Douglas's game of the week: Wild ARMS 3

03-01-2004, 11:56 PM

Wild ARMS 3 is the 3rd game in the Wild ARMS trilogy-Well duh, it has to be. And I didn't hear of Wild ARMS 3 until I heard some kids at school saying good things about it and from what they said, it sounded like I'd love it. But they never said what system it was for, and when Tritoch had a Jet (Wild ARMS 3 character) avatar and said it was for PS2, I was on my way to getting wild ARMS 3 (The PS2 is the only gaming system I have currently besides my GBA)Sure enough, I got it and thanked Tri for basically convincing me to get the game.

Wild ARMS 3 tries something different than most RPGs period-When you think of RPGs, you would probably think of the dark ages in a fantasy land or the far future. Wild ARMS 3 is an adventure in an 1870's setting, and the Wild ARMS games are probably the only RPGs to do that. Another thing different about the game is that you have the same 4 characters through out the game-Sure, you have to start out with 4 individual chapters in which you learn about the characters, but you still have them. Here are the characters:

Virginia:
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
Okay, I couldn't resist.
The heroine of the game-Not many games have the main character be a girl. She uses two pistols in combat that she learned to use from her father before he died and she lived with her aunt and uncle. She decided to become a drifter after following some Demi humans into their hideout and then boards a train. Unlike most heroes, who tend to be pretty dang strong, she is the weakest character in the game and will die more than once-But she makes a great healer. (I misread her name on the back of the box for something else-I aint gonna tell you what)

Jet:
All the characters in Wild ARMS 3 are some of the best i've ever seen on the PS2, and I have a hard time deciding if he or Clive is the overall coolest. Jet is a mysterious person who wanders around getting money from stealing treasures-A treasure hunter. After getting a crystal flower, he hears about another treasure being transferred on a train and he sneaks on. He uses a very powerful and cool Machine gun.

Gallows:
Gallows is the Indian ally or "Injun". You can't have a wild wild western adventure and not include an indian right? Gallows attacks with a shotgun, which he uses to obtain the Ark scepter, an important item in the storyline from the southern shrine. But of course, he later finds out the Ark Scepter is being transported by a train 3 months later while in a bar so he also runs on the train to find out if he got a fake one or if the train is a fake.

Clive:
Probably one of the best characters I've ever seen in a video game besides Jet, Rictor, Lans Tartare, Laguana, Riku, Sheik, Arthur, and Wren. He attacks with a Rifle (Didn't have Sniper rifles back then but he is called a sniper). He is called upon to destroy a monster in a cave and save the town-But it knocks him unconscious and poisons him. He manages to escape but the monster returns and he defeats it. His next mission is to guard the Ark Scepter on a train. He is the most powerful character in the game but that Rifle must weigh a ton because he's the slowest.

The graphics of Wild ARMS 3 do feature some bland looking backgrounds, such as how the battle scenes are always the same even if you're on a net-For some reason, we're back on the ground and then they're dead and now we're back on the net? On the other hand though, the characters and monsters are extremely detailed-Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, eat your hearts out.

The battles do seem pretty boring because it's old fashioned, but the characters run around during battle-The camera controls are very great and the battles really brought alot of hype into old fashioned battle scenes. FP is used alot like MP, and you gain it by attacking. You also can choose to avoid battles if you want but can't do it all the time Because you have guns, you don't need to worry if an enemy is flying or on the ground because you can gun them down either way. Another thing that makes Wild ARMS 3 unique is that the guns here don't have unlimited ammo like in some other games like Tactics Ogre, they have a finite supply of bullets and you have to reload every few rounds. This can get annoying for some characters like Clive who only has like 2 bullets. :E

The music and sound really do fit the scene and make you feel like you really are traveling with the 4 drifters in the Wild Wild west, but there are no voices. I was disappointed by this because of the PS2's power of producing voices, but very very realistic sound effects make up for it-Also, you get to name all 4 of your main characters. A rarity nowadays.

The storyline of Wild ARMS 3 starts out with a fateful night on a train and then elevates into saving the world and having to fight the final boss which has a dizzying 11 forms

:E (Beat that Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Dragoon). The storyline moves at a fair pace and you probably will like it.

Overall, Wild ARMS 3 is probably one of the most neglected PS2 games ever among other poorly treated and sadly neglected games like Ape Escape 2. (Also, I saw more half-ass reviews for this game at Gamefaqs-What the heck is wrong with those people?!) If you have a PS2 and are looking for a good old fashioned RPG with some of the best characters this side of the PS2, then begin your search for Wild ARMS 3-It's a bit hard to find, It took almost a month after Tri told me it was for PS2 to find it-And I had to pay 42 dollars for it but I got it for free because I had a FYE gift card.

Wild ARMS 3 defnatley deserves a place on your PS2 shelf and among the better games of the PS2 era.
9.50/10

Pros:
-=Extremley detailed characters=-
-=alot of new features=-
-=Great combat engine=-
-=Great storyline=-
-=Jet=-
-=Clive=-
-=Catchy boss music=-

Cons:
-=Somewhat bland looking backgrounds=-
-=Virginia looks great and is cool characterwise, but in battle, she's got as much health as a piece of thread and deals about as much damage as one too. :E=-
-=Final Boss is more annoying than that evolving bastard at the end of Legend of Dragoon=-
-=No voices=-

Fishmael · 03-02-2004, 10:58 PM

I want to give it a rent, but first I conquer the world!

Fishmael · 03-03-2004, 07:47 PM

Or not.

03-03-2004, 09:02 PM

You really should rent the game and use the edit button. Both are excellent.

Fishmael · 03-04-2004, 05:57 PM

Dur, what a edit bottom.

03-05-2004, 10:49 PM

What I mean is to stop double posting. If you keep that up in my forum, I'll start deleting your double post.

Fishmael · 03-05-2004, 11:01 PM

It was only once!

Threaten me, someday, we folk will strike back against ye moderators. *charges off holding

signs*

03-06-2004, 04:24 PM

You double posted elsewhere too.

Fishmael · 03-06-2004, 09:08 PM

Oh, well thanks for the advice. Just a secretely hidden bump usually.

03-01-2004, 11:56 PM	#1
Sim Kid Guest Posts: n/a	Wild ARMS 3 is the 3rd game in the Wild ARMS trilogy-Well duh, it has to be. And I didn't hear of Wild ARMS 3 until I heard some kids at school saying good things about it and from what they said, it sounded like I'd love it. But they never said what system it was for, and when Tritoch had a Jet (Wild ARMS 3 character) avatar and said it was for PS2, I was on my way to getting wild ARMS 3 (The PS2 is the only gaming system I have currently besides my GBA)Sure enough, I got it and thanked Tri for basically convincing me to get the game. Wild ARMS 3 tries something different than most RPGs period-When you think of RPGs, you would probably think of the dark ages in a fantasy land or the far future. Wild ARMS 3 is an adventure in an 1870's setting, and the Wild ARMS games are probably the only RPGs to do that. Another thing different about the game is that you have the same 4 characters through out the game-Sure, you have to start out with 4 individual chapters in which you learn about the characters, but you still have them. Here are the characters: Virginia: Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Okay, I couldn't resist. The heroine of the game-Not many games have the main character be a girl. She uses two pistols in combat that she learned to use from her father before he died and she lived with her aunt and uncle. She decided to become a drifter after following some Demi humans into their hideout and then boards a train. Unlike most heroes, who tend to be pretty dang strong, she is the weakest character in the game and will die more than once-But she makes a great healer. (I misread her name on the back of the box for something else-I aint gonna tell you what) Jet: All the characters in Wild ARMS 3 are some of the best i've ever seen on the PS2, and I have a hard time deciding if he or Clive is the overall coolest. Jet is a mysterious person who wanders around getting money from stealing treasures-A treasure hunter. After getting a crystal flower, he hears about another treasure being transferred on a train and he sneaks on. He uses a very powerful and cool Machine gun. Gallows: Gallows is the Indian ally or "Injun". You can't have a wild wild western adventure and not include an indian right? Gallows attacks with a shotgun, which he uses to obtain the Ark scepter, an important item in the storyline from the southern shrine. But of course, he later finds out the Ark Scepter is being transported by a train 3 months later while in a bar so he also runs on the train to find out if he got a fake one or if the train is a fake. Clive: Probably one of the best characters I've ever seen in a video game besides Jet, Rictor, Lans Tartare, Laguana, Riku, Sheik, Arthur, and Wren. He attacks with a Rifle (Didn't have Sniper rifles back then but he is called a sniper). He is called upon to destroy a monster in a cave and save the town-But it knocks him unconscious and poisons him. He manages to escape but the monster returns and he defeats it. His next mission is to guard the Ark Scepter on a train. He is the most powerful character in the game but that Rifle must weigh a ton because he's the slowest. The graphics of Wild ARMS 3 do feature some bland looking backgrounds, such as how the battle scenes are always the same even if you're on a net-For some reason, we're back on the ground and then they're dead and now we're back on the net? On the other hand though, the characters and monsters are extremely detailed-Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, eat your hearts out. The battles do seem pretty boring because it's old fashioned, but the characters run around during battle-The camera controls are very great and the battles really brought alot of hype into old fashioned battle scenes. FP is used alot like MP, and you gain it by attacking. You also can choose to avoid battles if you want but can't do it all the time Because you have guns, you don't need to worry if an enemy is flying or on the ground because you can gun them down either way. Another thing that makes Wild ARMS 3 unique is that the guns here don't have unlimited ammo like in some other games like Tactics Ogre, they have a finite supply of bullets and you have to reload every few rounds. This can get annoying for some characters like Clive who only has like 2 bullets. :E The music and sound really do fit the scene and make you feel like you really are traveling with the 4 drifters in the Wild Wild west, but there are no voices. I was disappointed by this because of the PS2's power of producing voices, but very very realistic sound effects make up for it-Also, you get to name all 4 of your main characters. A rarity nowadays. The storyline of Wild ARMS 3 starts out with a fateful night on a train and then elevates into saving the world and having to fight the final boss which has a dizzying 11 forms :E (Beat that Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Dragoon). The storyline moves at a fair pace and you probably will like it. Overall, Wild ARMS 3 is probably one of the most neglected PS2 games ever among other poorly treated and sadly neglected games like Ape Escape 2. (Also, I saw more half-ass reviews for this game at Gamefaqs-What the heck is wrong with those people?!) If you have a PS2 and are looking for a good old fashioned RPG with some of the best characters this side of the PS2, then begin your search for Wild ARMS 3-It's a bit hard to find, It took almost a month after Tri told me it was for PS2 to find it-And I had to pay 42 dollars for it but I got it for free because I had a FYE gift card. Wild ARMS 3 defnatley deserves a place on your PS2 shelf and among the better games of the PS2 era. 9.50/10 Pros: -=Extremley detailed characters=- -=alot of new features=- -=Great combat engine=- -=Great storyline=- -=Jet=- -=Clive=- -=Catchy boss music=- Cons: -=Somewhat bland looking backgrounds=- -=Virginia looks great and is cool characterwise, but in battle, she's got as much health as a piece of thread and deals about as much damage as one too. :E=- -=Final Boss is more annoying than that evolving bastard at the end of Legend of Dragoon=- -=No voices=-

03-02-2004, 10:58 PM	#2
Fishmael Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Palmdale, California Posts: 3,228 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I want to give it a rent, but first I conquer the world!

03-03-2004, 07:47 PM	#3
Fishmael Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Palmdale, California Posts: 3,228 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Or not.

03-03-2004, 09:02 PM	#4
Sim Kid Guest Posts: n/a	You really should rent the game and use the edit button. Both are excellent.

03-04-2004, 05:57 PM	#5
Fishmael Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Palmdale, California Posts: 3,228 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Dur, what a edit bottom.

03-05-2004, 10:49 PM	#6
Sim Kid Guest Posts: n/a	What I mean is to stop double posting. If you keep that up in my forum, I'll start deleting your double post.

03-05-2004, 11:01 PM	#7
Fishmael Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Palmdale, California Posts: 3,228 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	It was only once! Threaten me, someday, we folk will strike back against ye moderators. charges off holding signs

03-06-2004, 04:24 PM	#8
Sim Kid Guest Posts: n/a	You double posted elsewhere too.

03-06-2004, 09:08 PM	#9
Fishmael Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Palmdale, California Posts: 3,228 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Oh, well thanks for the advice. Just a secretely hidden bump usually.