I want to preface this review by stating I am only 25 hours into this game. Also this review will be spoiler-free.
That being said, I choose to write a review after only playing 25 hours of this game because it is a CRIME that this game is getting so little coverage. 25 hours in and I already want to say this is the best RPG I've ever played. The story, the atmosphere, the look, the gameplay, the character design and development thru the story, all liquid ecstasy.
First and foremost, this is a Suikoden. Story and character drive this game. The depth and maturity of the story are strongly evident even though I'm still in the first quarter of the game. Watching the conflict unfold from 3 viewpoints is a stroke of genius. Details of the complex story are doled out in fair and believable chunks and everything makes perfect sense. Where other games revolve around angsty teenagers saving the world against long haired evil villains, Suikoden is a game about war and the people fighting it. It introduces you to characters, gives you reasons to care about them, and then throws them into a war where their family, friends, and lands are at risk.
Part of what makes the story so compelling and the actors worth caring about is the range of expression the 3D models have. If you've ever played Skies of Arcadia (another great game) you'll know what I'm talking about. But where that game was blatant and over the top in its use of 3d model emotes, Suikoden3 packs subtlety and grace. You can feel the weight of duty on Chris as she bows her head and closes her eyes when ordered to take her knights once more into battle. You feel Hugo's pain as he drops to his knees and and shakes with the pain of losing a loved one. Heads track and look at whoever the character is speaking to, mouths grin or frown depending on the situation. One particularly memorable scene involves a woman seeing your party (which is trying to stay hidden)out of the corner of her eye as she speaks to people of unknown intent. Her eyes fall on you, then again back on who she was speaking to without faltering in her conversation. Without a single word of text that scene told volumes about her personality and the situation she was in. The game is overflowing with beautiful subtlety such as that. It left me filled with questions. Did she really see me? Is she on my side? What was her motivation for holding that secret if she did see me.
Also, if any of you were worried, the old 2D character portraits are still there with every dialogue box, and there are multiple pictures of some characters for emotional impact (and also there are alternate costumes, remember Jowy's change of look in Suikoden 2).
The translation this time also does the title justice. There are still a few things that perhaps didn't translate well, but for the most part this is a very clear translation. This is made even more impressive by the depth of the dialogue that takes place. There are light moments, but for the most part this is a serious game, and the combination of dialogue and character model emotes brilliantly tells the tale.
The gameplay is very similar to the last 2 Suikoden's, standard console RPG battles, 1v1 duels, and army battles. As a point of reference, I feel that Grandia ONE had the best RPG battle system ever put into a game. This game, while not achieving that pinnacle of greatness, feels similar to that. 6 characters are in your party, but they fight in pairs. One forward guard, and a protected person in back. You give 1 order per pair. If you give a fight order, both will fight (each getting an independant attack), if you give a cast order, whichever has the rune you cast does so, while his partner tries to take the best action to defend the caster. Characters move in battle as they fight, so if you order your leftmost group to attack the rear right enemy, they have to run over there, and they stay there after the attack, opening themselves up to attacks from all the other enemies since they've left their side. Combat works well and is fun, and rather challenging. Especially at the start of the game fights can be hard. But luckily, the rate of random encounters is quite low. Also the fights are fast, very little load time, and the 3D models move well around the battlefield. And you can quickly blip thru the exp & treasure award screens. Its one of the fastest battle engines out there (just like the previous Suikodens have been).
I want to praise one other aspect of the game engine. There are very few free-standing chests in this game. If you've played previous Suikodens, you'll recall finding chests scattered all over the maps. They usually had a single item in them, and you often found yourself backtracking whole maps to find a single chest you suspected was in there, to find it held a single anti-toxin. In Suikoden 3, while there are still things to be found laying on the ground, they finally make sense! You may find an item or two next to a dried out corpse. Or you may find a useful herb growing in a field that you can pick. There are still chests, but so far I've ONLY found them sitting behind area bosses (which are visible from the 3D exploration mode...they don't just appear, you see the towering beasts far in the distance). And man, the rewards are WELL worth fighting the difficult bosses. The chests I've found so far (about 4 of them) each contain a HUGE amount of 'potch' (the currency of the world) AND maybe 20-30 items ranging from good to mundane. It has that diablo-ish feeling seeing all that good stuff listed neatly for the taking. Also, there seems to be a diablo-like group of 'set' pieces, where you can collect mutliple pieces of a certain type of armor. I can't verify this yet (cause I've not found more than a single piece of any set), but I have a couple items that say they are part of a 'set'.
Graphically, the game also shines. The entire game (cutscenes, battle, and exploration) is played out completely in the same 3D engine (there is an anime introduction, but so far everything else has been 3D models). It doesn't match Squares final fantasy 10, but its still quite good. I would rank it just above the Dreamcast version of Grandia 2. Its definitely one of the best looking RPGs I've seen (though I haven't tried WildArms3 yet), especially when you consider the scope of the game and the freedom you have (vs. FFX's linearity), its simply amazing! Non-repetetive trees & scrub line open plains, large cities have varied and detailed buildings, Dungeons have hanging vines & jutting stalagtites. The overworld is a simple map linking available points (similar to Final fantasy tactics, walking between area battle points), but each area on the map may be comprised of many 3D map rooms. Some rooms are very large, and some are small single hallways. The world feels LARGE. And you have ALOT of freedom of where to go (unlike FFX which was very restrictive). Most individual rooms have a path you must stay on, but the use of branches & forks in that path make the dungeons feel similar to the old 2D Suikodens.
I do feel the combat animations are rather stiff, but given the large number of playable characters & enemies they had to animate, and the large number of unique combos between certain characters with special animations, its more than adequate. Also consider some characters have sets of animations for both mounted combat and on-foot combat. It was a herculean task that ended up being done admirably.
The sound & music of the game very definitely feels like old school Suikoden. Much of the time there is a background song playing, but many times to set the mood there will be only environmental noises (crickets, the sound of people talking in a bar, etc...). But then the music pipes in when the moment calls for it. Its very well done. Also, you can independantly raise or lower the volume of both the music and the effects of the game, in case you dislike the music.
The biggest complaint I have with the game would be the camera view. It seems to try and frame you in cinematic views that sometimes obscure things you want to see. The game BEGS for the ability to rotate the camera, but unfortunately you are stuck with the single angle the game gives you. So far it hasn't really hindered me from enjoying the game, but I've had many frustrating moments when I'm squeezing R1 or L1 in the old habit of trying to swing the camera around to a better angle.
In summary, I love this game! If you like console RPGs you owe it to yourself to get this game. I wish I could score it an 11!
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