Wild Arms V

Wild ARMs 5 – The Tribute/Homage

In 1997, the RPG videogame Wild ARMs was released. It wasn’t the prettiest game on the market. But the battle system, the puzzles, and most of all its charming characters secured it a place in the heart of many a RPG gamer. In 2007, Wild ARMs 5 debuted on the series’ ten-year anniversary. The bar, as one might expect, is quite high. Does it succeed? Read on.

One of the franchise’s strengths is its characters, and 5’s cast numbers some of its most eccentric: the wide-eyed youth seeking adventure, the serious and down-to-earth love interest, the womanizing loner who lands in hot water wherever he goes, etc. While unique in their own right, they definitely fill the lofty shoes of its forebears.

Unlike most RPGs, however, is the manner of character growth. RPGs are usually broken down into segments: character plot arc, dungeons, towns, plot advancement, more character plot, so on and so forth. Wild ARMs 5 cuts out the middleman by having the bulk of character progression inside the dungeons. A novel idea, except the characters’ history are constantly interrupting the puzzles and battles, leaving the game experience somewhat disjointed and tedious. Being tedious, as any gamer knows, is a surefire way to drop the game entirely.

The HEX system from Wild ARMs 4 returns: the combat field is divided into a series of hexagons, in which the combatants are randomly placed. Wild ARMs 4’s characters could either move or take action, not both. Wild ARMs 5’ characters can move and act in a single turn, giving a real-time feel to battles.

However, there is a flipside. The game automatically heals all characters at battle’s end. While this provides a kind of safety net, it simultaneously instills a lack of incentive for strategic thinking. Combined with special “Sol Niger” devices (can “turn off” enemy encounters), the game’s difficulty can potentially be virtually non-existent.

The world map is another problem. Locating towns, dungeons and hidden items requires a special radar. The protagonist’s recurring comment of “Let’s have a little look-see,” every time the radar button is pressed, quickly got on my nerves.

Wild ARMs 5 has the privilege of debuting at the series’ tenth anniversary, and as such serves as a homage of the series itself. This homage is done with its cameos. The world is literally bursting with characters from previous games. Finding said characters is enough to constitute its own game. Many characters request chores to be done in exchange for powerful items, bringing the nostalgia factor to an even greater high.

Standing as a series’ hallmark is no easy job. While the game has its ups and downs, Wild ARMs 5 manages to stand apart from its predecessors while at the same time paying awesome tribute to it’s past. If you’re tired of the typical RPG, then you should give Wild ARMs 5 a try. Patience is required, but isn’t that said about all games? Have fun.

Drakengard – Just Too Creepy

Drakengard – Just Too Creepy

The Square Enix RPG (Role-Playing Game) video game company is known for the excellence of their story-based games. Its flagship franchise Final Fantasy is approaching its fifteenth game and the series is still going strong. So when the Drakengard game was released to Western shores in 2002, naturally players thought they’d find a gem of a game. Were they right? Yes and no.

Drakengard’s features are very innovative. You control Caim, a fallen Prince fighting a one-man war against the massive Empire. Caim has hundreds of weapons at his disposal, the most powerful being a dragon that rains fiery destruction on the hapless enemies.

Gameplay is arranged into two categories. The first is a ground mission: you control Caim and do battle with normal enemy soldiers. Along the way you can pick up weapons ranging from knives to hammers. However, you’re not given these weapons. Most of them involve challenging criteria (such as defeating a certain number of enemies within a time limit). Furthermore, weapon attributes can be raised the more they are used, including but not limited to: range, number of attacks in a single combo, and attack power. Going even further, each weapon is paired with a unique magic spell. The more you use the weapon, the more you can improve the spell. And if things get too hairy, you can summon the aforementioned dragon and waste everyone.

That’s the Caim Missions. The Dragon Missions are another thing entirely.

The Dragon Missions are airborne missions. You control the Dragon in aerial combat, fighting against airships, giants and the like. The Dragon is capable of locking on specific points on enemy’s bodies (an airship’s cannons; the giant’s eyes, etc) so combat quickly escalates to multiple bursts of flame while doing various spins and other aerial maneuvers to avoid getting hit. Regaining health items to replenish the Dragon’s vitality are few and far between, meaning that the player must have nimble reflexes to survive. It’s a nice change of pace to the typical RPG fare.

Now, that being said, there’s one thing that needs emphasizing. This is the creepiest game I have ever played. The main antagonist is a ghoul-possessed little girl whose constant sing-song chanting and wild, innocent dancing has me wincing every time she makes an appearance. The enemies she commands are giant, cannibalistic babies, whose plaintive cries are enough to give anyone nightmares.

But wait. There’s more. Caim’s sister Furiae – the avatar for the game’s Goddess and its stereotypical damsel-in-distress – is kidnapped early on. Caim gives chase, and just when he’s about to free her, she commits suicide for no apparent reason. And then there are Caim’s allies: a blind prophet, an immortal child, and a deranged elven warrior who accidentally murdered her own children. Is it any wonder I choose not to command them?

Even the endings are dark and creepy. Only one of the five endings end happily, and then only marginally: the dragon sacrifices herself to save the world. The other endings involve the bad guys winning. Even the last, most difficult-to-acquire ending has Caim and the Dragon time traveling to modern times . . . and immediately gets shot down by an F-15 Tomcat fighter plane.

Drakengard sounds like a good game. But lurking beneath the surface are darker, more maniacal elements than players are used to. No amount of combat can make up for the creepy dialogue, the winch-worthy villains, and the complete lack of happy endings. This game is not worth buying. Pass it on.