Giddy Up, Partner!

Final Fantasy is perhaps the most popular and well known RPG series to have graced our games consoles. But there is another RPG series that holds a dear place in my heart and that is Wild Arms; a series that has been going for 15 years and will hopefully continue for many years to come. I first experienced the Wild Arms series back in 1998 when I was on holiday in Ireland. I wandered into a local games shop, saw the first instalment for the PlayStation One and purchased it straight away. Final Fantasy VIII had to take a back seat for a while as I fell in love with another series. Alas, over the years I managed to lose this gem and have been battling on eBay ever since to get a reasonably priced copy. If I had known all those years ago how rare it would become, I would have taken better care of it.

The first and the best!

For those new to the series, Wild Arms was developed by the Japanese company, Media. Vision, and first appeared in Japan in 1996 then came to our shores in 1998. Since then there have been seven games, a manga and a 22 episode anime series. The only two games from the series not released outside the States and Japan were Wild Arms 2 and Wild Arms: Alter Code F, which was a remake of the first game. The series is set in an American-Western setting with some elements of science fiction and fantasy. The recurring themes of Wild Arms are firearms, known as ARMs which are violent weapons with ancient technology, all the games are based on the same planet known as Filgaia, and Ragu O Ragula, who is an optional boss in the early games, but was stopped after Wild Arms 5.

[youtube width=”425″ height=”280″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrDV6VksSRU[/youtube]

Cute outfit, bet Rikku would be jealous!

The music is also a key character in the game. It draws heavily on music from Western movies and uses many instruments like pianos, drums, brass instruments and whistling! There are also different musical pieces included depending on the game; some feature rock, folk, choir or electro, but all play well together with the Western themes.

The characters are also well designed, all anime based and are unique and individual to each game. My personal favourite is Rebecca, she’s the one on the left there. Rebecca is from Wild Arms 5 and plays the best friend and secret love interest to the lead character. Girly and yet very strong, she makes sure to keep the lead protagonist on the right trail! As previously mentioned, Wild Arms also branched out into manga and anime. Both featured ARMS and were still set in the West, but neither featured any of the characters from the game series.

Sadly the series is better known in Japan than America and Europe and some see it as an RPG to keep them going until the next Final Fantasy is released. I think it’s sad because it has such a unique style and setting, with a fantastic musical score and a nice balance of characters. It’s no Final Fantasy, but not every RPG can be like them or it would start to get boring. eBay seems to be the only place to buy them now, unless you get lucky in a second-hand games shop. I’ve been lucky with my findings and I am still determined to get a copy of Wild Arms again!

I urge anyone who gets an opportunity to play any of the series to give it a go and see what they think. And on that note, I wish you happy trails as I ride off into the sunset, seeking my fortune. YEE-HA!


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2 responses to “Giddy Up, Partner!”

  1. Mark P avatar

    Sounds like a pretty awesome game actually. I love Final Fantasy (and most JRPGs in general, tbh) almost as much as I love the *fantastic* World of Warcraft, but this sounds very different to what I’ve played of them before.

    I’m assuming Wild Arms isn’t available to download from the Playstation Store?

  2. Lauren avatar
    Lauren

    I dont think it is Mark which is sad because it would be a great way to get people into the series. They are like chicken teeth these games, so if you have a chance then go for it.

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