PlayStation 2

Wild Arms 5

Personally, Wild Arms 5 didn't dethrone the first installment as my favorite in the series, but it comes pretty close. Wild Arms 4 rekindled my love for the series, and the 5th game increased my love further. Its story isn't great, but the gameplay is challenging and fun, and the graphics and music are a treat. I completed the game in around 40 hours without doing many sidequests, but for perfectionists, the playtime can easily double. With a fairly lengthy main quest and extras galore, at only $40 it's armed thievary.

Nostalgia certainly played a role in my enjoyment of Wild Arms 5, since it's impossible to completely remove biases based on fond memories...but at the same time, that only goes so far (see the disastrously disappointing Dawn of Mana). Also, don't think that only series fans need apply: Wild Arms 5 doesn't merely capture the classic magic of its own franchise. For me, it also brought back feelings of a simpler time, before games like Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears apparently convinced Japanese RPG developers that their games either had to be depressingly emo or pretentiously epic. The other major RPG released this week, the disappointing Blue Dragon, promised to transport players back to those beloved days. Wild Arms 5 is the game that actually delivers.

The ten years that the Wild ARMs series has been in existence has been filled with many ups and downs but with this fifth installment, the series feels as if it has finally just begun to hit its stride. Building off of what worked (and didn't work) with the fourth game, the tweaked HEX battle system, well crafted anime-style 3D cut scenes and charming characters help pick up the slack that the exploration and graphics let out. Long time fans and newcomers to the series (don't worry, previous knowledge of the other games is unnecessary) together should find much to become enamored with for the forty or more hours it will take to see this playful romp through till its end. It may have taken ten years, but it appears that with Wild ARMs 5, the series is ready to make the jump from appetizer to main course.

The sometimes ridiculous characters, anime presence, and engaging story line work together with intensely fun and strategic play mechanics to make this installment of the ARMs series the best yet. For the $40 price tag that includes an eighty page artbook, it's more than worth it for any RPG fan to pick up.

Ok, so the monster-switch isn't a huge deal, but it is a good deal. This Cowboy RPG generally doesn't mosey too far from the old dusty trail, but when it does (hex battles, spurs and... well, that's all we can think of) it's a good thing. You'll see the plot twists coming from a mile away. Sometimes farther. But the game well-balanced, full of action and is inarguably going to be fun for turn-based RPG fans, and probably quite a few of the rest of us too.

The story is elementary with having to fight a great evil to save the world. But forget about the oversimplified storyline; the characters in the game are wild and crazy enough to keep players curious. Wild Arms 5 is an entertaining game that has enough value to devote 40+ hours of time to.

Wild Arms 5 is an enjoyable experience and it has several innovative gameplay elements to it. While it is definitely one of the best in the series, and far better than Alter Code F, this game is held back by some problems of its own. For anyone who is a fan of RPGs, and is lacking in them to play, you can do much worse than this game. However, if you aren't much for role-playing games and you're not a fan of this series, then you may wish to pass on this one; it won't change your mind.

Overall, though, Wild ARMs 5 is a good and enjoyable role-playing experience, one that fans of the series will undoubtedly like and general RPG fans should consider. You have a couple other solid options out there (stay tuned for our Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 review), but if you want a good-hearted and often-charming game with several original features and elements, you should definitely give this one a try.

Wild Arms 5 will not be the "end all" RPG for many players and, unfortunately, will gain an inch or two of dust from non-fans of the series. Because the game was developed with the fans in mind, it is a solid installment for the series. For the newer potential fans out there, you should be looking into this game a little more. Although it is not extremely challenging, the scale and scope of the game will keep you hooked. Load your six-shooter, dive head first into the world of Filgaia, and be on the lookout for some wonderful cameos along the way.

Wild ARMs 5 is a tripolar blend of the good, the bad, and the ugly, but most importantly, it's odd enough to distinguish itself from other RPGs, and well-designed enough for you to enjoy playing. While its wacky foibles stretch a little thin after hour 25 (the game takes roughly 30 to beat), this teriyaki Western is worth checking out, especially if you can get it at a bargain or rental price.

Pour son dixième anniversaire, la saga Wild Arms s'offre un cinquième opus très satisfaisant qui, bien que n'innovant pas beaucoup, offre un condensé de ce qu'on peut trouver de mieux dans la série. La liberté des déplacements en extérieur et la dimension stratégique des combats sont, avec sa durée de vie, les points forts de ce RPG à ne surtout pas manquer.

It doesn’t provide any sustained challenge, it doesn’t do anything new or special with characters and storytelling, and it doesn’t have the makings of one of the genre’s greats. But it is fun. And for a PlayStation 2 RPG, it looks decent, too. RPG gurus will be most interested in checking this title out, as will fans of the series (though the latter shouldn’t go in expecting a blissful experience like you probably did with the first two titles in the series). The series is evolving, doing some new things and some old things. And the new game shows that the evolution the Wild ARMs series has been going through is netting positive results. We just hope that, if there is a next time, they truly up the ante and fully execute to better take advantage of some legitimately good ideas.

If John Motson were to review this game, he'd undoubtably leave it at five words: 'a game of two halves.' The final half of Wild Arms 5 is incredible. The story, dungeons and battles all come together to create a game that is as good as traditional RPGs will ever get. If only the same could be said about the initial slog, it’d be a classic.

Hardcore RPG fans that are willing to overlook Wild Arms 5’s obvious faults will likely still get enjoyment out of the title. For everyone else however, there are much better RPGs on the PS2 that are more worth your while.

Les mauvaises langues ne verront dans Wild Arms 5 qu'une évolution très poussée du dernier épisode avec, en sus, le retour de l'ambiance western si chère à la série. C'est effectivement une bonne manière de résumer ce cinquième volet de la série, mais cela ne se traduit pas nécessairement par une qualité en baisse, bien au contraire. Reposant sur de solides bases, Wild Arms 5 propose un background léger et prenant, mais surtout un gameplay parfaitement huilé, entre explorations mouvementées et combats stratégiques. Wild Arms 5 s'impose donc calmement, mais sûrement, sur une PS2 en fin de vie et sans doute heureuse d'accueillir encore un bon RPG. La liste commence à être longue depuis le temps.

Unfortunately, several other elements of the game dip heavily into mediocrity sauce. The environments are bland and repetitive, nasty popups run wild and free, and dungeons are split up into dozens of tiny little rooms with brief loads in between them – even when you’re outside. You’ll be sick of the high volume of random encounters by the time you get to the second dungeon, and much of the script is beyond absurd. At one point, the characters cushion their fall off of a train bridge by landing on an exploding grenade. This flips them back into the air and they land softly on their feet. Only a diehard Wild Arms fan will be able to take these physics, and much of the game, seriously.

For those who are not fans of the franchise, "bland" is perhaps the best way to describe Wild Arms 5. If one doesn't understand or care about the cameos and franchise-related bonus features, Wild Arms 5 mostly comes off as yet another clichéd and average Japanese RPG. To gamers who have followed the series since its early days on the original PlayStation, Wild Arms 5 holds a wealth of nostalgia, but unfortunately, it doesn't offer much else. As cookie-cutter an RPG as they come, Wild Arms 5 is one you'll play and forget. If you're desperate for an RPG fix or simply enjoy the franchise, Wild Arms 5 isn't a terrible choice — it's just not a particularly captivating one, either.

A série "Wild Arms" chega dez anos sem conseguir entrar para o hall dos RPGs de primeira linha, mas esse quinto episódio tem o que comemorar. Consertando vários dos equívocos do antecessor, deixa a aventura mais agradável, mas, por outro lado, acaba comprometendo o desafio. Fiel às suas tradições, "Wild Arms 5" tem tudo para agradar a seus fãs, mas também tem charme para atrair novos públicos. Enfim, é um RPG competente e honesto, que prolonga ainda mais a já extensa vida útil do "velho" PlayStation 2.

So, for a somewhat mind-numbing, predictable but still entertaining (if only because of the absurd dialogue and engagingly convoluted storyline) RPG, Wild Arms 5 doesn't add a whole lot to the franchise, but it's worth the fairly minimal price if you're looking for a solid way to spend a weekend.