Suikoden Minigames: Part 3

Yep, I am still doing this for some reason. Anyways, Suikoden 3 didn't have a whole lot of minigames, which is both good and bad since I don't generally like minigames but Suikoden tends to be decent overall when it comes to them.

First things first, Chinchirorin is out. I guess this little dice-in-a-cup game didn't catch on in the Grasslands region. Whatever. If you want a luck-based minigame, play the lottery. It's just as save-scummable, although it's liable to take a lot longer. But do it as early as your first few chapters and you'll end up not worrying about money for the rest of the game, or at least until you start spending all your cash on smithing the weapons, since those will take up more than eight times the cash cap.

So yes, there still are recruits that require minigame-winning to get, but not a whole lot of them. Two recruits, Mike and Billy, have card games, which yes you have to beat them once. The game Kabu, which Mike plays, is a little like Blackjack, and, well, it plays like it. I don't remember if there were any prizes to win after beating him the first time and challenging him again. But I do know that Guppo, the game Billy plays, does have prizes. Of course, he has to be beaten the first time, and the game is essentially a High/Low card game. Some of the prizes are unique, but not really game-changing, but hey, that's all fine and dandy.

There's apparently a horse-racing minigame which you can do if you really want. Again, there are prizes for winning. But also you don't even need to do it to recruit the one who hosts it, Kathy. That's great. As a result, this game is completely optional.

There's not a whole lot of things I can actually constitute as minigames. The way to recruit Kathy is by counting horses in the field, made somewhat annoying since you do it in a place with random encounters. Recruiting Kidd involves a lame detective story but you aren't really being challenged to do anything. Ernie just offers a trivia game. And the rest of the optional recruits, of which there are far fewer in Suikoden III, usually just require an item, another recruit, or something like doing a duel which isn't much of a minigame given how it's a Suikoden mainstay.

Perhaps the most unique one may also not count as a minigame, but I feel the need to mention it because it is unique. Yep, the theater. It's quite interesting, you get to pick a play, and pick from your own stars of destiny for the cast. And then you see how it's done, with many characters doing either well or terribly, a lot of humor value can come from these things. And regardless, you still earn money. It's a very nice touch overall.

So yeah, this was the low point when it came to actual minigames, as Suikoden III is considerably more plot-oriented. Not that it's that bad though.