Wild Arms: Difference between revisions

 

==Recurring themes==

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>

 

 

== Games ==

=== 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.

 

===Manga===

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" />

 

 

===Albums===

 

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>

Bryan Cebulski of ''[[Hardcore Gaming 101]]'' praised the original ''Wild Arms'', stating that "where every sequel is thrown off balance by its flaws, the original is exactly what it wants to be: An uncomplicated mid-sized JRPG". He also said that the reoccurring Baskar tribe were some of the only playable equivalents to Native Americans in JRPGs outside of ''[[Shadow Hearts: From the New World]]''. He called Michiko Naruke’s compositions "gorgeous" and said that despite their drawing upon Western film soundtracks, they fit very well into the RPG setting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cebulski |first=Bryan |date=2019-06-24 |title=Wild Arms |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/wild-arms/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=[[Hardcore Gaming 101]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

 

 

 

 

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