Wild ARMs 4

The Wild ARMs games are a long running RPG series, which started life in 1996 on the Playstation. Famous for it's unique blend of Wild West themes and usage of 'Tools' - Ten years have now passed and the fifth game has now arrived onto US shores on the PS2. Can Jude, Arnaud, Yulie and Raquel even compare to the 1337ness that is Cecelia from the original WA? The answer is a resounding no. ;)

Age Rating: Teen
Company: XSEED Games
Genre: Turn Based RPG
Region: US (NTSC)
Players: 1
Memory Card: 27kb per save (cheap!)



I spent over 100 glorious hours on Wild ARMs: Alter Code F (remake of the original for PS2) and was expecting the same goodness in Wild ARMs 4. However, WA4 takes nearly everything from the series and throws it out of the window! It's not a re-hash anymore, but something a bit different!

Characters
Jude Maverick - The typical 13 year old hero of this story. He is a genedriver and can wield an ARM weapon. Has the highest HP/RFX out of the team.

Yulie Atreide - The female lead who is 15 years old. Quiet, withdrawn and a bit whiny to boot! Uses 'white magic' and can control Guardian Summons. A bit boring really!

Arnaud G. Vasquez - 18 years old and is deemed an 'adult' although he doesn't act like one. He's a bit of a chicken and seems to have no good redeeming qualities except: "Everything from the neck up." Uses 'black magic'.

Raquel Applegate - The most mature of the team at 19. She is hard, seasoned warrior - full of knowledge beyond her years. The brick wall of the team, with the highest DEF and ATK power..you'll be using her alot!



Graphics
Wow! What a step up from the previous games - it actually looks like a good PS2 game! The backgrounds are lovingly detailed and and varied. It's among the best games I've played for imaginitive locations. The characters themselves are anime styled with a few expressions. Most scenes of the game are played out with great potrait pictures ala Disgaea. When there is a cutscene, it usually done well for the most part. Upper end PS2? Most definately!



Sound
Music fits the atmosphere of the game and everyone will be happy to hear that the infamous WA1 theme: CONDITION GREEN! makes an appearance as well! This is the first Wild ARMs game that actually has voices. It is dubbed well and the voices suit each character - although there will always be someone complaining about lack of Japanese language. In my opinion, it doesn't need it. I had to get used to Jude's voice the most (apparently it's dub Naruto's VA that does it) but after a while it grows on you. Yulie seemed the most wooden out of them, but perhaps Wendee Lee (the dub director and voice of Raquel) wanted her to be like that! Overall the cheese and OTTness of the voice actors shine through the mediocre story.



Battle System
Another change to the Wild ARMs franchise! The battle system has been completely revamped into a unique one. It is still turned based, but this time everyone fights on a grid of 6 Hexes. The ATB system (fastest moves first) taken from FFX is also in use to make sure you can plan ahead. You get your character on a hex but can move them onto another hex to reach the enemy or join up with a team member. Everything used on a hex applies to everyone in that hex, so if you hit a hex with 3 enemies - all of them will get hit! But of course it works the other way as well! Also, applied to a Hex could be an element - there are coloured in red (fire) for example. Say Jude was standing on a fire hex and he gets hit by a Fire spell - the damage caused by it is reduced, but if it hit by water..is doubled!
Skills are also affected by elemental properties of a Hex. Jude's skill "Ley Boost" can have a different effect according to what elemental hex he is standing on. Fire puts up ATK power, Water puts up MAG and Earth puts up RES/DEF. So - to use everything effectively, is position your characters to an advantage and use their skills wisely!
Another added feature is 'Detonation Mode' which occurs randomly. Your character begins the battle all sparkly and everything they use is doubled, stats are doubled (except HP and MP) and their experience at the end of the battle is also doubled! But it's completely random, and enemies also have this mode as well! It's sort of like FFX-2's Overdrive.
I like this battle system and it's one of the better ones found in RPGs. But beware that random battles can leave your characters wide open - you may get a game over instantly because of the random positioning and detonation of the enemies!



Field Mode
Another change! You can only control Jude in this game (Boo!) and there are no tools to use anymore! Instead, you have to touch a glowy ball and it forms a 'tool' that you can use for that dungeon. But while you hold a tool you can't jump. What jump? Yes Jude can jump, he can slide and he can stomp! Infact he can even slow down time with a Acceleration bar! And yes, you can see the 'puzzles' that they will make out of this. Thankfully none are very hard!
The camera angles are more to the side point of view ala Radiata Stories and moves about like a platformer. But it works out! Still, I would have liked to have controlled the other party memebers as well, out of battle!



Story (Mostly Spoiler free!)
Now this is where it falls apart like most PS2 RPGs. As Jude, who doesn't know what a girl looks like (until he meets Yulie) and coming from a very sheltered life - you expect that he would be a bit shy and lacking any ideas. He's quite the opposite and seems to be extremely mature for his age! The game starts off well - until you realise who the enemies are - and that one by one you'll have to dispatch them off like Mai Otome. It comes across as being rather cheesy (especially the main enemy who looks like a Gundam reject). Jude gets development (being the main character and all) and things happen..but he doesn't react like a 13 year old kid should and then Yulie seems to be the only other character, who gets some serious development - via a scary white house and 'by-the-book' brother. Arnaud is too busy looking out for himself 95% of the time and Raquel keeps going on about beautiful things, until you are sick of hearing it! I forgot to mention that each boss battle goes something like this:

Jude: Adults are evilllzzzzzzz!!oneone
Boss: You wield an ARM. You must die kid.
Team: With the power of teamwork we can overcome anything!
*boss defeated*
Boss: The kids..the future..I WAS WRONG!!111
Team: Teamwork got us through!
Jude: TEAMWORK!

But despite the whole theme being about children vs adults and teamwork. The ending left me surprisingly empty and unfufilled. What happens? You'll have to find that out! It was a bit disappointing to say the least.



Completion Time
I took 38 hours to complete this. I hear people complete it by 24 hours. I spent time leveling up or so that's my excuse!

Extras
Hidden Bosses, Ex File Unlockables and Alter Code F data Conversion for even moar!


Overall: 7.5/10

Final Thought
Not as good as Wild ARMs Alter Code F in my opinion, but it's a different breed altogether. It's fun, if a little short and plus the anime intro=10/10 ;)
It's worth buying if you are a RPG fan looking for something that isn't Final Fantasy.