Wild ARMs
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This article is about the first game in the Wild Arms series. For an entry on the series itself, see Wild Arms series.
Wild Arms was a 1996 PlayStation game released with little exposure, but became a classic RPG with three sequels and a remake, , for PlayStation 2. It also spawned an anime series released by ADV Films in 1999. The reason for the significant lack of attention to the original game was that Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VII was released at the same time. Wild Arms combined 3D battle graphics with anime backgrounds and characters. The wild west type setting of the game and the memorable bosses helped make the game a cult classic.
Story
The story takes place on Filgaia, a planet that resembles the American Wild West but with magic and technology added. Centuries ago, the planet was attacked by aliens called the "Metal Demons" to invade it since their own world was mysteriously destroyed. The Demons were finally driven away when their leader, the "Great Mother" was captured and her body separated from its soul. But the war left much of the planet devastated.
During the course of the game, the Demons return, led by a group of villains calling themselves the "Quarter Knights", headed by a man called Zeikfried. Their plan is to regain the parts of Mother's being and revive her, so she can lead them into conquering Filgaia. The planet's Guardian spirits, too weakened to help directly, choose three adventurers and grant them special powers so they can explore Filgaia's ancient ruins and recover the technology needed to oppose the invaders. They are: Rudy, a young man banished from his hometown for his innate ability to use the dangerous ARMS weapons; Princess Cecilia of the Kingdom of Adlehyde, who can commune with the Guardians; and Jack, a wandering treasure-seeker.
Things get complicated when the Quarter Knights find out that Mother is actually a nihilist who destroyed their homeworld and plans to do the same to all life, including them. Also, Rudy finds out he's actually an android (called a Holmcross) , and Jack finds out that his girlfriend, whom he believed dead, has been transformed into one of the Quarter Knights.
Zeikfried tricks the heroes into destroying Mother for him, but ultimately all the Quarter Knights are destroyed and the invasion is defeated. Coming to terms with their losses, the heroes then decide to stay together and continue exploring Filgaia. (For a full explanation of the game's terms, see Wild Arms series.)
Gameplay
Wild Arms is a role-playing game about three random travelers, who meet up by sheer coincidence, but all get tangled up in the same plot. The player must utilize each character's abilities in combat: Cecilia is the only mage, Rudy can attack more enemies at once, and Jack is the strongest, focusing on single enemies. Outside of battle, each character must use their "tools" to progress through the world, such as Bombs for Rudy, a lighter for Jack, and a wand for Cecilia.Characters
Wild ArmsMusical score
The soundtrack for Wild Arms was composed by Michiko Naruke. The music was first commercially released on an original one-disc soundtrack in 1999 and a newer soundtrack with two-discs was later released in 2006 with nearly twice as many songs, entitled Wild ARMs Complete Tracks.Images
External links
- [RPG Dreamer, Wild Arms page]
- [Wild Arms] at IGN
- [Wild Arms] at MobyGames
- [Filgaia.com - An unofficial Wild Arms site]
- [Wild Arms OST] at MusicBrainz
| Wild Arms series |
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| Wild Arms/ | Wild Arms 2 | Wild Arms 3 | Wild Arms 4 | Wild Arms 5 | Wild Arms Mobile | Wild Arms anime series |
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