Title Wild Arms 4 Date 05.07.2007 Genre RPG Platform PlayStation 2 Developer Media Works Publisher XSEED Games

Better Late Than Never
A two-fold comment, really as it applies both to this writing submission and the game itself. Composed well over a year ago but not released until now (the review), this proved to be a difficult task in light of the situation at hand: It's no secret that in recent years, I've become annoyed with the Wild Arms series: Sony's staple RPG franchise is about as stale as they come; even with the creative touches the gameplay is repetitive, uninspired, and downright wearisome. You have the use of “Goods”, various character specific tools designed to solve puzzles (jet boots, flame wands, item radars, projectiles, etc), fantastic music, wonderfully realized “Wild West” environments, and one of the most monotonous battle systems ever conceived.

With respect to the first two installments-those on the original PlayStation-things were acceptable given the fresh idea of infusing action and puzzle elements to create puzzles. Unfortunately, by the time Wild Arms 3rd Ignition arrived, even this hallowed tradition was blasé, and given that the creator, Media Vision, did squat in terms of adding new ideas, the game became repetitive and uninspired, albeit with nice graphics.

2004's Alter Code: F, however, was just plain appalling: a remake of the first game, ACF featured additional story components, additional playable characters, fantastic graphics, new Goods…it was essentially a dream come true. Except of course, when you wake up and realize it was just as repetitive as the previous installments. Something *had* to be done about the combat, as it was killing the entire series. Lo and behold, Media Vision no doubt listened to our complaints (or else wizened up of their own volition) because the game once referred to as “Another Code F” is truly a masterpiece: not only is an entirely new battle system in place, but an entirely new game as well.

You Are Not Alone
Chances are, if you're a Wild Arms fan, you've seen the various 4th Detonator previews, screenshots, and movies released by Sony over the past year or so. Chances are also likely, that you've expressed utter outrage by the bizarre “HEX” battle system dynamic, the horrible character designs, and the overshadowing change in the explorative gameplay system. Trust me here, you are not alone. For months now, I've read through the various Dengeki Playstation or Famitsu previews and wallowed in the disgust that my “unrequited darling” is turning into a hodge-podge of misplaced ideas, incompetent designers, and just plain bad taste.

Before we can continue further, I ask that you please check your baggage at the door, because after spending just five minutes with this game all the fretting will be for naught: Wild Arms: The 4th Detonator (hereafter referred to as WA4) is a fantastic piece of entertainment software that not only revitalises the series itself, but the entire RPG genre as well.

Visual Visionary
The best place to start-in truth because it holds the least amount of controversy attached-is the game's graphics. Unfortunately I'm in the difficult situation of trying to explicate how resplendent they are, mainly because each time I play a new game there is a claim of “unrivaled visuals” and such. The only way to actually “get” the visuals in WA4 is to play the game itself. Perhaps it's an unfair comparison, but if you could picture 99.9% of videogames as say, the Nintendo DS's graphics, WA4, the remaining 0.1%, would be the PSP. The real sense of awe comes not from the overbearing graphical superiority or such (this is still the PS2 after all); it comes from the breathtaking and awe-inspiring scenery and imagery.

Unlike the previous Wild Arms games wherein Media Vision treated each location as a “generic” creation - albeit it each with a unique look - WA4 is almost an explorative tour-de-force. You almost want to put down the controller and marvel at the breathtaking sights sprawled out on screen: lense flare from the setting sun, vibrant colors in the atmosphere, distant hills and mountains, fluttering butterflies, grass swaying with the wind…it's just marvelous, and it just doesn't stop. Each new area has a distinctive feel, and each new area seems to represent the true power of what this next-generation gaming machine we've had for so long can do.

Perhaps the unprecedented eye-candy display comes as a direct product of the fixed camera angle. Wild Arms 2nd Ignition became one of the first RPGs to use 3-D, fully rotatable environments, and the staple continued thereafter. Ultimately, however, the player-controlled camera was a requirement dictated by the environmental composition.

You've Got Character
Alas, when discussing the visuals it's also necessary to deal with the less impressive side, namely the character design. While I do understand that some people may like the artwork for WA4, it's quite unappealing to me, and rather confusing how the game woman responsible for the art in Wild Arms 1-3 could then turn around and “churn out” the overly shoujou crap seen in Alter Code F, and now 4th Detonator. Many who share this opinion mused that the cast looks like a bunch of prep-school kids; an assortment of whom can be found on any given snotty soap opera.

The villains are just plain outrageous in their design and concept. As series fans know, each Wild Arms game features an assortment of fetish-tainted, eccentric opponents who seek to cause problems for the heroes every step of the way. What we have in WA4, however, almost defies good taste, not to mention credibility. Take for example, the villains: one impossibly pretty man with what can only be described as a “stylized” afro, two twin dolls with a Lolita complex, a vampire-like otoko who secretly moonlights as a Shibuya Boy (the counterpart of “Harajuku Girls”, the likes of which Gwen Stefani continues to defile and exploit in her solo-career)…

I'm sorry, but at what point did videogames cease being about fantastic worlds with fascinating people, and instead a focus study on the various otaku/sub-cultures of Tokyo, Japan? Didn't we already get our fill with Square's Final Fantasy X-2? I have no problem with a flare for creativity, so long as it's in good taste; if the story and setting call for it. On the other hand, when you're trekking around a planet-sized wasteland like the Fargaia depicted in WA4, then it seems just a bit out of place to feel like you're watching MTV. Whereas everything else about the game screams change for the better, this particular aspect is nothing but “otaku fanservice” and I don't care for it one bit.

There is one undeniably redeeming aspect of the artwork, however, namely that there is so much of it: FINALLY a piece of software exists whereby each NPC has a unique piece of art. Granted there are still the variations on the same basic “stock” design, but the desire for a fresh and diverse lot of non-player characters is something I've long since wished for, and finally get to see the fruition. Perhaps one day NPCs will actually be as unique as people in real life.

Comic Creativity
But the visual issue does not end just yet: for better or worse, Media Arts decided to completely overhaul the clichéd use of cut scenes that appear in RPGs. The Wild Arms series is no stranger to the standard practice, and you no doubt know of it by now: every time a story sequence takes place, RPGs switch over to a decidedly “hands off” skeptical whereby the player watches events take place, sometimes being prompted to push a button to advance text or speech. Though WA4 makes use of this pre-requisite element, the creators certainly tried to spice things up: Almost every cut scene takes place via an almost manga-like presentation. Instead of watching the characters play out the actions-for the most part-you get to view a “living” comic panel that endlessly changes shape and design throughout the conversation.

“Goodies Make The Boys Jump On It”
Loosing interest in WA4 previews quite early on, I paid no attention to content pertaining to the extravagantly overhauled “Goods” system. As mentioned earlier, the use of items typically present in action games endowed the Wild Arms series with an unprecedented and unrivaled barrage of creative and innovative puzzles. Instead of simply hitting a switch or pushing a block, previous games saw you trying to figure out which of your party's characters had the necessary “Goods” to say, reach a floating platform or stop a wave of fire.

Because of this core gameplay foundation, I may be the harbinger of disappointment in stating that, in WA4, you can only play as Jude, and that even more shockingly, he has no Goods whatsoever. The biggest surprise? Much of the gameplay involves *platforming* action as well: jumping and sliding. Please, I know exactly what you're thinking, “Ok, that's it, the final straw. What the hell is this, a Rockman game? Sony's not getting any of my money.”, but unfortunately, you'd be quite foolish for it…

…you see, in WA4, Goods are situation specific: instead of possessing them throughout the game, each area has its own particular set of puzzles and Goods you can temporarily make use of to solve them. Early on in the adventure, for example, Jude needs to activate several pillars to open a door. Fortunately, close by is a discarded sword laying on the ground that he can pick up, and then use to smack the stand, thus triggering the orb at the top and solving the problem. In another dungeon, a dilapidated building prevents a straightforward path through a ruined city street. Solution? Simple: fetch a bomb from a nearby building and use it to blow open another path.

Chances are some of you will find this annoying, claiming that “Media Vision just ran out of ideas for Goods” but can you blame them? To reuse the Rockman analogy again, can you actually recall how long ago it was when a new Rockman game didn't reuse or rename some weapon from earlier in the series? By the time Wild Arms 2 arrived we were already on the verge of “rehash” and sure enough Third Ignition saw some. Alter Code: F just reaffirmed the entire repetitiveness with the main rehashing of the original game's items. A Wild Arms game without individual Goods may not seem like a WA game at all, but trust me: it still is.

In many ways, I suppose you can consider the gameplay to be similar to that of the 3-D Legend of Zelda installments: depending on what the task (or Goods) at hand is, the various controller buttons change their functionality. For example, you can push the Circle Button to pick up an aforementioned bomb, and then push it again to ignite the fuse. When ready to throw it, push the Square button, which now performs said command. Likewise, Jude has the ability to double jump.

But wait a second. You're probably thinking that, “all this talking of jumping, you're actually talking about an action-RPG here, right? I mean, no *real* RPG has platforming components”. If that's the case, then I suppose you had best rethink your definition of a “real” RPG, but hey, with the battle system changes and all, maybe this game isn't even classifiable in the first place. To put it quite bluntly, WA4 does have casual platform gaming action, and it works fantastically. In fact, I'd even argue that the change is almost a logical one given the game series in question: in the past, the characters could hop from platform to platform, just never jump. How many times did you actually wish the character(s) could jump however, and do it naturally? Now you finally can, and the puzzles and gameplay reflects this.

Time for Time
Another change in the gameplay is the addition of time-sensitive situations. No, I'm not talking about the tired habit of “be here at time X or miss out on Y”, I'm referring to puzzles that actually use the dynamic of time in their implementation. I'm talking about bridges that crumble as you walk across, about doors that close after a set period of time…puzzles that require Jude to exhibit almost super-human feats of speed in order to accomplish. Funny thing, really…as with WA4's new Accelerator, he can do just that!

In the game's second dungeon, you receives the ability to use “Accelerator”, a physics-defying mach speed power that lets Jude move faster than his surroundings and hence provides the solution to the time-sensitive puzzles. Bridge falling? Slow down time and run across before it even starts to fall. Door closing? Not if you can get up there as soon as it opens! I might add, to calm any tense nerves, that we're not dealing with Viewtiful Joe type movement here, you're not going to get dizzy controlling the action or anything. When using the ability, Jude moves at his normal speed, it's just that everything else slows down.

Of course, what fun is a superpower if you can exploit it to no end? Well perhaps a *lot* of fun, but hey, there is a challenge to be had after all. Jude has a limited time during which he can use the Accelerator ability and while the power does recharge when not in use, proper budgeting is the key to success. To make things a bit easier, however, when using this Field-map feature, Jude can often find hour-glass type icons that appear while in the accelerated state that refill the gauge to full and hence grant more time. In addition, hidden Gella (the monetary currency in the Wild Arms games) may also appear on the screen, allowing for a quick cash flow. Of course, the monetary bonuses are cumulative, meaning that they build on the previous one and hence the key is to collect them all during a single use of Acceleator (a “combo” if you will) less the value fall back to its original number when you start again.

Extravagant Exploration
Let's start with the bad first: WA4 opted to forgo a world map almost entirely. Whereas every other game in the series featured a traditional map screen whereby you must physically travel from location to location, this time it's simply a point and click affair: choose the destination, confirm, and the characters automatically enter. Personally, I find this a bit disappointing, not that it isn't tedious to deal with random encounters on the map as well, but just because things seem so strange without the player-sponsored movement. But hey, this is *not* the old Wild Arms, and hence you know what? No need to treat it that way.

As far as the locations go, I've already discussed them in some detail previously, but allow me to go into some additional commentary: series fans might find things a bit strange as the game opted for a “Final Fantasy X” type approach to the areas. Instead of the rather open-ended exploration once available, the areas have a fixed camera perspective that only deviates when the path does, and allows for almost no interaction when the surroundings. That last issue doesn't seem to be a problem really, but given the ability to *jump* onto things, I find it rather annoying. Why is it that Jude can hop onto a store's roof, but can't actually walk around there? It's a feeling of being constricted to a “tunnel” like path, and personally I don't care for that at all. The lack of a 3-D camera is a bit missed, if only for this reason.

Still though, I very much like the perspective issue: in the previous game, the perspective was almost exclusively a top-down presentation however this time it's somewhat first person vantage point and hence makes for an unquestionably different experience. This is, perhaps, the largest factor that (field wise) makes you constantly ask just what game you're playing.

As a final note about the locations, I almost want to compare them with the early footage shown from Azure Corp's “Shadow Hearts: From the New World”, recently made public via the Shadow Hearts 2 Director's Cut game. That is not to say the game looks overly “American” or anything, but the setting-that of a planet of essentially wasteland-has never been realised quite as well; it fits perfectly with the myth-like visions of the Wild West that the series' creators no doubt had a strong liking towards.

Five For Fighting
By this point, you've no doubt come to terms with the changes in visual approach and the field system. Of course there is one major hurtle that remains to tackle: the game's attention grabbing battle system. Referred by the creators as a “HEX Battle”, the combat screen essentially resembles a bee hive, somewhere the player characters (PCs) exist and somewhere the monsters do.

First of all, HEX stands for Hyper Evolved X-Fire [system], it actually has nothing to do with the shape of a geometric hexagon. Picture a strategy RPG where you assign characters to specific areas of the combat screen. That holds true in WA4 as well: each PC and monster can occupy a space. Multiple PCs can reside in the same block, and the same holds true for monsters. The object is to, essentially, place a PC in a space adjacent to a monster, and then attack. It's surprisingly simple, even though things look complicated. Of course, there are a few rules to make things fair.
 
1. Each character can perform one action per turn, just like with most all RPGs, and just like every previous game in the Wild Arms series. This means that if you move a PC, they can not attack until the next turn. Ah yes, now you see: strategy becomes apparent.
2. Ordinarily, your PCs can only move/attack the spaces directly adjacent to them. Again, there are some exceptions with long range attacks or magic and such.

All In One
Because each spot in the HEX battle system functions independently, you will soon realise that when casting status boosting magic (Speed Up for example) it actually applies to the grid space, not the individual characters. As you might therefore assume, careful planning and oversight must be employed: What if you wish to slow down a monster and then it moves to another spot? What if you speed up one spot and then leave it, and a monster moves there instead? Haphazard strategy and a healthy dose of button mashing will get you absolutely nowhere in this game.

In the end however, isn't that for the best? How many RPGs are there whereby battles eventually reduce themselves to nothing more than a tedious exercise in boredom whilst trying to uncover more plot details or whatnot? Because WA4 requires attention to detail, it's difficult to find a boring fight, especially given that the monsters are most always far more powerful than your team.

With a battle system this complex, it might relieve some to know that the PCs recover all their HP automatically upon winning the fight. In theory, this makes the game that much easier, but in practice, it's just the opposite: battles are often so decisive that you'd be wasting too much time and resources healing everyone in-between. I've no doubt a number of you will express annoyance at this feature, but alas what's done is done.

Individual Potential
In a move that surprised even me, Media Vision opted to retain the series' highly valued “Personal Skill” [PS] system, a feature that lets players customize their characters in a wide variety of ways. Previously, using the PS System entailed irreversible decisions: you receive 1 PS point for each Experience Level raised, and once used, these points were permanently gone. In WA4 however, you can “retract” skill points, but even better: you don't actually have to use them at all to *get* the various abilities!

Essentially, each character has a set number of skills they can learn. Like with most RPGs, characters learn these skills when they reach a certain Experience Level. The use of the Personal Skill system, titled “GC Graph” in this game, is to artificially “learn” a skill before reaching the required level. The key is that you learn *all* the skills simultaneously. Say, for example, you are at Level 20 and want to use a skill not earned until Level 40. Using the 20 points amassed (1 per level), you can therefore add these points to the Lv 40 total thus learning it (20+20=40)! If you wish to reverse the process, it's as simple as pressing Left on the analogue stick to remove the points.

Of course, there is a catch associated with the GC use: each point is an Experience Level, and hence by using them, you are temporarily “Leveling Down” your character by X number of points. In the aforementioned example, although you will indeed have the Level 40 skill, the character will essentially be back at Level 1. The catch, however, is that there are “Class Levels” factored in the skill system as well, and hence when you reach a new Class Level, your stats have a set minimum. (Thus, you wouldn't actually go down to Experience Level 1).

Role Reversal
Long time Wild Arms fans know that each playable character represents a specific archetype: the all around, the magic user, the powerful, etc. This is true with WA4 as well, though the “role reversal” involved may surprise some. While Jude is still the all-around hero, the other male character Arnard (Arnold?) is surprisingly weak, instead having more powerful offensive magic abilities. On the feminine side, the heroine Yuli fills the spot as a weak fighter/good healer, but Racquel, another woman, represents the powerhouse with her massive sword and devastating offense (she is the one who can act twice per turn with a special ability).

Epic Score
In all honesty, the only corner of WA4's dimension that proves somewhat lacking is the musical one. I must be a psychic or something, because I can read minds: “What the HELL? Are you just stupid? Michieru Yamane is one of the best musical composers in the entire gaming industry! There is no way the score is lacking, rather your just hard of hearing.” First, you're entirely correct in the fact that Michiko Naruke once again lent her musical prowess to Media Vision thus cementing her position as the series' composer. You would also have no arguments from my side in acknowledging her as one of the top artists in the world of gaming; I purchase the Wild Arms OSTs the day they release and treasure them, almost religiously. (The game even comes with an ad for the soundtrack people like the series music so much). Heck, I'd even agree with the third aspect as well, the score *isn't* lacking in terms of quantity or even quality.

So where does this leave us? Am I an idiot for claiming fault then stating otherwise? No, as the problem isn't really this simple, and much like the gameplay change itself, the end result is seemingly a one stop hit-or-miss. How to describe it…consider that different types of presentations have different types of scores. Action movies tend to have bombastic music compositions that generate feelings of tension, anxiety, and whatnot. Romance productions, however, typically may use orchestrated suites designed to create a feeling of love or lust. The Wild Arms series always player around with a variety of genres, but frequently made use of a key melody in each piece of music; that is not entirely true with respect to WA4.

I'm unable to decide upon the motivating factor for this uncharacteristic change: either Ms. Naruke's style is evolving, she's running out of ideas and hence “farming out” into other music styles, or perhaps just felt that the visual nature of the game or the more mature themes coupled with the other changes, required a decidedly different score. Make no mistake, the game sounds great, but to be perfectly honest, there are a bit too many tracks that seem like one-listen-only ventures rather than a total pleasure experience.

Voices
The character voices are well done, but that should hardly come as a surprise given the country that produced the game. In a land where voice actors are actually required to have *acting* talent and not just an appealing sound, it's difficult to find a Japanese product with poor production values in this department. Of course, Alter Code: F had, in my own opinion, some of the worst SOUNDING voice actors ever heard in a game, and hence it's a relief that WA4 features competent acting and appealing sounds.

The Wild Bunch
Wild Arms 4 is hardly the best game ever nor, in truth, does it hold a candle to the perfected craftsmanship in say, Square's recently released Kingdom Hearts 2. Still, it is by far the most creative and inspired installment in the entire series. By finally putting real effort into the game design and structure, Media Works successfully created a brand new, modern RPG, yet still retains the core Wild Arms properties. At no point do you feel like you're playing a totally unrelated product, yet at the same time – paradoxically - at no time do you get the feeling you're playing a related one, either.

It will be interesting to see what other series fans think of the game. Chances are there will be mixed reactions, but I'll bet anything the game will - as usual - go under the radar; a shame really, because both Sony and Media Works deserve a big round of applause for this effort. One can only imagine what the recently announced Wild Arms V holds in store…

Game Score

B+

Reviewed By: Ashley Winchester