Wild Arms (video game)

This article is about the video game. For the series, see Wild Arms.

Wild Arms is a role-playing video game developed by Media.Vision and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The game was released in Japan in 1996, in North America in 1997, and in Europe in 1998. It uses 2D computer graphics for navigating the world and setting, while battle sequences are rendered in 3D.

Wild Arms
North American cover art
Developer(s)	Media.Vision
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Producer(s)	Takashi Fukushima
Designer(s)	Akifumi Kaneko
Writer(s)	Akifumi Kaneko
Composer(s)	Michiko Naruke
Series	Wild Arms
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	JP: December 20, 1996 NA: April 30, 1997 EU: October 1998
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

Wild Arms takes place in the world of Filgaia, a setting which blends both the fantasy and Western genres. The plot follows the adventures of a band of miscreants and adventurers called Dream Chasers who scour the world in search of excitement and fortune. The player assumes control of a party of three such adventurers. Rudy has the ability to operate powerful weapons called Ancient Relic Machines (ARMs), forbidden remnants of a lost age that resemble firearms; Jack is a wandering swordsman struggling with a past failure; and Cecilia is a princess with the power to communicate with Guardians, powerful spirits of Filgaia. The group must use their respective skills to navigate through the wastelands and dungeons of Filgaia, and prevent an otherworldly threat from reviving their lost leader and destroying the world.

Despite its release being somewhat overshadowed by hype for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII, Wild Arms was a critical and commercial success. There were relatively few RPGs available for the PlayStation in the North American market at that time, giving Wild Arms an open field. In November 2003, an enhanced remake titled Wild Arms Alter Code: F was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan, with a North American version released in 2005. Alter Code: F features a new graphical style, an expanded script, a remastered soundtrack, more playable characters, and additional gameplay scenarios.

Gameplay

Top: A town, rendered with 2D sprites.
Bottom: A battle, rendered in 3D. In the early era of the PlayStation, 3D graphics were considered a major differentiator for the console.

Wild Arms is a role-playing video game. The player controls the party of three characters, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia, as they explore the world of Filgaia, navigate its environments, battle enemies, and solve puzzles. The game is presented in a top-down two-dimensional fashion where the player has an overhead view of all the action taking place on a particular screen. As the game's story proceeds, the player goes through various dangerous areas filled with enemies that appear randomly as well as set piece boss encounters. Characters progress and grow more powerful by gaining experience points after a battle, finding ARMs (Rudy), discovering crest graphs used for magic spells (Cecilia), and mastering sword techniques prompted by various events in the game (Jack). Players also can find and purchase a variety of equipment, including weapons, armor, and consumable single-use items.

While exploring dungeons, various situations will block progress until solved, essentially being puzzles. The party finds a variety of devices called "Tools" unique to each character which are used to solve these puzzles and continue onward. Rudy's bomb tool, for example, can demolish large rocks and other impediments, while Jack's grappling hook allows the party to cross large gaps and chasms while avoiding traps.

Battle system

Combat is rendered in 3D graphics. Wild Arms uses a turn-based battle system in which the player inputs commands at the start of each round for each character. The order in which each character and enemy performs these actions is based on their "response" (RES) statistic, which denotes how quickly a particular character can act. Actions include attacking with their equipped weapon, performing unique skills, using items from the inventory, and running away from the combat. Enemy units are defeated when their hit points, a numerical representation of their vitality, reaches zero.

Each of the three playable characters has a unique set of abilities that can be used to defeat enemies or aid party members. Rudy utilizes "ARMs", powerful attacks involving gun-like weapons but that are limited by depleting a limited ammunition supply. Jack's "Fast Draw" sword techniques can damage opponents in a variety of ways. Cecilia's magic has a variety of effects, including restoring hit points to the party, raising or lowering statistics, and damaging enemies with harmful spells. Additionally, a character can equip special items called "runes" allowing them to summon powerful Guardians to aid them in battle. New ARMs, Fast Draws, and magic spells can be acquired as the main story progresses.

During combat, each character has a "Force Bar" that grows via battle actions such as attacking, dodging, receiving damage. Characters can spend this accumulated meter on powerful "Force Techniques". Each character eventually gets access to four such techniques. For example, Cecilia's "Mystic" ability allows an item to be used to cast a spell, while Jack's "Accelerator" lets him get a guaranteed first action in the combat round with a small damage boost. More powerful skills cost more of the Force Bar.

Like normal equipment, Runes can be equipped that improve a character's statistics. Equipping these Runes has the added benefit of allowing a character to call upon powerful magic creatures called Guardians. These effects include attacking all enemies at once or aid allies with beneficial magic. New runes can be obtained both via exploring dungeons as well as in certain story events. Most Guardian attacks, like Cecilia's magic, have an elemental designation that is more effective against certain enemies.

Plot

Setting

Wild Arms takes place in the world of Filgaia, a fantasy world. The technology of the world varies greatly, with some areas closer to medieval Europe with cloistered monasteries and the like, and others closer to a frontier loosely akin to the American West. Advancements such as motors are found sporadically. Much of the technology are remnants recovered from the distant past by archaeologists and engineers who refashion it for the present day. Destructive technology such as ARMs (firearms) are seen as dangerous and therefore forbidden technology that is feared by the general populace.

A thousand years before the main events of Wild Arms, Filgaia was fought over between the inhabitants of Filgaia, the humans and Elw, and an invading race called the Metal Demons. The Metal Demons had lost their own homeworld and sought to make Filgaia their new home. The humans eventually captured the demon's leader, "Mother", and sealed her within a castle in the tundra of Arctica. Unable to fully destroy her regenerating body, she was imprisoned imprisoned her within a cocoon, her heart was removed and torn into three pieces, and the pieces of her heart were placed inside three stone statues which were spread across the world. The war largely ended, with the majority of the Metal Demons remaining either in seclusion or in their own dimension. However, the conflict had devastated the surface of Filgaia, creating wastelands and leaving scars which are still recovering in the present.

If the title screen is left idle, a prologue plays depicting the more recent past. A group of Metal Demons invade Arctica Castle, kill the inhabitants, and reclaim the inert cocoon of Mother. The only seeming human survivors are two Fenril Knights of Arctica, Garret and Elmina, with Garret escaping.

Characters

Wild Arms features three playable characters, all of whom have a short section at the start of the game to introduce them.

• Rudy Roughnight (ロディ・ラグナイト Rodi Ragunaito; "Roughknight" in later English translations) is a 15-year-old boy from a remote village who was orphaned several years before the beginning of the game when his grandfather died. Under the care of the town's mayor, Rudy worked as a farmhand for his neighbor. In his prologue, Rudy finds and rescues a local boy lost in a cave just outside town, yet inadvertently frees a zombie sealed within the cavern. He defeats the zombie and saves the village, but alerts the villagers to his forbidden ARM weapon in the process, causing him to be cast out of the village. He is forced into the life of an adventurer and Dream Chaser. Rudy is a silent protagonist, though he does have one line in the game.
• Jack Van Burace (ザック・ヴァン・ブレイス Zakku Van Bureisu) is a treasure hunter and swordsman-for-hire who is searching the world for the "ultimate power" that will allow him to confront his troubled past. In his prologue, Jack discovers an ancient holographic device within the Memory Temple with a warning from the lost race of the Elw who had developed advanced technology. He sets off to the town of Adlehyde to find more information that will point him in the direction of his goal. Jack is accompanied by 'Hanpan', a "wind mouse" who speaks and understands the language of humans, and often acts as Jack's moral compass.
• Cecilia Lynn Adlehyde (セシリア・レイン・アーデルハイド Seshiria Rein Aderuhaido) is a young princess who has spent most of her life studying at the Curan Abbey magic school. Her 17th birthday at the beginning of the game marks her official ascension into the Adlehyde royal family and departure from the school. Before she leaves, however, she is contacted by a mysterious voice who beckons her to a hidden library deep within the abbey. There she confronts and defeats a demon using her fledgling magic skills, and frees a powerful entity known as a Guardian from a sealed book. The Guardian informs Cecilia that her royal blood allows her to be a medium between the real world and the spirit dimension occupied by the avatars of all the world's elemental forces, and that she will be instrumental in securing the future and reconstruction of the barren planet.

There are also various supporting characters and villains. In particular, the main antagonist group is the Quarter Knights, dedicated to the Metal Demon's cause: their leader Zeikfried, the scientist and magician Alhazad, the warrior Belselk, and the swordswoman Lady Harken. They are on their own quest to revive Mother and to re-ignite the war of 1,000 years earlier.

Story

The player can choose any of Rudy, Jack, or Cecilia's prologues to play through first. At their prologue's conclusions, the trio independently make their way to the city of Adlehyde where they meet. They help a local engineer Emma, who is researching ancient technology in a nearby tomb and believes a remnant of the Demon Wars may be inside, but came across the monsters inside the tomb. Upon discovering the object, a deactivated robotic creature called a "golem", the three adventurers escort Emma and their discovery back to Adlehyde to exhibit it at the town's Ruin Festival. During the event, where several other golem creatures are on display, an army of demons led by Belselk of the Quarter Knights attacks Adelhyde, burns the town, and steals the golems. In the fighting, Cecilia's father, the king, is mortally wounded. In order to spare the remaining people of Adlehyde, Cecilia gives Belselk her family heirloom, a pendant called the Tear Drop that has magical properties which the demons believe can be used as a catalyst for reviving their leader. The invaders leave, but Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia decide to oppose the demons and restore the weakening balance of Filgaia's elemental forces. Cecilia chops off her long hair to symbolize breaking with her royal origin.

Traveling across Filgaia, the heroes make their way to the abandoned Guardian Temple to gain the alliance of the mystical guardians who maintain the forces of nature across the planet. There they are tested individually. After each of them fails their personal tests of character, the Guardians reluctantly agree to aid them. The Guardians tell Rudy and his companions that the demons have already begun to revive their leader, and have only to lift the seal on her cocoon-like prison by destroying the three scattered statues that lie across Filgaia. Utilizing ancient Elw technology in the form of teleportation devices, the group travels the world to stop the Quarter Knights from destroying the statues, but they fail in each attempt. The consequent resurrection of Mother occurs, yet the demons are informed by their leader that it is her intention to eradicate Filgaia rather than subjugate it and tells her followers that their own deaths will follow soon after.

Realizing that the only way to defeat the demons is to confront them in their stronghold, the Photosphere, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia gather the necessary materials to enter the tomb of the last remaining golem, the Earth Golem, Asgard. Convincing him to aid them in their struggle, Asgard neutralizes the protective seal around the Photosphere, granting Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia access. With the aid of a blue-hooded figure, the heroes are able to re-acquire Cecilia's Tear Drop, previously acting as the power source to the entire fortress, and confront a weakened Mother directly, destroying her body just as the Photosphere sinks into the ocean. Thinking the worst to be over, the trio depart for Adlehyde when they are confronted by the Quarter Knights, who inform them of their plan to take over Filgaia in their maniacal leader's absence, and the blue-hooded character who assisted them was Ziekfried, the leader of the Quarter Knights who betrayed Mother.

The demons attempt to destroy the "Ray Line" underneath Filgaia. It was the last resort of the Guardians to connect their remaining strength together and maintain the planet. These plans are temporarily thwarted at the last moment, with Zeikfried being thrown through a dimensional rift in space when the three confront him. Finding himself transported to the underwater wreckage of the Photosphere, Zeikfred is met by a deformed visage of Mother, who devours him. However, the remaining Demons find another way to disrupt the Ray Line by creating their own tear drop designed to destroy rather than create life and using the Elw teleportation system distribute it all over Filgaia, throwing the forces of nature into chaos. It is also revealed that one of the Quarter Knights was not originally a demon, but Jack's lost love Elmina, which fueled his lust for vengeance.

Later, the demons learn of a giant structure on one of the moons orbiting the planet, Malduke, that was designed to be a space station for residential and military purposes, possessing a powerful weapon that could destroy Filgaia. Inside the demons' newly-arisen tower Ka Dingel that connects with Malduke, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia confront what remains of their adversaries before reaching the teleportation device to take them to Malduke. Within Malduke's deepest sanctum, they confront Zeikfried, who transforms into a revived Mother. This new being, Motherfried, confronts the heroes with the intent of using Malduke's primary weapon to destroy Filgaia, but is defeated.

Even after defeating the last of the Demons, it seems too late to stop Malduke's weapon from destroying Filgaia, but the Guardians are able to pool their strength and revive the world. Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia board the teleportation device to be transported back to Filgaia, only to be stopped in mid-voyage by what is left of Zeikfried's body and his spear. The weakened Zeikfried launches a last desperate assault on the heroes, and, though defeated in the end, the energy released in the battle destabilizes the portal. Narrowly escaping through the portal to Filgaia, the trio arrives at Ka Dingel just as it collapses, with Asgard arriving to shield them from the falling debris, but the sheer strain causes great damage to the Earth Golem and so, is later allowed to sleep once more beneath the earth with Cecilia's help. With the demons defeated and nature beginning to recover, Jack and Rudy set off on a new journey while Cecilia remains in Adlehyde to fulfill her duties as ruler. In a letter she writes to Jack and Rudy, she tells them that she will send them the item they forgot to help them on their future adventures and shows up shortly after to join them on a new quest.

Development

Wild Arms was developed by Japanese software company Media.Vision and initially released in Japan in late 1996. The studio was founded in 1993 by several members of Telenet Japan who had left the Riot division after having worked on the RPG series Tenshi no Uta for the NEC PC Engine. Japan Studio assisted on development.

Media.Vision had released the "run and gun"-styled shooter game Rapid Reload for the PlayStation a year before Wild Arms. It was developed under the direction of producer Takashi Fukushima and game designer Akifumi Kaneko. Character designer Yoshihiko Ito was responsible for all major character designs.

The opening sequence to Wild Arms was created by Japanese animation studio Madhouse, with the accompanying music track "Into the Wilderness" composed by Michiko Naruke. The song was arranged by Kazuhiko Toyama and features melancholy whistling by Naoki Takao.

Wild Arms' soundtrack was composed by Naruke. It is heavily inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, featuring instrumentation from mandolins, acoustic and electric guitars, finger cymbals, trumpets, and whistling. A classical theme is also present in many tracks with the melody being provided by string instruments and deep drums to heighten the mood or increase tension. The game's overworld theme "Lone Bird in the Shire" contains the melody from Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold", originally from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. "Into the Wilderness" contains parts from Riz Ortolani's soundtrack to Day of Anger.

Release

While RPGs were common in the Japanese market, the American branch of Sony Computer Entertainment generally discouraged RPGs from being released in the North American market. This policy was only reversed in 1996, with Wild Arms one of the first games to benefit from this, and also having a relatively open market. The policy change was generally linked to Sony securing the then-upcoming Final Fantasy VII to be a PlayStation game, of which there were high expectations. Wild Arms was sometimes designated as a holdover game for Final Fantasy VII, which would be released five months later.

First appearing as a video demo on the promotional PlayStation Jampack vol. 1 in January 1997, the full English version of Wild Arms was made available in March of the same year by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). Due to the short time frame allotted between the game's completion and its North American release, SCEA assigned seven people to work on the translation, nearly twice as many as their previous RPG translation, Beyond the Beyond. Being released just before the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) updated their video game ratings system, the game thus received two separate North American ratings: first, "Kids to Adults" (K-A), and later "Everyone" (E) for copies released after January 1, 1998, though both versions contain the same software and catalog number. Wild Arms was later translated to both French and German for its release in the PAL region in late 1998.

The Wild Arms Original Game Soundtrack was initially released in Japan on January 22, 1997, and was reprinted two years later. This version contains only a one-disc sample of the game's music. After the release of the enhanced remake Wild Arms Alter Code: F and its arranged soundtrack, a complete version of the original Wild Arms soundtrack containing all of the game's music, titled Wild Arms Complete Tracks was released on April 6, 2006.

On July 26, 2007, Wild Arms was released on the PlayStation Network in Japan, through which it can be played on the PlayStation Portable and, as of Operating System update 1.70, on the PlayStation 3. On December 6, 2007 this version was released on the North American PlayStation Network. On January 4, 2012, Wild Arms was released on the European PlayStation Store.

Wild Arms was included on the PlayStation Classic, a dedicated console built to emulate PlayStation games. The console was released on December 3, 2018.

Wild Arms was released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 for the upgraded PlayStation Plus service on June 13, 2022. This release features the ability to rewind the game, as well as video filters and PlayStation Network trophies.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	79%

Review scores

Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	35 / 40
Famitsu	31 / 40
Game Informer	8.75 / 10
GameFan	277 / 300
GameSpot	8.6 / 10
IGN	8 / 10
Next Generation	4/5
RPGFan	94%

Wild Arms garnered a positive response. It sold over 250,000 copies in Japan during the first two weeks after its release and was positively reviewed by Japanese critics. Game Informer magazine stated it was "by far one of the best action RPGs of the year", praising the game's use of 3D battle graphics in addition to the colorful 2D graphics of normal gameplay. Their three reviewers scored it 9, 9.25 and 8.5 out of 10. GameFan's three reviewers scored it 95%, 92%, and 90%, and also gave it their "Game of the Month" award. They said it "is a spectacular RPG" and, "if not for [Final Fantasy VII], Wild Arms would definitely be RPG of the year so far."

Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers scored it 9, 8.5, 9 and 8.5 out of 10, earning it an "Editor's Choice Silver Award", a distinction given to games with a score averaging between 8 and 9 out of 10. Crispin Boyer said it is "easily the best PlayStation RPG to date". They gave it their "Game of the Month" award. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Wild Arms the Runner-Up award for Role-Playing Game of the Year behind Final Fantasy VII, while GamePro gave Wild Arms the 3rd Place award for Best Role-Playing Game behind Final Fantasy VII and Alundra.

Praise for the game centered on its cutting edge visuals, particularly the detailed polygonal graphics and moving camera of the battle sequences. GamePro added that even the graphics outside of battles were on par with the greatest RPGs, and that the game's graphics alone were "enough to make it one of the season's best titles, no matter what the genre." Next Generation emphasized that "Even with Final Fantasy VII around the corner, Wild Arms still packs a strong visual punch that won't soon be forgotten."

Other commonly applauded aspects of the game included the need to develop all of the player characters and use them individually to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Boyer deemed this "one of the best party systems in RPG history." Trent Ward commented in GameSpot, "More than just a hack and slash adventure, Wild Arms puts you in several different situations in which you'll run, push and pull rocks, throw switches, and use a swarm of different items. Since all of these options are available to you at all times, the role-playing element never feels constraining."

The website RPGFan stated in a retrospective review that it is "very well designed and is a lot of fun to play" and concluded that it "has a great English translation, interesting ideas and makes you use your brain to solve puzzles." The game held an 79% average rating on GameRankings at the time of the site's 2019 closure, pooling reviews from 14 publications.

The game was a finalist for the "Console Role-Playing Game of the Year" at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards, which was ultimately awarded to Final Fantasy VII.

Legacy

Main article: Wild Arms

The success of Wild Arms lead to a series of sequels and spinoffs. These included 5 other console video games, mobile phone adaptations, a manga, and Wild Arms: Twilight Venom, an anime distributed by ADV Films.

Wild Arms Alter Code: F

Wild Arms Alter Code: F is an enhanced remake of Wild Arms for the PlayStation 2, developed by Media.Vision and published by Sony in Japan and Agetec in North America. The game features a new graphical engine, more playable characters, redesigned dungeons, new puzzles, and other changes. The Japanese version was released in November 2003. The game's North American release was postponed several times, until it was released on November 15, 2005. The North American version comes with a bonus DVD featuring the first episode of the Wild Arms anime series, Wild Arms: Twilight Venom. The game was never released in Europe.

The game features more playable characters than the original trio. The rival ARM-wielder Jane Maxwell, scientist Emma Hetfield, and the rogue Metal Demon Zed are recruitable as permanent party members; temporary characters include Jane's servant Magdalene Harts (McDullen Harts in the original translation) and the Elw girl Mariel. Alter Code: F was graphically overhauled for the PS2, and has 3D graphics both in and out of battles. In particular, the graphical style is somewhat more realistically proportioned than the stylized "chibi" characters from the PlayStation version. The soundtrack was remixed or replaced entirely with new music. Various full motion videos (FMVs) were added to illustrate key points in the game as well as for Cecilia's guardian summonings. The encounter cancel system from Wild Arms 2 and 3, which allows a player to potentially skip a random battle, was added. The English localization was also redone with new translations. In general, the original translation at times obscured English words in the Japanese script by modifying them, such as localizing a demon named "Berserk" as "Belselk"; Alter Code: F generally opted to reverse these and maintain terms exactly. Other elements were removed; for example, characters no longer have equipment choices nor much in the way of customization, only growing in power via equipping personal skills and gaining more levels.

Critical reception to Alter Code: F was mixed, with review aggregator Metacritic giving an averaged critic's score of 73/100. Jeremy Dunham of IGN overall enjoyed the game, praising the redesigned dungeons and puzzles and remixed soundtrack, but considered the new graphics bland and unimpressive for the PS2. He also thought that the game's system had been perhaps oversimplified and was a touch on the easy and linear side. Bryan Cebulski wrote in a 2021 retrospective that the visuals were bland and plastic, and that the translation was worse than the original. Cebulski suggested that curious gamers would be better served playing the original rather than the remake.

References

Game script quotes

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Wild Arms Archived May 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine at MobyGames