The PS1 RPG in Final Fantasy's shadow
Wild Arms, the role-playing game that whistled like a western
- Player rating
- 4.7/5
- Main story
- 29.6 h
- Genre
- RPG
Released in Japan in late 1996, a few weeks before Final Fantasy VII, Wild Arms had the misfortune of arriving at the wrong time. All four PlayStation episodes are in the Classics Catalog; the first remains the best place to start.
Filgaia is a world slowly drying up, somewhere between medieval fantasy and the Wild West. There are castles and demons, but also saloons, treasure hunters and forgotten firearms, the ARMs, which people regard with suspicion. The tone is set from the opening, carried by a whistled guitar theme that became the series' emblem.
Three heroes, three stories that converge: Rudy, a quiet boy who wields an ARM; Jack, a treasure hunter travelling with a mouse that can squeeze in anywhere; Cecilia, a princess and apprentice mage. After separate prologues they come together to face the return of demons thought defeated a thousand years ago.
What sets the game apart from its contemporaries is its dungeons. Each character has tools — bombs, a grappling hook, a wand — used to solve environmental puzzles: lighting a fuse, fetching an item, crossing a chasm. It sits closer to Zelda than to a string of corridors and fights.
The turn-based battles switch to 3D with polygonal monsters, while exploration stays in 2D sprites. The contrast has aged, but it has a period charm. The original English translation is sometimes clumsy; the story holds up well all the same, with genuine melancholy.
Around thirty hours, at a cruising pace that leaves time to grow attached to the trio. Episodes 2, 3 and 4, all in the Classics Catalog, are waiting afterwards.