attention to their customer base. Almost as bad as Nintendo