Post by Bytor on May 2, 2011 6:24:29 GMT -5
Suikoden III (幻想水滸伝III Gensō Suikoden Surī) the third installment in the series was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on July 11, 2002 and in North America shortly afterward on October22 of the same year.
The game was directed by Yoshitaka Murayamaand Noritada Matsukawa and Fumi Ishikawa was again the primary artist. Music was composed by Michiru Yamane, Takashi Yoshida and Masahiko Kimura. The game was pretty much universally hailed as an instant classic and the standard to which all RPG's should strive to attain. However the game did have it's detractors who felt that there was too many changes from I and II. Some of these vocalizations were complaints about the ebb and flow of the game, many felt battles too few and too far in between and some stated that the story was so convoluted and complex that it was easy to lose track and keep up with exactly what was going on at any given time.
The game takes place in the same world, 16 years after Suikoden II) but here the similarities end. Unlike I and II here the story revolves around three different factions and the lines between right and wrong are much more blurred as you will actually see three different sides to the main story. Geddoe from the Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force presents one view, Hugo of the Karaya Clan another and Chris Lightfellow ia Knight of Zexen yet a third. The story is, as I and II, basically political RPG showing the struggles of the three factions to determine self rule and who has control.
The game play is pretty much as in I and II. A typical RPG where you and your allies explore the world area recruiting allies and advancing the main story line through interactions with NPC's. The battles themselves are a tad different in II ans the battle is continuous and not quite as tactical as before, although it still shares some elements. And there are still the war battles which pit armies against armies as in typical SRPG games. Runes are, and will remain, still the focus of magic and the characters stats are still customizable.
The release of III brought all new attention to the series with many "jumping on the bandwagon" and ensured the continuous popularity overall of the series although many diehard fans felt the game was too different and on a path too divergent from I and II.
