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I'm about to go into some things that might seem fairly obvious at first glance, and so I'll preface this editorial with the following: by itself, Suikoden III is a decent, if flawed entry into the series, and a reasonably enjoyable title in its own right. Thus is my opinion as far as quality is concerned. Having said that, there's something about it that bothers me in a very deep and primal way.
No, it's not the break from the series' traditional method of storytelling, nor is it the changes in convention (the castle system being the most obvious) or the battle systems. These were all more or less tolerable, although some were admittedly disappointing. But nothing quite inspired the same level of annoyance and frustration as one otherwise nagging little thing that presented itself in a good 20% of the game's cutscenes. (Note: percentage estimated on the spot)
Namely, that Suikoden III is a reverse harem anime in disguise.
First off, let's put two of the heroes aside for a moment; Hugo is irritating, and Geddoe is a carbon copy of Auron with the personality of dry toast. No, this charge is leveled directly at Chris Lightfellow. Now it's no secret that she's constantly surrounded by men who seem largely preoccupied with getting into her pants, and that extends beyond her knightly entourage. She's also adored by pretty much everybody who isn't from the Grasslands, and even there, her enemies generally have some kind of grudging respect for this woman.
It seems too perfect. She seems too perfect.
Let's not forget that she got the job, as captain of the knights, basically because the previous commander kicked the bucket. "You die, and we all move up in rank." Of course, to believe the chatter amongst her testosterone-fueled comrades, they considered her as such long before. How did she rise to such esteem? Was it just the council going "Hey, we need an icon! Grab one of the knights, polish the armor and stick 'em in a parade!"? It couldn't be all that, since her cadre of admirers have apparently been enamored of her well before her rise to prominence. She certainly seems to have a distaste for the spotlight given that she hasn't been in it that long, so I think it's not unreasonable to assume she's been getting this kind of attention for some time, even if not via parade.
And I'm left to question... "WHY?!"
Is she a soldier or is she a woman? Is she both? Is she neither? Does it matter? How is she can be such a brutal, effective warrior and still be so irritatingly clean? How can a woman so devoid of a personality (beyond the oh-so-trite conflict of duty and conscience, with a dash of lingering familial questions from her past) attract the adoration of dozens? How badly did Salome piss off his barber?
...okay, wrong subject. But seriously, what makes her so special? Why do the Five Idiot Knights of Zexen fawn over her at every opportunity? Why, towards the end of the game, do they all take ten minutes out of their busy lives, in the process of trying to avert a calamity of epic proportions, to renew their dedication to this woman, when it was never once in question in the first place? Why do I have to listen to all them sitting around joking about how they all want to nail her when there's a freaking war going on two spots on the map away?
The only answer I can think of is that she's supposed to be perfect. And that bothers the living daylights out of me. C'mon! Throw some conflict in there! Have some of the knights get a little agitated that the boss is getting all the credit; have some of them get mad that she gets to shirk duty and go off on her own to have fun while they get stuck with lame jobs like sacking a broken castle guarded by a teenaged girl and a bunch of straw men.
At the very least, let them act like they don't all agree she's the greatest thing since sliced bread for no valid reason whatsoever.
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