WILD ARMS

Carrying on the rich RPG tradition of dense and complex story lines, Wild Arms brings together three strangers to battle against an ancient and powerful enemy. The game takes place on the mystical world of Fargaia, a planet where different species of sentient beings live in uneasy harmony. Long ago, humans coexisted with the strange ELW, a long-living race of elf-like peoples. The Guardians, also known as the “Powerful Existence,” were a race of god-like beings who also lived on Fargaia. Then the Metal Demons came.

Fleeing from their collapsing homeworld, the Planet Hiades, the Metal Demons crossed time and space to claim Fargaia their own. Taking up arms to defend their planet, the inhabitants of Fargaia barely defeated the Demons, but at a huge cost. The Guardians, who developed powerful weapons to fight the Demons, such as the fantastic Arms, who could only be wielded by those with a natural, spiritual talent, and the Golems, who were built with the help of ELW magic, lost their powers in the war and now only exist in a helpless spiritual form. The ELW also fought bravely during the war, but were alienated by the humans in the aftermath, and fled Fargaia.

It is now 1000 years later, and Fargaia has never fully recovered from the war. Much of the planet is covered in ruins, the rest in desert. Much of the technology once possessed by the planet has been lost. The 8 Golems, feared for their destructive power, have been hidden by the humans, and the amazing Arms have all but disappeared. And now the Metal Demons return.

Wild Arms differs from most RPGs, in that you start the game with not one main character, but are required to bring three separate ones together. You play as each character individually, until all three meet. They then become “as one,” as is common with most RPGs. The primary figure is Rudy Roughnight, a powerful wandering mercenary, also known as a “Flying Bird.” Jack Van Burace is a treasure hunter who trawls ancient ruins in search of lost Arms. He has a special companion named Hanpen, a spiritual speaking rat who can cross caverns and pick up items that Jack can not normally reach. Rounding out the trio is Cecilia Lynn Adelhyde, a princess of the ruined kingdom who employs magic. She has also been blessed with the ability to communicate with the now-hidden Guardians. In addition to the normal basic actions like running and throwing, the characters have been programmed to display a large degree of body language.

Wild Arms should please most RPG fans with its intricate storyline and exciting fighting sequences. The spells, while not as flashy as, say, Final Fantasy 7’s Tsunami, make excellent use of the PlayStation’s light sourcing capabilities and other special effects. This is definitely one to watch out for.

�Sony Computer Entertainment Inc./Media Vision