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| first release version = ''[[Wild Arms (video game)|Wild Arms]]''
| first release date = December 20, 1996
| latest release version = ''[[Wild Arms:
| latest release date =
}}
{{Nihongo|'''''Wild Arms'''''|ワイルドアームズ|Wairudo Āmuzu}}, also written as '''''Wild ARMs''''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news090106wildarms5 |title=Wild ARMs 5|website=Eurogamer|last=Bramwell|first=Tom|date=January 9, 2006|access-date=February 2, 2009}}</ref> is a [[media franchise]] developed by [[Media.Vision]] and owned by [[Sony Computer Entertainment]]. The franchise consists of several [[role-playing video game|role-playing]] [[video game]]s and related media. Since the launch of the original ''Wild Arms'' title in 1996,<ref>{{Cite web| author=Wyman, Walt | title=Wild Arms writer talks Vth Vanguard |date=July 10, 2006 | work=GameSpot.com | url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/wildarmsthevthvanguard/news.html?sid=6153748 | access-date=February 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102154903/http://www.gamespot.com/news/wild-arms-writer-talks-vth-vanguard-6153748 |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the series has gone on to encompass several media, including [[toy]]s, [[manga]], [[Mobile game|mobile phone applications]], and a 22-episode [[anime]].
The series has largely been overseen by producer Akifumi Kaneko. It saw regular releases throughout the late 1990s and 2000s.
==Series development==
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''Wild Arms'' was the first role-playing video game project of [[Media.Vision]], a company that had been known primarily for their [[shooter game]] series ''[[Crime Crackers]]'' and ''[[Rapid Reload]]''. Looking for a way to capitalize on the growing role-playing game market of the mid-1990s, [[Sony]] commissioned Media.Vision to create a game that would combine elements of a traditional RPG with limited [[3D computer graphics|3D]] graphics to promote the hardware of their newly released [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] [[game console|console]].<ref name=Absolute>{{Cite book |editor=Sony Computer Entertainment |title=Wild Arms: Absolute Reading for Marvelous Supporters |year=2006 |publisher=AZA Entertainment |isbn=4-8402-3668-2 |language=ja}}</ref> Supervised and designed primarily by Akifumi Kaneko and Takashi Fukushima, 1996's ''Wild Arms'', while still retaining traditional [[dimension|two-dimensional]] characters and backgrounds, became one of the first role-playing titles released to showcase 3D battle sequences.
Drawing inspiration from
===Music===
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==Recurring themes==
[[File:AlterCodeFGame01.png|left|thumb|Rudy brandishing an ARM from ''[[Wild Arms Alter Code: F]]''
The usage of firearms factors heavily into the ''Wild Arms'' mythos. Called "ARMs", these weapons are often associated with ancient technology and represent a more violent and warlike age; thus, a social stigma is often given to anyone possessing or using them.<ref>'''Townsperson''': I know about you. You possess the [ARM]. The forbidden power!{{cite video game|title=Wild Arms |developer=Media.Vision |publisher=Sony Computer Entertainment |date=April 30, 1997 |platform=PlayStation }}</ref> Though the exact nature varies from one game to the next, they are seen as highly destructive devices with an array of functions in battle. The practical usage of ARMs, either to protect or destroy life, is left to the user's discretion, and serves as a plot point within each game to establish a character's true motives.<ref>'''Virginia''': My father disappeared into the wasteland, but one thing he taught me was the ability to handle ARMs. If there's anybody out there--out there in the vast wasteland needing my help, I want to have wings so that I can fly right to them. {{cite video game|title=Wild Arms 3 |developer=Media.Vision |publisher=Sony Computer Entertainment |date=October 15, 2002 |platform=PlayStation 2 }}</ref><ref>'''Jude''': "That guy...He referred to my ARM as the 'power that sparked and fueled a war'... Weapons such as ARMs are responsible for what happened to places like Ciel and that other town, aren't they...? Maybe my power really can't protect anything..." / '''Raquel''': "Remember when I told you that there are both good and bad Drifters? And that I wanted to be a good Drifter?" / '''Jude''': "Yeah..." / '''Raquel''': "Well, it's the same for you. You just need to focus on using your power for good, that's all."{{cite video game|title=Wild Arms 4 |developer=Media.Vision |publisher=XSeed Games |date=January 10, 2006 |platform=PlayStation 2 }}</ref>
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== Games ==
{{Video game timeline
| title =
| 1996 = '''''[[Wild Arms (video game)|Wild Arms]]'''''
| 1999 = '''''[[Wild Arms 2]]'''''
| 2002 = '''''[[Wild Arms 3]]'''''
| 2003 = ''[[Wild Arms Alter Code: F]]''
| 2005 = '''''[[Wild Arms 4]]'''''
| 2006 = '''''[[Wild Arms 5]]'''''
| 2007 = '''''[[Wild Arms XF]]'''''
| 2018 = ''Wild Arms: Million Memories''
}}
=== Main series ===
As a Sony franchise, all ''Wild Arms'' video games appear exclusively on PlayStation video game consoles. Each individual title is set in the world of Filgaia and contains several consistencies that have become series mainstays, including similar races, monsters, technologies, and plot points. Only two of the titles directly allude to any chronology, as each game bears a Filgaia unrecognizable from each prior title.
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* '''''[[Wild Arms 4]]''''', also released for the PlayStation 2, takes a more [[action game]]-like approach to the series, including environments that only allow horizontal movement, and the ability to run, jump, and slide past obstacles. The tool system is absent for the first time, and combat sequences are handled dramatically different from previous games. Utilizing the "Hex System", battlefields are now made up of seven equally-sized [[hexagons]] that characters may move between each combat round, allowing the player to attack enemies or aid allies stationed in adjacent hexes.<ref>{{Cite web| author=Massimilla, Bethany | title=Wild Arms 4 Review |date=January 10, 2006 | work=[[GameSpot]] |url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/wildarmsanothercodef/review.html | access-date=March 27, 2007}}</ref> The story follows the journey of Jude, a young boy from an isolated village who is the unwilling owner of a secretly-developed ARM weapon and now on the run from the government. He is joined by his companions Yulie, Arnaud, and Raquel as they embark on a quest to re-unite Jude with his mother, as well as defeat a number of superhuman government agents with a hidden plot involving the safety of the world.<ref>{{Cite web| author=Dunham, Jeremy | title=Wild Arms 4 for PlayStation 2 |date=January 12, 2006 | work=[[IGN]] | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/680/680753p1.html | access-date=February 20, 2007}}</ref>
* '''''[[Wild Arms 5]]''''', the final title for the PlayStation 2, makes further use of ''Wild Arms 4's'' HEX combat system with minor adjustments, including a combat party of no more than three characters. Released in Japan in December 2006, the game was released in North America by XSEED Games in August 2007.<ref>{{Cite web | author=McCarroll, John | title=Wild Arms 5 Gets Release Date, Art Book | date=August 8, 2007 | work=RPGFan.com | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2007/1259.html | access-date=March 27, 2007 | archive-date=October 11, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011132124/http://rpgfan.com/news/2007/1259.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> A PAL-region version was published by [[505 Games]] in limited quantities only available in France, Italy, Spain and the UK. The story concerns Dean Stark, a 16-year-old adventurer from a village specializing in collecting lost technology, and his friend Rebecca who discover a mysterious [[amnesia]]c young woman named Avril outside town. The duo agrees to help Avril in her quest to recover her memory, while Dean commits himself to learning how to use ARMs so he may one day become a successful "Golem Hunter", a finder of ancient robotic giants.<ref name="IGNWA5">{{Cite web| author=Gantayat, Anoop | title=Wild ARMs 5 Preview |date=December 20, 2006 | work=IGN.com | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/751/751827p1.html | access-date=February 20, 2007}}</ref>
* '''''[[Wild Arms XF]]''''' is the series' first [[handheld console|handheld]] title, developed for the [[PlayStation Portable]].<ref>{{Cite web | title=WILD ARMS.net / WILD ARMS XF | year=2007 | work=Wild Arms.net | url=http://www.wild-arms.net/XF/ | access-date=March 27, 2007 | language=ja | archive-date=September 28, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928082005/http://www.wild-arms.net/XF/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Wild ARMs XF |year=2007 | work=[[GameSpot]] |url=https://www.gamespot.com/games/wild-arms-xf/ | access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref> Unlike the other titles, it is a [[tactical role-playing game]]. The story centers around Clarissa Arwin, the leader of the Chevalet Blanc knights, who is swept up into a political war when she travels to the Kingdom of Elesius to retrieve her mother's sword.
===Mobile===
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=== Spiritual successor ===
''Armed Fantasia'', a [[
The game takes place in a
== Other media ==
===Manga===
[[File:WildArmsFlowerThieves.png|right|thumb|Cover to the ''Wild Arms Flower Thieves'' [[manga]] collection
First appearing in the Japanese ''[[Magazine Z]]'' in 2001, ''Wild Arms Hana Nusubito'', or '''''Wild ARMs: Flower Thieves''''', is a 187-page [[manga]] commissioned by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan published by [[Kodansha]]. The manga features artwork by Wakako Ōba and contains plot elements from the first two ''Wild Arms'' titles, though it is set in its own unique world.<ref name="KodanClub">{{Cite web| author=KodanClub staff | title=Promising works: Wild Arms Flower Thieves | work=KodanClub.com | url=http://www.kodanclub.com/cgi-local/comic.cgi?id=006-00117-01-001 | access-date=March 27, 2007}}</ref> ''Flower Thieves'' takes place thousands of years after a war between [[human]]s and demons destroyed much of the life on the planet, turning the world into a scorched wasteland. Set in a dystopian future, the manga features a large group of humans on their last legs, living in the overcrowded city of Upper Hose where [[flower]]s and other [[flora]] are rare and valuable. When a plant-eating monster known as a "Flower Thief" attacks a mysterious girl named Jechika, a young boy, Maxi, must use a forbidden ARM weapon to save her, and is subsequently expelled from the city for using illegal technology. Traveling into the wilderness with Jechika and a [[florist]] named Gi, Maxi sets off on a quest to restore the balance of nature throughout the world and make the earth habitable again.<ref name="KodanClub" />
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===Albums===
[[File:Alone the world.jpg|right|thumb|''Alone the World''
In addition to commercial soundtracks for each individual game and the anime,<ref>{{Cite web| author=Sony Computer Entertainment| title=WILD ARMS.net / CD |year=2006 | work=Wild Arms.net | url=http://www.wild-arms.net/cd.html | access-date=March 27, 2007 |language=ja}}</ref> two sets of [[remix|arranged albums]] have been released featuring music from multiple games in the ''Wild Arms'' series. The compilation album ''Alone the World: Wild Arms Vocal Collection'', released in July 2002, features all vocal tracks from the first three ''Wild Arms'' titles,<ref>{{Cite web | author=Gann, Patrick | title=RPGFan Soundtrack - alone the world: Wild Arms Vocal Collection | date=November 21, 2004 | work=RPGFan.com | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/wavocal/index.html | access-date=March 27, 2007 | archive-date=December 30, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230165512/http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/wavocal/index.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as sung versions of previously instrumental songs provided by [[Kaori Asoh]].<ref>{{Cite web| author=Rzeminski, Lucy | title=Chudah's Corner - alone the world - Wild Arms Vocal Collection | work=Chduah's Corner.com | url=http://www.chudahs-corner.com/soundtracks/index.php?catalog=SVWC-7138 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627054950/http://chudahs-corner.com/soundtracks/index.php?catalog=SVWC-7138 | url-status=usurped | archive-date=June 27, 2006 | access-date=March 27, 2007}}</ref>
In celebration of the ''Wild Arms'' series 10th anniversary, Media.Vision and [[King Records (Japan)|King Records]] produced two separate albums under the ''Wild Arms: Music the Best'' label which feature music from the first four ''Wild Arms'' games as well as the ''Twilight Venom'' anime. The first album, ''Feeling Wind'', released August 2006, contains [[piano]] interpretations of various songs performed by Haruki Mino and Fumito Hirata and arranged by Yasuo Sako,<ref>{{Cite web |author=Gann, Patrick |title=RPGFan Soundtrack - Wild Arms Music the Best -feeling wind- |date=September 5, 2006 |work=RPGFan.com |url=http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/wa-wind/index.html |access-date=March 27, 2007 |archive-date=June 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613101153/http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/wa-wind/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and came packaged with a special edition songbook entitled ''Piece of Tears'' featuring liner notes for each track as well as interviews with long-time series composer Michiko Naruke.<ref>{{Cite web | author=Media.Vision | title=Media.Vision Black Market - Piece of Tears | year=2006 | work=Media.Vision.com | url=http://www.media-vision.co.jp/blackmarket/shop/mve4000-0001/ | access-date=March 27, 2007 | archive-date=February 18, 2013 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218161822/http://www.media-vision.co.jp/blackmarket/shop/mve4000-0001/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> The second album, ''Rocking Heart'', released the following October, is a [[rock music|rock]] and [[jazz]]-inspired remix album featuring arrangements by Nittoku Inoue, Nobuhiko Kashiwara, Nao Tokisawa, Atsushi Tomita, Transquillo, and Ryo Yonemitsu.<ref>{{Cite web | author=Gann, Patrick | title=RPGFan Soundtrack - Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- | date=February 15, 2007 | work=RPGFan.com | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/wa-heart/index.html | access-date=March 27, 2007 | archive-date=October 12, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012210901/http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/wa-heart/index.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>
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Bryan Cebulski of ''[[Hardcore Gaming 101]]'' praised the original ''Wild Arms''
Cebulski stated his opinion that ''Wild Arms 2'' was the "black sheep" of the franchise, featuring an unusually mature and ambitious plot and themes that
In 2012, Kimberley Wallace of ''[[Game Informer]]'' called ''Wild Arms'' a "lost RPG franchise", saying the odds of a new game in the series were 25:1 due to sales potentially not meeting Sony's expectations.<ref>{{Cite
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