Played so much Suikoden 3 that I'm suffering a burn out from the game. I sort of said 'fuck it' after being told I had to split my players into four teams, and I have to use Thomas and Cecile. I can't use them, they are STILL level 1 nobodiees. And dammit I'm so close to finishing, but my mind just can't handle any more S3 for the moment.

Overall, Suikoden 3 is a good game, I enjoy certain aspects of this game much more that S2. Skill points is a wonderful addition to the gameplay, the Trinity system is interesting, though I wish in chapter 4 and 5 the game allowed you to access ALL the characters. My dream team consist of Hugo, Geddoe, Chris, Vikki, Fubar, and Aila, and the bloody game just didn't give me a chance. ARGH!!!!

However, having your three main characters as True Rune holders is the best experience ^_^ Chris and Geddoe are Teh KEWL, their chapters are much more fascinating and fun to play than Hugo's (which bored me to tears).

Now the random. Luc is ANGST monkey. OMFG! I mean little prat from the first two games is AngstMonkey Villain. Sure, I have been spoiled but it doesn't prepare you to actually see Luc, and have him be all 'woe me'. And I almost screeched when Luc said to Hugo 'I once gave my soul and destiny to a man with your eyes and heart.' OMFG!!!! If that wasn't a throwback to McDohl I don't know what is. (yes, I know it can mean Riou, but dammit this is my lj, and I -am- deluded enough to ignore S2. Beside, McDohl was first!). Seriously, I feel for Luc, but he should've known better, fighting for your own freedom, fighting fate is never easy, and to do it in such a selfish manner... McDohl, Riou and Hugo didn't fight for themselves, they fought for those they loved.

Anyways, moving on, Edge scares me. The boy is obviously the hybrid of Viktor and Flik, but by god, who the hell dress him? He's like a rent-boy wanna be. But the Star Dragon Sword still kick so much arse ^_^

And Futch is BUFF! I think this simple discovery was more mind boggling than anything else.

Okay, random things aside I'm gonna get all semi-meta for a bit. So, in this game more than any of the previous Suikoden games the writers tell us in explicit detail that being a true rune bearer suck. You watch the people you care about die, and your fate is never your own. The previous FC, Jimba and Geddoe were all tied together by their mutual burden and responsibility to the Grasslands, but FC took the other way out. He'd rather die with the woman he loves than live a long life, living for a higher purpose. Personally, I applaud for what he did, but I get the uneasy feeling that it's 'not' the right thing to do. Afterall, FC paid for it by having a shorter lifespan, the backlash of removing the True Rune. Mind you, Suikoden, as a series never surgar-coated the concepts of sacrifice, and the price that people must pay.

Hugo, Chris Geddoe and the previous True Rune bearers are 'heroes' because they sacrifices their own happiness for the greater good, they stuck around even after the end of the battle. That's the 'heroic' thing to do, except McDohl in S1 didn't stick around (no matter which ending you got). McDohl packed his bags and left. Rebuilding of the empire, ruling, all of it, he left behind. In S2, Riou's endings were a bit different, in one he killed his best friend and stuck around to rule, in the other he left with his best friend and his sister to live happily ever after. But S3 seem to hammer it in that to be a hero you have to be responsible, you have to stick around for the long haul, I'm not saying that's bad, I'm just trying to figure something out in my own mind. Is it wrong to have done what is needed and leave? Or do you have to stay and protect a land and its people until you die?

Hmm. Argh! I give up.