Official Website

Platform: Playstation 2

Genre: Futuristic RPG

Number of Players: 1

Known in Japan As: Wild Arms Advanced 3rd

Let’s get one thing straight right from the start; I’m basically a role-playing geek. I’m the guy that if he’s “sick” from work, chances are pretty good that there may very well be a new Final Fantasy that’s been released It’s the same situation if you’ve tried to call, you know I’m home, and I’m not answering. I can’t help it, the RPG genre has long been a favorite of mine ever since Square released the first Final Fantasy, and since that time I’ve played just about every RPG that’s been released for virtually every console. So, did you really think that I’d pass up on opportunity to check out Wild Arms 3? Not highly likely.

Wild Arms 3 returns players to the world of Filgaia, a desolate planet ravaged by a past war, leaving the landscape hostile desert wasteland. The story is centered around four Drifters – Virginia Maxwell, Gallows Caradine, Jet Enduro, and Clive Winslet – a group of strangers brought together by fate and desire to undertake the life of the Drifters. The four wandering souls are chosen as Guardian, protectors of the elemental forces known as Mediums, and with these powers, they seek to learn the truth behind the catastrophe that befell Filgaia and restore order to the frontier.

Sure, Wild Arms 3 may sound like your typical RPG story, but it offers a whole lot more when it comes down to it. To begin with, if you’re not already familiar with the series (this being the first in the franchise to make it onto the PS2) Wild Arms is set in a western setting, which is definitely a refreshing change of pace. Of course, it does have the typical “ultimate evil trying to conquer/destroy the world” theme, but that’s standard with just about any RPG that’s out on the market. But, WA3 definitely has many things that set it apart from other games that are out on the market.

The graphics have a variation on the trendy cell shading technique that’s become quite common recently (like with Robotech or Sly Cooper.) However, what Wild Arms uses is a graphics style called stroke shading. Stroke shading looks quite similar to cell shading, but the graphics have the unique appearance of seeming to be drawn with color pencil. Combined with the anime character design, it’s quite a nice effect, although it does take a little while to get accustomed to. This look is apparent in all aspects of the game however, from the characters themselves down to the look of the towns, and even the over world map. The characters themselves however have a hint of Dark Cloud behind them with the overall design, which is quite nice.

The thing that really caught my attention, and made the game a bit more challenging (and fun) is the search system. In your over world map, typically you have all your available locations right there, but not with Wild Arms. Characters in the various towns scattered throughout the playing world with give you information as to where to go next and what direction they might lay in. During the course of your conversation, occasionally there will be words/terms in green, and by hitting the square button, you can ask more about these. Once you have a good idea on where it is that you need to head off to next, get ready to start exploring. You have to use your search function, which is quite simple. Hit square and search waves will spread across the plains revealing locations, signs, and occasionally items. It definitely makes finding new towns and ruins trickier, but it also keeps you from stumbling into a dungeon that you’re not quite ready to head into.

The combat system is set up like many other RPG’s, but with more emphasis on games like Star Ocean. However, don’t expect this to be an all out assault. There’s plenty to think about during combat, and since you are equipped with guns instead of swords, there are those times that you have to stop and reload, which is a nice touch. You also don’t have a high reliance on having to worry about replenishing MP. Wild Arms’ combat system utilizes focus points. During combat, your characters will gain FP by avoiding attacks, or having successful attacks. As the meter grows, you can do various things depending on which character you play, some have gattling attacks, some can extend their magic radius to affect all characters in the party, and of course, this is also used to casting spells. What really caught my attention however, and definitely brought a smile to my face, was after I’d purchased horses for my party and entered into battle that changed into mounted combat. This may very well be one of the coolest aspects I’ve ever seen placed into a role playing game.

Spells in the world of Wild Arms are supplied by the use of Guardians (similar in effect to the Guardian Forces/Summonings of the Final Fantasy series) and each of these can be linked to a character (again, like in prior FF titles) allowing character to cast spells that are unique to their Guardian. Also, players can summon these Guardians to fight during battle for them, and each also has a host of skills which will aid characters in combat (kind of like . . . never mind. You see where this is leading.)

Saving in Wild Arms is a breeze. There’s no moogles to hunt down or anything like that. Instead, players will occasionally find Gimel Coins, which can be used to save at any point during the game, or can be used to continue if they are defeated during battle. Of course, there are ways to save in town without having to waste your coins. And, the coins tend to pop up pretty frequently, but of course conservation is still an important issue.

There are a few other creative attributes that Wild Arms brings into play. You don’t have to worry about buying new weapons every time you enter a new area. Instead, you have the ability to simply upgrade your guns at any of the town you stop in. Yet again, this is a very similar process that we’ve seen in the Final Fantasy series, but take away the fact that you need to find various parts and items. All it takes in Wild Arms is a little bit of cash. One of the last features that’s definitely a nice addition is the exclamation point. While in a dungeon or out in the main world map, players will occasionally have an exclamation point appear over their heads. When this happens, it means that there is an encounter close by. Players can chose to either ignore it and go into combat, or press the circle button to avoid combat. I can’t think of how many times I’ve been playing an RPG, desperately trying to get to the nearest town to save, and having encounter after encounter with the town only being footsteps away. However, you can only avoid so many encounters, but as players increase their migrant level, so encounters can be avoided without lowering your meter.

One last thing that I thought was great was the introduction of each character. You don’t have to sit down and wait from some long and drawn out 10 minute scene that involves the how’s and why’s of the characters decision to take on the life of a Drifter. Instead, these scenes are interactive, allowing you not only to fully control them, but also get the hang of how their special moves work. Each character does have a special talent that will become very necessary during game play. Jet, for example, carries a boomerang that he can use to active crystals at a distance whereas Clive drops bombs, allowing him to find hidden passages and destroy certain objects. These skills also come into play as the game has a great deal of puzzle elements to it.

Even with it’s unique and interesting game mechanics however, Wild Arms does have a few drawbacks. Some of us have been a bit spoiled by the Final Fantasy series and, despite the fact we should know better, expect each RPG to follow suit and attempt to follow in those footsteps. The graphics, while they are quite good and unique, don’t quite match up to the extreme beauty that Square has always been able to deliver time and time again. The summoned creatures are quite lackluster and even worse, there’s no option to shorten the length of them either (proving that repetition isn’t always a good thing.) However, you can adjust the battle speed, which does help quite a bit to shorten battles (especially those lower level rights.) Lastly, and even though it’s just a minor thing, there’s no spoken dialog. Then again, there’s no bad dubbing from voice actors attempting to fill in for their original Japanese counterparts.

Wild Arms 3 however, has more positive things going for it than things going against it. It certainly is no Final Fantasy killer, but it’s still a fairly decent RPG and is sure to satisfy the most hard core of role players, and it does do a good job of being original while mimicking the things that make other role playing games so good. WA3 is a more than adequate entry into the ever-growing RPG market completes with the complexity that fans love and a simplicity that will attract newcomers. It’s a title that deserves attention and respect, and will certainly keep gamers busy for hours on end.

-mike-