Wild Arms 2

About Wild Arms 2

Wild Arms 2 (1999) is Media.Vision's steampunk western RPG in which the anti-terrorist group ARMS recruits gunfighter Ashley, sorceress Lilka and war hero Brad to stop the organisation Odessa.

Wild Arms 2 in Depth

When the terrorist organisation Odessa tries to conquer the world, an international anti-terrorist group called ARMS is formed to fight it, recruiting heroes such as Ashley Winchester, a gunfighter, Lilka Eleniak, a teenage sorceress, and Brad Evans, a former war hero, alongside Tim Rhymeless, Kanon and Marivel Armitage, at a wealthy benefactor's call. The world of Filgaia mixes science fiction, steampunk and traditional fantasy: firearms called "ARMs", which unlike in the first game are not considered inherently dangerous, sit alongside cybernetic limbs, miniature robots, aircraft and radios, some powered by magic rather than science.

Players guide the party through environments, battles and puzzles in an isometric view, with 2D character sprites over 3D backgrounds and a camera that rotates through 360 degrees. Dungeons bring random encounters every few steps, signalled by an exclamation mark over the character's head and sometimes avoidable. Characters level up with experience, buy better weapons and armour in town shops and learn new skills. Each character also unlocks three "Tools" for exploring outside battle, opening hidden paths, destroying objects and solving puzzles: Brad's kick boots move large objects, and Lilka's fire wand lights torches and hits switches from a distance.

Making Wild Arms 2

Media.Vision developed it and Sony Computer Entertainment published it for the PlayStation in 1999 as the second Wild Arms game. It received average reviews according to GameRankings; GamePro's Four-Eyed Dragon said it "returns to the classic role-playing style where story and character-building are at the heart of the gameplay".