Wild Arms

Sorry, I forgot to update. I was having too much fun.

And I cannot stress that enough. Wild Arms is an absolutely amazing game, and I wish I had played it years ago. The internet tried to tell me Wild Arms II was better, but that was a lie. I meant to update more often about the going ons in Filgaia, but I kept going into overtime. I had to know what these characters were doing, what plan those bosses had up their sleeves, and listen to this music. I regret procrastinating on this! Why did I let me do this!?!? So let's get into it!

Despite all that praise, let's start with what sucks.
It's kind of an ugly game. Despite releasing two years after the PlayStation's debut and being the seventh RPG on the console, WA still uses SNES looking character sprites and tile sets for the world and field areas. There aren't any prerendered backgrounds or 3D models there. That's a design choice I won't argue against, but even compared to late SNES releases, they don't hold up. As I said, Treasure of Rudra looked better. As for the battle graphics, they are 3D in battle, and they're...fitting for the time, but that brings its own issues. The spells remind me of Quest 64. What I mean by that is there are two levels of each spell, but animations for both versions are the same. Back to the tile sets, many dungeons tend to look the same. They're all either caves, pallet swapped ruins, or Magitek Research Facility knockoffs. But this is a bit of a ticky-tacky problem. And, honestly, ugly is the wrong word. They're just dated. And it was Media.Vision's third game, after all.

Who even cares graphics when everything else is so wonderful?

The gameplay is filled with interesting puzzles throughout the dungeons that make use of the game's Tools, character based field specials that the player can trigger throughout an area. Rudy can bomb certain things to remove them from the path, Jack gets a grappling hook to bridge the gaps, and Cecilia uses a plot relevant mcguffin that opens magical doors. Along with typical puzzles (blocks, locks, and damage floors), it makes for some fun crawling through the kinda repetitive ruins of an ancient civilization. It's a strange shame that the mobs feel thrown around haphazardly, though.

The music was an unexpected bit of enjoyment. Wild Arms 2's OST was rather middling, and I struggled to find my favorite song because they all kinda sucked. But I had the opposite problem in Wild Arms. World map, towns, dungeons, certain scenes: all amplified by the melodies and notes that passed through my speakers. I did not expect this from someone I've never heard of. My apologies to Michiko Naruke.

I absolutely loved the characters. I was sucked into the struggles of a seventeen-year-old princess, a twenty something warrior with a troubled background, and a silent protagonist with a forbidden power and amnesia. How they grew as people, became friends, learned about themselves, and became fond of their planet forced me to play five to eight hours a night. And even the bosses were fantastic. Even their reasons to fight changed over time and for varying reasons. They all really drove this plot with their twists and intricacies. So good!

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Plot: world changing. Between the characters, good and bad, and how they drive the story to exciting climaxes, I couldn't put down Wild Arms. I'll get into a deeper point on this at the end. 9/10

Gameplay: matches. The actual game part of this story could have been a second rate experience, but the devs didn't skip any corners here, either. 9/10

Sound: why cats? Why do so many mobs sound like a cat was kicked to record them? Other than that, I want to go listen to the OST again. From relaxing tunes to morose melodies, action themes, and a Xenogears vocal track: I dug all of them! 10/10

Art: dated. I spoke enough about my nitpick and don't want to again. 7/10

Charm: the important bits. The world is great, and there are a number of NPCs who help the story expand. Shout out to the goat, Earth Golem! Exploration brings you to so many secrets and super bosses, and the game is the perfect length. And I laughed at the Link doll in Cecilia's room. The only point lost is because I don't see a lot of replayability here. But ask me again in a few years or when I get a hold of the remake. 9/10

Sadly, there are some negatives. A lot of enemies and bosses love to spam negative status effects. It really bogs down the game and artificially creates difficulty. -2

And with that, the original Wild Arms garners a more than respectable 42 out of 50.

Had I played Wild Arms when it first came out, I think this would have been my favorite game. I wouldn't have cared about the graphics, the status effects, or the enemy placements. I only would have paid attention to Cecilia and her story, how rad Jack is, and the best implementation of a silent protagonist I've seen. There's even a handful of bosses that kicked my butt I want to go back to. To say nothing of the secret dungeon and all that! I am so glad I played Wild Arms, and it reminds me why I love this genre. I want to find Alter Code...