Niahak's Place

Disclaimer for these chapters: This is a project I wanted to pursue in-line with playing. But it’s been a couple months, so by the time I got to it (now), I’ve long since finished replaying Suikoden 3.
I’m not sure I’ll continue these. We’ll see!

Hugo Ch. 2
There’s really not that much to this chapter. Having discovered the Karaya village burned to the ground, Hugo and Sgt. Joe move on to the Duck village. There they encounter Lilly, an impulsive and sometimes delusional princess-analogue from Tinto. After some negotiation they decide to travel together to the Great Hollow via an old tunnel. So there’s only really one area to navigate here. On reaching the Great Hollow, Hugo discovers its entrance under attack by the Zexen Knights – who shortly retreat, not wanting to risk fighting inside the Hollow itself.
The optional battle in the tunnel is worth mentioning – it’s one of many times you can choose to fight in Suikoden III, and it’s probably the hardest one that isn’t a “sink or swim in the first round” affair like later ones.
Yuber is probably the most visible villain in III, or at least the most straightforward “definitely a villain” as Sarah makes several ambiguous appearances. While it’s unclear what exactly Yuber is, he’s consistently menacing and makes for a good recurring villain.

Chris Ch. 2
In Chris’ chapter, she moves on to Brass Castle, planning to assault the Great Hollow. She can make a brief detour to Lake Castle, but otherwise moves on to one of the game’s Strategy battles – in which characters have the same stats/abilities from regular combat, but form into 4-character units and are AI-driven instead with only broad control.
Generally I think Suikoden 3’s strategy mechanics are one of the more interesting in the series. Unfortunately there are only a couple of strategy battles that are not fully plot-driven – and they can be mostly made trivial by keeping up with equipment/weapons.
After the strategy battle, Chris learns some more detail of the reasons behind Zexen’s war with the Grasslands. She plans to confront the council, but falls ill due to overwork. After a brief rest, she goes on an impromptu holiday to Iksay, Percival’s rustic hometown, for a harvest festival.

This holiday ends up cut short, as the Lizard clan (supported by remnants of the Karaya) invade Iksay as revenge for Chris’ attack on the Great Hollow.
The interlude in Iksay gives Chris a larger perspective on the conflict – not as commander of the knights, but as an individual pulled into it. The visit to Iksay is the first time we see Chris interact with commoners (at least, in a mandatory scene) and lays the groundwork for her activities in Chapter 3. As she meets Nash and Jimba, she realizes that something larger is going on. Later this makes her consider her personal desires versus her duty as a knight. Ironically it also provides more ammunition for her admirers, as the “Silver maiden” defends many residents of Iksay from the attack.
At the end of Chapter 2, Chris is approached by Nash who invites her on a journey, and she accepts hoping to find her father and more information about the conflict.

Geddoe Ch. 2
As Geddoe’s chapter opens up, he and his crew are reporting in at Caleria and gathering news. While the SFDF is pseudo-independent, they are given high-level orders – and the most recent is a “hunt for the true rune” – chasing rumors of the Fire Bringer in the Grasslands. Geddoe’s rival, Duke, has his own SFDF unit and the members bicker about who is going to win the competition (Geddoe himself largely stays out of it).
In Caleria, Geddoe also visits an info broker and gets an update from “an annoying man” (presumably Nash, given other context you have later) suggesting he visit the Mantor Village of Le Buque.

Le Buque is in an interesting position – it’s been conquered by Harmonia, and its people are not treated well, but is culturally Grasslander. This leads to conflicts like that between Franz and other citizens – Franz hopes that good performance can improve the peoples’ lot (increasing their standing with Harmonia, potentially leading to full citizenship), while the others chafe under Harmonian rule. However this latter faction mostly complains without taking action.
One might expect this to lead to Le Buque declaring independence, or joining the team eventually – but while a couple of them do join the team, there is no such independence movement. That’s largely because the plot shifts away from conflict with Harmonia as things unfold later. Like the Karaya in Suikoden 2, this might have been a hint at where things were going to go in the long-term plan.
The major consequence of visiting Le Buque is that Geddoe discovers a masked bishop also investigating places related to the Flame Champion. Duke’s team is also following the Bishop – but as guards, not as adversaries.
After a brief conflict with the Bishop (and potentially Duke’s team) Geddoe’s group decides to continue the search in the Grasslands proper.
Duke’s team adds some good flavor, as you see the variety of the SFDF. They do join up with the larger group eventually – but this is very close to the end of the game, and by that point you’ve likely picked out your core team(s). So there’s little reason to put all of them together – Nicolas is probably the most useful overall and easiest to slot into an existing group (he’s also the least annoying, though Gau is close).