The fourth installment of the Wild Arms series, this could possibly be the best one yet, at least thats what I believe.
(5 out of 5) Story: Wild Arms 4 probably has the most unique story out of all of the Wild Arms Games. You will play as Jude Maverick, a thirteen year old boy who lives in the village of Ciel. A mysterious group of people invade his home; Jude and his friends Yulie and Arnaud are forced to flee Ciel. Ciel was actually a giant floating sphere isolated from the world of Filga ia (who would of thought) Apparently the invaders wanted something from Yulie.Later they meet up with a girl named Raquel and journey to protect Yulie from the invaders. I know what you're thinking, sounds as if the game's story is like all other stories, but Wild Arms 4 does a very good job at keeping the story going with plenty of twists and turns. One moment you are like meh, the next moment you are like WOOOAH! What amazes me is that I actually didn't fall asleep!
(3.5 out of 5) Graphics: The overall graphics in the game weren't that bad, but they weren't that good either. There were many vast environments and levels that had spectacular design. But the areas within the levels looked exactly the same, there were many times where you would say to yourself "Haven't I've already been here" and I did that ALOT! The backgrounds during fights were dull at times. The game uses pictures of chracters and writes out what they are saying, this is a good idea, but I would settle for some cut scenes. The game has had some but I felt that just wasn't enough, but thats just me. (4.5 out of 5) Gameplay: The new HEX battle system is the first thing I have to point out. Its very unique, and it makes battles actually become more strategic, which a lot of RPGs lack. This is a HUGE step forward for the Wild Arms series in my case. The thing I could have done without was the random encounters, I just don't like fighting monsters every ten to fifteen steps, it just halts the gameplay. They have also tried to put in some platforming in Wild Arms 4, for the most part it was actually pretty good, it gave you something to do while waiting for the next monster encounter hahaha! But sometimes I felt the platforming was a bit unnecessary, especially doing all of those puzzles. Overall I felt the game was TOO easy, boss battles were easily won, monsters could be taken out in one blow, and your HP would be fully recovered after every battle. I'm not complaining though, others might. (4 out of 5) Sound: The character voice overs were well done, but I can't say the same thing for the monster's voice overs. It didn't even sound like a voice, it sounded more like a pile of monkey crap mixing with donkey manure. Whatever that sounds like. The sound effects were pretty good but it could have been better. The soundtrack in the game was surprisingly catchy, especially the song played when you are looking at the map. Overall: Wild Arms 4 is a great RPG, and if you can find the kind of deal like I had I suggest you buy it. With its great gameplay, nicely done story, and catchy music, you shouldn't miss out on this game.