Wild Arms 2

Wild Arms 2
Developer(s)	Media.Vision
Publisher(s)	SCEI SCEA
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	September 2, 1999 April 30, 2000
Genre(s)	Western Steampunk RPG
Mode(s)	Single player

Wild Arms 2, known in Japan as Wild Arms: 2nd Ignition (ワイルドアームズ セカンド・イグニッション, Wairudo Āmuzu Sekando Igunisshon), is a Western Steampunk console role-playing game developed by Media.Vision and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and the second installment in the Wild Arms series. It was released in 2000 on the Sony PlayStation video game console.

Story

The story takes place on Filgaia, a planet that resembles the American Wild West; however, Filgaia possesses a mingling of magic and modern technology. When a terrorist organization called Odessa tries to conquer the World, an international antiterrorist group called ARMS is formed to combat them. They recruit several heroes to help them, including Ashley, a gunfighter; Lilka, a teenage sorceress; and Brad, a former war hero.

Overview

1000 years before the events of the game, a great Blaze of Disaster swept the land of Filgaia. The cause was a demon known as Lord Blazer. Many heroes tried to defeat him and failed, until a girl holding the magic sword Argetlahm stepped forth and did battle with him, ultimately managing to defeat him. However, she could not kill him; rather, she exchanged her life in order to seal Lord Blazer away forever. The girl's name was forgotten by time, and she became known as simply the Sword Magess.

Now, 1000 years later, Filgaia is a desolate land, dying steadily. Much of the world has already become desert, and the few areas of greenery left are steadily declining. Ashley Winchester, a member of a military unit near Meria Boule, becomes involved in the fate of the world when his group is involved in a demon summoning experiment. This experiment is conducted by the sinister organization of Odessa in order to resurrect Lord Blazer - or so it seems. After all of his friends and comrades have been possessed by demons, Ashley is finally taken over as well. After killing all of his former comrades, he claims the legendary Argetlahm, which had been brought to the summoning ceremony as a relic. After coming into contact with it, he confronts both the demon inside him, Lord Blazer himself, and the wielder of the sword, the Sword Magess. Managing to repress Lord Blazer for the time being, Ashley escapes back to his home town of Meria.

However, this is not the end of it for Ashley. He soon receives an offer from a mysterious man named Irving to join an elite team of fighters named "ARMS" (Agile Remote Missions Squad)/(Awkward Rush and Mission Savers). After accepting, Ashley meets the other two people selected for ARMS - Lilka Eleniak and Brad Evans; one an ex-war hero turned con, one a girl in training to be a Crest Sorceress. Irving reveals his plans to them: he wishes to combat Odessa, which he claims will make its presence known to the world soon. Based on this, the three protagonists engage in a series of events that eventually come to involve the fate of the world of Filgaia itself.

Characters

Main article: List of Wild Arms 2 Characters

Gameplay

Gameplay in Wild Arms 2 is a bit of a departure from the RPGs of its time period. Instead of featuring an ATB or free-roaming system, it features a classic, turn-based battle system. However, it does have some unique elements in its equipment system. Two of the characters, Ashley and Brad, have unique weapons known as ARMs in lieu of traditional special attacks. Each ARM is found in a different location and can be upgraded in three different ways: Attack power, accuracy, and bullets. Each kind of upgrade offers differing advantages, and can be used either to remedy each ARM user's inherent weaknesses or to enhance their respective strengths. Other characters, such as Lilka and Tim, possess magical attacks that can inflict devastating damage to enemies with elemental weaknesses.

Encounter System

Another new gameplay element in this installment of the Wild Arms series is a cancellable random battle system. Instead of being thrust into random battles without player input, you are instead presented with an exclamation point inside a bubble of varied color above your character's head when a battle is imminent. If the bubble is green or white, you may cancel the battle with the O button with no penalties. However, a green bubble indicates a monster that you have not previously encountered, something which is useful for players who wish to complete the entire checklist of monster encounters. If you do not cancel, you will be sent into battle within five seconds, with a chance of a surprise attack, wherein you gain one turn on the enemy. A red bubble forces you into a battle immediately, however, with no chance to cancel. This can occur if the enemies are significantly stronger than you, or because you are caught in a surprise attack (the monsters get a free turn first), a solo attack (one of your party has to fight alone for a few turns), or a back attack (your rear party has to fight for a few turns). You fight with three characters at a time, although the other three may be switched in at will as you enter commands for the active party.

Battle Mechanics

The mechanics of battle, as stated above, are strictly turn-based. After inputting character commands, the game checks the speed of each character and enemy. The character or enemy with the highest speed goes first, the second-highest goes second, and so on. Note that Ashley can circumvent this with his Accelerator skill. In battle, you do not have a traditional MP stat. Rather, each character gains FP, or Force Points, as they attack the enemy. These FP are needed to use ARMs, magic, or special attacks. Using an ARM, spell, or special attack will not deplete FP; you merely need to have the amount listed in order to use it. However, each character also possesses four Force Powers. Each sequential level uses more FP than the last; level 1 costs 25 FP, level 2 costs 50, level 3 costs 75, and level 4 costs 100 (the maximum amount that can be attained). These Force Powers are generally very powerful attacks that can easily turn the tides of battle in the player's favor - however, they actually deplete the amount of FP a character possesses by the amount required to use them, so one must act with caution, as a character with no FP will not be able to do anything except attack and use items.

Elements, Statistics, and Status Effects

As with most RPGs, Wild Arms 2 possesses statistics, status effects, and elemental weaknesses and resistances. Opposite elements will do 200% damage, and the same element will do 50-0% damage.

Below are some charts explaining these factors.

Statistics

• STR: Physical strength. Combined with weapon strength to get ATP.
• VIT: Physical vitality. Combined with armor rating to determine DEF.
• SOR: Sorcery power. Determines how powerful magic cast by a character will be.
• RES: Responsiveness. Determines the order in which fighters act in battle. This value divided by 10 is the PRY value.
• ATP: Physical attack power. Increases physical damage caused by attacks.
• DEF: Physical defense power. Decreases physical damage received from attacks.
• MGR: Magic resistance. Reduces damage received from magic.
• PRY: Parry rate. Rate at which a character can dodge attacks.
• LCK: Luck. Affects critical hit ratio, chance to escape, chance an enemy will drop an item, Chapapanga's Summon, and activation rate of various PS Skills.

Status Effects

• Poison: Character will lose some HP at the end of each battle round. Remains after the battle is ended, and will keep damaging the character for each step taken in the field.
• Vile Poison: Same as above, but the damage received each turn is greatly increased.
• Disease: Character cannot be healed or gain HP by any means.
• Confusion: Character will attack both allies and enemies at random. Control is taken away from character until the status is cured.
• Paralysis: Character is unable to move.
• Petrification: Character is turned to stone and cannot move. If all three characters on the field are petrified, the game ends.
• Forgetfulness: Character gains no experience points after battles.
• Downhearted: Character can only gain 1 FP at a time.
• Ability Block: Character is unable to use force powers or original powers.
• Sleep: Character is asleep, unable to move for a number of turns, curable with Level 1 spell:Rise n' Shine
• Nightmare: same as above, except damage is received

Elements

• Fire - Opposite is water
• Water - Opposite is fire
• Wind - Opposite is earth
• Earth - Opposite is wind
• Ice - Opposite is lightning
• Lightning - Opposite is ice
• Light - Opposite is dark
• Dark - Opposite is light

Guardians and Mediums

Main article: List of Wild Arms Guardians

Miscellaneous

Another innovative gameplay element is the usage of tools for each character. Each character obtains three tools over the course of the game, which are used for a variety of functions, but mostly solving puzzles. More details on the tools can be found under each character's description above.

Outside of battle, the player may occasionally find healing gems laying around in dungeons. Although small ones are not generally useful after the beginning of the game, large gems can be quite helpful, due to the fact that it is not possible to buy healing items until the second disc.

Notes and Trivia

• Marivel's first Force Ability, Qubely, is probably a reference to the AMX-004 Qubeley from the Gundam Universe.
• Her third ability, Lucifer, may be a reference to the Golem from Wild ARMs by the same name. It could easily be argued that they are the same machine.
• Like Lucifer, her second and fourth abilities, Asgard and Asgard2 are most likely a reference to the Golem from Wild ARMs by the same name. They are very similar in appearance.
• Pooka, Tim's familiar, is derived from a shapeshifting creature from Celtic folklore.
• There's also an EMMA motor in this game, thought to be a reference to the scientist from the original Wild ARMs, but in game you discover that EMMA stands for "Electromagnectics". (In said cutscene, the characters are told "Don't think it's named after someone!") The EMMA motor, though, was originally created in the first of the series by a scientist named Emma.
• Two characters from the anime/manga series Trigun make cameos in the game as paintings. A portrait of Vash the Stampede appears in Marina's bedroom above Meria Boule's bakery, and a portrait of Kuroneko-sama appears in one of the guestrooms of Valeria Chateau.
• Particularly among gamers in the United States, Brad Evans is widely believed to be gay, and is even considered a minor gay icon among gay gamers. However, the quality of the game's English localization is not high (mistranslations of proper names or cultural contexts are abundant), and according to the Japanese version, Brad's sexuality is not confirmed either way. Among most players who have come to regard Brad as gay, the impressions have been shaped largely from the common wisdom of the audience and from a handful of scenes that suggest a very intimate emotional attachment between Brad and Billy. While Brad may or may not actually be gay, the facts notwithstanding are ultimately inconclusive. It should be noted that reasons people believe Brad to be gay can easily be misinterpreted. Billy is Brad's only friend left alive, and more importantly was an old war buddy that saved his life at least once. The Justine scene is also used by believers that he was gay but it should be remembered Justine stands for Courage and was most likely awakened because of Billy's courage to sacrifice himself for his squad.
• Golgotha Prison, the prison that was once used in the game to house death row prisoners, is translated from Hebrew to mean "Place of the Skulls" in the Bible; it is on a hill called Golgotha where Jesus Christ is crucified.
• Filgaia, the setting of the game (romanized as "Fargaia" in the original Japanese) includes the word Gaia, a word also used in the game for the Community of Guardians. In the 1960's British scientist James Lovelock proposed a theory, called the Gaia hypothesis, that stated the world was one single living organism, like the Irving's Vessal Idea in Disk Two.
• In Damzen City you will find a saloon named Gunners Heaven, named after Media.Vision's first game called "Gunners Heaven" in Japan or in the EU "Rapid Reload". The bartender, Axel, and his sister Luka (Ruka in the Japanese game), are the main characters in the games. Unfortunately Media. Vision never released an American game.
• Mana, a substance believed to be Filgaia's lifeblood, could possibly be a biblical reference. In Exodus it is a food called mana (also spelled Manna, or Mannah) which is said to have miraculously rained down on the Isrealites in order to save them from starvation in the dessert. Also "Mana" could be a reference to an oceanic concept simplified to: "the stuff of which magic is formed". The wikipedia article entitled "Mana" also states that: "Modern fantasy fiction, computer and role-playing games, have adopted mana as a term for magic points—an expendable resource out of which magic users form their magical spells."
• Urartu, the mostly uninhabited region in the northwest, is a reference to Urartu, an ancient country of eastern Anatolia, also known in the Bible as Ararat, the traditional place in Abrahamic tradition where Noah's ark landed and humanity repopulated the earth. The Urartu in the game was also once an important center of civilization and the home of the Crimson Noble race, before the region was almost completely destroyed 1000 years prior during the Blaze of Disaster. Urartu/Ararat has also long been associated with Armenia, and the sudden destruction of Crimson Noble civilization may also allude to the Armenian genocide.
• Guild Galad's name resembles (and may be a pun of) Gil-galad, the last High-King of the Noldorin Elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's fiction. This is fitting, because just like the Noldor, the people of Guild Galad are skilled in preserving and documenting technology and in crafting goods, machines and weapons.
• In the 16th episode "Fatal Goddess" of the anime Wild Arms: Twilight Venom, Irving Valeria makes an appearance along with Lucied. Likewise, Kanon makes an appearance in episode 17 "Child at Heart".
• In the Odessa hierarchy namely Caina, Antenora, Ptolomea, and Judecca there names are also found and listed in The Divine Comedy wherein "The giant Antaeus lowers Dante and Virgil into the pit that forms the ninth circle of Hell". Zone 1: Caïna, Zone 2: Antenora, Zone 3: Ptolomæa, Zone 4: Judecca. The lake of ice, Cocytus from the Divine Comedy, is also the name of the Squad to which they belong.

External links

• Wild Arms 2 at IGN
• Template:GameFAQs
• Wild Arms 2nd Ignition OST at MusicBrainz