After a long weekend of re-doing boss fights, looking up guides, and actually having a little bit of fun I finally finished the game! I know in a lot of my previous posts I have given this game a really hard time, but as I write this I want to try to be as fair as possible. I recently found out this was only 1 of maybe 5 RPGs that came out on the PS1 before Final Fantasy 7. So this game really was innovative for the time and probably seemed really original. Unfortunately I'm a bit biased since I played this game post- FF7. With all this said it's time to lay down my thoughts and tell you what I think of the game.
Gameplay:
To be totally honest the game-play in this game is actually really unique. Not only for it's time but overall. The way you explore dungeons, upgrade abilities, build up to "limit-break" esc abilities is like nothing I've seen in an RPG before (outside of the sequels for this game).
As far as abilities go, each of the 3 characters you control in the game have their own unique way to level up their abilities. Cecilia uses magic and you don't simply start off with magic abilities. You find these items throughout the game called "Crest Graphs". You take these Crest Graphs to magic shops and they will exchange them for spells essentially. The more you find the more varied your spell arsenal becomes. Later in the game you can also find a "Secret Shop" that allows you to purchase higher level spells. Rudy has guns which are named ARMS in the game. You can find various ARMS and upgrade their stats, such as: Attack Power, Accuracy, and Ammunition. Lastly, Jack as any array of attacks called Fast Draw. He discovers them through the game either in story events or side quests. The battles themselves aren't anything too special. It's pretty much your basic turn based battle.
One really fun aspect of the game are the characters' various Tools. Each character will eventually acquire 4 tools. Each one has a different puzzle solving purpose. Maybe it's Jacks' lighter to make fires, Cecilias' canister to put out a fire, or Rudys bombs to blow things up. Now I've never seen a puzzle-solving dynamic this fun or unique. It makes the puzzles not only challenging but really fun. It makes you think how you can utilize these tools in unique ways. It also leaves you really satisfied when you finally figure out some of the more challenging ones.
The one thing that really did bug me is that there were WAY too many random battles, especially in dungeons. Just when your about to figure a section of a puzzle out theres a battle. It also can take like 7 attempts to run away at times. Then after the battle you cant remember if you took a certain path already and end up wasting time back tracking.
Sound:
Personally, the sound of this game didn't wow me in any way. I can't remember any music from the game outside of the battle music, and thats only because i heard it every 30 seconds. The sound effects are okay I guess. They go with the game and add life to it. I wish I could write more here, but the sound in this game is just forgettable. There weren't any moments in the game where I really wanted to go find that song on youtube or anything. The only song that was the least bit intriguing to me was the ending sequence. It's got a soft acoustic guitar feel to it. it's calming and fits the scene well. Other than that, I think you'll live if you never buy the soundtrack to this game.
Graphics:
Like I mentioned before, this was Pre-FF7 so not much can be expected. The characters look extremely blocky, which was common in early on in the first fully 3D consoles such as the PlayStation. But to be totally honest I don't really mind it that much. That's the era that brought me into gaming and those kind of graphics are endearing in away. There's a certain charm to it and brings me back to the good ol' days.
The spell and attacks effects are basic but work well with what they're trying to do. There are really no pre-rendered backgrounds like in Final Fantasies. The building and world map graphics are pretty similar to the characters graphics which kind of adds a wholeness to the game. But the one thing that kills the game aesthetically for me is practically everything is earth toned. The towns, dungeons, and castles are all a shade of brown, green, or gray. The only real color we get is in the characters' costumes. Cecilia has a bit of pink, Rudy has a red shirt and blue hair. Overall it's just kind of ugly to look at.
I guess you can say it adds to the feeling of the game, like its supposed to put you in the setting of that time. But I just find it unappealing. Also I have to add, where is this "Wild West" theme that seems to follow the series? It certainly didn't start here because there is nothing remotely Western about this game. There are Knights in Armor, Kings, and Demons. The game never even hints at it being remotely Wild West esc.
Story:
The game starts in a really odd way actually. You start the game separately with each character until they each find their way to Adlehyde. They all meet in this town and decide to travel together. After your first quest, finally the opening title sequence rolls. When this happened I had two thoughts: This is either the shortest game ever or I just got a game over somehow. It turns out this is when the game really starts.
So the story essentially revolves around Jack , Rudy, and Cecilia stopping the world from falling apart (in more ways than one). Demons have been in Felgaia for sometime are about to take over. The world loses hope in itself and the guardians of the planet cease to exist. The 3 heroes travel around trying to restore hope in the world and the spirits of the guardians to help defeat the demons. At least I think this is the plot....It was pretty hard to follow and I couldn't really get into it.
You go off on side quests that are part of the main game that deviate you from the main story for hours at a time. The story seems to just go all over the place for me. One thing that this game did that I really hate in RPGs is that Rudy, essentially the one main character, has no dialog. Why? Chrono Cross did this and so did Legend of Legaia if I'm not mistaken. I hate it. You never get to know what the character is like, you're just told instead of experiencing it. Most of the dialog is kind of cheesy and the revelations the characters have just seem forced. There isn't a lot of build up. In a good story the story arcs make sense and there events that correlate to why they happen. In Wild Arms it just seems to happen only to serve the purpose of moving along the story as opposed to it coming to fruition based on past events.
Finally, the one HUGE thing that killed the game for me was not knowing where you're supposed to go. There are an uncountable amount of times where you either need to collect something, kill a monster, etc. After you complete the task and the event following, nothing happens. You are just expected to walk around and talk to everyone in town and towns you've been to before to figure out where to go next. You could play this game for probably close to 80 hours just because you'd be wondering around helplessly trying to figure out what to do next. There are even ESSENTIAL items to completing this game that aren't given to you as part of an event in the main story. You have to find them on your own.
Here is the best example I have of this (*WARNING SPOILER ALERT! SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.). At one point in the game you un-earth an ancient Golem and eventually bring it back to life. You can also you it as vehicle to cross certain terrain you can't cross with any other vehicle in the game. Well how to do you summon the Golem? You need an Ocarina. Where is this Ocarina, does someone give it to you or tell you where it is? Who knows and of course not! First, you have to find a secluded house in the forest that has no visible game graphic on the world map until you're on top of it and it says "Forgotten Ruins". If that's not bad enough, you have to walk around a house to find it. Once you play the ocarina, only then can you summon the Golem and ride it. How cryptic is that? The Golem is so essential that you can't enter the final dungeon of the game without it. That is just plain ridiculous. I would have never figured that out without a guide.
Final Thoughts: Don't Play It
All things considering (price on the PlatStation Network of $5.99, fun puzzle solving, and nostalgic graphics) this game should be worth a play through right? Maybe. But I personally can't recommend it. The puzzles are fun, really fun, but it just doesn't save the game from how cryptic it is. There are parts in the game that are down right agonizing to figure out without a guide. I personally used one for a good majority of the game. I wanted to finish it to see the whole thing and I was pretty sure I never would without a guide. The game is just difficult for the wrong reasons.
The fact that the game rarely explains what to do next is annoying to me. Some might see it as a challenge but it takes away too much from the game for me. I'm also recalling a few puzzles near the end of the game and am baffled at how anyone is supposed to figure them out. Even in the guide it says "if you didn't know where to look this would be difficult for you to get." The fact that I had to switch online walkthroughs is a testament to the difficulty and crypticness of this game. As I was looking for images and screen shots I was reading comments about the game and most of them said something like "This game was awesome! But I got stuck and never finished it..." So unless you like extreme challenges or plain don't mind using a walkthrough then I'd say avoid this game. It's not worth the headache and the ending isn't too satisfying either.
For my next game...I think I'm going to avoid playing Wild Arms 2 for awhile haha. So that pretty much leaves Suikoden. I might hold off on playing it for a bit considering how much of a chore Wild Arms was. Thanks again for reading everyone. Spread the word and share this blog with your friends who enjoy games or just want something interesting to read. Later Gamers!
