Wild Arms writer talks Vth Vanguard

  • By Walt Wyman, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 10, 2006 3:09 pm PT

Akifumi Kaneko reflects on the 10th anniversary of the series, as well as its latest installment.

Wild Arms debuted on the Japanese Sony PlayStation in 1996. The game's blend of Wild West drama, fantasy, combat, and puzzles has earned it several sequels and a PlayStation 2 makeover of the original title. To celebrate the series' 10th anniversary, Media Vision Entertainment is developing a new sequel, Wild Arms: the Vth Vanguard, scheduled for this winter, with Sony Computer Entertainment as publisher. The latest issue of Famitsu Weekly offered a sneak peak of the game in the form of an interview with series writer/coordinator Akifumi Kaneko.

On Wild Arms turning 10, Kaneko said he was amazed to find out who some of the game's fans were. Specifically, he was surprised to discover that current members of his staff were previously fans of the original Wild Arms.

"As a producer, it was interesting to get their take on the game," Kaneko said. "I can always rely on them to come up with things I hadn't thought of, and to point out places where my own rules were restricting my actions... My most important task this time around is to back up the staff on their ideas and the details they obsess over. As a result, the game may include some non-traditional elements, but I want to approve these as much as possible, so long as they're offered with enthusiasm and passion."

This desire to give free reign to his staff's creativity is directly related to the word "vanguard" in the game's title.

"We were strongly influenced by this word in that it can mean 'forerunner,'" Kaneko said. "This was mainly because although [it's] the fifth game in the series, Vth Vanguard is completely different from the previous games, and we regard it as a first game... In the previous titles I managed the entire process as the total game designer. This time I left that work up to the other staff. As a result this game will have a different flavor; they're achieving a Wild Arms that I couldn't have created myself."

One difference will be in the writing. Kaneko enlisted a novelist to write the game's story, and a new character designer as well. While the graphics will retain the illustrative quality of the fourth title, special attention has been given to the characters' gestures and facial expressions, and will give the players cues about game events.

While the previous stories followed more or less linear plots, Vanguard will offer more choices and opportunities for players to think things through. That doesn't necessarily mean multiple endings for the game, but Kaneko said it will give players more flexibility in how they develop their characters.

"I can't say anything specific yet, but players will have the freedom to train their warriors like magic users," Kaneko said. "Of course there will be merits to doing this. For example, you could change your character type in order to defeat a boss with certain attributes."

The game's combat system will also be changed. In an effort to make the game more user-friendly, players will be able to continue even if they are defeated in battle. However, Kaneko said the dungeons will be just as difficult as ever. As for what the future holds for the series after Vth Vanguard, Kaneko he'd like to go back and give the second Wild Arms a remake, time permitting.

11 Comments

  • BelmontMaster

    Posted Jan 27, 2007 5:56 pm PT

    Wild Arms 4 was amazing. Remake 2? Oh hell yeah.

  • farbrorbla

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 2:13 am PT

    I didnt like the first two games and the third was one of those i played through cause there was no other good rpg´s to the ps2 at the time.
    But the fourth one was great i really hope they keep some of the hexbased-battle system cause to me it was one of the best ever

  • venus577

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 5:14 am PT

    Well, Polyhymnia, SCEA doesn't exactly have a good track record with Wild ARMs games. They did 1/2 and their localization didn't turn out that great, especially 2. The published 3, but outsourced the localization to Square USA. By the time Alter Code F and 4 came around, they dropped the series entirely. I would prefer that SCEA not get their hands on 5, considering XSeed has expressed interest in localizing 5.

  • SkylineQS

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 10:51 pm PT

    wow, i can't wait, i played the first one and are now playing the 4th one, if they do a 2/3 remake i will buy it, i love this serie : )

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 7:39 pm PT

    There hasn't really been a good Wild Arms game since the first. Maybe Vth Vanguard can get the series back on track.

  • diablusx

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 7:17 pm PT

    I am really hoping that V will be good. I still remember playing 1 when it came out and I also played 2/3. I even went out to replay 1 when it got re-released just to see the difference.

  • rynmls

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 6:30 pm PT

    i hope this will be good cause i only have wild arms 2...

  • Polyhymnia

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 5:18 pm PT

    Now is Sony going to be nice to us and localize this game or will it have to be sold around like the last three games?

  • Marcxgm

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    Now a wild arms 2 remake would be great becuase you could transform and hear the cool music !

  • NinjaWallace

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 3:49 pm PT

    I love Wild Arms 4. Looking forward.

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 3:11 pm PT

    I myself would love to see Wild Arms on the PSP but the PS2 is cool too.I hope the second Wild Arms remake comes to the PSP I think that would be cool if it did plus if it takes off on the PSP we could see many more Wild Arms game's on the system and that would be cool.

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