Suikoden III Likely Headed to PlayStation 3

The third incarnation of the 108 Stars of Destiny is making its return as Suikoden III was rated for a PSN release on the PlayStation 3.

According to Gematsu, Suikoden III has been rated for a launch as a PlayStation 2 Classic on the PlayStation Store. Originally debuting in 2002, this story took a lot of liberties and changed a lot in the formula compared to the first two games. There were three protagonists in this game, each one focusing on their own stories, events and setting before meeting one another. In the beginning of the game, you make your own hero, who actually turns out to be the Flame Champion who turns around an entire war (and a silent protagonist), whereas Hugo of the Karaya Clan, Chris Lightfellow and Geddoe each have their own personalities and dialogue. We weren't particularly fond of the new changes to the battle system, such as characters in front of one another being controlled as a pair in battle (if you cast a Rune-based spell from behind someone, the person in front is forced to defend). While this was great in terms of strategy, we just felt that it deferred away from an already solid RPG battle format that was so addictive in the first two games.

This marks the first Suikoden game that will be available on the PSN which won't be available for PS Vita download, as Suikoden III was a PS2 title and the first two games were PS-One classics. Unfortunately, nothing is confirmed yet, but we have a feeling either Sony or Konami will be making the announcement of Suikoden III's digital re-launch sometime soon.