TGS: Wild Arms: Advanced 3rd hands-on impressions

   The Wild Arms series has always been something of a redheaded stepchild of the PlayStation library. The first title was released to strong sales and popular acclaim near the beginning of the PlayStation's life cycle. Unfortunately, a generic plot and ugly battles have turned it into a "had to be there at the time" game. The sequel came later in the PlayStation's life cycle and fixed many of the original's shortcomings. By this point, however, the market had become saturated with RPGs and, save for a few series fans, the title passed unnoticed. Wild Arms Advanced 3rd is the latest game in the Wild Arms series for the PlayStation 2. Like the first game, it arrives on the hardware at a time when RPGs are in short supply. However, it comes bundled with enough originality that its legacy may outlast its predecessors'.

   The most obvious change to Wild Arms: Advanced 3rd (WA3) is the full-on embracing of the series' Western motifs. The first game flirted with a Western setting, most memorably in a character named Calamity Jane and an overworld theme that lifted its music note-for-note from Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." The second game brought Western elements into the game itself, but only as a light sprinkling of background--never in the forefront. The third game, however, is as Western as it wants to be. The characters are a mess of leather straps, buckskin fringe, and assorted firearms. The settings, too, feel less like the generic settings of previous titles, and more like a quasi-magical Old West. Even the interface gets into the act; status screens and dialogue boxes use sepia-toned panels, and numerals appear in a thickly-serifed "western" font.

   The other major change to Wild Arms 3 is the introduction of cel shaded graphics. Though environments and backgrounds are still traditionally textured, characters and enemies are now flat-shaded in the increasingly ubiquitous anime style. Fortunately, this works very well, and doesn't seem like an "abuse" of the style.

   Battles now feature four characters, in place of the first two game's three-character parties. Each of the four characters--Virginia, Clive, Jet, and Gallows--attacks with a different type of gun, such as a revolver, shotgun, or precision rifle. Battles are very dynamic, with characters in constant motion between turns, as in Sega's Skies of Arcadia. Party members can attack using their firearms or cast low-level spells, but were unable to summon any of the series' traditional Guardians. When a character performed a critical attack, the battle screen would quickly subdivide into a grid of four or nine smaller screens, and the attack would be seen in miniature on each of the smaller, virtual "screens."

   Finally, dungeon exploration was similar to previous series titles; each character has "Goods," or a special ability, that can be used to navigate obstacles. Switching between characters on Wild Arms' action RPG-style dungeons have always been one of the series' strong points, and the third game looks to uphold the tradition.

   All in all, Wild Arms 3 was easily the most impressive of the first party RPGs Sony had on display. Though it may not have the visual splendor of Star Ocean 3 or Xenosaga, it is aesthetically pleasing in its own unique way. Its cel-shaded good looks appear matched by solid gameplay, and the game seems like it will be a solid addition to the PlayStation 2's RPG library.

   Don't forget to check out a movie of Wild Arms Advanced 3rd's gameplay.