Wild Arms series
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Wild Arms is a series of role playing games developed by Media.Vision. The series is exclusive to the PlayStation brand. The most unique trait that sets these games apart from other RPGs is the dominant influence of cowboy and Native American culture, similar to the Deadlands system of paper roleplaying or the Doomtown collectible card game. But the worlds and stories of Wild Arms games also contain elements of fantasy, science fiction, and Asian animism.
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[edit] Games in the Wild Arms series
[edit] Wild Arms
Wild Arms, released on April 30, 1997 in the United States is the first game in the series and arguably the most popular. It centers around three "Dream Chasers" that were brought together by the Filgaia's Guardian Spirits to destroy the impending danger of the demon Mother.
[edit] Wild Arms 2
Wild Arms 2, or Wild Arms: 2nd Ignition as released in Japan is the second game in the series and was released on April 30, 2000 exactly three years after the first game. The game sports overall improved gameplay and graphics engines while still keeping the same style as the first. Taking on a different direction from its predecessor, this time the player takes control of a small anti-terrorism unit called ARMS(Agile Remote Mission Squad) that goes on missions around the world.
[edit] Wild Arms 3
Wild Arms 3, originally Wild Arms: Advanced 3rd is third game in the on-going series and the first to be released on the Sony PlayStation 2. It was released October 15, 2002. This installment incorporates an almost entirely new gameplay engine and cell-shaded graphics that appear almost like a story book. Its setting is a fully desert-covered Filgaia filled with western towns and other locales. Returning to the roots of Wild Arms you play as four wanderers who are called upon by the Guardians of Filgaia to put a stop to evil. Wild Arms 3 is by far the most Western-oriented game in the series.
[edit] Wild Arms 4
Wild Arms 4, or Wild Arms: The 4th Detonator is the third game made for the PlayStation 2 console and the fourth in the main series. It was released on March 3, 2005 in the United States. Very different from the other four games, Wild Arms 4 has a very sci-fi setting, platforming game-play elements and an entirely new battle system where the player moves around in a circle of hexes to attack enemies, similar a strategy RPG. Wild Arms 4 has little to no Western influence.
[edit] Wild Arms 5
Wild Arms 5, currently known as Wild Arms: The Vth Vanguard is the fifth game in the main series and the fourth game for the PlayStation 2(counting Alter Code: F), with the first two released on the Playstation. It is currently under development and slated for a December 14, 2006 release in Japan. It uses an upgraded form of Wild Arms 4's game-play engine and has three main characters and three or more other playable characters assumed to be playable. It appears to have reverted to its Western/Fantasy/Steampunk roots of the first games in the series, contrary to Wild Arms 4.
[edit] Wild Arms Alter Code: F
Wild Arms Alter Code: F is a remake of the first Wild Arms game for the PlayStation 2 and is the fourth game created in the series. Originally released in November 2003 in Japan, Agetec took almost a full two years to bring it to American shores on November 15, 2005, assumedly because of licensing issues with ADV for use of the material on the game's bonus disc. Using a fully upgraded mix between Wild Arms 2 and 3's engines, it's the most complex user of the series' original battle system theme. This remake sports new playable characters, an improved story, massively updated graphics and completely rearranged locations.
[edit] Wild Arms Mobile
Wild Arms Mobile is a cell phone game created for Japan.
[edit] Wild Arms XF
Wild Arms XF or Wild Arms Cross Fire is a game for Sony's PlayStation Portable that was recently announced on September 2, 2006. As of now nothing is known about this game.
[edit] Wild Arms Universe
[edit] Filgaia
The story of each Wild Arms game takes place on a planet called Filgaia. The recurring theme in the series is that Filgaia was once a green healthy world, but, at the time of the story, the planet is gradually dying, as its natural resources and ecosystems slowly wither away. As a result, most of Filgaia is a desolate wasteland, and life is never easy for anyone or anything. Organized settlements tend to be sparse, and their longterm survival is never certain.
[edit] The Guardians
Though ailing, Filgaia still has a degree of vitality, and the forces of nature are represented by kami-like beings called Guardians. They govern traditional natural elements (earth, water, wind, fire), light and darkness, states of being (e.g. luck), human emotions (e.g. desire), and notable natural events (e.g. meteor showers). Most of these Guardians take the physical form of large beasts with awesome supernatural powers.
[edit] The Elw
In every Wild Arms story, there is a historical civilized demi-human race called the Elw, who have long since died, vanished or otherwise departed Filgaia, leaving the planet to the dominance of humans. The Elw are immortal, and are granted continued long life as a reward for service to the welfare of Filgaia. They are granted legendary and mythical status in human record.
The appearance of Elw is generally that of humans, except that their ears are long and drooping.
[edit] The Crimson Nobles
A glorified synonym for the vampire civilizations of Filgaia. Crimson Nobles meet the criteria of most fictional gothic vampires: they are immortal, they drink the blood of others, they have ghostly pale skin, and they cannot survive direct sunlight. In the Wild Arms universes, Crimson Nobles are a hereditary race of vampires with an independent civilization, and generally consider themselves superior to all other sentient beings, especially humans. However, their populations are always small with almost no population growth rate.
[edit] The Baskar
The Baskar are a recurring culture of humans who have devoted themselves to protecting the Guardians and the environment of Filgaia. They generally live a simple and deeply religious lifestyle, abstractly resembling the cultures of Native Americans. Their village is the one constant location in all Wild Arms games.
[edit] ARMs
ARMs are a recurring feature in the Wild Arms series, though the acronym A.R.M. has a different expansion for each story. The common definition is that an ARM is an automated machine weapon, essentially just a firearm. They can take the form of guns, rocket launchers, etc., but as such they are always called ARMs, and never referred to as "guns" or other words used in real world language. In the first game, "A.R.M" stood for "Ancient Relic Machine". In 2nd Ignition, A.R.M.S. stands for "Agile Remote Mission Squad", a special forces unit without any political affiliations, and in Advanced 3rd, "A.R.M." stands for "Artifacts of Ruins' Memories". In the fourth, ARM is "Ambient Reorganization Material". ARMs cannot be used by just anybody: they must be synchronized with the user's "spirit". This concept is never fully explained, however, and the widespread use of ARMs in 2nd Ignition may indicate that the synchronization rule may have been changed. The synchronization rule of Advanced 3rd seems to be the opposite of the synchronization rule in the original game. In Advance 3rd only Jet is said to have been unable to synchronize with any ARMs other than the one specially made for him. The rule did make an appearance in Wild Arms 4. However, it wasn't the spirit that the ARMs linked to, but rather a genetic trait, natural or artificial, that caused the strange silver sand to take the form of a ARM. Also in Wild ARMs: Twilight Venom, the ARMs were considered an evil weapon, and those who used them were called reincarnations of the evil race. In Twilight Venom, the ARMs used up the users life-force, usually instantly killing those who used them, with a few exceptions. The ARMs were also originally made to stop the Twilight Venom from destroy Fargaia (an alternate translation of Filgaia)
[edit] Magic and Crests
Some people of Filgaia have learned the ability to use magic, which is accomplished by binding magical spells or sutras to artifacts called crests, enabling an individual to cast a spell bound to a crest. Magic skills can be learned by anyone in Filgaia, but few people are engaged in this study. As a natural consequence, most magic-users are educated in schools that include curriculum that specializes in magic and crests.
[edit] Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)
In all of the Wild Arms stories, the historical manufacture and detonation of weapons of mass-destruction is considered at least a partial cause of the desolation and declining health of Filgaia. Such legendary weapons are of nuclear, chemical and/or magical origin, and are sometimes made in the form of living monsters. Entire regions and continents are wastelands because of the cataclysmic effects of these weapons, whether they were deployed in warfare, or merely by negligence or accident. Undetonated weapons are feared to still exist anywhere in Filgaia, waiting to be discovered.
[edit] Ecological Disaster
In the first Wild Arms game, the planet's decay into a desert-like environment is a direct result of the war with the game's main antagonists. In all of the subsequent games, however, the war with the main antagonists is something of a distraction, and the real "enemy" is an ecological decay of the world being caused by some external source (which, in Wild Arms 2 is actually an entire universe, which had to be sealed in a living being in order to be killed).
[edit] Golems
Golems are giant artificial lifeforms made of raw materials (usually clay, rock or metal) and given life through use of technology and programming. In this respect, the golems of Wild Arms can be considered a kind of robot. Many golems are mindless killing machines, while others have been given consciousness and reason.
[edit] The Heroes
Wild Arms stories generally feature three (or four) main characters who meet as strangers and form a partnership together. The game begins with the player playing, one by one, the scenarios for all the characters before they ever meet; this distinctly introduces and builds the foundation of each character individually before the player sees them together. Generally, one of the characters specializes in the use of ARMs, while another specializes in sword technique, and another is deeply involved in magic. There are other character roles, and in some cases more than one character can have the same special talent, but these three roles are consistently portrayed in the main characters throughout the series. Each character also has a unique peripheral skill (sometimes referred to as Tools) that helps the group as a whole accomplish their goals. These skills include the ability to plant bombs, the ability to reach distant objects, the ability to find hidden treasures, and other such useful skills in an RPG world.
[edit] The plot
The plot of Wild Arms games usually involves a complex conspiracy by a secretive cartel in pursuit of power or goals, usually through violence and acts of sabotage, terrorism or mass-murder of innocents. The heroes of the story are chiefly responsible for fighting against this threat, whether or not their odds of success are any good. Complicated politics between two or more cultures frequently comes into play. The Wild Arms series is heavily based in Norse and other western mythologies.
[edit] External links
- Wasteland Planet. An Unofficial site dedicated to the Wild Arms series
- Unofficial Wild Arms 2 Site
- Ruins of Filgaia. An Unofficial Wild Arms site with functional forums
