Where does Suikoden III rank in relation to the rest of the series? What was the most memorable aspect? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through RUclips membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
For me, it ranks second place for me. I love the first game more in its music, battle system and the iconic characters, but I prefer the story and things to do in III. For me, II is first placed and the original is third placed.
It was my favortie for PS2 and I have played hundreds of RPG's including many JRPG's. The story at the time and way it was presented was totally new and unique. While FF7 was better it was not realeased exclusively for PS2. I replayed it about 5 years ago on emulator for that nostalgia factor and was very happy I did. The majority prefer 2 from what I read and that is fine. I guess it depends where you were at in 2002. After 9/11 I was disillusioned with the world and this game came when I needed an escape from the reality that many of us would come to know that the US government believes all ends justify the means, something everyone should have learned from the French Revolution is false. The story had a ton of nuance that flys over many heads and because of the switching of perspectives, short attention spans can lose the plot quickly. The graphics for the time were good but polygons don't age well. The music is good at times and terrible at others so hit or miss imo. The combat system is not as bad as you say. You can manipulate or finagle the pairings and turn order to a certain extent with the speed values. My problem is the tankier characters are slower and so they go last and end up not being front and center. The campaign battles were fun but until the later ones overly easy imo. If you played one and two first you probably liked two better but if this was your first installment of the series it probably will be your fav. Worth a play either way if you like the old JPRG's from the late 90's and early 00's.
never played it but from the looks of it I wont. I like the 2d style. I remember a bunch of buddies playing part one and i had never seen it before and I was blown away. the dice game the amount of characters you could recruit... My man was Blackman the farmer always had him on the team.
Suikoden3 Is still my favorite Suikoden in terms of Story. I loved almost every single member of the cast, and the idea of sticking it to Harmonia after their constant interference in Suikoden 2 was gratifying.
Indeed, Suikoden III was such a solid game, only thing I feel they could've done a bit better was the battle system. However, everything else was absolutely ace. The story was very well done, and did a great job continuing where Suikoden II left off. The soundtrack was top notch, especially the opener, which was just amazing. The plot twist regarding the Flame Champion was one I did not see coming. Also, I am a fan of Thomas and Cecile becoming a couple. The two of them had chemistry in how they interacted and grew together. I enjoyed the game, and feel it is a worthy follow-up to Suikoden II in every aspect. IV was a massive disappointment and V was a nice recovery. Shame this series has been put on ice. But who knows, maybe the Eiyuden Chronicles will scratch that itch.
S3 was my second favorite after S2. I'm a huge fan of the lore of the series, so having a fully beefed up party of True Rune users was so much fun at the end of the game!
I think Suikoden 3 has a story that is more about the setting vs the first two which filter the setting through your primary characters. In the first two you see the emerging effects of the actions of the protagonists on the setting, where as in the third it is about how the setting influences and changes the characters. Suikoden V is the closest to a balance of the two, but has some setting issues in terms of how....empty the world feels at time.
it's my all time favorite game. I remember bringing it home from gamestop as a kid, not knowing what it was and being confused by the trilogy system. since then, I've played it at least a dozen times over and read the manga as well.
Suikoden III was the first I played, and one that grabbed me. i was drawn in by the characters who seemed in my eyes, despite their quirks and the fact that there were 108 of them, well fleshed out and memorable. i loved the allusion to a richer history of the chinese Water Margin (aka Outlaws of the Marsh) where you're building a ragtag team of outcasts into a giant killer, a toppler of armies. I definitely (at the time) had a bit of a power fantasy in my games, wanting some characters to be special, OP somehow, and this game with its particular treatment of the True Rune concept, pegged that. For me, in a jrpg, story is king. if it doesn't draw me in, why grind? A game like this is breath of fire 4, final fantasy IX, but the standout of this game for me was unexpected. Thomas is *easily* the main character and the best tale of how to be a leader against opposition, to use simple determination to bring people together who never would have been otherwise. It scratched a social nerve that would later on form stronger links for me as I grew older. This game for me, had all of the love you didn't for it, and more, but it is interesting hearing your perspective on it! i could imagine it wasn't popular for most gamers at the time of its release, and especially for fans of the series. something like how i felt about breath of fire 5, which probably wasn't as bad as i remember.
Nice to see another Water Margin fan. Suikoden games tend to use the 108 Stars as a gimmick, but Suikoden III had such a fullness to it with many relevant characters surrounding each of the five perspective characters (well six, but one of them doesn't count) and interacting seamlessly between them when their stories intersect pre-Chapter 4. Then, when you do get to that point and pick your Flame Champion, you really see how much your ragtag band has their work cut out for them -- and ultimately see what's actually driving the conflict ... and then see why it's being driven ... and then (if you were cool and picked Geddoe as your Flame Champion) see that driving force get taken to school like no one else could ... well, it's just top-shelf material. Maybe not as a game per se, but definitely as a story.
Suikoden 3 is my favourite in the series. I do agree that some of the gameplay mechanics are hard to understand and frustrating (I softlocked myself in my first playthrough into an area where I couldn't level up and had to restart, lol). However, I personally found the story and how the story was told (being able to play as multiple characters) as both the most in-depth and most endearing ways to play a war story. I couldn't help but cheer for both Chris & Hugo, despite the fact that they started off on opposing sides of the war. I wanted the characters to find a way to work together, and I was deeply invested in trying to understand how everything would come together. They made a lot of the side characters very likable as well (Jaques was honestly one of my most favourite characters on Geddoe's team). The fact that you get to see a war from various perspectives is very enthralling, and you get to see the characters grow & change in terms of strength, convictions, and understanding what they should be fighting for. I do agree that Suikoden 1 & 2 are great games, but I didn't feel half as invested into what was happening storywise and the characters themselves, as much as I did for Suikoden 3.
I remember feeling like I was really disappointed in Suikoden 3 when it released. Something kept me on it though. Once you get to Thomas's story and the characters come together....BAM...INCREDIBLE GAME! I replayed it recently, and with knowledge of how the battle system really worked, I fell in love with it all over again.
The early chapters for Chris and Hugo are pretty weak IMO is why. Chris' story is the long-haul, self-exploration reveal, and Hugo's is debatably the main character with the early tone shift to drive his motives. Meanwhile Geddoe's mystery arc and flaunt with the villains early on gets better player intrigue.
Three has come to be my second favorite in the series and in some ways it's my favorite. I really appreciate more people covering the Suikoden games and giving them some more coverage
So a lot of things I love about this game. The skill system, the mount system, the random spawning treasure chests, the level 99 glitch that can actually help characters unlock their last true rune spells. The rune spells are great, second only to suikoden 2 imo and it's nice to see all the returning characters from previous games. The main villain was awesome, the entire ideology behind what he was trying to do and the curse that Hikuusak's clones carry. The True runes are awesome in this game. The trinity system was fun, 3 different perspectives(4 after you beat the game) and I think the world and the cultures are very fleshed out. Great places like Duck village, the village with the manta riders, chisha village and really all the grassland clans, zexen knights and upper society are all very well conveyed and varied in this game; they are all designed very well, very unique. You also have REAL choice, you can pick your hero and that's kind of cool. I think 3 is a pretty damn good installment. My favorite suikodens in this order...S5, S2, S3, S1, S4 and then tactics.
@@bodhidaruma2824 You can make Chris keep fighting endless enemies which will always grant insane experience, get her to the high 90's and she will be able to use the last spell on the true water rune if you've chosen to give that to her. I don't remember the particular sof the glitch as it has been years but saving and reloading is involved.
S3 was my favorite of the franchise. Watching the culmination of the first two stories filter into the third was awesome. Plus the political intrigue of the third, in form of story, was epic. Plus, we got to meet Geddoe finally, after tidbits left here and there about the true lightening rune user. I also enjoyed that female characters in S3 were powerful in their own right as respected leaders and competent individuals. I also read the manga that accompanied the game and got a lot more lore and insight what was going on behind the scenes that wasn't fleshed out in the game. Lastly Queen and Chris were absolute legends.
Good game, but i liked the manga much more. The personalities of the characters are better showcased in the page, and the story is presented in a much more cohesive way
Super enjoyed this game. I played it long ago and liked it so much I got the stars of destiny fully recruited. There's a very cool unlockable that gives more insight into certain characters and part of the story if you recruit all the recruitable characters
I disagree with your take on the Trinity system. I think it brings more depth to the story seeing it from different point of views. However, I understand everyone is different when playing games. The character models are like Skies of Arcadia which isn’t a bad thing either.
2 , 1, 3, 5, tactics, 4 is probably my scale of best to worst. 2 was just perfect in every way. 1 and 2 having some of the same characters was pretty awesome. totally agree though on when it comes to the characters themselves that the ones in 1 and 2 were just so memorable and had so much repour with them.
@@Evilriku13 Suikoden 5 was a masterpiece that gets overshadowed by 1 and 2. I really had high hopes it would kick the series into high gear until Konami was like "let's go make pachinko machines instead"
In my opinion is the Suikoden that best use its large cast of characters, in other games usually focus in a smaller set of character where most are just for battle or for upgrade your base. My first playthrough took me around 50/55 hours and most of the time was expended backtracking, I was replaying early this year and saw that you can recruit everyone after you get fast travel so I was trying that to see if would reduce the play time, but I started playing other games ans didnt finish, so I'm not sure if is viable specially because I cant say how hard the war battles can get. Either way with all its problems I rank as my second fav in the series just behind 2
The problem of suiko V is,they use to much light.its too painful to play it more than 2hours. About the story'...it is bit too idealistic. If you familiar with Japan politics,the suiko V conflicts is much like battle between right wing politician with centrist.
They don't need it to make it too bright. And somewhat the background is lacking.i remember there is armor shop just consist of somebody standing and armor icon.
Another problem for 3 is,even the perspective of conflicting parties is rich,the game feels too short. Meanwhile in five,the conflict feels more black and white,between supremacist(Godwin) and pluralist(prince side),and dunno for me it is tiring because too much lighting that makes my eyes tired so soon,or they just make the game unecessary long.
Explain thos cause aside from the story the game is very repeditive, verrrrry slow, and didnt add anything new that the previous titles already did? I dont get the suttle hype with that game lol
I share the same sentiment. 3 was a great game, but I just never had the urge to go back and play it again. 1 & especially 2 I have beaten multiple times probably around 12 or so. 5 I went through two and a half times. But 3 & 4 only the once.
As soon as you said you were a huge fan of Suikoden I and II back in the day, I knew exactly the direction this review would go, as I remember these same arguments from 20 years ago. Who knows, maybe we even crossed swords ourselves, heh. It was encouraging though to read other great comments people have made here in defense of this game, I second all of them. As for my view, now as it was then, Suikoden III is a work of art in video game format. Which probably doesn't make for a great game -- I actually kinda liked it as a game, from the squad-based combat to a skill-based system that still felt like characters were distinct in their talents, but YMMV -- but from a literary perspective it's tremendous. There are very few, not just video games but very few works of literature that have accomplished what Suikoden III did, which was to tell the story of a war from every relevant perspective, and doing so without being dry, academic fare. For me it was a transformative experience, though if I explained why this would all turn very political and I don't want to go down that road; just note what was happening in the world 2002-2003 and you can put it together.
I was getting ready to rail on this game really hard, but the point you made at the end makes sense. Decent game on its own, but suffers because it doesn't live up to the first two.
This is my first suikoden game. ❤ I was a kid and wanted to get a new game and could only afford this one. Everything about this game is so memorable to me, the story, game play, and music. I even have the games music as a playlist. I felt for all the characters and always wanted to know more and play more like this, but the 4th just seemed different, as for the first 2. I have yet to play them and will try them out.
I grew up playing Suikoden 3 so I don't have the previous perspective of Suikoden 1 or 2 but to me Suikoden 3 hands down had one of the best soundtracks. I've recently been trying out the other games of the series and as much as I can respect the legacy left behind (and cringe at playing 4) I think 3 was not only peak Suikoden but peak JRPG's to this day. Being able to swap different characters on separate sides of the war, gradually building an army and having said member participate in your battles and each main character brings something new and interesting to the table (i always love how stupid dummy rich Chris is compared to the other two MC's) I haven't played any other RPG that's tried to balance 3 main characters like this so well and have me sympathize and recoil in disgust at their actions at the same time. Incredible game.
What I didn't like was that Pesmerga wasn't here, and that this was Yuber's last appearance in the story, yet he never got what he deserved, he just escaped as always.
@@SeventhheavenDK Now that you mentioned it yeah I have same sentiments but I think I've read or watched somewhere that Yuber's disguise was so good Pesmerga wasn't able to detect him.
1 and 2 rank together in the top for me simple cause the map. Suikoden 3 though, story wise, to include the villain's story was the best of all of them. 4's water map though, that was horrible. And the story was meh for me. Tactics for me was better than FF Tactics. 5, Story was amazing and i like how it went back to the original open map, and probably sits just under 3 for me. Im excited to see whats coming with the revival of the trademark, and with the Eiyuden Chronicles Hundred Heroes when that comes out.
I for one think the graphics are great! Their choice to go for a more stylized rather than realistic look paid off in how this game visually aged better than many other early PS2 games.
Hey whats the music for your intro? Love hearing it and it sounds so familiar but can’t place it. Love your videos brother, keep it up. Hope to introduce my future children to our games.
im the strategic overhead type of reader. suikoden 3 is best for me in the POV standpoint, the opposite for most people. the focusing in 1 pov is the standart indeed and made you invested in the character. The switching and multiple pov however added to the lore much more clearer. it might be said that this kind of story telling is something historian might like more. having more source to assemble story with different perspective given conflicting picture of an even or series of it. ultimately yes, the people itself feels like a chess piece of large revealing. the best part about this multiple pov is the even that happening.
Oh man seeing this game brings back memories from my pre teen years, the story of the game is actually great in my opinion. I just didn't like some of the mechanics introduced in this game, the battle and war system specifically. It's cause of that I had a hard time trying to finish the game. And that twist in the story the further you delve in to the trinity character system, I won't spoil it but I just wished they stuck to the original formula the first two introduced. One of my major pet peeve in this game is that when you go thru the trouble of loading your Suikoden 2 save data unto this one is that all you get is a mere mention of the castle and protagonist you named in Suikoden 2. It doesn't even show up until further in the story. At least in Suikoden 2 you have a chance to use recruit and use the protagonist from Suikoden 1 with all his stats and skills carried over. But hey at least Konami learned from their mistake and brought the usual Suikoden formula back in IV and V which made them classic Suikoden games in their own rights. I hope that Eiyuuden won't end up like this.
Thank you for actually calling this series what it is. A “cult following”. So sick of these nerds who pretend suikoden was this huge series that everyone played. No, it was niche and your average joe still to this day has no clue what suikoden is. Final fantasy is mainstream
Very true, fans always talk about how amazing Suikoden 1 and 2 were, but they didn't review or sell that well back in their time, they were treated as just "good games" If anything, I feel like the limited print made their value skyrocket
Definitely my favourite suikoden, you get to use many many of the characters even till the end, the story is just perfection, the main characters are not silent protagonists. Check out the manga version, it is just as awesome as you'd expect.
Great review of Suikoden III! I've always been a fan of the series and your insights really captured the essence of the game. Keep up the fantastic work, looking forward to more content from your channel! 🎮👍
Its still hands down my favorite out of them all. Story, design, and characters. I guess some didnt like the battle system but i loved its simple controls and reminded me of 2 very much. But i cant i absolutely loved part 4 too and thats the black sheep of the series haha
For me Suikoden 5, 4, 2, 3 is my fav in that order. But I haven't played 2 since like forever. Perhaps with the new Remaster for 1&2 coming out, that order may change. From what I recall, 2 was very good.
This is a series I need to play through yet. I own and have beaten multiple times Suikoden Tactics but I haven't played any of the other games. I got Tactics like 15 years ago or something because I loved those strategy/tactics style games and I thought it was great but upon further research I'm sure I'd enjoy it even more with more of the context from Suikoden 4 since it's part of a series in which I've never played through. I now have the first game on my PS3 and I know I can get the 2nd one on PSN also. In fact, last I looked, you might be able to get the PS2 games through PSN also. Dunno. I'd like to purchase the full series complete physical copies but I also know that the Suikoden games, especially the PS2 games, are pretty pricey. And when I purchase PS1 and up I insist on getting it complete which the case and manual and the disk in good working order. But I think they are worth the investment. I love JRPGs and I love owning them. I have ROMs for two gaiden games in the series that never came out over here I guess also. I wonder how those stack up?
5 is tops for me by a mile, then 1. I enjoyed the other three, but not as much as 5 and 1. I'm playing through 2 again right now, and all those things I didn't like about it are still true. Enjoying it though.
This is my favorite Suikoden but I could be biased as it is the first I played. And personally I found 4 to be much harder with a far less interesting story.
For me 3 is the only one I haven't been able to get through all the way. I would probably say the games from best to worst would be 2>1>5>4>3. I do plan on trying again soon, but man I'm not looking forward to it.
Finally a comment I can agree with. This game was just so boring and bland. It felt like a compete betrayal to me. To me it's 2/5, 1, 4, 3 (I played Tactics but I dont remember it).
Personally I think this game is my 2nd fav. Part 2 being my favorite. I can relate to most of the main characters. I guess I put myself in each characters shoes. It is also a game where you just feel for the Antagonist Luc & Sarah. I almost feel bad for them but there is no excuse to their reign of terror. I actually like the music, I think most of the sound tracks are really good. Ya I get that the formation & the battle sequences is not to everyone's liking. I actually don't mind it, it takes strategy The run down castle goes with the story, They only have so much time to do certain repairs because of the story.
I don't get what you mean by the Unite attacks not working at times. Aside from the two-person unites (that require the participants to be in the same pair block), Unite attacks can be used as long as their conditions are met: participants are present regardless of pair block, some require to be mounted - that of the three knights and the Futch-Bright-Sharon one - and not suffering from debuffs like sleep, stun or confused. My biggest beef with this game (even though I'm obsessed with it) is the abundance of sword users and the similarities between unite attacks (Suikoden IV is terribly guilty of the latter). Oh, and there's also the lack of engagement between the Star Dragon Sword and its current (super boring) wielder - seriously, what was the point of bringing it back? Also, Jongleur is my favorite rune here. And who knew Percival can "sing". Unfortunately he doesn't have the skills associated with the said rune.
What do those little green squares in the character list represent? They appear to the right of the portraits and to the left of the hit points. Thanks much.
i remember there was a Manga adaptation for this game when it came out was thinking of getting them at the time but didn't. only plus side to this game was getting to use your saved game file from the previous Suikoden game for additional game dialogue and play settings.
S3 story is amazing but the gameplay is a mess. First the battle system as you mentioned, then the lack of chests and the notorious backtracking through the same boring areas never gave me an incentive to play this again compared to S1 and 2 which I play every year
I loved everything about Suikoden 3 except for the field battle music. it just seemed off. Fighting the mobs with that joyous music just didn't seem right.
I personally always liked Suikoden and Tales of Destiny better than FF, hell Legend of Dragoon is better than FF. Having said that FF6, 9, and 10 are pretty decent story wise.
My favorites are Suikoden 1 and 2 on PS1. I was very disappointed with 3 and I didn't like the 3D graphics. When they release Suikoden i & ii hd remaster, I'll wait for an offer and play them again on PC.
The main issue for me its just the main battle system, like why only 3 actions !?!?! I just felt so restrained by it, i mean the battle is like 70% of the game, even war battle which also another issue. Though i love how you move to attack the enemy, the rune aoe and the mount system! But such a turn off when you can only use 3 actions 🥲 hope the remaster turn out well and they can revisit this game 🙏
I've never played any of them. But I gotta say the game looks pretty decent for the time. The character models and for how many there are. I've been playing grandia 2 on switch and it's better than that. Looks like a step towards what radiata story did.
3 is one of those games that had a lot of flaws, but everything else outweighed it. One of my first PS2 JRPGs, and in my top 5 of that era. Better than 4, IMO.
2 and 5 are my favorite, but I think 3 would be the third one, I actually like the battle system and the characters, the only thing I really hate and sometimes stops me from playing the game is the absurd backtracking, and that the game sometimes drags on way too much because of the Trinity System. About the backtracking, even after you recruit Viki there are many occasions that the game blocks the use of teleportation, and I found most of those times as something very unnecessary. The War battles are also IMO the worst in the series, because unlike the other games, they offer nothing new, it's technically the same common random battles, with the only difference of your allies being controlled by the AI. Also, Luc's chapter is super boring, is kind of interesting story wise, at least the first time you play it, but gameplay wise is super boring, because it has almost no gameplay, is just watching the scenes, and most of the few battles there are against enemies that die with just one spell of Luc or Sarah.
This used to be one of my favourite episodes, but I replayed it last year and gosh, has it aged poorly. I would definitely put second to last now, with 4 being the only one I like less.
For me, Gensou Suikoden III is my favourite PS2 Gensou Suikoden game. IV and V are great games, but III while not being as good battle system wise and characters visuals wise, I loved its story, characters, background visuals, extra activities, battle animations and world building.
Prob my least favorite Suikoden next to 4, in terms of overall gameplay experience. I loved the skill system but disliked the pairing system in battles and the trinity system where I never got the chance to really be invested in a team. I even liked Tierkreis more tbh. It has one of the better stories though but very short overall due to the chapters just being repeated through different POVs. Interesting and I liked it but it's still a tradeoff.
Suikoden 1-2 are top 5 games in the world, the music to the graphics just stick in my mind. I will never sell my suikoden 1-2, Suikoden 3 was awful imo. Thank you for covering this
Better then IV but worse then I, II, and V. The normal battle system was interesting but IMO a horrible choice to pair with a True Fire Rune wielding protagonist.
@@Xygor i wish. Sadly during the PS2 era,(i didn't get into online shopping til ps4) I made this mistake of getting the worst title in the franchise a 2nd time. The second time was Wild Arms 4, which apparently is considered the worst of the series in terms of characters and plot...and the only Wild Arms that isnt Old Western themed. Although it did have an innovative battle system that actually made it into the sequel so that was the one positive note.
Where does Suikoden III rank in relation to the rest of the series? What was the most memorable aspect?
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For me, it ranks second place for me. I love the first game more in its music, battle system and the iconic characters, but I prefer the story and things to do in III. For me, II is first placed and the original is third placed.
It was my favortie for PS2 and I have played hundreds of RPG's including many JRPG's. The story at the time and way it was presented was totally new and unique. While FF7 was better it was not realeased exclusively for PS2. I replayed it about 5 years ago on emulator for that nostalgia factor and was very happy I did.
The majority prefer 2 from what I read and that is fine. I guess it depends where you were at in 2002. After 9/11 I was disillusioned with the world and this game came when I needed an escape from the reality that many of us would come to know that the US government believes all ends justify the means, something everyone should have learned from the French Revolution is false.
The story had a ton of nuance that flys over many heads and because of the switching of perspectives, short attention spans can lose the plot quickly. The graphics for the time were good but polygons don't age well. The music is good at times and terrible at others so hit or miss imo. The combat system is not as bad as you say. You can manipulate or finagle the pairings and turn order to a certain extent with the speed values. My problem is the tankier characters are slower and so they go last and end up not being front and center. The campaign battles were fun but until the later ones overly easy imo.
If you played one and two first you probably liked two better but if this was your first installment of the series it probably will be your fav. Worth a play either way if you like the old JPRG's from the late 90's and early 00's.
It sits at last place
never played it but from the looks of it I wont. I like the 2d style. I remember a bunch of buddies playing part one and i had never seen it before and I was blown away. the dice game the amount of characters you could recruit... My man was Blackman the farmer always had him on the team.
for me (not including tactics) its: 4,5,3,1,2
Suikoden3 Is still my favorite Suikoden in terms of Story. I loved almost every single member of the cast, and the idea of sticking it to Harmonia after their constant interference in Suikoden 2 was gratifying.
Love the whole series, i can't decide which is my favorite but s3 is the one I want to replay the most
Woah! Finally found another one who likes Suikoden 3.
Indeed, Suikoden III was such a solid game, only thing I feel they could've done a bit better was the battle system.
However, everything else was absolutely ace. The story was very well done, and did a great job continuing where Suikoden II left off. The soundtrack was top notch, especially the opener, which was just amazing.
The plot twist regarding the Flame Champion was one I did not see coming. Also, I am a fan of Thomas and Cecile becoming a couple. The two of them had chemistry in how they interacted and grew together.
I enjoyed the game, and feel it is a worthy follow-up to Suikoden II in every aspect. IV was a massive disappointment and V was a nice recovery.
Shame this series has been put on ice. But who knows, maybe the Eiyuden Chronicles will scratch that itch.
2 and 5 are my favorite, but damn...Suikoden 3 is VERY good, especially for that exploratory era of PS2/3D game design at the time.
S3 was my second favorite after S2. I'm a huge fan of the lore of the series, so having a fully beefed up party of True Rune users was so much fun at the end of the game!
I think Suikoden 3 has a story that is more about the setting vs the first two which filter the setting through your primary characters. In the first two you see the emerging effects of the actions of the protagonists on the setting, where as in the third it is about how the setting influences and changes the characters.
Suikoden V is the closest to a balance of the two, but has some setting issues in terms of how....empty the world feels at time.
it's my all time favorite game. I remember bringing it home from gamestop as a kid, not knowing what it was and being confused by the trilogy system. since then, I've played it at least a dozen times over and read the manga as well.
Own and played them all, this was by far my favorite one
Suikoden III was the first I played, and one that grabbed me. i was drawn in by the characters who seemed in my eyes, despite their quirks and the fact that there were 108 of them, well fleshed out and memorable. i loved the allusion to a richer history of the chinese Water Margin (aka Outlaws of the Marsh) where you're building a ragtag team of outcasts into a giant killer, a toppler of armies. I definitely (at the time) had a bit of a power fantasy in my games, wanting some characters to be special, OP somehow, and this game with its particular treatment of the True Rune concept, pegged that. For me, in a jrpg, story is king. if it doesn't draw me in, why grind? A game like this is breath of fire 4, final fantasy IX, but the standout of this game for me was unexpected. Thomas is *easily* the main character and the best tale of how to be a leader against opposition, to use simple determination to bring people together who never would have been otherwise. It scratched a social nerve that would later on form stronger links for me as I grew older. This game for me, had all of the love you didn't for it, and more, but it is interesting hearing your perspective on it! i could imagine it wasn't popular for most gamers at the time of its release, and especially for fans of the series. something like how i felt about breath of fire 5, which probably wasn't as bad as i remember.
Nice to see another Water Margin fan. Suikoden games tend to use the 108 Stars as a gimmick, but Suikoden III had such a fullness to it with many relevant characters surrounding each of the five perspective characters (well six, but one of them doesn't count) and interacting seamlessly between them when their stories intersect pre-Chapter 4.
Then, when you do get to that point and pick your Flame Champion, you really see how much your ragtag band has their work cut out for them -- and ultimately see what's actually driving the conflict ... and then see why it's being driven ... and then (if you were cool and picked Geddoe as your Flame Champion) see that driving force get taken to school like no one else could ... well, it's just top-shelf material. Maybe not as a game per se, but definitely as a story.
Suikoden 3 is my favourite in the series. I do agree that some of the gameplay mechanics are hard to understand and frustrating (I softlocked myself in my first playthrough into an area where I couldn't level up and had to restart, lol). However, I personally found the story and how the story was told (being able to play as multiple characters) as both the most in-depth and most endearing ways to play a war story. I couldn't help but cheer for both Chris & Hugo, despite the fact that they started off on opposing sides of the war. I wanted the characters to find a way to work together, and I was deeply invested in trying to understand how everything would come together. They made a lot of the side characters very likable as well (Jaques was honestly one of my most favourite characters on Geddoe's team). The fact that you get to see a war from various perspectives is very enthralling, and you get to see the characters grow & change
in terms of strength, convictions, and understanding what they should be fighting for. I do agree that Suikoden 1 & 2 are great games, but I didn't feel half as invested into what was happening storywise and the characters themselves, as much as I did for Suikoden 3.
Glad you like it more than I do!
I remember feeling like I was really disappointed in Suikoden 3 when it released. Something kept me on it though. Once you get to Thomas's story and the characters come together....BAM...INCREDIBLE GAME! I replayed it recently, and with knowledge of how the battle system really worked, I fell in love with it all over again.
The early chapters for Chris and Hugo are pretty weak IMO is why. Chris' story is the long-haul, self-exploration reveal, and Hugo's is debatably the main character with the early tone shift to drive his motives. Meanwhile Geddoe's mystery arc and flaunt with the villains early on gets better player intrigue.
Three has come to be my second favorite in the series and in some ways it's my favorite. I really appreciate more people covering the Suikoden games and giving them some more coverage
So a lot of things I love about this game. The skill system, the mount system, the random spawning treasure chests, the level 99 glitch that can actually help characters unlock their last true rune spells. The rune spells are great, second only to suikoden 2 imo and it's nice to see all the returning characters from previous games. The main villain was awesome, the entire ideology behind what he was trying to do and the curse that Hikuusak's clones carry. The True runes are awesome in this game. The trinity system was fun, 3 different perspectives(4 after you beat the game) and I think the world and the cultures are very fleshed out. Great places like Duck village, the village with the manta riders, chisha village and really all the grassland clans, zexen knights and upper society are all very well conveyed and varied in this game; they are all designed very well, very unique. You also have REAL choice, you can pick your hero and that's kind of cool. I think 3 is a pretty damn good installment. My favorite suikodens in this order...S5, S2, S3, S1, S4 and then tactics.
what level 99 glitch?
@@bodhidaruma2824 You can make Chris keep fighting endless enemies which will always grant insane experience, get her to the high 90's and she will be able to use the last spell on the true water rune if you've chosen to give that to her. I don't remember the particular sof the glitch as it has been years but saving and reloading is involved.
S3 was my favorite of the franchise. Watching the culmination of the first two stories filter into the third was awesome. Plus the political intrigue of the third, in form of story, was epic. Plus, we got to meet Geddoe finally, after tidbits left here and there about the true lightening rune user. I also enjoyed that female characters in S3 were powerful in their own right as respected leaders and competent individuals. I also read the manga that accompanied the game and got a lot more lore and insight what was going on behind the scenes that wasn't fleshed out in the game.
Lastly Queen and Chris were absolute legends.
I appreciate your feedback, glad you liked it more than me!
Good game, but i liked the manga much more. The personalities of the characters are better showcased in the page, and the story is presented in a much more cohesive way
Super enjoyed this game. I played it long ago and liked it so much I got the stars of destiny fully recruited. There's a very cool unlockable that gives more insight into certain characters and part of the story if you recruit all the recruitable characters
I disagree with your take on the Trinity system. I think it brings more depth to the story seeing it from different point of views. However, I understand everyone is different when playing games. The character models are like Skies of Arcadia which isn’t a bad thing either.
2 , 1, 3, 5, tactics, 4 is probably my scale of best to worst. 2 was just perfect in every way. 1 and 2 having some of the same characters was pretty awesome. totally agree though on when it comes to the characters themselves that the ones in 1 and 2 were just so memorable and had so much repour with them.
Suikoden 5's cast being very present and elaborated in the game: "am I a joke to you?"
@@Evilriku13 Suikoden 5 was a masterpiece that gets overshadowed by 1 and 2. I really had high hopes it would kick the series into high gear until Konami was like "let's go make pachinko machines instead"
*rapport, not repour :)
In my opinion is the Suikoden that best use its large cast of characters, in other games usually focus in a smaller set of character where most are just for battle or for upgrade your base. My first playthrough took me around 50/55 hours and most of the time was expended backtracking, I was replaying early this year and saw that you can recruit everyone after you get fast travel so I was trying that to see if would reduce the play time, but I started playing other games ans didnt finish, so I'm not sure if is viable specially because I cant say how hard the war battles can get. Either way with all its problems I rank as my second fav in the series just behind 2
Such a spot on review of this one. My fave is S2 and I shared the exact same sentiments when I saw this one
Yup same here.
Hard to be the best JRPG on the PS2 when Suikoden V was vastly superior in every way.
The problem of suiko V is,they use to much light.its too painful to play it more than 2hours.
About the story'...it is bit too idealistic.
If you familiar with Japan politics,the suiko V conflicts is much like battle between right wing politician with centrist.
@@soegengsoeprijanto45 Too much light. In a game where the central McGuffin is the *SUN* Rune.
_=^o.0^=_
They don't need it to make it too bright.
And somewhat the background is lacking.i remember there is armor shop just consist of somebody standing and armor icon.
Another problem for 3 is,even the perspective of conflicting parties is rich,the game feels too short.
Meanwhile in five,the conflict feels more black and white,between supremacist(Godwin) and pluralist(prince side),and dunno for me it is tiring because too much lighting that makes my eyes tired so soon,or they just make the game unecessary long.
Explain thos cause aside from the story the game is very repeditive, verrrrry slow, and didnt add anything new that the previous titles already did? I dont get the suttle hype with that game lol
I share the same sentiment. 3 was a great game, but I just never had the urge to go back and play it again. 1 & especially 2 I have beaten multiple times probably around 12 or so.
5 I went through two and a half times. But 3 & 4 only the once.
Will further ones be reviewed?
Yes.
I feel like I enjoyed 5 more than 3, but it's been a looooong time since I've played any. 2 will always be my fav
As soon as you said you were a huge fan of Suikoden I and II back in the day, I knew exactly the direction this review would go, as I remember these same arguments from 20 years ago. Who knows, maybe we even crossed swords ourselves, heh. It was encouraging though to read other great comments people have made here in defense of this game, I second all of them. As for my view, now as it was then, Suikoden III is a work of art in video game format. Which probably doesn't make for a great game -- I actually kinda liked it as a game, from the squad-based combat to a skill-based system that still felt like characters were distinct in their talents, but YMMV -- but from a literary perspective it's tremendous. There are very few, not just video games but very few works of literature that have accomplished what Suikoden III did, which was to tell the story of a war from every relevant perspective, and doing so without being dry, academic fare. For me it was a transformative experience, though if I explained why this would all turn very political and I don't want to go down that road; just note what was happening in the world 2002-2003 and you can put it together.
Thanks for all your thoughts here, aLL OF YOUR REASONING IS FAIR AND GLAD YOU ENJOYED TEH GAME.
Looking forward to this one! Nothing like being able to battle fantasy monsters with a PE coach doing arm lifts
For me S3 had the best gameplay thanks to the skill system.
I was getting ready to rail on this game really hard, but the point you made at the end makes sense. Decent game on its own, but suffers because it doesn't live up to the first two.
Yeah, I think that is the best way of putting it.
I agree with you. I enjoyed playing S3 but I do not miss it as much as I miss S1 and S2.
My little brother and I played the hell out of all three of the Suikoden games. We still talk about them to this day.
Tons of nostalgia in that series for me too, I can't blame you!
“All 3?” You know there are more than 3 games in the series, right!? Lol
@@MerkhVision No, I did not know this, I stopped gaming on console after the PS2 days, so that is probably why.
I spent hours on it and never beat it. It was incredible. Some of its music is still in my mind.
Great to hear that!
This is my first suikoden game. ❤ I was a kid and wanted to get a new game and could only afford this one. Everything about this game is so memorable to me, the story, game play, and music. I even have the games music as a playlist. I felt for all the characters and always wanted to know more and play more like this, but the 4th just seemed different, as for the first 2. I have yet to play them and will try them out.
Thanks for sharing your memories of it!
I love Geddoe and his band of misfits! The arguing, bickering and bantering is just hillarious :)
Suikoden 2 was the best one in my opinion. My favourite Ps2 titles are Dragon Quest VIII and Xenosaga
I grew up playing Suikoden 3 so I don't have the previous perspective of Suikoden 1 or 2 but to me Suikoden 3 hands down had one of the best soundtracks. I've recently been trying out the other games of the series and as much as I can respect the legacy left behind (and cringe at playing 4) I think 3 was not only peak Suikoden but peak JRPG's to this day.
Being able to swap different characters on separate sides of the war, gradually building an army and having said member participate in your battles and each main character brings something new and interesting to the table (i always love how stupid dummy rich Chris is compared to the other two MC's) I haven't played any other RPG that's tried to balance 3 main characters like this so well and have me sympathize and recoil in disgust at their actions at the same time.
Incredible game.
Some people dislike Yuber on this one but I love fighting him here. makes my palms sweaty
Seen a clip losing to Yuber S3 I just grinded until I could beat him
What I didn't like was that Pesmerga wasn't here, and that this was Yuber's last appearance in the story, yet he never got what he deserved, he just escaped as always.
@@SeventhheavenDK Now that you mentioned it yeah I have same sentiments but I think I've read or watched somewhere that Yuber's disguise was so good Pesmerga wasn't able to detect him.
@@SeventhheavenDK Knowing Pesmerga, he probably got lost somewhere... again. 😁
Level yubers weapon to max and it literally reads "Pesmerga".
One and two are untouched for me. I think I beat three as well, I remember one of them I got stuck on the last boss. That may have been four
I'll have to check it out. Just got done playing Dragon Quest 8 on the PS2, and liked it very much.
1 and 2 rank together in the top for me simple cause the map. Suikoden 3 though, story wise, to include the villain's story was the best of all of them. 4's water map though, that was horrible. And the story was meh for me. Tactics for me was better than FF Tactics. 5, Story was amazing and i like how it went back to the original open map, and probably sits just under 3 for me. Im excited to see whats coming with the revival of the trademark, and with the Eiyuden Chronicles Hundred Heroes when that comes out.
I for one think the graphics are great! Their choice to go for a more stylized rather than realistic look paid off in how this game visually aged better than many other early PS2 games.
Fair enough!
Best RPG on the PS2 💯!
Absolutely loved this game!
Hey whats the music for your intro? Love hearing it and it sounds so familiar but can’t place it. Love your videos brother, keep it up. Hope to introduce my future children to our games.
The intro music he uses is called "Magus Confronted" from Chrono Trigger.
Magus' Theme from Chrono Trigger
I think Suikoden II was the best.
That's hard to argue against!
im the strategic overhead type of reader.
suikoden 3 is best for me in the POV standpoint, the opposite for most people. the focusing in 1 pov is the standart indeed and made you invested in the character. The switching and multiple pov however added to the lore much more clearer.
it might be said that this kind of story telling is something historian might like more. having more source to assemble story with different perspective given conflicting picture of an even or series of it.
ultimately yes, the people itself feels like a chess piece of large revealing. the best part about this multiple pov is the even that happening.
Oh wow didnt expect this.
At 1:02 upper mid-left of screen... Didja see it?!
Oh man seeing this game brings back memories from my pre teen years, the story of the game is actually great in my opinion. I just didn't like some of the mechanics introduced in this game, the battle and war system specifically. It's cause of that I had a hard time trying to finish the game. And that twist in the story the further you delve in to the trinity character system, I won't spoil it but I just wished they stuck to the original formula the first two introduced. One of my major pet peeve in this game is that when you go thru the trouble of loading your Suikoden 2 save data unto this one is that all you get is a mere mention of the castle and protagonist you named in Suikoden 2. It doesn't even show up until further in the story. At least in Suikoden 2 you have a chance to use recruit and use the protagonist from Suikoden 1 with all his stats and skills carried over.
But hey at least Konami learned from their mistake and brought the usual Suikoden formula back in IV and V which made them classic Suikoden games in their own rights. I hope that Eiyuuden won't end up like this.
Suikoden 3 was so great-- really one of my favorite RPGs on PS2
Thank you for actually calling this series what it is. A “cult following”. So sick of these nerds who pretend suikoden was this huge series that everyone played. No, it was niche and your average joe still to this day has no clue what suikoden is. Final fantasy is mainstream
Very true, fans always talk about how amazing Suikoden 1 and 2 were, but they didn't review or sell that well back in their time, they were treated as just "good games"
If anything, I feel like the limited print made their value skyrocket
Its my favorite game of all time and i wish more people talked about it and more jrpgs took cues from it and improved upon them!
Definitely my favourite suikoden, you get to use many many of the characters even till the end, the story is just perfection, the main characters are not silent protagonists. Check out the manga version, it is just as awesome as you'd expect.
Great review of Suikoden III! I've always been a fan of the series and your insights really captured the essence of the game. Keep up the fantastic work, looking forward to more content from your channel! 🎮👍
Much appreciated!
You’re welcome!@@Xygor
Its still hands down my favorite out of them all. Story, design, and characters. I guess some didnt like the battle system but i loved its simple controls and reminded me of 2 very much. But i cant i absolutely loved part 4 too and thats the black sheep of the series haha
For me Suikoden 5, 4, 2, 3 is my fav in that order. But I haven't played 2 since like forever. Perhaps with the new Remaster for 1&2 coming out, that order may change. From what I recall, 2 was very good.
Well THIS takes me back.
This is a series I need to play through yet. I own and have beaten multiple times Suikoden Tactics but I haven't played any of the other games. I got Tactics like 15 years ago or something because I loved those strategy/tactics style games and I thought it was great but upon further research I'm sure I'd enjoy it even more with more of the context from Suikoden 4 since it's part of a series in which I've never played through. I now have the first game on my PS3 and I know I can get the 2nd one on PSN also. In fact, last I looked, you might be able to get the PS2 games through PSN also. Dunno. I'd like to purchase the full series complete physical copies but I also know that the Suikoden games, especially the PS2 games, are pretty pricey. And when I purchase PS1 and up I insist on getting it complete which the case and manual and the disk in good working order. But I think they are worth the investment. I love JRPGs and I love owning them. I have ROMs for two gaiden games in the series that never came out over here I guess also. I wonder how those stack up?
Suikoden 3 is at the bottom for me, it was the only suikoden I couldn't get in to enough to want to finish it.
5 is tops for me by a mile, then 1. I enjoyed the other three, but not as much as 5 and 1. I'm playing through 2 again right now, and all those things I didn't like about it are still true. Enjoying it though.
Love these videos man
Many more to come. Please subscribe to the channel!
2 is my fave...Luca blight was great..
This is still my favorite Suikoden game. I just prefer its gameplay, story, characters, and setting.
The greatest Tenkai, my boi, Thomas!
I would rank them 2>5>3>1>>>>4. I liked how 3 tried new things but 5 was the best of moving forward while not loosing the magic of the first 2.
This is my favorite Suikoden but I could be biased as it is the first I played. And personally I found 4 to be much harder with a far less interesting story.
For me 3 is the only one I haven't been able to get through all the way. I would probably say the games from best to worst would be 2>1>5>4>3. I do plan on trying again soon, but man I'm not looking forward to it.
Finally a comment I can agree with. This game was just so boring and bland. It felt like a compete betrayal to me. To me it's 2/5, 1, 4, 3 (I played Tactics but I dont remember it).
Aww that was a very short review! Woulda loved to hear more.
Hope you still liked it!
Suikoden 1 and 2 are goat tier jrpgs. Spent 100's if not 1000's of hours on both in my younger years
Personally I think this game is my 2nd fav. Part 2 being my favorite.
I can relate to most of the main characters.
I guess I put myself in each characters shoes.
It is also a game where you just feel for the Antagonist Luc & Sarah.
I almost feel bad for them but there is no excuse to their reign of terror.
I actually like the music, I think most of the sound tracks are really good.
Ya I get that the formation & the battle sequences is not to everyone's liking.
I actually don't mind it, it takes strategy
The run down castle goes with the story, They only have so much time to do certain repairs because of the story.
To me it's
1. Suikoden 2
2. Suikoden 1
3.1 Suikoden 3(in story)
3.2 Suikoden 5(in graphics)
10. Suikoden 4(that one was a slog to play through)
I don't get what you mean by the Unite attacks not working at times. Aside from the two-person unites (that require the participants to be in the same pair block), Unite attacks can be used as long as their conditions are met: participants are present regardless of pair block, some require to be mounted - that of the three knights and the Futch-Bright-Sharon one - and not suffering from debuffs like sleep, stun or confused.
My biggest beef with this game (even though I'm obsessed with it) is the abundance of sword users and the similarities between unite attacks (Suikoden IV is terribly guilty of the latter). Oh, and there's also the lack of engagement between the Star Dragon Sword and its current (super boring) wielder - seriously, what was the point of bringing it back?
Also, Jongleur is my favorite rune here. And who knew Percival can "sing". Unfortunately he doesn't have the skills associated with the said rune.
interesting. i found the battle system and the army battle super easy.
also, love viki!
What do those little green squares in the character list represent? They appear to the right of the portraits and to the left of the hit points. Thanks much.
i remember there was a Manga adaptation for this game when it came out was thinking of getting them at the time but didn't. only plus side to this game was getting to use your saved game file from the previous Suikoden game for additional game dialogue and play settings.
S3 story is amazing but the gameplay is a mess. First the battle system as you mentioned, then the lack of chests and the notorious backtracking through the same boring areas never gave me an incentive to play this again compared to S1 and 2 which I play every year
Should have extra episode where we can play as the original Flame Champion... he looks much cooler than Hugo
I loved everything about Suikoden 3 except for the field battle music. it just seemed off. Fighting the mobs with that joyous music just didn't seem right.
Awesome video! Thank you!!!
Thanks, many more to come!
I personally always liked Suikoden and Tales of Destiny better than FF, hell Legend of Dragoon is better than FF.
Having said that FF6, 9, and 10 are pretty decent story wise.
FF9,🤮
My favorite is Suikoden 4, then 2, then 5.
agreed, one of my favorite games ever
4th best suikoden for me, it goes 2,5,1,3 and we dont talk about the other one.
Damn I remember winning the first battle and restarting to get max stats at beginning 🤣
Awesome work... looking forward to the S4 vid
I had a hard time connecting to any of the 3 protags too, and sprites hold up better, great points!!!
My favorites are Suikoden 1 and 2 on PS1. I was very disappointed with 3 and I didn't like the 3D graphics. When they release Suikoden i & ii hd remaster, I'll wait for an offer and play them again on PC.
2 is easily my favorite followed by 5. While 3 and 1 are tied
Honestly, ff7 or dragon quest are good but the hype for these games actually overshadowed lots of other ps1 rpgs that were actually better.
The main issue for me its just the main battle system, like why only 3 actions !?!?! I just felt so restrained by it, i mean the battle is like 70% of the game, even war battle which also another issue. Though i love how you move to attack the enemy, the rune aoe and the mount system! But such a turn off when you can only use 3 actions 🥲 hope the remaster turn out well and they can revisit this game 🙏
I've never played any of them. But I gotta say the game looks pretty decent for the time. The character models and for how many there are.
I've been playing grandia 2 on switch and it's better than that. Looks like a step towards what radiata story did.
3 is one of those games that had a lot of flaws, but everything else outweighed it. One of my first PS2 JRPGs, and in my top 5 of that era. Better than 4, IMO.
When I played when it came out, Hugo was my man loll. When I replayed 2 years ago, he was my least XD. Im all about Chris now 😅
Suikoden 3 is the best Ps2 RPG in a parallel world were Xenosaga ep3, FFX and Shadow Hearts 2 don't exist.
Not the best jrpg for PS2 in my opinion, but definitely a great game.
Best game i EVER play!!! THE BEST OF ALL!!
Anyone know the closing theme song of the video?
It seems like a familiar song from a game I use to play as a kid
final fantasy 6 is where it came from
"Terra's Theme", from Final Fantasy IV
Terra's (Tina's) theme from FF6
2 and 5 are my favorite, but I think 3 would be the third one, I actually like the battle system and the characters, the only thing I really hate and sometimes stops me from playing the game is the absurd backtracking, and that the game sometimes drags on way too much because of the Trinity System.
About the backtracking, even after you recruit Viki there are many occasions that the game blocks the use of teleportation, and I found most of those times as something very unnecessary.
The War battles are also IMO the worst in the series, because unlike the other games, they offer nothing new, it's technically the same common random battles, with the only difference of your allies being controlled by the AI.
Also, Luc's chapter is super boring, is kind of interesting story wise, at least the first time you play it, but gameplay wise is super boring, because it has almost no gameplay, is just watching the scenes, and most of the few battles there are against enemies that die with just one spell of Luc or Sarah.
hope they bring that games to psn store once more
This used to be one of my favourite episodes, but I replayed it last year and gosh, has it aged poorly. I would definitely put second to last now, with 4 being the only one I like less.
For me, Gensou Suikoden III is my favourite PS2 Gensou Suikoden game. IV and V are great games, but III while not being as good battle system wise and characters visuals wise, I loved its story, characters, background visuals, extra activities, battle animations and world building.
Prob my least favorite Suikoden next to 4, in terms of overall gameplay experience. I loved the skill system but disliked the pairing system in battles and the trinity system where I never got the chance to really be invested in a team. I even liked Tierkreis more tbh.
It has one of the better stories though but very short overall due to the chapters just being repeated through different POVs. Interesting and I liked it but it's still a tradeoff.
Yeah, pairing made the experience so disjointed.
Level 5 needs to remake all the main Suikoden games
Suikoden 1-2 are top 5 games in the world, the music to the graphics just stick in my mind. I will never sell my suikoden 1-2, Suikoden 3 was awful imo. Thank you for covering this
No problem, 4 and 5 coming soon
Better then IV but worse then I, II, and V. The normal battle system was interesting but IMO a horrible choice to pair with a True Fire Rune wielding protagonist.
I made the mistake of getting 4 as my first game.i shouldve got 3.
Have you played the first two as well?
@@Xygor i wish. Sadly during the PS2 era,(i didn't get into online shopping til ps4) I made this mistake of getting the worst title in the franchise a 2nd time. The second time was Wild Arms 4, which apparently is considered the worst of the series in terms of characters and plot...and the only Wild Arms that isnt Old Western themed.
Although it did have an innovative battle system that actually made it into the sequel so that was the one positive note.
It's even better if you played suikoden 1 and 2 before you play three