[happy_doughnut]

Another original Playstation 2-D game makes the leap over to PS2 3-D later this year. RPG fans may remember the games “Suikoden” and “Suikoden II” by Konami for playstation. The Suikoden series is famous for huge character cast and enthralling storyline. The word Suikoden is from a Chinese folk tale and the game Suikoden features the 108 stars of destiny from this folk tale. That’s right 108 playable characters in an RPG!
Besides going from 2-D to 3-D, the game features many other changes. The developers have added a feature called the “Trinity sight system”. At the beginning of each chapter in the game you will be giving the option to control one of the game’s three main characters, this makes the game different every time. However, Konami says the choices from the Trinity Sight System will not affect the game’s ending. The battle system has some new features too. Well, many actually. The battle system goes from the traditional RPG battle system were a character is standing at a point, attacks and then returns to the same point to a new system called the Free Battle System (FBS). The characters in their 3-D world can move all over the battlefield to get a more strategic battle plan devised. Developers at Konami say, “We thought it would be neat if you could use your warriors to stand in front of your mage and protect them.” The Battle formation is similar to the first two Suikodens. You have six characters on your battlefield, in pairs of two. You can do “Buddy Attacks” with your partner and if your partner is an animal, then you can mount the animal and increase your hp and strength. The buddy system and mount system also apply to bosses says Konami.
People who play Suikoden games will be relieved to know that there is huge character development again and some roles from previous Suikoden characters. There are 108 characters, as in the previous Suikoden games. Some of the characters from previous Suikoden games will be featured, but will be more aged since the game takes place 18 years after Suikoden and 15 years after Suikoden II. The developers are currently trying to find a way for players to use their Suikoden II data to get hidden features on Suikoden III.
Suikoden III’s release date is still to be announced for North America. Developers say it will come out sometime this year though. Suikoden III is of course going to PS2 as of right now. Konami says that it is interesting in console porting so maybe Gamecube or X-Box owners will be in luck!