What do you think about Wild Arms 3? How do you think it compares to the other Wild Arms games? Gain early access to my videos by supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through UA-cam membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
I've only played the first Wild Arms and I anticipate that it will be like Suikoden (I own Wild ARms 3 and 5 and have downloaded 2 onto my ps5) in that I think the first is the best mostly because it has by far the best soundtrack
I was never able to get far into Wild Arms 3, but visually it’s my favorite. It’s colorful cel shading makes it feel like you’re playing the animated cutscenes from Wild Arms 1 and 2!
What sticks out to me after all these years are the aesthetics of the game and of course, the soundtrack. Sure, the gameplay has flaws but I usually just suck it up and git gud at it, just like when I play any other games made in that time period.
I think this is the first time I've ever heard. Somebody say cel shading doesn't hold up well. This is the PS2 we're talking about. 3D polygons from most games held up horribly. This isn't the best use of cel shading ever, but it's still holds up better than a lot of 3D did
I don't know, I feel like the graphical style of Final Fantasy X and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time held up super well. I can see how polygonal stuff from PlayStation era didn't though. To each their own.
@@Xygor ffx yea. Still holds up. SO isn't ugly by any means but man those faces look weird lol. But I think Cel was a good choice for WA3 simply because I would assume not a huge budget. And small budget and PS2 era polygons rarely mixed lol.
You do realize you are in the EXTREME minority saying cel shaded graphics aged poorly right? As a fan of The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker "how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man?!"
I realize there are lots of fans on both sides of that, including in Zelda - I like the Twilight Princess aesthetic about a billion times more than Wind Waker. People are free to disagree as they are with my preferences in the Wild Arms series.
My fave of the Wild Arms. The western vibes are IMMACULATE, the world really sells me the whole "filgaia is dying", and Virginia is a great JRPG protag. It has it's faults, but to me it's one of the greatest JRPGs ever
The Abyss being a big standout there. It’s such a tedious pain in the rear that it incentivizes over leveling or abusing broken strategies too much. I know I sure wouldn’t want to be stuck starting that crap over. Lol Though ACF has probably the worst abyss in the series
I'll still throw on the OST for this game when I'm studying or playing something like Rimworld, I adore the music and the whistling+acoustic guitar themes take me back to my childhood every time.
I don’t entirely agree with the review, but this is a tragically forgotten series among JRPG enthusiasts so I’m glad that you published a review at all. My biggest criticisms of the game personally are the way PS Skills are handled. They really should’ve allowed more flexibility. The Abyss is also a problem. Just pretty clearly bad game design with that place. I do agree to a point on the exploration, but incentivizing chatting with NPCs isn’t such a bad thing. Execution of the search system as a whole could’ve been better and unfortunately Wild Arms 4 went on to over correct on that front way too much.
"It looks like out of a childs cartoon." Anime, they went with an anime aesthetic and it holds up much better than trying to do realism as that ages like milk.
@@alchemistofsteel8099 It has always been that way. I have almost all of them that released in the US. It has always been in the anime styles of their time of release.
WA3 is my favorite one. WA2 is the best one. 4 just feels wrong gameplay wise, but I like the graphics, music, and story. Alter Code, MM, XF, and 5 I have not gotten/tried yet. WA1 is also really great, but one tempting dupe glitch can break the experience if you're not careful. MMM 255 STRAPPLES
I love this game. Great music, the art style aged well, fun battle system, great dungeons and bosses, 15ish Superbosses, Schröedingers, well implemented NG+, tons of secrets, and really cool plot and characters. The exploration was dreadful though. I believe it's so you couldn't sequence break, but if that was the case then they should've just made a better world map. I mean, you had to use the search system to find Boot Hill when someone in your party lived there all their life and should know where it is.
One of my favorite PS2 games. Great dungeon designs, very good soundtrack, extremely unique setting and the game had a good sense of challenge. It also had some interesting twists. Only thing I'd say with wild arms 3 is I wish it had traditional equipment like how wild arms 1 and 2 did it would have been cool to get more powerful weapons and armor.
I actually really like this one. My fave of the series in fact. Yeah, it's kludgy with the reveal mechanic and all, but the overworld isn't TOO overwhelmingly big, so I didn't mind all that much.
6:08 - Hi, I'm a Wild Arms fan who likes the search function - it gives the post apocalyptic world setting a sense of mystery instead of just visibility, and it let the developers hide neat items on the world map and secret areas or side quests without having to implement something as convoluted as - for example - a whole side mini-game. It's probably as close to a perfect series of RPGs as I've played: the stories tend to stand out in interesting ways from other RPGs, being more modern without being too familiar but having their own sort of urgency and parallels. If I did have one complaint is that the endgame tends to be particularly grindy but I think that isn't unique to the series, but an issue of the genre itself.
I don't have any idea how you can say that 3D Graphics look more cartoony than jrpg pixel art. This game looks awesome and if you don't think so you dont like JRPG art.
Its incorrect when you say there are no area dependendant spells in battle. Its just that all characters move and stop at random so its up to rng whether or not aoe will apply. Ive only ever seen it happen once in 3 playthroughs.
Actually, Wild Arms 3 is my favorite Wild Arms game. I loved the art style, the battle system, and ability to create different "builds" for each character via the Arms upgrades. The optional Millennium puzzles in this game were also super hard towards the end, which was a lot of fun.
Wild Arms 3 is a great game, but it's probably best played with a guide just for the exploration. I remember buying the official strategy guide for that reason alone.
Loved 1 and 2 growing up. When 3 came out I deemed it to "western" feeling for me. But as an adult its one of many games I have the urge to go back to and give it another try. I wish I had stuck with it when I was young because it looks super good!
The western feel is definitely a strength unless you just don't like it. But it isn't a perfect game. I agree with what the review said, 1-2 are better story wise, and dungeon wise.
I remember being quite fond of this one. Back in the mid 2000s, I was on a western kick. Trigun was my favorite anime, I saw The Good, The Bad and The Ugly on TV and here's an RPG with western themes. I had played the first game, beaten the second so I was familiar with the series and I definitely ended up preferring the 3rd game over the previous two. And I loved the art style. I know you said you didn't are for it but I find it endearing and it certainly holds up better now than many other PS2 games that opted to go for realism. Just goes to show that going for something artistic will pay off when done right. Yes, the search function sucked. It should've only been relegated for secrets, like finding items on the world map. Not entire new places to visit. Kind of odd for you to be right in front of an obelisk or something only to not see it until you search for it, even if you're in the middle of a barren wasteland and should be able to see it even if you're not trying.
I’d played this game when I was a kid and felt it was extremely hard. I didn’t know if there were inns or not and survived most fights by the skin of my teeth.
I'm one of the real minorities who has ONLY played Wild ARMs 3. I got a demo disc and got hooked, and it's one of the few games that I've 100%'d. That said, a lot of the shortcomings in games I love I have certainly overlooked and it's prime UA-camrs like Xygor and DavidVinc that are analytical enough to really understand what simply lessens the experience. However I do like the cel-shaded graphics and believe the PS4 remaster showcases that they aged well. Wild ARMs 1 looks severely dated although I haven't seen Alter Code F.
This is me as well. I bought this randomly and loved it. Was in love with RPGs since. I was a Zelda fan at the time so the switch from action/adventure was different...I'm 35 y/o btw 🤎
This is my second favorite, right under 1. But its high up there in games i love. I loved the cartoon style in the art and characters. My second play through when i was younger i played in half hour segments and alway watched the opining to give me that tv animation feel. This game will always hold a place in my heart.
My favorite Wild Arms; did you not play these as they came out?-at the time I remember being impressed by how much improved the characters models were for this one over the last one, and that the graphics were an improvement on every level; plus the music was so pleasant to listen to while exploring the world; and the search system is not that bad; I thought it was an elegant solution to controlling the pace with which you advanced the story and opened the map; it also encouraged you to talk to everyone in town, and set a slower, more leisurely pace for the game, overall; I also remember the NPCs having interesting, fun things to say, for the most part…plus the slower pace built anticipation for the new characters, locations and situations that were referenced in the opening animations…
This was my childhood. I lost so many hours just playing the demo when it first arrived in PSM and when I got the game I was hooked. The world, the challenge, plently of bosses, killer soundtrack it has some faults but I will never stop loving Wild Arms 3.
Great as always, Xy. This particular game was released during an era where most of the rpg's on the system were disappointments (Legaia 2, the AgeTec games). I thought WildArms 3 was rather well polished and written. It was one of the few ps2 games I went through more than once. I still have that copy from 20yrs ago and several years ago bought a sealed mint copy that I'll retain until death. We might never see another WildARMs but hopefully Armed Fantasia fills that gap.
Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan couldn't disagree more. PS2, Dreamcast and GameCube era was still a golden age for RPGs; Grandia 2 and 3, Growlanser Generations, Valkyrie Profile 2, Dawn of Mana, Dark Cloud1 and 2, FF 10 and 12, Dragon Warrior 8, Skies of Arcadia, Crystal Chronicles, Phantasy Star Online, Suikoden 3, 4 and 5, Jade Cocoon 2, MAN the list keeps going!
LOVED this game as a kid, replaying it as an adult helped me form more adult opinions. The beginning sets you up to think the story presentation is going to be FF-8 or 9 tier. But unfortunately after the ball gets rolling, it slows down into the tried and true (albeit tedious) "go to dialogue, go to dungeon, back to dialogue, rinse and repeat". Nobody liked the exploration aspect but I dig it. People say "I don't have time for games like this" Meh. I'm 35, father of 4 and work at a mechanic shop. Sometimes I go weeks without touching a controller because I don't have time. If I do have time for an RPG, Wild Arms 3 is far more playable than say, the newest Dragon Warrior which is easily 120+ hours without exploration. I liked wandering around and searching for the unknown lol.
I bought this game at my local retro game store here in Toronto about 3 years ago but I still have not got around to playing it. I think now is a good time to start since I seen this video lol
Die hard Wild Arms fan. Never understood the return of the search system. It would be like if they continued that weird keyword system from Final Fantasy 2 again in Final Fantasy 3. There must have been one super weird team member who held out for that.
WA3 is one of my favorites in the series, second only to the OG WA1. I understand why people would dislike it, but its flaws didn’t bother me. Its a game that respects and expects the player’s intelligence. Several parts of the game don’t spell out exactly where you need to go to progress. Instead you have an obstacle you need to overcome and you need to piece together the solution. It just felt rewarding to figure it out.
Janus design based on Ashley. Maya design based on Calamity Jane. I think Wild Arms 3 is the best, you can battle while riding horse, Lombardia, and dessert tank. Which aren't present in other Wild Arms.
I like the cell shading, and i thought it looking like a childs cartoon was what they were going for. I thought 1 and 2 both had that toon look. Maybe im biased tho as i usually adore cell or toon shading, i love animation, if only i could draw lol
Wild Arms 3 was the only one I couldn't finish, because I didn't like the character designs, also the characters themselves were boring, especially Jet. Virginia was annoying to me. I think they had the worst designs of all Wild Arms characters.
I did prefer the first two over 3, though i did like the graphics and story in 3 as well. I agree that the search system was a bit much, if they had made it only used for "optional" areas and story things just started on the map i think it would have felt better. I also prefer the traditional equipment system. And am on the fence with the force systems connection to magic over traditional MP. On one hand you dont have to manage mp consumption but on the other if your under leveled at all then you end up not being able to cast the strength of spells you need on the first turn making random encounters take longer than they feel they should. Overall a worthy game though.
The sniper wears glasses, in a turn based horse riding RPG. Haven't played this one since I was a child, and it was new, but I enjoyed what I can remember, and years later it still gets me that the sniper wears glasses. Maybe that's a normal thing, but I never thought it was, I thought it was funny. Also, the native character looks, and looked even at the time a little problematic, but his strange late 90s, early 00s character makes it work, and I still don't know what "it" he made work, he just did.
I liked the music and didnt mind the look. But i remember being something like 70 ish hours and just wanted it to end because I declared I had stopped having fun with it. I NEVER quit RPGs but i quit that one.
I've only played the first WA, but this one looks awesome. I think cell shades graphics make it look really good, I got a tales of symphonia or vespiria vibe from seeing your video. I'll definitely have to check this one out.
.... my brain completely deleted the memory of that world search thing... damn that musta been annoying! Fully beat the game and 0 memory of that part lol
Hi, I finished WA3 many, many years ago in my childhood. WA1 still is my favorite but close followed by 3. Did you finish that game? I think it has a connection to 1 and the final boss is the most insane one in all of JRPG, that fight has so many phaces and took me 90min.
I get their reasoning behind the search mechanic. Considering you get the sand boat early on, you could visit any continent on the map, so I get not wanting sequence breaks, OP items, etc. I just really wish I didn't have to talk to a random NPC to unlock the ability to find the next town/dungeon. They took one of the best parts of open world RPG'S and made it absolutely insufferable. This is such an amazing game otherwise.
Good to know I'm not the only one who dislikes cel shading graphics. I'll never forget when this came out and hating the look, which kept me from ever playing it even though I loved WA2, along with so many other ps2 games
Totally disagree with you on the graphics. I love cell shaded graphics and I think they hold up very well. Also love the story, characters, music, and gameplay. That search system though... Excruciating. Also the padded time by then running around in battles is so unnecessary.
@@Xygor that's the best part about watching content creators on UA-cam. Especially a variety. Everyone has a different opinion and it's totally okay. I have always loved cell shaded.
Still a great game IMO, Overall I'll always prefer Wild Arms 1&2 over 3, But if there's anywhere i think Wild Arms 3 excels, Its in its visuals, HOLY COW are you wrong about the graphics, IMO this game is one of the BEST looking PS2 titles, The cell-shaded art style holds up insanely well, I think its gorgeous and aesthetically i think its absolutely PEAK.
@@Xygor overall the complete paket, i loved the story, the designs (world design, character designs), the battle system, the characters but somehow i didn't quite understand back then why they are running around in fights. 😂 I haven't played it in years, i need to play it again someday soon! 😄
I’ve played 100’s of games, and most jrpgs that have come out for the past 4 decades, and this is probably in my top 5 favorite jrpgs of all time. I’m a big systems/character progression ‘junkie’. It’s a big make or break for how much I will like a game…and I don’t think I’ve ever seen another game do it quite like wild arms 3 (and I love it) You touched on a couple of the systems in your video, but I just love how they all work together. I like that you can avoid random battles without having to run around/avoid monsters on the field. I like the engaging aspect of the dungeons…minor puzzles that incorporate tools and individual talents from each character. I like that every boss has a gimmick, and you have to adapt for it…you can rarely just brute force your way through, but they’re not soul-crushing in difficulty either. I like that you can’t just buy/find new weapons or armor, or just power level to beat a challenge. You need to be strategic about which character gets which guardian so that turn order/spell layout/stat spread works with your current strategy. There are several viable ways to upgrade each character’s gun throughout the game. The gear system of adding passives to your guardians is simple, but a fun thing to collect and expand upon as you’re doing the late game/side content. It’s a perfect game for completionists…because it has a bunch of good side content and collectibles. Love the soundtrack and the graphics. It’s a long game, but it rarely wastes your time with silly side quests, or large towns or dungeons. It has a good balance of jumping from town to dungeon, and it keeps the pace going. The story has a good message behind it…the characters are light-hearted, and so it has an earnestness to it at the same time (without going way toooo cheesy and ridiculous with the dialogue like some jrpgs can unfortunately fall into) In my mind it’s a nearly perfect jrpg experience. The ONLY thing I don’t like about it is that some of the bosses repeat a few too many times, and I strongly dislike ship and dragon battles…those felt pointless to me. Otherwise 10/10
I thought WA3 was pretty good, I found the game to be a little too long near the end and I wish there was more screen time for Janus and some of the other villains, but that's all forgivable because of how everything ends. The ending is very memorable and very fun.
This game has two major problems for me. The revelations or development of the bosses/enemies is convoluted. Each one diminishes the overall idea of an enemy, and dilutes the story. And the dungeons! Not the puzzles but both the looks of the dungeons, but also like flavor and sequence. WA1 had a desert hidden dungeon, a few city fights. It had set pieces, it had diversity, deviation. I feel like I never saw the sky in 3 in a dungeon. the sequence of town - dungeon feels more monotonous than in most RPGs. The good points are how much you can alter the character with equipment. I think the style looks good. And going back to 3 characters. They aren't super fleshed out but it does build camaraderie. I think this game went so wild west, the most wild west Wild arms ever. Maybe why the 4th felt to be the least.
Did going back and changing all your original cover art to look just like everyone else on UA-cam help any? Personally I think its a cheesey move, especially to just copy everything else instead of making something more unique but if it helped your channel then I guess it served its purpose
I only played it once. I remember being really frustrated by the exploration slowing the game up. Its probably my least favourite Wild Arms game. I've played them all accept the remake of 1. I like 1 and 2 the best. Then 4 and 5. Then 3 is in last place.
You're actually using horses so why are you complaining about searching? It takes like 30 seconds to search a whole region by horseback and you can cancel any battles from bothering you while you're doing it. Oh, but half your footage is searching by foot. WTF would you do that when you have horses? As the video shows you can already be placing a new search while the last one is animating behind you... horses search a huge area fast. As the footage shows, horses have 360 degree movement while characters can only dash straight. Why make it hard on yourself? Horses making searching easy. Probably so easy to the point that it makes the search system pointless which is a problem in itself. As for triggering the flags... there are a couple weird ones, perhaps because of bugs. And not having a "I've passed the Fallen Sanctuary, I'll go back while using SEARCH to find it" trigger to block forward progress to the area you're supposed to be with a full party was a miss. But this game doesn't have sprawling cities and towns. The towns are small with about 7 NPCs each and the population of the world being
I agree with you. I still clearly remember when a I was at a friends house and he showed me Wild Arms. I was blown away. I knew quick that i needed to buy the game. I more then loved the Story and sound track. To this day I still hum the intro music. My love for the game went onto Wild arms 2 when it released. Also incredible. Then the day came when Wild Arms 3 came was released. I picked it up instantly. I felt let down. I hated how it looked. How it played. It was slow and tedious. I lost the love. I tried time and time again to give it a more of a try but no. I still to this day hate cel shaded games and I believe i am jaded because of Wild Arms 3.
The search system is great, what are you talking about? You had to find clues and ask for directions from NPCs to find things, it gave you a feel of having to do investigation work. However if you're not the type of person who likes talking to every NPC in town to hear what they have to say (which I suppose is reasonable) then yeah you'll have a hard time with it.
What do you think about Wild Arms 3? How do you think it compares to the other Wild Arms games?
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I've only played the first Wild Arms and I anticipate that it will be like Suikoden (I own Wild ARms 3 and 5 and have downloaded 2 onto my ps5) in that I think the first is the best mostly because it has by far the best soundtrack
I was never able to get far into Wild Arms 3, but visually it’s my favorite. It’s colorful cel shading makes it feel like you’re playing the animated cutscenes from Wild Arms 1 and 2!
I loved Wild Arms 3 and cherrish the evenings I spent beating it. When I went back to play it again, my backwards compatible ps3 died :(
What sticks out to me after all these years are the aesthetics of the game and of course, the soundtrack. Sure, the gameplay has flaws but I usually just suck it up and git gud at it, just like when I play any other games made in that time period.
I think this is the first time I've ever heard. Somebody say cel shading doesn't hold up well. This is the PS2 we're talking about. 3D polygons from most games held up horribly. This isn't the best use of cel shading ever, but it's still holds up better than a lot of 3D did
I don't know, I feel like the graphical style of Final Fantasy X and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time held up super well. I can see how polygonal stuff from PlayStation era didn't though. To each their own.
@@Xygor ffx yea. Still holds up. SO isn't ugly by any means but man those faces look weird lol. But I think Cel was a good choice for WA3 simply because I would assume not a huge budget. And small budget and PS2 era polygons rarely mixed lol.
Good cel shading holds up. This manga style BS looks horrid
GameCube did cel shading better but style is one thing WA3 has going for it.
@@XygorI don't like FFX but I must admit it did hold up well.
You do realize you are in the EXTREME minority saying cel shaded graphics aged poorly right?
As a fan of The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker "how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man?!"
I realize there are lots of fans on both sides of that, including in Zelda - I like the Twilight Princess aesthetic about a billion times more than Wind Waker. People are free to disagree as they are with my preferences in the Wild Arms series.
My fave of the Wild Arms. The western vibes are IMMACULATE, the world really sells me the whole "filgaia is dying", and Virginia is a great JRPG protag. It has it's faults, but to me it's one of the greatest JRPGs ever
Glad you liked this one! They tried a few new things here a lot of the fans enjoyed
The Abyss being a big standout there. It’s such a tedious pain in the rear that it incentivizes over leveling or abusing broken strategies too much. I know I sure wouldn’t want to be stuck starting that crap over. Lol
Though ACF has probably the worst abyss in the series
I'll still throw on the OST for this game when I'm studying or playing something like Rimworld, I adore the music and the whistling+acoustic guitar themes take me back to my childhood every time.
I don’t entirely agree with the review, but this is a tragically forgotten series among JRPG enthusiasts so I’m glad that you published a review at all.
My biggest criticisms of the game personally are the way PS Skills are handled. They really should’ve allowed more flexibility.
The Abyss is also a problem. Just pretty clearly bad game design with that place.
I do agree to a point on the exploration, but incentivizing chatting with NPCs isn’t such a bad thing. Execution of the search system as a whole could’ve been better and unfortunately Wild Arms 4 went on to over correct on that front way too much.
Thanks for your thoughts on it!
And thank you sir for doing what you do. You are one of my favorite UA-camrs that covers JRPGs.
"It looks like out of a childs cartoon." Anime, they went with an anime aesthetic and it holds up much better than trying to do realism as that ages like milk.
Wasn't wild arms always very anime. It looks like trigun to me
@@alchemistofsteel8099 It has always been that way. I have almost all of them that released in the US. It has always been in the anime styles of their time of release.
WA3 is my favorite one. WA2 is the best one. 4 just feels wrong gameplay wise, but I like the graphics, music, and story. Alter Code, MM, XF, and 5 I have not gotten/tried yet. WA1 is also really great, but one tempting dupe glitch can break the experience if you're not careful. MMM 255 STRAPPLES
I love this game. Great music, the art style aged well, fun battle system, great dungeons and bosses, 15ish Superbosses, Schröedingers, well implemented NG+, tons of secrets, and really cool plot and characters. The exploration was dreadful though. I believe it's so you couldn't sequence break, but if that was the case then they should've just made a better world map. I mean, you had to use the search system to find Boot Hill when someone in your party lived there all their life and should know where it is.
This sums up pretty much my opinion.
One of my favorite PS2 games. Great dungeon designs, very good soundtrack, extremely unique setting and the game had a good sense of challenge. It also had some interesting twists. Only thing I'd say with wild arms 3 is I wish it had traditional equipment like how wild arms 1 and 2 did it would have been cool to get more powerful weapons and armor.
Glad you enjoyed it so much! Thanks for leaving your thoughts about it.
I actually really like this one. My fave of the series in fact. Yeah, it's kludgy with the reveal mechanic and all, but the overworld isn't TOO overwhelmingly big, so I didn't mind all that much.
Lots of people seem to agree with you!
6:08 - Hi, I'm a Wild Arms fan who likes the search function - it gives the post apocalyptic world setting a sense of mystery instead of just visibility, and it let the developers hide neat items on the world map and secret areas or side quests without having to implement something as convoluted as - for example - a whole side mini-game.
It's probably as close to a perfect series of RPGs as I've played: the stories tend to stand out in interesting ways from other RPGs, being more modern without being too familiar but having their own sort of urgency and parallels. If I did have one complaint is that the endgame tends to be particularly grindy but I think that isn't unique to the series, but an issue of the genre itself.
I don't have any idea how you can say that 3D Graphics look more cartoony than jrpg pixel art. This game looks awesome and if you don't think so you dont like JRPG art.
I hate RPG art so much that I almost exclusively play RPGs
@@Xygor how TF do you not like this art then? It looks like an anime. That's why we all played jrpgs
Its incorrect when you say there are no area dependendant spells in battle.
Its just that all characters move and stop at random so its up to rng whether or not aoe will apply.
Ive only ever seen it happen once in 3 playthroughs.
Interesting, didn’t realize this
The anime style is fine. Wild arms always had a trigun or outlaw star vibe
That world map searching mechanic will always baffle me. Who thought that was a good idea?!
I know…crazy.
Actually, Wild Arms 3 is my favorite Wild Arms game. I loved the art style, the battle system, and ability to create different "builds" for each character via the Arms upgrades. The optional Millennium puzzles in this game were also super hard towards the end, which was a lot of fun.
Wild Arms 3 is a great game, but it's probably best played with a guide just for the exploration. I remember buying the official strategy guide for that reason alone.
Hope wild arms 4,5,and alter code:F get ported or remastered on modern consoles
Maybe someday!
Loved 1 and 2 growing up. When 3 came out I deemed it to "western" feeling for me. But as an adult its one of many games I have the urge to go back to and give it another try. I wish I had stuck with it when I was young because it looks super good!
It's worth revisiting, just didn't have the same feel as 1 or 2 for me. But hey, some people absolutely love this one.
The western feel is definitely a strength unless you just don't like it.
But it isn't a perfect game. I agree with what the review said, 1-2 are better story wise, and dungeon wise.
I remember being quite fond of this one. Back in the mid 2000s, I was on a western kick. Trigun was my favorite anime, I saw The Good, The Bad and The Ugly on TV and here's an RPG with western themes. I had played the first game, beaten the second so I was familiar with the series and I definitely ended up preferring the 3rd game over the previous two. And I loved the art style. I know you said you didn't are for it but I find it endearing and it certainly holds up better now than many other PS2 games that opted to go for realism. Just goes to show that going for something artistic will pay off when done right.
Yes, the search function sucked. It should've only been relegated for secrets, like finding items on the world map. Not entire new places to visit. Kind of odd for you to be right in front of an obelisk or something only to not see it until you search for it, even if you're in the middle of a barren wasteland and should be able to see it even if you're not trying.
Thanks for your thoughts on it. Never found a single defender of the search thing!
I’d played this game when I was a kid and felt it was extremely hard. I didn’t know if there were inns or not and survived most fights by the skin of my teeth.
I'm one of the real minorities who has ONLY played Wild ARMs 3. I got a demo disc and got hooked, and it's one of the few games that I've 100%'d. That said, a lot of the shortcomings in games I love I have certainly overlooked and it's prime UA-camrs like Xygor and DavidVinc that are analytical enough to really understand what simply lessens the experience. However I do like the cel-shaded graphics and believe the PS4 remaster showcases that they aged well. Wild ARMs 1 looks severely dated although I haven't seen Alter Code F.
Wow, I guess that does put you in the minority! I bet you would love 1 and 2!
OMFG you need to play Wild Arms 1 - and NOT the altered F version.
This is me as well. I bought this randomly and loved it. Was in love with RPGs since. I was a Zelda fan at the time so the switch from action/adventure was different...I'm 35 y/o btw 🤎
This is my second favorite, right under 1. But its high up there in games i love. I loved the cartoon style in the art and characters. My second play through when i was younger i played in half hour segments and alway watched the opining to give me that tv animation feel. This game will always hold a place in my heart.
My favorite Wild Arms; did you not play these as they came out?-at the time I remember being impressed by how much improved the characters models were for this one over the last one, and that the graphics were an improvement on every level; plus the music was so pleasant to listen to while exploring the world; and the search system is not that bad; I thought it was an elegant solution to controlling the pace with which you advanced the story and opened the map; it also encouraged you to talk to everyone in town, and set a slower, more leisurely pace for the game, overall; I also remember the NPCs having interesting, fun things to say, for the most part…plus the slower pace built anticipation for the new characters, locations and situations that were referenced in the opening animations…
I played 1, 2, and 3 all when they came out - 4 and 5 I didn't play until now. Thanks for your thoughts on the game!
This was my childhood. I lost so many hours just playing the demo when it first arrived in PSM and when I got the game I was hooked. The world, the challenge, plently of bosses, killer soundtrack it has some faults but I will never stop loving Wild Arms 3.
Glad you loved it so much!
@Xygor It was a fair great review you gave as well!
Great as always, Xy.
This particular game was released during an era where most of the rpg's on the system were disappointments (Legaia 2, the AgeTec games). I thought WildArms 3 was rather well polished and written. It was one of the few ps2 games I went through more than once.
I still have that copy from 20yrs ago and several years ago bought a sealed mint copy that I'll retain until death.
We might never see another WildARMs but hopefully Armed Fantasia fills that gap.
Thanks, and great points about many other RPGs from that time being disappointments…I totally agree with that.
Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan couldn't disagree more. PS2, Dreamcast and GameCube era was still a golden age for RPGs;
Grandia 2 and 3, Growlanser Generations, Valkyrie Profile 2, Dawn of Mana, Dark Cloud1 and 2, FF 10 and 12, Dragon Warrior 8, Skies of Arcadia, Crystal Chronicles, Phantasy Star Online, Suikoden 3, 4 and 5, Jade Cocoon 2, MAN the list keeps going!
1 and 2 were great. I didn't like the art style of 3 so I never did play it.
I'm in the same boat!
LOVED this game as a kid, replaying it as an adult helped me form more adult opinions. The beginning sets you up to think the story presentation is going to be FF-8 or 9 tier. But unfortunately after the ball gets rolling, it slows down into the tried and true (albeit tedious) "go to dialogue, go to dungeon, back to dialogue, rinse and repeat".
Nobody liked the exploration aspect but I dig it. People say "I don't have time for games like this"
Meh. I'm 35, father of 4 and work at a mechanic shop. Sometimes I go weeks without touching a controller because I don't have time. If I do have time for an RPG, Wild Arms 3 is far more playable than say, the newest Dragon Warrior which is easily 120+ hours without exploration.
I liked wandering around and searching for the unknown lol.
Thanks for all of your thoughts on it!
I bought this game at my local retro game store here in Toronto about 3 years ago but I still have not got around to playing it.
I think now is a good time to start since I seen this video lol
Right on, hope you enjoy it!
Die hard Wild Arms fan.
Never understood the return of the search system.
It would be like if they continued that weird keyword system from Final Fantasy 2 again in Final Fantasy 3.
There must have been one super weird team member who held out for that.
Agreed!
I keep starting this game but never make it far past the prologue because I hate trying to search for the destinations.
I can't really blame you! I feel if that wasn't in the game, it would have been a lot more enjoyable.
WA3 is one of my favorites in the series, second only to the OG WA1. I understand why people would dislike it, but its flaws didn’t bother me. Its a game that respects and expects the player’s intelligence. Several parts of the game don’t spell out exactly where you need to go to progress. Instead you have an obstacle you need to overcome and you need to piece together the solution. It just felt rewarding to figure it out.
Thanks for all your thoughts on it!
Janus design based on Ashley.
Maya design based on Calamity Jane.
I think Wild Arms 3 is the best, you can battle while riding horse, Lombardia, and dessert tank. Which aren't present in other Wild Arms.
I like the cell shading, and i thought it looking like a childs cartoon was what they were going for. I thought 1 and 2 both had that toon look. Maybe im biased tho as i usually adore cell or toon shading, i love animation, if only i could draw lol
I personally liked the Radar... i found it fun because i liked the green bubble :)
Fair enough, thanks for your thoughts!
WA3 was the only version i owned or played. It took a lot of getting used too, but by the end, it wasn't bad.
I bet you would like some of the other Wild Arms games!
Wild Arms 3 was the only one I couldn't finish, because I didn't like the character designs, also the characters themselves were boring, especially Jet. Virginia was annoying to me. I think they had the worst designs of all Wild Arms characters.
Agreed!
I hope you cover Wild Arms 4 and 5 at some point. I rarely see anyone talk about those two.
They're already available for early viewing to my Patreon patrons and UA-cam members! Same with Wild Arms XF.
I did prefer the first two over 3, though i did like the graphics and story in 3 as well. I agree that the search system was a bit much, if they had made it only used for "optional" areas and story things just started on the map i think it would have felt better. I also prefer the traditional equipment system. And am on the fence with the force systems connection to magic over traditional MP. On one hand you dont have to manage mp consumption but on the other if your under leveled at all then you end up not being able to cast the strength of spells you need on the first turn making random encounters take longer than they feel they should. Overall a worthy game though.
Thanks for leaving your thoughts on it!
I've beaten all the games in this series and this game is always my favorite.
Great!
The sniper wears glasses, in a turn based horse riding RPG.
Haven't played this one since I was a child, and it was new, but I enjoyed what I can remember, and years later it still gets me that the sniper wears glasses.
Maybe that's a normal thing, but I never thought it was, I thought it was funny.
Also, the native character looks, and looked even at the time a little problematic, but his strange late 90s, early 00s character makes it work, and I still don't know what "it" he made work, he just did.
Plot twist, he never needed glasses. They were there to give his enemies a sporting chance.
Wonderful.
Thanks for sharing your memories from it!
The ps4 version runs in 1080p@60fps on the ps5, definitely much improved over the original ps2 version which ran in 720p@30fps
Thanks for this info!
I liked the music and didnt mind the look. But i remember being something like 70 ish hours and just wanted it to end because I declared I had stopped having fun with it. I NEVER quit RPGs but i quit that one.
Thanks for your thoughts on it! I quit it as well back then.
I've only played the first WA, but this one looks awesome. I think cell shades graphics make it look really good, I got a tales of symphonia or vespiria vibe from seeing your video. I'll definitely have to check this one out.
Give it a try for sure!
.... my brain completely deleted the memory of that world search thing... damn that musta been annoying! Fully beat the game and 0 memory of that part lol
Best part of the game to delete from the mind!
Tied right up there with WA2 as my favorite in the series
Glad you like it!
I really enjoyed the optional bosses and the gameplay that provided
Hi, I finished WA3 many, many years ago in my childhood. WA1 still is my favorite but close followed by 3.
Did you finish that game? I think it has a connection to 1 and the final boss is the most insane one in all of JRPG, that fight has so many phaces and took me 90min.
I loved Wild Arms.
With Suikoden/Eiyoden returning, I wonder...
Yes!
Fantastic serie!! Part 3 is my fave, but i like all of them. But Part 3 is close to be perfect!! In general one of my top5 games of all time!
What’s the opening music to the video from ?
What game is the song on your intro from?
Magus' Theme from Chrono Trigger
The visual style is supposed to draw heavily from Japanese animation. Fitting, given the time it was released in, though admittedly not for everyone.
The intro song alone makes up for all the downsides.
I really like the art style and graphics, I think it looks great! That location finding mechanic sounds really tedious and annoying tho :/
I get their reasoning behind the search mechanic. Considering you get the sand boat early on, you could visit any continent on the map, so I get not wanting sequence breaks, OP items, etc. I just really wish I didn't have to talk to a random NPC to unlock the ability to find the next town/dungeon. They took one of the best parts of open world RPG'S and made it absolutely insufferable. This is such an amazing game otherwise.
I didn't make it too far in this one. I just kept getting wiped out. It didn't help that I couldn't buy healing items. What is up with that?
Like the artstyle. Perhaps not my favorite, but it age nicely, and it keep a 16bit feeling, with colorfull, not realistic characters.
Glad someone liked it more than me!
HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE BEST RANDOM FIND EVER
Glad you like it!
Good to know I'm not the only one who dislikes cel shading graphics. I'll never forget when this came out and hating the look, which kept me from ever playing it even though I loved WA2, along with so many other ps2 games
It wasn't just that they were cell shaded, it was the rigid black lines on the edges that really kills it for me.
@@Xygor I still gag at the thought of the viewtiful joe graphics
Totally disagree with you on the graphics. I love cell shaded graphics and I think they hold up very well.
Also love the story, characters, music, and gameplay.
That search system though... Excruciating.
Also the padded time by then running around in battles is so unnecessary.
Fair enough, to each their own!
@@Xygor that's the best part about watching content creators on UA-cam. Especially a variety. Everyone has a different opinion and it's totally okay. I have always loved cell shaded.
@@toolman4745 very true!
Really liked this game at the start but I ended up giving up at some point.
I can understand this for sure
Still a great game IMO, Overall I'll always prefer Wild Arms 1&2 over 3, But if there's anywhere i think Wild Arms 3 excels, Its in its visuals, HOLY COW are you wrong about the graphics, IMO this game is one of the BEST looking PS2 titles, The cell-shaded art style holds up insanely well, I think its gorgeous and aesthetically i think its absolutely PEAK.
The search system made me dilike the game, just seemed pointless. I can understand hiding areas till talking to a NPC, but why the fark both?
Totally!
Wild Arms 3 is awesome! Git gud! 😂
What do you like most about it?
@@Xygor Honestly, the story.
This game was truly and appreciated gem of its time 🤩
What did you like most about it?
@@Xygor overall the complete paket, i loved the story, the designs (world design, character designs), the battle system, the characters but somehow i didn't quite understand back then why they are running around in fights. 😂
I haven't played it in years, i need to play it again someday soon! 😄
What was hard about the exploration unless you didn't read while playing.
I’ve played 100’s of games, and most jrpgs that have come out for the past 4 decades, and this is probably in my top 5 favorite jrpgs of all time. I’m a big systems/character progression ‘junkie’. It’s a big make or break for how much I will like a game…and I don’t think I’ve ever seen another game do it quite like wild arms 3 (and I love it)
You touched on a couple of the systems in your video, but I just love how they all work together. I like that you can avoid random battles without having to run around/avoid monsters on the field. I like the engaging aspect of the dungeons…minor puzzles that incorporate tools and individual talents from each character. I like that every boss has a gimmick, and you have to adapt for it…you can rarely just brute force your way through, but they’re not soul-crushing in difficulty either. I like that you can’t just buy/find new weapons or armor, or just power level to beat a challenge. You need to be strategic about which character gets which guardian so that turn order/spell layout/stat spread works with your current strategy. There are several viable ways to upgrade each character’s gun throughout the game. The gear system of adding passives to your guardians is simple, but a fun thing to collect and expand upon as you’re doing the late game/side content. It’s a perfect game for completionists…because it has a bunch of good side content and collectibles.
Love the soundtrack and the graphics. It’s a long game, but it rarely wastes your time with silly side quests, or large towns or dungeons. It has a good balance of jumping from town to dungeon, and it keeps the pace going. The story has a good message behind it…the characters are light-hearted, and so it has an earnestness to it at the same time (without going way toooo cheesy and ridiculous with the dialogue like some jrpgs can unfortunately fall into)
In my mind it’s a nearly perfect jrpg experience. The ONLY thing I don’t like about it is that some of the bosses repeat a few too many times, and I strongly dislike ship and dragon battles…those felt pointless to me. Otherwise 10/10
Thanks for all your thoughts on it!
Thank you for the review. Does this game have any romance?
I haven't played this one yet. I have PS premium so ill check it out. I Like Wild Arms 4 and 5 beat 4, at the end game of 5.
For me it was the save coins.
I thought WA3 was pretty good, I found the game to be a little too long near the end and I wish there was more screen time for Janus and some of the other villains, but that's all forgivable because of how everything ends. The ending is very memorable and very fun.
This game has two major problems for me. The revelations or development of the bosses/enemies is convoluted. Each one diminishes the overall idea of an enemy, and dilutes the story.
And the dungeons! Not the puzzles but both the looks of the dungeons, but also like flavor and sequence. WA1 had a desert hidden dungeon, a few city fights. It had set pieces, it had diversity, deviation.
I feel like I never saw the sky in 3 in a dungeon.
the sequence of town - dungeon feels more monotonous than in most RPGs.
The good points are how much you can alter the character with equipment.
I think the style looks good.
And going back to 3 characters. They aren't super fleshed out but it does build camaraderie.
I think this game went so wild west, the most wild west Wild arms ever. Maybe why the 4th felt to be the least.
Right on! I appreciate your sentiments. It's definitely a polarizing game to some extent.
Im pretty fine with 3
Just that after 3 i didn't really like it
Still the first 3 stilll best
Did going back and changing all your original cover art to look just like everyone else on UA-cam help any? Personally I think its a cheesey move, especially to just copy everything else instead of making something more unique but if it helped your channel then I guess it served its purpose
Never played 1 and 2.couldnt beat 3 because of the stupid exploration in the map.liked the characters in 4,and the paradox thing in 5 was a little meh
nostalgic
Yes it is!
I only played it once. I remember being really frustrated by the exploration slowing the game up. Its probably my least favourite Wild Arms game. I've played them all accept the remake of 1. I like 1 and 2 the best. Then 4 and 5. Then 3 is in last place.
Glad to hear your thoughts on it! It really was great outside of the searching.
You're actually using horses so why are you complaining about searching?
It takes like 30 seconds to search a whole region by horseback and you can cancel any battles from bothering you while you're doing it.
Oh, but half your footage is searching by foot.
WTF would you do that when you have horses? As the video shows you can already be placing a new search while the last one is animating behind you... horses search a huge area fast.
As the footage shows, horses have 360 degree movement while characters can only dash straight. Why make it hard on yourself? Horses making searching easy. Probably so easy to the point that it makes the search system pointless which is a problem in itself.
As for triggering the flags... there are a couple weird ones, perhaps because of bugs. And not having a "I've passed the Fallen Sanctuary, I'll go back while using SEARCH to find it" trigger to block forward progress to the area you're supposed to be with a full party was a miss. But this game doesn't have sprawling cities and towns. The towns are small with about 7 NPCs each and the population of the world being
I agree with you. I still clearly remember when a I was at a friends house and he showed me Wild Arms. I was blown away. I knew quick that i needed to buy the game. I more then loved the Story and sound track. To this day I still hum the intro music. My love for the game went onto Wild arms 2 when it released. Also incredible. Then the day came when Wild Arms 3 came was released. I picked it up instantly. I felt let down. I hated how it looked. How it played. It was slow and tedious. I lost the love. I tried time and time again to give it a more of a try but no. I still to this day hate cel shaded games and I believe i am jaded because of Wild Arms 3.
for its the worst of the three
The search system is great, what are you talking about? You had to find clues and ask for directions from NPCs to find things, it gave you a feel of having to do investigation work. However if you're not the type of person who likes talking to every NPC in town to hear what they have to say (which I suppose is reasonable) then yeah you'll have a hard time with it.
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