Arms That Are Wild!!!

[Tommy]

Has anyone else heard of the RPG series titled "Wild Arms"? I heard it`s REALLY good and they`ve got games out for the PS1 and PS2. I personally have non surpirizingly never played any of the games of this series and started this thread for questions, not answers as usual.

Which is better, the old ones for the PS1 (or maybe even SNES, I`m not sure) or the new one on the PS2? If it`s the old, I will not be surprized. Also, if the old is better, I will buy it if and only if I can look at the 'Playstation Pile" of used PS1 games at Gamestop and find Wild Arms in the pile somewhere and not have to buy it online.

Are the graphics decent? I know graphics are the least important elements in an RPG, but it`s a definate plus.

Just explain Wild Arms to me.

[Michael]

Wild Arms 1 had really bad graphics, but it was a great game. You only had 3 characters in your party period, so by the end of the game you had really connected with them, unlike some games (*cough*FF9*cough*). The fighting system was pretty boring IMO.

I haven't played Wild Arms 2 but everyone says it's just a better version of 1. I would believe it.

Wild Arms 3 is supposed to be good too, (haven't played it).

[Tommy]

Awesome...I might head for the 3rd one. I`m assuming it`s the easiest to buy.
In FF9, I connected with the characters.
How many disks are in each one? Legnth is important.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

i know WA3 has one disc

and WA3 is gooood, realll good

[Nate]

Ta-dah! The Wild ARMs expert is here, to answer your questions!

I own all three of the games, and soon plan to own Alter Code F, the new one coming out eventually.

Wild ARMs 1 is the best by far. The overworld map graphics are good, but almost SNES level. The graphics in fights were probably good for the time, but quite dated by today's standards. The combat system is pretty average, though each character has unique abilities and there is the addition of the "Force Gage," which fills up when you perform an action/take damage, and allows you to perform special moves.

The storyline is awesome as well, and as stated, there are only three characters in the whole game, so you don't have to worry about a character getting behind in levels or whatnot.

Wild ARMs 2 is probably my least favorite of the series. Not because it's a bad game, just because it's not as good as the first. The storyline in 2 never really picks up like it did in the first. That, and I didn't care for the characters quite as much. However, 2 was indeed good, except for the fact that it introduced the "Search" system into the game. This is a controversial feature (that I personally don't like). Basically, none of the towns or dungeons are on the world map. You must press square and search for them to find them...of course, it's not totally blind searching, you will find out where to search for the towns/dungeons by talking to characters, but it's still irritating.

The 3rd one is my second favorite. It has a great storyline, great graphics, awesome characters, and it breaks a lot of the tradition of RPGs. For one thing, there is no equipment, and no magic learning system like in 1 and 2. It's hard to fully explain here, but play it and you'll see.

Any further info you want, ask me specific questions.

[Tommy]

One question has yet to be answered:

Are the ones for PS1 hard to find?

[Azier the Swordsman]

One question has yet to be answered:

Are the ones for PS1 hard to find?

Most likely. You would probably have the best luck on Amazon.com or eBay. Gamestop or EBgames have a chance of having them in their used section. Interestingly, my favorite import site has brand new copies of the Japanese language versions.

[Tommy]

I`ll be sure to check EB games first, but not for awhile. Probabl late August since my Dad thinks i`m buying too much video games.

[Nate]

The first Wild ARMs game is a bit difficult to find, but you can sometimes find it on the used game racks of EB and Gamestop and the like for $10-$20.

Wild ARMs 2...heh. Good luck with that one. I went to twelve different game stores with no luck, and I happened to come across a copy at a flea market, which I immediately snatched up.

Ah, I forgot to mention one handy feature that was used in Wild ARMs 2 and improved upon in 3.

When you're playing Final Fantasy, ever get tired of running into weak bad guys in areas you've already visited? Wild ARMs 2 introduced the Encounter Evasion system, which was improved upon in three. Basically, this gives you the option of skipping fights by having an exclamation mark appear over your head before a fight. If you press Square before the fight starts, you can skip it. This way you can breeze through low level areas without having to fight monsters that aren't worth your time.

I wish Squenix would take the hint that being able to skip low level bad guy fights is a good idea... *coughcough*

[Tommy]

I wish that worked for high leveled as well.