#20

Suikoden 3 (Originally released in 2002 on the PS2.)

Suikoden 3 is the last Suikoden game to continue the story of the series, time wise. Every game in the main series has always been within the same world, so there are always people, places, and things that you see recycled and reused in each game. It brings a sense of familiarity when you play these games, and it also builds a connection because you know so much about the game even before you play them.

Suikoden 3 takes place 15 years after the events of Suikoden 2, and even though the geological area is different, you can still get that same familiar feeling when playing through the new areas because you have heard of them in reference before. Suikoden 3 also has one of the better 108 stars of destiny to be assembled in any of the Suikoden games. You get to know so much about these characters due to being able to recruit a private eye and investigate everyone in your army.

The battle system, while the music can get annoying, is also the best I have seen in the series. Everyone has stats and parameters that they can level up, but certain people are more proficient in certain stats then others. So you will see some people clearly outshine others in combat. There are tons of these skills to level and sort through, so it makes for a fun time to discover who has the most potential while in a fight. Obviously, the main characters are some of the best fighters in the game, but there are some characters that are less obvious then others. So that means, you have to try them all out if you want to see everyone's true potential.

This was also the first game, that let you use a lot of True Runes. In the previous two games, you had the main characters True Rune and usually that was it. In this game the MC gets a True Rune obviously, but this game deals with the elemental True Runes and you get to play with them all, which is fun.

This game also let you finally play as Nash. I guess you wouldn't know this, but before the game came out, there were side story games only released in Japan that featured Nash. The games were during the events of Suikoden 2, and Nash was a 21 year old Harmonian spy. The games center around his adventures in the Jowston area and in some cases, he is a cog that affects the main storyline of Suikoden 2, even though he is never mentioned in the game. He even makes a semi-cameo in Suikoden 2, but again, most people wouldn't have seen it unless they played those Japan only games. I just so happened to read about Nash on Suikosource and instantly fell in love with his character.

Nash is just a fun character to read about. He has absolutely no luck, and the women he meets in his travel usually flirt with him, but pick on him at the same time. He is beastly in combat, and even has some good ole fashion possessed snake swords (That just so happened to be missing in S3, sadly.). He is a spy, so naturally he blends in pretty well.He is like a Swiss army knife. He looks normal, but secretly he has numerous talents hidden within his clever smile.

So in S3, Nash would be around the age of 36. He doesn't look much older then he did 15 years ago, and it was speculated that he was married now and perhaps to a vampire, but who knows. He is still acting as a spy in this game, and you know this right away if you know anything about his story, but the characters in the game are oblivious to that fact. He meets with Chris Lightfellow and accompanies her for the majority of the game. His help during certain events proves invaluable. He is an awesome character.

I can go on and on about the characters in Suikoden 3. There's Geddoe, the one-eyed mercenary, Fred the Maximilian Knight with his pet..er servant, Rico. You have the Zexen Knights, the Duck Clan, Lizard Tribe, and the Karayans all fighting amongst each other in a racial type of war. The St. Loa Knights act as children guardians of their home. There's even a random aerobics instructor that joins you and attacks enemies by doing jumping jacks.

Its sad to see that eight years have gone by and Suikoden 3 is the last Suikoden title to move the story forward. Hopefully Konami wakes up and gets back into the swing of things with this series. I need Suikoden in my life.