Wild Arms 3

Games: Wild Arms 3

• Release Date: October 15, 2002
• Genre: Role-Playing
• Style: Third-Person 3D RPG
• Similar Games: Final Fantasy X (PlayStation 2), Dual Hearts (PlayStation 2)

Game Description

The first two games in the Wild Arms series garnered attention and acclaim as they brought classic console role-playing to the original PlayStation. Though crafted in the same story-telling spirit, Wild Arms 3 (titled Wild Arms Advanced 3rd in Japan) boasts major technological improvements and a number of new gameplay elements. Featuring "stroke-shaded" animation-style graphics, a "Wild West" setting, and a completely 3D game engine (not just for battles, as in the previous games), Wild Arms 3 is designed to make good use of the power of the PlayStation 2.

Wild Arms 3 features four main characters and takes the time to let players become acquainted with each of them. The "drifters" Virginia, Gallows, Jet, and Clive are four very different adventurers whose paths intertwine toward a shared destiny. Though each has his or her own personal motivations, all four seek an explanation for why the once-verdant lands of Filgaia have become dry and barren. Differences must be overcome and the characters must act in harmony if they are to truly understand the ancient mystical forces at work.

As the drifters move through the desolate land of Filgaia, they are challenged with a number of mysteries to solve and barriers to overcome. The different special abilities of each character must be used to solve different parts of the game's complex puzzles. A technique dubbed "expressive communication" is designed to allow players to quickly gauge the moods and emotions of the onscreen characters. Monsters, villains, and other horrible creatures stand between the drifters and their destinations as well. The Wild Arms 3 turn-based battle system is designed to offer players an intricate level of control, allowing tactics that make wise use of the various powers and weaponry of the drifters while presenting combat with cinematic flair.

~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

Wild Arms 3 is the third game in the Wild West RPG series, and builds on the foundation laid out in the other two PlayStation releases. The third installment combines cell-shaded visuals with 3D dungeons, and retains the world map's search feature from Wild Arms 2: Second Ignition. Like other games in the series, Wild Arms 3 features different characters who all have their own unique abilities that can be used to solve various puzzles.

The game is reminiscent of Dual Hearts, the Alundra series, and the Cloister of Trials portions of Final Fantasy X because of its puzzle filled dungeons. Much like the Final Fantasy series, it maintains a turn-based combat system and characters can summon monsters to fight in group battles.

~ Matthew House, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Company 1: Media Vision / Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ; Executive Producer: Akira Sato, Fumiya Takeno, Masatsuka Saeki ; Producer: Takashi Fukushima, Yasuhide Kobayashi ; Assistant Producer: Kentaro Motomura ; Director: Nobukazu Satoh ; Lead Game Designer: Akifumi Kaneko ; Lead Programmer: Takao Suzuki ; Art Director: Yukihiko Itoh, Tetuya Ookubo ; VU Programmer: Masanori Yamamoto, Shinji Takeda ; Character Modeling: Yutaka Kobayasi, Syu Takenaka, Shinya Sasahara, Daisuke Miura, Takeshi Iwata ; Character Textures: Tetuya Ookubo, Takayuki Yabubayashi, Yuu Hiki, Masaya Kobayashi ; Character Animation: Hiroki Ishii, Syu Takenaka, Yutaka Kunimoto, Masaya Kobayashi, Shinya Sasahara, Daisuke Miura, Yutaka Kobayasi, Takayuki Yabubayashi, Yuu Hiki, Norihisa Ono, Kazuyuki Kumazoe, Kenichi Minamizawa, Yukiyoshi Mori, Takeshi Tomiwaki, Jun Sekine ; Field Plan: Takayuki Kouno, Kouichi Shirasaka ; Level Modeler: Takeshi Iwata, Daisuke Miura, Syu Takenaka, Shinya Sasahara, Yutaka Kunimoto ; Level Textures: Yukihiko Itoh, Norihisa Ono, Takayuki Yabubayashi, Masaya Kobayashi ; Level Programming: Muneaki Shimazaki, Yusuke Wakigawa, Ryuji Sito, Masayuki Sugiura, Hajime Furusawa ; Battle Design: Nobuo Nakazawa ; Monster Design: Tetuya Ookubo, Takayuki Yabubayashi, Hiroki Ishii, Yutaka Kunimoto, Yuu Hiki, Yasuhiro Shibuya ; Effect Artist: Yutaka Kunimoto ; Battle Programmer: Masanori Yamamoto, Takaaki Sohno, Hiroshi Yamaki ; Scenario Designer: Akifumi Kaneko ; Event Planning: Eriko Kudoh, Kouichi Shirasaka ; Event Continuity: Hiroki Ishii, Masaya Kobayashi, Shinya Sasahara, Takayuki Yabubayashi, Syu Takenaka, Daisuke Miura ; Event Programming: Muneaki Shimazaki, Yusuke Wakigawa, Ryuji Sito, Masayuki Sugiura, Hajime Furusawa, Takao Suzuki ; Character Design: Wakako Ooba ; Storyboard Artist: Takahiro Makino ; Animation Production: Bee Train Productions Inc., P.A. Works Inc. ; Opening Movie Art Direction: Kazuya Tsurumaki ; Opening Movie Director: Fuminori Kizaki ; Opening Movie Original Art: Toshiyuki Inoue, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Tatsuya Oka, Mieko Ogata, Hideki Kakita, Fuminori Kizaki, Masahiro Sato, Su Shi O, Katsuichi Nakayama, Tetsuya Nishio, Manabu Fukazawa, Yusuke Yoshigaki, Yasunori Miyazawa, Toshiya Washida, Masayuki Yoshihara ; Animation Supervisor: Takaaki Chiba, Wakako Yoshida ; Animation: Bee Train Production Inc., Kyoko Kotani, Tomoyasu Sakakibara, Kazu Sato, Eri Sahara, Naoko Shimada, Mika Shimada, Kotaro Tamamoto, Shinya Nishizawa, Nobuhiro Hayashi, Miyuki Harada, Sachiko Mori ; Art Direction: Toshihisa Koyama ; Artist: Production AI, Katsuhiro Yamada, Fumie Kawai, Yoshimi Unno, Hachidai Takayama, Megumi Ogawa, Yukiko Ogawa, Kuniko Miyake, Harue Iwai, Shin Watanabe, Yasunori Hishinuma ; Event Scene Art: Masayuki Yoshihara ; Event Scene Director: Kouichi Mashimo ; Event Scene Illustration: Wakako Ooba ; Editing: Production I.G. Inc., Makiko Asano ; Digital Art: Bee Train Production Inc. ; Special Effects: Masayuki Kurosawa ; Coloring: Setsuko Sato ; Finishing: Natsuko Taki ; Production: Hideaki Muraoka ; Animation Producer: Kenji Horikawa, Takafumi Kawai ; Sound Composer: Michiko Naruke ; Music Producer: Yukio Nagasaki ; Recording Engineer: Atsushi Kobayashi ; Recording Studio: Sound Inn ; Sound Director: Masao Kimura ; Sound Effects: Kaori Ohshima, Hidehito Aoki ; "Advance Wind" Lyrics by: Michiko Naruke; "Advance Wind" Music by: Michiko Naruke; "Only the Night Sky Knows" Lyrics by: Michiko Naruke; "Only the Night Sky Knows" Music by: Michiko Naruke; "Only the Night Sky Knows" Arrangement: Michiko Naruke; "Wings" Lyrics by: Michiko Naruke; "Wings" Music by: Michiko Naruke; United States and Japan Coordination: Yoshi Yamamoto, Koji Saito ; Company 2: Sony Computer Entertainment America ; Assistant Producer: Shawn Torin Rettig ; Producer: Seth Luisi ; Director of Product Development: Connie Booth ; Vice President of Product Development: Shuhei Yoshida ; Licensing Manager: Mai Kawaguchi ; Text Translation and Editing: Squaresoft Inc. ; Quality Assurance Director: Michael Blackledge ; Senior Quality Assurance Manager: Ritchard Markelz ; Quality Assurance Project Coordinator: Fred Dodson ; Project Coordinator: Eric Ippolito ; Core Manager: Sam Bradley ; Online and Usability Manager: Christian Arends ; Quality Assurance Lead: Marta Khosraw ; Assistant Quality Assurance Lead: Charles Yang ; Quality Assurance Analyst: Jennifer Leon, Sean Allen, Jon Vosovic, Alex Vaughan, Matt Balaban, Tony Felice, Phillip Reed, Wesley Catanzaro, Riordan Reyes, Lilybeth Luis, Alex Angulo ; Associate Product Manager: Mark Valledor ; Senior Manager of Product Marketing: Susan Nourai ; Director of Product Marketing: Ami Blaire ; Director of Promotions: Sharon Shapiro ; Director of Public Relations: Molly Smith ; Director of Direct and Online Marketing: Steve Williams ; Director of Loyalty and Channel Marketing: Ed Demasi ; Creative Services Manager: Quinn Pham ; Public Relations Specialist: Ryan Bowling, Heather Crosby ; Packaging and Manual Design: Ino Communications Inc.

~ Keith Adams, All Game Guide