Thousand Arms
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| Thousand Arms | |
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| Developer(s) | Red Company |
| Publisher(s) | Atlus |
| Release date(s) |  December 17, 1998 September 30, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Media | 2 x CD-ROM |
Thousand Arms is a role-playing video game for the Sony PlayStation released by Atlus. Thousand Arms follows the goggle-sporting protagonist Meis Triumph as he chases cute girls and a dark villain across the world, eventually concluding with a classical role-playing game (RPG) ending. The game could probably be best described as a "romantic comedy RPG", perhaps even "harem comedy". It was also noted for having a large amount of voice acting, rare for games of the time, and for repeatedly breaking the fourth wall.
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[edit] Combat
Combats in Thousand Arms allow up to three party members to be taken into battle at once. However, only the front character is actually able to physically attack the enemy. The other two characters serve in a supporting role, taunting the enemy and utilizing certain items or spells. If necessary, characters can be rotated out such that one of the support characters and the lead character exchange position.
Since only one character can engage in direct combat with the enemy at a time, this tends to have the overall effect of slowing down combat when compared to games which allow all or most of the party to be fully involved.
[edit] Soundtrack
Thousand Arms features a number of musical scores sufficiently large to garner its own soundtrack. Depending on the version, the soundtrack was either included on a separate disc in the same retail package (as with the decorated Lunar: Silver Star Story release for the PlayStation), or could be obtained by mailing in a card (along with a small shipping & handling fee). In total, it features 40 tracks, with a running time of 54:23. The interactive soundtrack disc also includes neat perks such as wallpapers, biographies, and character voice acting excerpts when explored on a personal computer.
The soundtrack is noteworthy for having J-pop star Ayumi Hamasaki's fifth single Depend on You as its initial track. Furthermore, if one places disk two of the game into a CD player, one can find a hidden track, Two of Us.
[edit] Thousand Arms' Dating Simulation
The key feature in this game which distinguishes it from most other RPGs is its built-in mini-dating simulation. While this type of game is in itself considered a separate game genre in Japan, it hasn't met with as much success in the US. Thousand Arms' dating sim featured dating locations in many of its major cities and towns, and a diverse cast of nine femme fatales. It is a rich source of laugh-out-loud comedy in the game; for instance, one of Meis' dates asks what he thinks his best trait is during a passionate night out. The player has the choice of several responses, varying from "My eyebrows. I got them from my father." to "My hairy legs." In another instance of the broken fourth wall, when the main character alludes to a night of sex with a female character during a date, she states that the "game isn't rated for that".
In addition to the entertainment provide by the dates, they also have an actual in-game effect. By successfully wooing each female, her intimacy level can be slowly raised. As this level rises, it grants the ability to imbue weapons with increasingly powerful spells and skills. This magical forging, which is possible due to Meis' training as a Spirit Blacksmith, relies on the smith having established such positive female relationships.
Unfortunately, a lack of in-game hints and directions make it easy to miss the dating simulation aspect of the game. As such, it is possible to get to the end of the game without going through any dates at all. For this reason, the game has been criticized, and this may have contributed to its lack of commercial success.
