A review of Wild Arms: Alter Code F

If you want a history lesson, then the original Wild Arms game was released on the ps1, coming out before Final Fantasy made it to the shelves. Despite that it didn't get much attention, although it did manage to gain a few fans.

It spawned a sequel, also on the ps1, which also didn't get much attention.
Then a different team came in and did a third in the series for the ps2, which was well received by those who played it, but ignored by most.

Wild Arms: Alter Code F is not a new game in the series as such; instead it's a remake of the original game, done by the same team that made Wild Arms 3 using the Wild Arms 3 engine. Hence the "Alter Code" in it's name.

You might wonder why the Wild Arms 3 engine was chosen - after all, it was effectively first generation, and is getting on a bit now.
Well, you're right, it is getting on a bit now. The reason for this is that the game has been heavily delayed in getting an English translation, mostly due to changing the team who were translating and/or publishing it in the States.
So much so that just a few months after its release Wild Arms 4 is coming out.

But that doesn't mean you should ignore this port of the original. Let me tell you why...

Some elements of the Wild Arms story have been repeated through the series, so the basic plot would be familiar to anyone who has played a Wild Arms game before, and will of course be very familiar to anyone who has played Wild Arms 1 :)
It is set on a wild-west themed desert planet, where some great event (in this game it is a war between the inhabitants of the planet and demons from outer-space - I would have thought that this would have made them aliens as well, but apparently they are demons too, and this is deemed more worthy of emphasis) has left it in its desert-like state.
The planet is then further threatened by the villains of the piece which the player is then in charge of defeating.
While the plot can drift into being predictable at times, for the most part it - together with the strong character development - will keep you involved.
The only real problem with the plot is that a lot of the villains in the game have multiple encounters with you at different points in the game. Until the fight where you finally finish them off, the game must come up with reasons as to why you beat them in the fight, but then part company without one side killing the other.
"A ha ha ha ha! You thought that you had beaten me, but in fact I was just holding back! While you beat me this time, you would not have stood a chance had I fought with my full potential. I would kill you now, but I've decided to let you go. See you next time!"
They might not have spent much time making the villains likable, but the time spent on the main cast more than makes up for it. All of the main characters have at least one major realization and development before the game is out.

This being an RPG, nobody blinks an eye if you set off a load of bombs around their houses...

Right, so that's the story. But how does the game play?
Like most RPGs, the basics of the game are that you advance the plot, travel through the world, uncover towns, go through a dungeon, fight a boss, usually in that order, and then rinse and repeat.
The game is 3D, but while you're not in a cutscene or a battle the camera spends all of its time in an isometric view-point (which you can rotate to any one of 8 directions). You can also only move in one of these 8 directions, making the game feel a bit retro.
No analogue support for what speed you're walking in either - you can either walk normally, sneak (which doesn't make you any more stealthy, but stops collapsing platforms from falling from under your feet) using the sneak button or run using the run button.
Speaking of which, running is quite funny. It's a lot faster than regular walking, but you can't change direction while doing so. To change direction you have to stop first - which involves your characters skidding for a short distance as they reduce speed - turn around and then start running again. In most places there are invisible walls that stop you falling down, but if you cross one while running you go through - falling to whatever is below, which is a nice touch on the old uncrossable invisible wall, even if you didn't mean to fall off that huge cliff.

...or take to them with a flame thrower.

As the game goes on, your characters pick up almost Zelda style tools. These can't be used in battle, they are exclusively for solving puzzles in the world and the dungeons.
That's right, puzzles. Unlike most other RPGs, there is almost nowhere in the game where you simply walk from A to B - there's always at least something that needs figuring out. Whatever you say about Wild Arms, the developers have really gone out of their way to break up the usual monotony of RPGs and actually make the game fun to play.
Admittedly, most of the puzzles are nothing too taxing, but at least they make you think. And hidden in there are a couple of ones that have a really clever solution...
My only complaint here is that there are a couple of puzzles which involve reading clues and then pressing switches in the right order. These may have been really clever in the Japanese version, but the clues have been given a very bad translation which loses some of the hidden meaning that is supposed to tell you how to solve the puzzle. I don't mind telling you that GameFAQs was used on a couple of occasions.

The world map. The graphics in each section of the game vary depending on how much effort has been pumped into porting them. The dungeons and towns look alright, but the world map looks pretty, er, ps1y...

despite the toned down Zelda-style dungeons, don't get the impression that this is an action game. This is still a game with random encounters and turn based battles.
The battles themselves are not too dissimilar to any other RPG, however there are a few big departures from the standard line that are worth pointing out here.
The main difference is that as well as hit points and magic points, Wild Arms features it's own unique twist with something it calls force points. The battle starts with every character on 0 force points. Every time a character performs an action, or is attacked , they gain these, which can then be used for various special moves/summons.
It means that you have to earn these force points before using your most powerful moves, and can't just let loose with a powerful summon move at the beginning of a battle.
Another oddity in the Wild Arms series are experience multipliers. These are earnt for various things in battle, and give exp bonuses to the members of your party that did particularly well during the fight.
Lastly, there is also a big difference in the way you get into battles.
The basics seem the same. Whilst walking around, you get into random encounters.
But the difference starts just before the encounters happen. Rather than being drawn straight into a fight, you are given a couple of seconds advanced warning, as well as a rough indication of how difficult the fight will be.
If you can get out of the general area - either by getting to an exist, or dropping down off of a ledge - within the time, then you can shake off the attackers instantly and without penalty.
You also can try to run away, just like in any other RPG. But unlike any other RPG, this option can be taken before the fight has even loaded, without you having to wait for the battle engine to load to begin the fight, then for it to unload in order for you to get on with what you are doing.
Don't think you are in for too easy a ride though; this ability does have a limit to how many times you can use it. Cleverly, as the game goes on you get the ability to skip the easier fights without penalty, meaning that you can explore earlier areas of the games minus the encounters.
One thing that was in Wild Arms 3 that isn't here, is the ability to switch different status boosts around between your characters - they statuses are set up for you here, you don't have that level of ability to customize the stats of your party.
Oh, and this is nitpicking a bit, but I want to mention one thing... A few weird bugs aside, I've never had a crash in the game. But towards the end, certain optional bosses that require the player to be around level 90 open up. Come into them at level 45 and you're toast, but frustratingly it's all too easy to do by accident. There's even one on the world map!

...as do the battles. I'm not knocking them exactly, just commenting that they could be prettier.

The graphics of the game can vary a little bit. There are some areas where I'd be prepared to swear that all the developers did to convert them from the ps1 to the ps2 was to up the texture resolution. Other areas receive rather more attention, and look all the better for it.
Overall, while the number of polygons pumped out by the game isn't going to keep lovers of flashy graphics happy, the level of detail is definitely enough to involve you in the game.
The only pity is that the game has been so heavily delayed; all the more recent releases really trump it for looks.
I am of the opinion that the artwork and the character designs manage to somewhat level the field here.
One annoyance from a technical point of view is that whenever something that even looks remotely like it will strain the ps2 comes along, the game chickens out and jumps into an fmv that has been created by the game engine. Some are flashy, but for the most part there's just no need to use fmv when the game engine could have just as easily have been used by a development team with more mastery over the console.

And I just have to end on a high with the music.
All of the music has been redone from the original, and it has been done pretty well. Better than in Wild Arms 3.
Most of the music in the game has a wild-west theme, which just appeals to me for some reason.

Mine's a pint, please.

Wild Arms games have always been love it or hate it affairs.
Or so I'm told; I've found myself getting very attached to the series.
If you want an RPG to play, and Dragon Quest seems too unbalanced and old fashioned for you to enjoy, then I would recommend giving this a look.
At the end of the day, this is very enjoyable; and RPG that doesn't forget that games are supposed to be fun to play.
If you want me to express my confidence as a number out of 10, then I'd give it a 9.