#5: Wild Arms (1997)
#5: Wild Arms
Platform: Sony PlayStation
Release Date: 1997
Genre: Role Playing Game (RPG)
The first game for my Top 5 list, and the 2nd RPG so far, Wild Arms was a gem released during the late years of the PS1 that was unfortunately overshadowed by the immensely more popular Final Fantasy VII. I remember watching my elder cousin play this on his PS1, before getting the game and playing it on an emulator, which sadly died halfway through the game. 6 years later, I got my PS2 and stumbled upon the enhanced remake, Altercode F. Unfortunately, pirated versions of the remake were plagued with a glitch (remnants of the anti-piracy system) which made the game unplayable past the 70% mark. It wasn’t until I got my PSP and the EBOOT version of the original was I able to finish this game completely.
As one of the first JRPGs I played as a kid (barely the age of 8), this game totally sold me out. How simple the commands were, how engaging the story was, how interactive the characters were – all of them appealed to me and I soon found myself immersed in the game. The end of the first “chapter”, the Invasion of Aldehyde, and the subsequent music piece that played, “Funeral March”, remains deeply etched in my memory till this day. It was the first time a video game had ever evoked such powerful emotions from me, and I believe I cried during that scene.
After more than a decade since I last played it, I finally got my chance to complete the game on my PSP, and the story is still as solid as ever. Wild Arms gives you a real feeling of travelling to save the world, but unlike Tales of Eternia, not everything goes smoothly for you. Your enemies are IMBA, and they’re not afraid to shove that into your face. This game doesn’t reward you for reaching a Guardian Statue and trying to defend it from an enemy, it laughs at you sadistically as the enemy in question proceeds to PWN you and cut the said statue up into ribbons despite your best efforts. The game feels utterly one-sided; your enemies are IMBA, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Except for sticking through it and persevering till the end. After each battle, your characters constantly get stronger, and I don’t mean in terms of levels alone. For example, after realizing one of the major enemies was previously his lost love, one character gains a newfound sense of determination to save her. Most of the characters initially appear to be stereotypes – the silent protagonist, the rough ex-knight, and the female mage-healer – but as the story progresses, you learn to discover different shades of their character, be it good or bad.
That brings me to the best thing about Wild Arms, the chemistry between characters. Each of the main 3 characters play a part in the story, and are equally important to the overall plot, be it the wandering drifter who seeks acceptance, the cold-hearted swordsman who hides a shady past, or the young princess who yearns to be loved for who she is, and not what she represents. There is no main character, and each of their stories are so intertwined that separating them would probably mean playing a whole new game. In the end, they all come to terms with their inner demons, and learn to really trust and rely on each other.
While I was able to somewhat enjoy the story as a kid, it wasn’t till I replayed it a year ago did I fully appreciate the story. Compared to the RPGs of recent years (which unfortunately include this game’s many spin-offs), the character development in Wild Arms truly shines, even though the gameplay might be rather simplistic by current standards and the graphics rather hideous-looking (especially the 3D battles – I swear they should have stuck to 2D).
If you can overlook the terrible CG, I wholeheartedly recommend this game to you. It’s quite possibly the best RPG I’ve ever played, and I’m not saying that based on nostalgia alone. It’s a fantastic game that boasts an incredible story and even more incredible character development.
Next up: Easily one of the most fast-paced and adrenaline pumping games of all time!
