Wild Arms 3 - Guns, Goons and Guardians

Wild Arms 3 is a role playing video game developed by Media Vision and released for the playstation 2 by Sony Computer Entertainment. Media vision would later move on to take over the reins of making the Valkyria Chronicles games and other projects. It was a released back in 2003 with Ubisoft handling the Europe releases.

I've played both the previous Wild Arms games in the PS1 to some extent so when I learned they released Wild Arms 3 for the PS2 I knew I had to get it and it's one of the first PS2 games I bought for the PS2. Also spoiler flag is up just in case.

Four Drifters (Wanderers) find themselves chosen to wield the power of the planet's spiritual protectors, the Guardians, to stop a prophesied but unknown menace to their world. In the course of their journey they find themselves fighting against demons of legends, fanatical scientist called the Prophets and even other Drifters themselves. All the while the future and survival of their desert world Filgaia hangs in the balance.

The story of Wild Arms 3 starts off decent enough but sadly it moves quite slow compared to the previous titles. You don't really feel the stakes until maybe around halfway through the game and by that time most folks tend to either lost interest. The story can be sum up to some crazy people want to use the Guardians power to end the world but let's have four strangers chosen by said Guardians to save it.

For those familiar with the Wild Arms series it's one of those JRPG games that has a Wild West theme as opposed to the sword and sorcery or sci fi theme of most RPG games out there. So pretty much your enjoyment of Wild Arms as a game hangs on how much you like the idea of a western background and how long is your patience when playing JRPG games.

It also doesn't help that you need to talk to certain people in order to get an idea on where to go next. This is a staple for Wild Arms since probably from the beginning yet it doesn't help ease how much time consuming it is for players to do so. It's worst for Wild Arms 3 since you need to talk to people you already talked to just to advance in the game. Often times you will be lost and would most likely need a walkthrough guide just to save time.

The characters in Wild Arms 3 are beautifully drawn and animated. Sadly most of them lack character depth specially when you compare them to the previous Wild Arms title. In Wild Arms 2 alone some of the main character starts out as villains and vice versa. This games just have four Drifters who has very little stakes involved. Take Clive for example he is doing this for research purposes which is pretty dull in my opinion. And I'm not even getting into Virginia and her daddy issues.

Wild Arms 3 incorporates a lot of the game mechanics from the previous games like the use of skills to solve puzzles that range from childishly easy to crazy hard, probably more so than previous titles before it. The lack of weapon variety and gear that was present in previous Wild Arms title is a bit of a drawback though as it takes out some of the strategy elements of the game. The puzzles can be tedious and frustrating too.

The games graphics is excellent for a cel shaded game made back in 2003. In fact the new cel shaded effect they did on Wild Arms 3 is way better than the previous games before it by leaps and bounds. The characters also now run around the field area this time when they attack instead of just the usual standing in place. Kind of wish the characters running around has some strategic uses like out flanking an enemy to get that perfect shot. It does makes the game somewhat unfinished.

The music of Wild Arms 3 is one of the best in the series and its probably one of the best english dubbed openings in the series. this sort of excellence extends throughout the game through random battle music or boss battles. Sadly I kind of wish they added character voices. I didn't think the game would hurt to hear Virginia go "You won't get away!" before shooting an enemy with her six shooters.

The game is certainly taxing in both time and patience. Even the best Wild Arms players I know got lost in games like these. It also doesn't help that most of the best equipment and one of the hidden Guardian in Wild Arms 3 is hidden under of all places a 100 floor dimensional dungeon called the Abyss. Finding the dungeon is one thing but completing it is another issue all together.

Also if you have a PS4 i'd suggest you go get that version as the graphics are in HD version. Just check the pic below and the video of Cycu1 here.

Wild Arms 3 is an extremely beautiful game for the Wild Arms franchise despite its somewhat shortcomings. Sure it's not the best RPG game on the PS2 but if you love Wild Arms and played the other titles before this then you will find something to enjoy in this as well. It's clearly an underrated game of its time. If you fit all these criteria or just in the mood for a beautiful JRPG with a western feel to it then this is definitely a game I would recommend.