Thousand Arms

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Thousand Arms
Front cover of Thousand Arms
Developer(s) Red Company
Publisher(s) Atlus
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release date Flag of Japan December 17, 1998
Flag of the United States September 30, 1999
Genre(s) RPG
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen (T)
Media 2 x CD-ROM

Thousand Arms (サウザンドアームズ?) is a role-playing video game for the Sony PlayStation released by Atlus in 1998. 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" though it features plenty of combat as well. It was also noted for having a large amount of voice acting, rare for games of the time, and for occasionally breaking the fourth wall.

Contents

[edit] Story

[edit] Plot

The game takes place on a "steampunk" type of world. The Dark Acolytes, a mysterious organization of cyborgs and robots, is trying to find the five legendary Sacred Flames, and bring chaos to the World in the process. Meis, a womanizing "Spirit Blacksmith" with the ability to make magical weapons, finds himself chosen to find the flames before the Dark Acolytes do. However, to increase the power of his weapons, Meis must have the help of a woman, and must increase his 'intimacy level' with her by going out on dates. Along his journey, he meets a colorful cast of characters, including girls to date and heroes who join his party.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Playable

Meis Triumph- The heir to a family of Spirits Blacksmiths, Meis learned to be a womanizer from his father. Stubborn and lazy, Meis is forced to change his ways against his will, first when the Dark Acolytes force him to leave his comfortable home, and then when the spirits of the Ancient Blacksmiths give him the mission of finding the sacred flames. He is attracted to Sodina, but can't resist hitting on other beautiful women.

In addition to his ability to reforge weapons to increase their power and grant them magical spells or special attacks, Meis can obtain "Elemental Beasts" to use in combat, similar to the "summons" seen in the Final Fantasy games. His weapon is a sword.

Sodina Dawnfried- The younger sister of a great Spirit Blacksmith named Jyabil, Sodina is a beautiful, red-haired girl; however, she's also very brave. After her brother is killed by the Dark Acolytes, she decides to help Meis on his quest. She has feelings for Meis but finds herself often enraged by his lecherous behaviour. Her weapon of choice is a dagger.

Muza Grifford- A knight and an old friend of Meis, he's brave but not too clever, and tended to freeze when in the presence of pretty girls. He has a very large physique. He develops feelings for Wyna. His weapon is the claymore, a huge sword that normal people would have a difficult time wielding.

Wyna Grapple- The daughter of the King of the Pirates, Wyna is a boisterous girl who loves fighting; she joins the party just to go on adventures. She wears a bikini as well as an eyepatch, but just for effect, she's not missing any eyes. If you pay attention during dates, you'll see that Wyna's eyepatch changes eyes from time to time. At first she's attracted to Meis because of his strength, but later returns Muza's feelings. Wyna's weapon is a large battle hammer.

Nelsha Stylus- A unique girl whose personality changes when she puts on new outfits due to the spirits that inhabit them. Nelsha is a shy, nerdy-looking girl who speaks of herself in the third person. She dreams of becoming a "Dress Master", a title given to the best clothes designers in the world (similar to Metalia's title of Jewel Master). Her weapon is a magic needle.

In addition, Nelsha can change her costumes in combat, which changes her form completely and gives her different powers.

Kyleen Nelphie- A green-haired female thief who tries to use the party for her own purposes, but ends up befriending and joining them. Her personality is cynical and sarcastic. She seems attracted to Soushi. Her weapon is a rapier, a sword used for fencing.

Soushi Maharoba- A samurai with a lot of pride, who considers himself a ladykiller as well. His most notable feature is his pink kimono (a garment not usually worn by males). He and Meis can't stand each other at first but eventually come to respect each other. His weapon is a katana called Masamune (a popular name given to katanas in RPGs, named after the blacksmith from feudal Japan).

[edit] Villains

Medeus, The Dark Emperor- The ancient ruler of the Clan of Darkness. He transformed his body into a machine in order to live long enough to find the Holy Flames of the Light, which he believes will allow him to become a god.

Schmidt- aka The Dark Master, he was once an apprentice to Jyabil, but has turned to the side of darkness, much to Sodina's consternation. He fights wielding swords of darkness, and possesses a greater sword than Meis's (at least at first.)

Jeala- A sorceress who serves the Dark Master out of unrequited love. Her feelings are not returned, being dismissed as false. She is treated as a doll, but she continues to follow him.

The Evil Mecha Five- Five powerful cyborg servants of the Emperor, all named after machine parts or tools.

  • Bearing, who has long claws. He detests humans more than the rest of his comrades.
  • Bolt, who wields a giant mace. He's not very smart, and dislikes big words.
  • Shaft who is the most powerful Acolyte, besides Schmidt. He uses a large sword.
  • Ratchet, a crazy girl who carries a staff. Her voice is shrill and annoying. She likes cute guys (Soushi and Meis, in particular).
  • Wire, a jester-like cyborg who uses a scythe.

Bandiger- A flamboyantly bandit who stalks Meis. Not a member of the Acolytes, but the heroes keep running into him. Despite how he represents himself, Bandiger is very strong, and causes a lot of trouble for the heroes. "Do you believe in true love?" is his main catch-phrase.

Damashi- The Damashi are ghost-like creatures who serve as the game's "mascots." The "saving points" in the game look like Damashi, and the heroes keep encountering one in random battles. Unlike the other regular monsters in the game, this Damashi "levels up" with the heroes, so he always presents a danger.

[edit] Meis' dates

In addition to the girls on his party, Meis can also date the following women:

Marion- A young inventor and Gadget Master with a childish personality. She lives in the giant train called Mounthand.

Palma- A priestess obsessed with cleanliness. She can be found in the huge ship called the Langoud.

Kyoka- Soushi's sister, a shy and proper Japanese girl who detests her brother's lecherous personality (but is blind to Meis's). She can be found in the town of Boyzby.

Mil- A highly intelligent girl who stalks Meis as a way to research his womanizing personality. She lives in Kant, Meis' hometown.

Metalia, the "Jewel Master"- the oldest of Meis' dates, this woman was a friend of Jyabil's and helps the heroes find the flames. Metalia can be found in the Myscatonia Library.

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] Combat

Combat in Thousand Arms is turn based, with 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 (the enemies have the same limitations.) 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] 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 women. 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 her 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.

To date a girl, the player must visit a statue of the Goddess of Love located on each town and choose from the list of currently available girls. He must then take her to a dating spot in the town. The date itself is a conversation where the player must choose from multiple answers to the girls' questions. Getting the wrong answers might actually decrease the intimacy level or end the date early. The Intimacy Level can also be raised or lowered with gifts, and the statues also allow the playing of optional minigames (each girl has a different one.)

[edit] Forging weapons

Meis can increase the power and abilities of the weapons of any member of his party. To do this, first he must collect invisible "spirits" which are hidden in various spots. Then he must access a forge; there's usually one on each town. Finally he must select a girl and choose which of the abilities she can provide he will give to a particular weapon. This uses up the collected spirits. Note that in addition to spells and power boosts, the girls can also grant special powers to certain weapons.

[edit] Graphics

The game makes use of early CGI to provide limited 3D backgrounds. The character sprites are superdeformed. More typical anime style pictures are used during conversations. Cutscenes are done in traditional animation.

[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 opening theme. The U.S. version also had the song, a stark contrast to the common practice of removing Japanese songs from English translations of video games at the time. Furthermore, if one places disk two of the game into a CD player, one can find a hidden track, Two of Us.

[edit] Sources

  • Atlus' Official Thousand Arms Guide- published in America in 1998

[edit] External links

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