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Wild Arms

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Everybody seems to note that this game's plot is a typical "save the world" storyline. While that may be true, most RPG's I have played seem to be derived from that say typical format. Even FFVII, as great as it may be, ultimately fell for the same format. However, in spite of this format, Wild Arms delivers on plenty of plot twists and character development.

The idea of playing each character individually before bringing them together was new to me at the time (I missed out on the Nintendo's Dragon Warrior IV and never had the chance to see something like this beforehand). Just discovering the Elw world as well as Rudy's past was a twist all in itself. I remember when we first played through Adlehyde and when the credits started to roll my brother and I knew it couldn't have been the end, but we were still dumbfounded and trying to figure out what was going on. Turns out the game was only just beginning.

As for battles, by today's standards they might be rather simple, but at the time I was very impressed. It was the reason I bought WA in the first place, having seen a screen shot of a battle on the back of the Playstation box. The idea of going from 2-D field to a 3-D battle was new to me at the time, and made fighting monsters a little more entertaining.

And now for the overall graphics. I've been playing RPG's long before the Playstation, so when we first bought the Playstation we purchased a rather cheap, traditional space shooter with impressive graphics but not much else. WA was the second game we bought for the PS, so graphically speaking, we had just come off of a heavy dose of Super Nintendo games and were not yet exposed to the elements that FFVII would soon bring. The graphics were alright by me, but graphics does not always mean a great game. Take Wild Arms' remake (WA: Alter Code F) for example. Updated story, great movie scenes, but somehow didn't live up to the original.

Khhk, khhk, khhk.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the first RPG I have ever played. It was amongst my first PS games, also, so it was generally a new experience for me... But, I'm not going to let that "The-first-time-is-special" thing get in the way of a fair review. The graphics, as far as I can recall, were on par for the time period. (And despite what others may say, the graphics are roughly equal to Final Fantasy VII's. Seriously. Play FFX, then play FFVII. You'll be incapable of determining which of the polygons on your screen is Cloud and which is a three-headed dinosaur intent on devouring Candyland. Or something. Point being, don't try to diss WA in comparison to FFVII.) They're not that great now, but I am more than happy to live with them to play through WA again. The characters, as it has been said before yet must be said again, are superbly developed... The music is amongst the best I can recall hearing (When my PS finally dies, the coroner's report will list "Zed's Battle Music" as the primary cause of death). The plot is a generic save-the-world type, but then again, I can't think of any RPGs at this exact moment that aren't. (Except the "save the nation/continent/island/75% of the world/apartment-complex types.) The villains are great, and conflict with each other in pretty complex ways (Zed thinks he's underestimated and therefore goes off on his own to defeat the heroes, Zeik revives Mother then finds out her goals are different from his and then uses the heroes to kill her, that sort of thing) which is pretty cool and (if I'm not mistaken) unique... Plenty of sidequests and such, and... Well... All in all, the game is generally very good. The only downsides I can think of are the bad-as-of-now graphics (But then, Halo 2's graphics will look just as bad sometime in the not-too-distant future, so HA!), lack of Zed sans shirt, and the game is a little too easy (But in it's defense, it's pretty hard to create a challenging game that isn't 'challenging' to the point that you wanna throw the controller across the room. Really. I'd like to see YOU make such a game.). Now, I suppose I've done enough random and unprofessional reviewing for the night, so... Eh, I hope this was of some help to someone, at least, and; GO BUY THE GAME!

I'M NOT SO WILD FOR WILD ARMS

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 12
Date: September 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

IT'S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED. NOT ENOUGH GRAPHICS. TOO COMPLICATED

Great game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Back in 1997, almost all gamers were talking about the debut of Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VII for the PSX. I, never having played an RPG before that point, played a demo of the FFVII at my cousins house (that was packaged with Square's Tobal No.1 - little known fighting game). That christmas I asked Santa for a Playstation and a copy of FFVII. Sanata delievered and I enjoyed and occupied myself for many hours that christmas...

But this review is about Wild Arms. After I had completed FFVII after the holidays, my classmate lent me his copy of Wild Arms. While Wild ARMS didn't contain all the hype and flash that FFVII had going for it (far from it in some aspects), I felt the game overall was a real winner.

Even five years after it's release I still can't praise this game enough. Graphically the game is very out-of-date by today's standards, but one must realize the game's graphics were out-of-date the minute FFVII flexed it's polygonal mucsles only a few months later. If your rating how good an RPG is by it's graphics, then you are not a true RPG fan in any way, shape, or form.

Graphics was never the series' strong point, even though the graphics for Wild ARMS 2 were very well done (outside of the battle system mind you!), and Wild ARMS 3 cell-shading was nice (but kinda dull overall).

What really made Wild ARMS such a strong game is the excellent character development that easily rivals ANY square-enix title (I'm not afraid to make such a bold statement!). When you really start to feel for the game's characters, espeically when tradegy strikes them, you know you have a winner. Even the game's villians are very well developed and very, very memorable (I still refer to them in gaming conversations after all this time). Some may say the story is your typical save-the-world fare, but I still think it beats the heck out of some of the plotlines in games today (where original ideas seem to be lacking overall).

Wild ARMS, simply put, is a classic. Personally, I would put this above FFVII in terms of my overall favorites, even though I played FFVII first (FFVII still being another one of my top favorites). Even if your a new to Wild ARMS, or a fan, this is one RPG not to overlook.

Hmmm... I wonder what the PSX2 remake, Wild ARMS: Alter Code F is going to be like?

don't overlook this one!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

A couple of years ago I picked up a copy of Wild Arms 2 and I really enjoyed the game (despite hearing that it is the black sheep of the 3 Wild Arms games). I enjoyed the game so much that I was willing to track down a copy of the first Wild Arms game and give this one a shot, too. Once again, I wasn't disappointed. This was one of the first RPGs on the Playstation (one) and predates Final Fantasy VII. Right then, you should understand that the quality of graphics is naturally going to be much weaker, but this is an RPG and graphics really should not matter. What matters is that the game is fun to play, even years later. In many ways, this game is more similar to the SNES RPGs that preceeded the Playstation rather than the games that followed, but once again, this game was a lot of fun to play.

The story is the basic "Save the World" plot, but it has to grow into that story. We take three characters who have no connection to each other: Jack, Rudy, Cecilia. These three characters come together and get involved in a quest that with each step grows larger in scale and scope until it eventually builds into the "save the world" quest that we have come to know and love. For the most part, the game feels like it is mission based. You have to go someplace, fight, and return and find out where the next place you have to go and fight is. I know, this is essentially any RPG (or video game, for that matter), but it just feels more like a mission based story than unraveling the story as you progress through the game.

There is a strong puzzle solving element to this game (though not as bad as the block puzzles from WA2), but it was used effectively in Wild Arms. The story was fairly interesting and the minor characters were fun to see pop up from time to time. By the end of the game things started to get a little absurd, but this is a fun little game and it should not be overlooked due to age or graphical deficiencies.

I love this classic. Literally. Okay?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I rented this game awhile back and kept renewing it until I beat it, and regardless of that, I still want to play it again. It's a classic PlayStation RPG that was overlooked by many in the wake of Final Fantasy VII. The story line's pretty cliche and the graphics always resemble that of a Super Nintendo RPG, but that's what I love about it. I'm a sucker for the old school graphics, though the battle graphics for Rudy, Jack and Cecilia (the main characters) kinda suck, but it doesn't bring the game down any. Even though the plot's cliche, it's told VERY well and will keep you playing just to see what'll happen next. Then you'll want to see what'll happen then. And so on and so forth. The soundtrack's so good, I never skipped the intro. I really miss this game. And you will, too, if you love classic RPGs and somehow pass this one up.

And So the RPG Fanaticism began. . .

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

It was a long time ago that Wild Arms entered the gaming world as the second RPG on the PS (the first being Beyond the Beyond in '95), but a long time doesn't really change anything, for I have yet to see an RPG that has surpassed the quality that was shown here. Sure the graphics are good ol' 2-D, but if you're one of those shallow people who can't get by the look of the game, then stop reading . . . NOW! I don't want you reading this. Cause this game is for the people who love the characters they play as; people who feel for them and care for them as they pass through the different stages of the game. I have always said that playing an RPG is like reading a fantasy/sci-fi novel, so anyone who differs in opinion can laugh or mock all they want, but this is for the TRUE gamer.
This game offers so much that I can barely describe it. The music is absolutely amazing, the characters are even better, and the plot, well, that is the best! So what if it's the typical save the world type plot! If you consider yourself a RPGer, or a gamer, get this immediately, you will not regret it.

My start with rpg's

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This rpg started me on the rpg love. The graphics are not that good, but hummor and pure fun is wild arms. And this game is HUGE all on one cd. My buds love it and I think many will. This one is much better than #2 a must buy for rpg fans.

Long, fun, and great music. What else is needed?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Wild Arms was the second American Playstation rpg. The graphics attest to this--they're pretty ugly. The battle system is nothing special, though at the time (with its guardian force system and ARMs) was quite unique.

However, it is an extremely good time. Truly, the characters will become your friends. They are very well developed, each with distinct personalities and drive. This development isn't without a good complementary story, Wild Arms (though cliched, what isn't?) presents a very pleasant story.

The mysterious quality about all of the hidden goodies littered throughout the world (an unreachable ledge here, an edge-of-the-screen-seen cave there) adds to the already impressive atmosphere generated by the music.

The music is INCREDIBLE. You'll never forget that classic dungeon theme, or Adlehyde town and castle, or perhaps Port Timney. . . I could go on for a while. Some unforgettable stuff. You'd recognize it years later.

This is a very addictive game if you can get past its dated look. A solid buy, I'd say.

Simple game for simple folk

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: December 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I love this game. It's simple and easy to play. There aren't multiple dimensions, or options, so it keeps things nice and easy. The directional references are easy to follow, but not red light obvious. I liked the battles, nicely patterned but not boring. The story line is just lie every other story line, group develops, each has issues to overcome so they can save the world from what man has done to it. They face a monster/alien enemy. There are plenty of dimensional shifts, and an android thrown in for fun. Overall, this isn't the worlds hardest RPG, but it's fun, and that's what gaming's all about.

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