Wild ARMs 5

"This is a good game for what many consider to be a stale series"

When I first spotted this game in a store's catalogue, I was hesitant in purchasing it. The Wild Arms series have come a long way till today, and there were mixed emotions for it simply because it feels different from the other RPGs with a kinda heavy wild west backdrop, but at the same time, too much of anything bores gamers, and that's the reason why rpgamers are no longer too hyped up over any new Wild Arms releases.

I started this game with a 'I don't expect to be impressed' attitude, and true to it, I wasn't impressed, but I am pleasantly pleased with how this game turns out to be.

Story: 7/10

Not too much to look forward to here, this game focuses on the differences between 2 races who live on Filgaia, the humans and Bellni, the latter being of aristocratic status on the continent and thus the humans are constantly being oppressed. So the gamer will play as this golem-loving teenage boy who has so much energy and optimism and who wishes to break down the wall that has been set up between the 2 races as well as find out the mystery behind a person named Johnny Appleseed, so for most parts of the game, the story will progress and reveal more characters and the relationship they have with each other and the various uncertainties like a spreading disease among the humans and so on. And the usual storyline of saving the world from being destroyed takes place in this game as well, so it's nothing that has not been seen before.

Gameplay: 9/10

This is the area where the game shines. Control of the main character is almost like in an action adventure game, and in the 3D surroundings, camera rotation and view, various commands such as jump, sliding etc flows very swiftly and smoothly, no stalling whatsoever. If you think valkyrie profile 2's linear dungeon exploration with various attack, crouch commands etc are nicely implemented with excellent precision for a role playing title, this game will show you that it won't lose in that area.

The battle system for Vth Vanguard is an excellent example of how you don't need to follow the mainstream and start up a real time or time bar based battle to give battle encounters more fun. The battle system is still turn-based, though characters with faster reaction will get 1 or 2 more turns to perform moves. The battles takes place on a normally 7 hexes area(setup changes in boss battles), and some hexes have different elements(e.g:fire). Various status attacks such as poison inflicts the hex, not the characters themselves, so only characters positioned in the hex that has poison will have HP taken off, but once they move to another clean hex, they won't carry the status with them. This is good, because the gamer can concentrate on setting up their own strategies instead of just plain monotonous attacking and curing.

There are altogether 6 party characters but the gamer can only bring 3 into a battle. However, the good thing is: the other 3 characters will still get the same amount of experience points after the fight is over, and over time, there are adjustments done on the experience points system so that lower level characters can slowly but gradually catch up with the higher ones, so you don't get some messed up levels and can save a lot of time on fighting encounters to balance them up. Characters have their own skills and can equip various badges and mediums to learn more useful ones. All these can be customized for what the gamer wants to achieve in battles. And since the animation of attacks/magic/combination attacks are fast, fights don't take up too much unnecessary time watching characters posing and unleasing attacks and posing again. For most parts, the animations can be skipped. This saves more time.

Escape from random encounters is also rated at a 100%, though depending on the level of the enemy monsters and hex positions etc, some money may be dropped while escaping, but this isn't too big a problem, so the gamer won't have to freak out big time when the last save is half an hour ago and escape is necessary. More time is saved.

Throughout the game, new cartridges can be obtained and they are necessary in dungeons to solve various puzzles. The puzzles themselves are not really very well thought up as compared to previous installments, but acceptable nevertheless and can be somewhat challenging for an rpgamer who plays a Wild Arms game for the first time. Each dungeon has a map available to view. Also, once a being known as the Soul Nigeru has been purified off, the gamer can choose to turn off the random encounter for that particular dungeon. This is excellent, because later on when gamer has obtained new cartridge tools and wants to track back to areas previously inaccessible, they don't have to waste time worrying and escaping from weak battle encounters. BIG time saver as well.

Exploration on the over world also prevents a lot of unnecessary frustration mainly due to a fully detailed map. Later on in the game, various tools will also help out in exploring the huge Filgaia such as the golem and teleporting orb. The gamer can customise the golem's structure and skills algorithm to enhance its features for better performance in battles. It's not really xenogears, but it does feel similar to that theory.

The gameplay features of Vth Vanguard is fun, innovative, interesting and makes exploration and encounters(the 2 most important factors for an rpg) more enjoyable and less inclined to chair kicking and controller throwing.

Music/sounds: 8/10

If you have played the various installments, you would have noticed a trend in the music of all Wild Arms games. This game is no exception. It's interesting in how they don't overlap and doesn't ended up sounding the same, but still sticking to the familiar feel you will get whenever you hear them. I always feel that Wild Arms series music is one of the most underrated rpg compositions out there, because the pieces are really great and memorable.

Various clanking, shooting, breaking and animals sound effects are pretty well done, with echoes added in when needed and they don't blend into the main music that is playing, soi it doesn't require you to turn the volume up to catch them.

There is quite an amount of voice-acting in this game, and though it's not the best I have heard, it is satisfactory nevertheless.

Characters: 7/10

Not the most likable characters you will want them to be but I like the way they introduce characters of different backgrounds and personalities. Inside dungeons, every few spots, there will be scenes whereby characters chat with each other and express their views and thinking. Through this, the gamer gets to know more and together with some comedy here and there, they won't be that easily forgettable once you turn off your console.

Replay value: 8/10

It takes around 40-50 hours to complete the main game depending in whether you use a walkthrough or not. However, there is quite an amount of side quests in this game, as well as a few optional dungeons and some optional bosses. You can finish most of them in just 1 play, but to complete it fully requires more. It is not a game you will look forward to playing for the 2nd or 3rd time with extreme enthusiasm, but the replay value is definitely existent.

Overall: 8/10

I enjoyed Wild Arms: The Vth Vanguard quite a lot and really liked some of the gameplay features it offers. I remember myself nodding and praising them, and so didn't hold back that thought in this review. This game changes my view of the staleness of the series that has set in past the years. If the developers continue to extent and include appropriate ideas, this series may continue for much longer than anyone can expect.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/07