It's not even close to competing with the best RPGs, but Wild Arms is good in its own right.
Review 219
Released: April 30, 1997
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Media Vision
Game Genre: Role-Playing
ESRB Rating: KA for Kids to Adults
ESRB Descriptors: Animated Violence
Story: 30%
Gameplay: 40%
Graphics: 20%
Durability: 10%
Story (6/10)
Wild Arms has a very unique implementation, but the storyline itself is weak. There are three characters in Wild Arms: Rudy (the young wanderer), Jack (the treasure hunter) and Cecelia (the princess). After the introductory missions, a race of Metal Demons attacks the planet and the duty of saving this planet falls upon the three main characters.
At the basic level, the story is good. However, all-too-quick explanations of otherwise complex aspects of the storyline and a lot of horrible translation mistakes take away any glimpse of brilliance.
Gameplay (8/10)
Wild Arms is a very typical puzzle-heavy RPG. Dungeons are filled with puzzles, but fortunately, most of them are easy to figure out. A few will have you scratching your head, then chucking the controller at somebody, and then screaming obscenities at the television.
The battle engine, albeit slow, has its unique aspects that prevent it from being just like any other RPG. Because there are only three characters, they each have their own special abilities and very different fighting styles. There are the standard attack, defend, and item options, but also a "Force" option. Here is where the diversity enters. Each character has four different levels of Force, and each level has its own different attack or effect. As battle go on, the characters' force gauges increase until they reach a point in which you can use a Force attack. Each character also has their own special ability, which is similar to Magic attacks in other RPGs. Rudy's "ARM" attacks (basically a gun attached to his arm) use no MP, but use bullets, which will need to be refilled after the clip is emptied. Jack's "Fast Draw" attacks must be learned by fulfilling certain requirements in the game, and then have to be mastered by being used multiple times in battle. Cecelia's special attacks are just like Magic attacks in other RPGs. She learns spells by finding Crest Graphs in dungeons and taking them to shops in towns.
As for the puzzle-solving, each character has their own tools to use in dungeons. Rudy starts with bombs that blow up weak walls or crates, Jack starts with Hanpan, his "wind mouse" partner, and Cecelia starts with the "Tear Drop", a magical heirloom. As the game goes on, puzzles become more difficult, and the variety of tools available for use increases.
The only drawback of the gameplay is its complete lack of speed. Dungeons are long and filled with random battles and puzzles, battles are very slow and repetitive, and there isn't enough dialog to separate dungeons.
Graphics (8/10)
The battle engine sports a very cool 3D design, with a camera that pans in and out, and across the screen. Outside of battle, characters are small and out of proportion, but the sprites and environments blend together smoothly.
Durability (9/10)
Overall Score (7.5/10)
Final Thoughts:
It's not even close to competing with the best RPGs, but Wild Arms is good in its own right.