PlayStation 2

Wild Arms Alter Code: F

Wild Arms - Alter Code: F is a mix of old school, turn-based RPG combat, mixed with a ample dose of excellent story telling, and some compelling puzzle solving. Gameplay takes place on pre-rendered background screens while in dungeons or towns, or on the open, 3D world map. The interesting thing about the world map is that you have to use the search button (Square) to find new locations and items of interest on that map.

Wild Arms Alter Code: F is a solid RPG with a compelling storyline, interesting characters, and plenty of challenging puzzle-based gameplay. Even if you played the original, thanks to the incorporation of many elements from later games in the series Wild Arms Alter Code: F is worth playing all over again. Media Vision did a great job incorporating the series' new elements into the original game's storyline, and this retelling is definitely a nostalgic trip worth taking.

Wild ARMS takes place on the dying planet Filgaia, a world slowly decaying to the point of being uninhabitable. Legends tell of an ancient war between Filgaia and demons from space, alien invaders attempting to claim the planet for themselves. Just when all seemed lost, the different races of Filgaia banded together to create the ultimate weapon: ARM. It was powerful enough to defeat the demons, but also had the unfortunate side effect of doing irreparable damage to Filgaia. The Guardians who held Filgaia together lost their power due to ARM, and thus the world began its slow death.

The overall experience of Wild Arms: Alter Code F was positive for me. I was hoping the game would be a much more expansive remake and that it'd give me that same feeling I get when I play the original Wild Arms even to this day. However, it sort of fell a little short of my high expectations. Despite this, Wild Arms: Alter Code F is still a solid remake of a classic game.

I should add, though, that the game's lengthy missions and various secrets aren't easy to discover and believe me when I say that they're worth the trouble. I highly suggest you pick up Prima's Official Game Guide for the game not only because it's wonderfully comprehensive but the maps are well-detailed and the puzzle solutions easy to follow. It's a good guide to have if you're like me and want to find all the game's hidden goodies.

In the early days of the first PlayStation's initial reign, there wasn't much to keep us RPG fans very happy. We had Suikoden and maybe King's Field and Vandal Hearts and that was about it. Luckily, Sony's homegrown western sci-fi piece, Wild ARMs, eventually came along too, and in an era before the gargantuan Final Fantasy VII created a role-playing renaissance, it was a bona fide blessing. At the time, it had a lot of the features we were looking for: Good graphics, a nice soundtrack, an original setting, and a unique battle system to name but a few. And as you might have guessed, it earned plenty of accolades and sold a bunch of copies as a result, all of which were accomplishments well deserved.

Wild Arms Alter Code: F is a good revisit to a classic RPG. The battle system remains a fairly neat thing to play with, and the storyline--featuring demons, elflike people, ancient technology, and swords and firearms all wrapped up in a world with a pseudo-Western feel--remains unique and interesting. Those most likely to enjoy Wild Arms probably already played the original, but if you don't mind revisiting a bit of RPG history, this remake is worth a peek.

The thought of coming home pervades many of the remakes that have recently sprung up on the shelves. Gamers find themselves returning to worlds they've experienced before-- perhaps in a diminished capacity, or perhaps with a new story to be told. But the concept of a homecoming is usually a bittersweet one; a gamer's primary interest is novelty, and a remake tends to not provide this. Wild ARMs: Alter Code F breaks this stereotype.

Wild ARMs: Alter Code: F is up against a lot of fierce competition as far as RPGs are concerned. The focus on games as of late is on more action-oriented combat systems and lots of dungeon crawling. After all, everyone likes to collect tons of goodies. Alter Code: F approaches the RPG gameplay with a more balanced format, I guess you could say a more traditional format but with some liberties taken regarding omitting the purchasing and maintaining of armor or weapons. While it does include plenty of dungeon crawling and battles, there is a definite focus on puzzles that get you into the dungeons and help you to access locked chests and open new paths.

Remakes are a touchy thing in gaming, though they're more feasible than most other forms of entertainment simply because they're technology driven. A few remakes of seminal titles have come down the pipe in the last few years, such as the fantastic Resident Evil recreation and the 'solid' retelling of Metal Gear Solid. Rumors still exist that Square Enix is preparing for a massive remake of Final Fantasy VII as its cornerstone PlayStation 3 release. These games are huge hits and are 3 of the most defining games of the PlayStation generation, and remaking them makes sense, simply to expose them to a whole new generation of gamers. So, fine.

Back in the early days of PSone, Konami had already unveiled Suikoden and Square had not yet shown the world the full glory of Final Fantasy VII. Into that several-months-long void stepped an upstart RPG title, released under Sony’s SCEA banner, an RPG known as Wild Arms. Featuring the requisite epic story, three-member-party battle system and lots and lots of random battles, the game was fun and diverting if not exactly a cure for the "fatally interminable wait" disease afflicting most gamers whose expectations rose and fell on the Final Fantasy series alone. Since then, however, the series has added an additional PSone chapter and a Wild West-themed PS2-era chapter. Coming soon in 2006, XSeed Games is preparing to unleash Wild ARMS 4 on the world.

Perhaps my memory of the original fails me. And certainly my expectations were lower in those days. But when it comes right down to it, that early PSone title had me feeling like I was spinning through a sweeping old west fantasy, while this new version relays the sense of being shot at high noon and left in the dusty street.

Wild Arms Alter Code: F is a good solid update of the original PS1 game. Though there are some problems that prevent this game from being an instant classic, fans of RPG games will have a good time reliving the adventures of Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia. The changes in the game are significant enough that people who played the original will still be challenged and won't have to worry about becoming bored. Though some novice players might find some of the puzzles a little challenging, this game is great for people who have a few RPGs under their belt and are looking for a challenge. While there isn't anything he that redefines the genre the way FF VII did years ago, it's still worth playing.

To its credit, Alter Code F does a great job of staying true to the original story. But even with a few tweaks to the battle system and some new characters to recruit, Wild Arms has sacrificed any old-school appeal it once had. In exchange, it got a generic exterior and outdated mechanics that make it feel like a naive version of "the future of gaming" circa 1990.

Wild Arms made something of a name for itself shortly after the original PlayStation debuted and gathered a small following with its quasi-Wild West theme and status as one of the first RPGs available on Sony's then-new machine. I had heard of it countless times, but never had the opportunity to sit down and see what all the fuss was about. Hearing that Wild Arms: Alter Code F was a modern retooling of that title, I was quite interested to finally get in on the series. Now that I've spent time with it, I don't understand why anyone bothered resurrecting it. I realize that it's not a brand-new effort (technically speaking), but despite the work done to bring it up to speed, it feels very clunky and out-of-date.

All that having being said, the game isn't unplayable. I can imagine someone who is a huge, HUGE Wild ARMs fan perhaps struggling through out of some misguided sense of loyalty to the series. Perhaps he'd even have a few moments of fun in the process. I suppose if you didn't have any other games to play, one could make do with Wild ARMs Alter Code F. But let's be serious. With games like Dragon Quest VIII and Radiata Stories out now, and Kingdom Hearts II on the way, why would you spend your time with this one? Only if your time, like mine, was totally worthless. I just hope that with Wild ARMs 4 (which may be out by the time you read this) the developers made more of an effort to give the game the spark that made the original so fun and unique.