Wild Arms 4

"A solid, yet flawed RPG in this classic gaming series"

Wild Arms has always been a very different and very pleasant RPG experience since way back in the good old days upon the first game's initial release. It combined standard RPG fare along with a unique "old west" theme which prior to it had rarely (if ever) been seen.

As the games progressed through the years (and the pretty disappointing sequels) the small but very loyal WA fanbase wondered if we'd ever see the magnitude of the first game combined with the thrills of modern graphics.

If you played the remake of WA1 (Wild Arms: Alter Code F) and if you were as disappointed as I was, fear not, for it would appear that the series still has a second chance!

(My ratings are on a base-ten scale, 1 - Worst and 10 - Best)

Graphics: 9/10

Let's face it, with Square-Enix monopolizing the RPG market these days, we rarely get to see anything outside of the semi-realistic completely 3D rendered graphics (FF, Grandia III, etc...) and the awkward but sometimes pleasing cel-shading (Dragon Quest VIII). That isn't exactly a complaint, but at the same time, it's nice to see the breath of fresh air that WA4's graphics breathe into the genre.

The character designs (while picking up major flack from some hardcore purists) are, in my opinion, gorgeous. Granted, they are a little more shoujo (girl-oriented) than other installments in the series, but they are detailed nicely and very well drawn. Each character is given a completely distinctive and unique appearance (from Yulie, the standard "magical girl" to Arnaud, the anorexic "CLAMP style" pretty boy). I'm not at all a fan of the dull, plain designs of artists like Akira Toriyama (Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest VIII, etc...) so frankly, I see nothing wrong with a series trying to blend in a few shoujo elements (after all, girls are starting to make up a sizeable portion of the RPG market).

The game's backgrounds are equally stunning. Every area you venture through has a distinctive feel and flavor to it from the inside of a volcano, to a long underwater tunnel, and back to the game's roots with a distinctly old western desert complete with abandoned railroad cars. Everything is so nicely varied and detailed that it makes exploration of each individual area seem much less tedious than it should...and believe me, that is a blessing.

The graphics overall present a fun and unique style that almost reminds me of a lesser version of Xenosaga. I'm always impressed by graphics engines that maintain a distinctly "anime" style in their characters while still staying 3D without automatically resorting to cel-shading.

Sound/Music: 9/10

The music in the WA series has always been one of its high points, at least for me. Blending the styles of old western "whistle ballads" with orchestrated RPG standards (an epic battle theme, a rousing world map theme, etc..) music is one area where the WA games have never failed to please and WA4 is certainly no exception.

The battle music (especially important in this game since a good 75% of your gaming hours will be devoted to battle) tends to get a bit repetitive at times but thankfully is pleasant enough that it never makes the experience more tedious than it needs to be.

Outside of battle in the numerous dungeons and cutscenes your characters will find themselves playing through, the music is exceptional. As I said before, each area in the game is given a distinct theme and this is displayed not only through the graphics, but through the music as well. From the bizarre "gospel jazz" of the church town turned sin city to the melancholy ballad that accompanies some of the characters' painful flashbacks, the music does more than just deliver, it fully satisfies.

The game's most important moments are also fully voice acted which at this point is pretty much commonplace. I'm pleased to say, however, that the acting in this game is exceptional compared to most other American localization jobs. It's not the best I've yet to see (that honor still lies with Kingdom Hearts and will probably only be outdone by its sequel), but it shines compared to some of the half-assed jobs we've seen in games like Final Fantasy X. Each character has a voice that seems to suit their design and personality well from the squeaky, pre-pubescent (and oftentimes annoying) Jude, to the cool and confident swordswoman Raquel. With respect to the fact that XSeed has nothing close to the enormous budget of companies like Square-Enix to hire big-time celebrities as with KH, WA4 delivers a respectable and very well done job in the acting area.

Story: 7.5/10

The story in WA4 is quite a bit more sci-fi than previous installments which will inevitably turn off some gamers right from the beginning. As a person who enjoys a sci-fi story when it's presented well, I recognize WA4's plot for what it is: a series of "been there done that" cliches masquerading as something novel, yet still holding a trump card or two to make the entire thing worthwhile.

The story focuses on Jude Maverick, a young boy who lives in a small town hovering high above the wartorn world of Filgaia. When a strange group of soldiers invades the town holding a mysterious young woman hostage, Jude sets out to free her and finds himself stranded on the world of Filgaia after a series of events. Filgaia has been ravaged by a 75 year war and is even more desolate than the place our original dream chasers explored back in the original WA. With a vow to protect the girl who is being relentlessly pursued by a militant group of adults seeking to exploit her power, Jude sets out on his quest to uh...um...what was it again?

And therein lies the central problem with WA4's story. Throughout the majority of the game, the characters are given very little direction. They seem to have no central goal and frankly, no idea what they are doing. They merely wander from place to place while major plot events occur behind the scenes and without their knowledge. In fact, the characters are given so little direction that two out of the four of the game's playable characters seem to be accompanying the party simply because they have nothing better to do, a device that should have been dropped along with the "silent protagonist" back in the SNES days. For almost the entire first half of the game, the only people with any clue as to what they are doing and why there are doing it will be the villains.

I am pleased to say, however, that the villains (which are comprised of a group of 11 high-ranking military lieutenants with various magical abilities known as "Lambda's Elite") are surprisingly well-developed. Much attention is given to the group as a whole and to their cause. Throughout the game, we are often treated to various cutscenes featuring the plotting and inner workings of Brionac, a group which serves as your main characters' antagonists, yet claims to be interested in the salvation of Filgaia.

As for the game's playable characters, I'm afraid I can't say the same. Yulie Ahtreide, the game's aforementioned "mysterious girl with powers" deals with a traumatic past and many inner conflicts as to how her powers should and could be used. This is done well, and throughout the game her character is fully fleshed out to the point that she becomes a believeable, human, character. The others I'm afraid, seem to be nothing but boring stereotypes that progress through the game showing little change. From the naive, immature Jude who's ready to jump into any situation, guns flaring, with his seemingly obsessive desire to protect Yulie as his only motivation to the arrogant genius Arnaud who constantly tells us that he's confident in "everything from the neck up", the majority of the game's playable characters bear personalities that become more and more grating as the game marches on.

Despite the fact that the game is riddled with every RPG cliche possible, it does have one saving grace, and that is the philosophical questions that the game and its characters attempt to grapple with. Issues including morality, science, religion, politics, and maturity are dealt with very frankly and discussed very openly amongst both the party members and the villains. The game deals with impossible and fascinating questions such as "what is the nature of good and evil?" and "is it ever ok for science to be dehumanizing so long as it is for the good of all mankind"? For anyone who likes to think beyond the normal scope of knowledge or, to coin a term, abstractly, WA4 opens the door to a myriad of philosophical discussions, and it does so with surprising scientific and historical accuracy. Borrowing from great minds like Charles Darwin, Plato, and Albert Einstein, this game is not afraid to be intellectual when it counts.

Gameplay: 7/10

Now we get right down to the painful detail of it all, because let's face it, a game is nothing even with stunning graphics, a memorable soundtrack, and a multi-faceted story if it's just no fun to play!

WA4 is rather hit-and-miss when it comes to the gameplay aspect. It attempts to create an entirely new battle system combining traditional turn-based elements with tactical/strategy elements (more on this in a moment) and it does this successfully. The problem is, the game suffers from an absolutely appalling linearity combined with a careless setup that can be referred to as nothing other than "dungeon crawling".

WA4 uses what is known as the "HEX battle system". Upon entering battle encounters (which are random, probably to the chagrin of some, but just fine with me), the characters are placed on a battlefield made up of 7 hexagonal shaped "grids". Party members and monsters move around the HEXes with only one rule, they may enter HEXes already occupied by those of their own kind (allies with allies and monsters with monsters) but they cannot mix. Characters can then perform attacks with varied range. Raquel, your standard big-time melee attacker, for instance, can only hit enemies that are a single HEX away, while Jude who wields a gun eventually learns a skill which enables him to hit distant enemies provided that they are in a straight line from where he stands.

This system allows for some truly unique ideas. Status ailments, for instance, are not cast on individual characters. Instead, they are placed upon an entire HEX, meaning that any character standing within the HEX will be inflicted. Upon leaving the HEX the character(s) are instantly cured (for the most part, there are a few exceptions, but you get the general idea).

The entire system is a joy to play around with and offers much more strategy than most games in the genre. Characters learn many unique skills to trap enemies and move around the battlefield effectively. Utilizing everything from combo attacks between characters to elemental specific HEXes which allow characters to call upon special spells, it's the kind of thing that is much easier to pick up than it probably sounds, but difficult to fully master.

And believe me, the battle system's high points are a godsend because you will spend the vast majority of the game inside of it. Which brings me to the major downside of WA4: the terrible, inescapable linearity of it all.

I for one have never been a major critic of RPGs which progress in a linear fashion, but WA4 redefines the word completely and transforms "linear" into "tedious". The majority of the game progresses as follows:

1) Arrive at "key location".
2) Complete "key location" and learn of next "key location".
3) Exit to world map where next "key location" will be displayed along with 5 or 6 completely random dungeons in between.
4) Spend hours fighting through random dungeons until you manage to arrive at the next "key location".

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

This sort of progression works well in a game like Final Fantasy Tactics where the major emphasis is placed on battles, but in a game like WA4 which tries to be traditional RPG and strategy RPG at the same time, the whole experience just becomes boring.

Your characters will spend hours fighting through random dungeons which seem to be there only to make the game longer. Along the way they'll fight standard "big, huge, scary, monster" bosses, which much like the dungeons themselves seem to have no real reason to be there. Occasionally you'll fight one of the Lambda's Elite who are barely given a five-minute introduction before being cast into oblivion by your party.

That's not to say that there aren't any sidequests. There are a few impossibly difficult optional bosses and a very mediocre battle arena which provide at least a little distraction.

Conclusion:

In the end, WA4 is a mix of unique gaming elements and major flaws which all boil down to exactly what I called it in the tagline of this review: a solid, yet flawed RPG in this classic gaming series. The tedium of the gameplay is thankfully lessened a lot by the game's spectacular battle system along with it's stylistic graphics and music. It's story is not so complex as are the themes with which it attempts to discuss, but the entire package is worthwhile enough that it deserves at least a look especially from fans of the series who have been longing for something more than the disappointing sequels we've gotten up until now.

Overall: 7/10 (Slightly Above Average)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/06