What Happened To Wild Arms? 

Thanks for checking out a new episode of "What Happened To?" in which we will explore the Wild Arms series! Have you ever played it before? What are your thoughts on it? Let's explore its history and see why we haven't heard from it in awhile!

The first one had such an amazing soundtrack. I'm not a person who usually cares about or remembers the music in games, but that one and a few others really stuck with me.

OG Wild Arms is a near perfect form of classic RPG. From the opening festival with the stat boosts to many many secret bosses

The Wild Arms series has the best dungeon design in any JRPG I've ever played They aren't too short or too long. The puzzles make you think. There are stage hazards you have to dodge. There's even platforming. It's super fun. Why does no other series copy this?

I hope that some dedicated indie developers who love the Wild Arms series may make a good spiritual successor some day. It's great concept that shows a ton of potential in the right hands

that intro of wild arms 1 is so nostalgic. I always whistle along with it.

It's not just nostalgia. It's a style of RPG that has been lost for a while and would refresh the genre for new fans too.

Wild Arms 3 was one of the first rpgs I ever played as a kid and saw me through the worst years of my life. It'll always have a special place in my heart and I hope the series lives on somehow.

I loved the Wild Arms and Breath of Fire series when I was a kid. Its a shame both fizzled out into nothing.

Great video dude. While I can’t say I have the same fondness for the later entries, Wild Arms 1-3 were an essential part of my childhood and some of the first RPGs I think of from that generation. Hell, I even still have a WA2 picture set as my desktop background right now lol. Probably my favorite RPG series from back then that’s no longer going on to this day (Suikoden and Grandia are close though). The music was absolutely incredible and of course the wild western fantasy setting was insanely cool, I was really into Trigun so anything similar to that was right up my alley. We really need more pieces of fiction that take place in settings like those. We make JRPG content on our channel as well so I’m really looking forward to the day of covering these games in more detail. Thanks for the nostalgia!

Looks like this is another series that has a successor now. Armed Fantasia is the name. It has the original team working on it with the same composers for this series! This history lesson was great because it reaffirms my choice even more to back it on Kickstarter. Good stuff dude!

Grew up with the original Wild Arms. . . Lots of nostalgia and fond memories with that game (red balloon). Would love to see the series come back in some capacity, even if it were just a remake of the original. . . The western'ish J-RPG feel to it is so pleasant.

Doing my 3rd playthrough of WA3 to try to platinum it. The series definitely deserves more love. 3 is my favorite but 2 has my favorite theme in the whole series and that’s battle knightblazer

Man I remember playing Wild Arms 5 and liking it a lot. My sister got me the deluxe edition too. I felt the gameplay was fun for being turn based and I dislike that combat style. I liked it so much I had to play another with the hex system, Wild Arms 4. I wish they would make another game it was great.

Im sure you've heard already, but in the wierd case you didnt: there's a double kickstarter campaign right now, from the creators of wild arms and shadow hearts, they are making spiritual successors of both franchises (Armed Fantasia & Penny Blood), it would be cool if you could make a video talking about it so you can spread the word thanks!

One thing about this series that I don't think gets praised often enough is its dungeon puzzle designs. Puzzles in Wild Arms are a lot more interesting than the usual "push all the boxes onto the switches" JRPG fare. Solutions would often require you to use your tools in clever ways, like using the fact that your throwing knives fall straight down when they hit a wall in order to flip a switch that's otherwise unreachable. I also think it's interesting that towns aren't actually on the world map at first; you have to talk to people for directions or clues and then go out and search on your own. Often the game doesn't even tell you where to go next, it just tells you to look around and find someone who can give you a lead. It isn't perfect (there were a few times in 3 where I had to just look at a guide), but I think it's kind of a cool idea that requires you to engage a bit more with the world and the NPCs. Also in 2 your treasure radar item is called the Booty Call. Like not only is that an incredible name, but it's just said with a completely straight face and nobody ever calls attention to it. which just makes it funnier

Ah wild arms. It’s one of the rpgs franchise I never touched. People praised it a lot. Kinda remind me of what happened with Lunar franchise. Man I miss Lunar… Especially Lunar 2 🥺

Wild Arms 1 was one of my fondest memories on the PS1. I still remember Wild Arms 1 more fondly than I remember FFVII.

Wild Arms 3 was a huge part of my childhood, it's aesthetic has influenced my taste to this day

I've just finished the original Wild Arms, really good game, one of the best 2D JRPGs I've played.

I vividly remember reserving Alter Code F at my local gamestop, but the game was delayed so many times that by the time the game came out my pre-order receipt had faded to a blank strip of paper. In the meanwhile I just bought a japanese ps2 and imported the game and played it all the way through without understanding a word of japanese. Such was my love for the series.

Wild Arms 2 was my first RPG. Nice to see that still are some fans left to remember this franchise.

JRPG over saturation on the PS2,mainstream critics bashing JRPGs in the mid 2000s,dislike over anime art style in the mid 2000s and WA5 coming out on the PS2 after the PS3.

Wild Arms was my Final Fantasy. 1-3 and the remake were all great.

The first Wild Arms game will always be my favorite. Having Rudy's gun be his special ability rather than his primary weapon (they made his gun his primary weapon in Wild Arms AC:F which I think was a mistake), Cecilia's Crest Graph magic which you could augment before heading into the next dungeon, and Jack's sword skills with fun names. The tools they used to get through dungeons. Plus, the character sprite moved smoothly on the map, so smoothly that it was noticeable in comparison to other games---RPGs or not. In a lot of ways I prefer it to the PS2 remake Wild Arms AC:F, although I liked the added characters to the party in the remake. I hope they port all the Wild Arms games to modern systems and PC someday.

2 was one of the first JRPGs I ever played, and I will forever love it for that. And yes the story is pretty great

I adored the original Wild Arms when it came out. It's one of my all-time favorite PSX RPGs, and I put it up there with the likes of Final Fantasy 7. I never got into the later ones, however, because they introduced the "Search" system. I thought it was dumb at the time, and when I recently started playing old RPGs on a nostalgia kick, I ran into the same problem. It doesn't add anything really, and just makes exploration more of a chore than it needs to be. It's not game-breaking, but it is a bit like a papercut - an irritant that you know isn't serious, but bothers you way out of proportion to the problems it actuall causes. I get that it didn't bother a lot of other RPG fans - my brother played the hell out of WA 2, 3, and 4. But for me, it was just a poke in the eye that I could be literally standing on top of the biggest city in the game, but if I didn't hit the search button, I'd miss it. I know, I know - it's not that big of a deal. But for me, it was a dealbreaker.

At least Sony kept bringing the older titles back on PSN. That's how I played the first two games. The 3rd one I got used for 10 bucks on PS2.

Akifumi Kaneko, The same writer who wrote Wild Arms wrote Senki Zesshō Symphogear series, Nana Mizuki who sang the Wild Arms 5 opening song voice Tsubasa. Even Noriyasu Agematsu who actually compose some music for Super Smash Bros did Symphogear & has some parallels to Wild Arms with some precursors & ancient people. Man, we'd love to see at LEAST some indie devs and/or big boi devs with some consoles & PCs do a take on Wild Arms or just have em a remaster & they'd be eating wild west for days.

I'm just about to finish Wild ARMS 2 on emulator, just gotta complete the album and the pyramid monsters before doing Lord Blazer. This video comes along at just the right time. Great job!

for me alter code f puzzle is hard as heck, plus the random encounter is so rapid, it gives me otherworldly satisfaction when I finished that game

Forgotten? Not to me... or my daughter because I named her after the female protagonist: Cecilia . Was one of the founding games that paved the path for gaming in my life. Gaming is a big part of my life and I wanted to a share a part of that with my daughter.

Watched this without having played a Wild Arms game because I came across the Armed Fantasia crowdfund. Well I'm on the hype train now and will be looking out for both properties in the future

Wild Arms has such an iconic soundtrack and opening cinematic. And I really loved the original's use of the traditional isometric tileset style for its environments. The character models in battles did leave much to be desired, especially when compared to Final Fantasy VII's at the time, but the story really held it together. It was full of all the cliches you expect from JRPGs, but the story was told so well, you couldn't help but be engaged, anyway. The characters were really distinct in their designs and personalities as well. The writing's obviously not on par with what you get from the Tales series, but still strong enough to stand on its own. Wild Arms 3 was phenomenal in its presentation, and how it contained multiple stories. There were so many times where you think you just beat the game, but nope, that's just one of the game's many arcs. I can see why it'd be kinda hit or miss with some people, but no one can say they didn't get the bang for their buck on this game. Wild Arms 2 was unfortunately kind of average. I wish I could say I remember more from it, but I was still proud to have it in my collection as a fan and supporter of the series. I really hope we get a new one.

This is great timing, I've been thinking about Wild Arms these past few weeks for some reason. I'm really fond of the fantasy-western combo and I wish it were utilized more often.

Always love your vids man. Merry Christmas this year 🎄

So me personally, i've only played Wild Arms 4 and 5. WA4's story was incredibly pompous but I did like some characters like Kresnik and Yulie (and Raquel of course). WA5 holds a special place in my heart though. The music was great, story was fantastic and the characters were lovable. I tear up a lil bit every time I see/hear Avril Vent Fleur

Wild Arms 2,5 and XF my most faved Wild Arms games.

I have to say though, the artstyle for this series is magnificent, don't know how I never saw much of it before this video. If they ever do make more, I hope they at least keep whoever was in charge of 5's art direction. In the meantime I'll look more into the series myself

All of us fans are waiting for "Wild ARMS 6: THE ARMS JUST GOT WILDER!!!" Let's petition that title.

Wild Arms, come back! I love you. Don't leave me!

The first Wild Arms is one of my top 5 video games of all time. My interest waned from Wild Arms 2 on as the series began to go deeper and deeper with the whole wild west gunslinger vibe. I loved the rarity of the 'ARM' in the first, and Wild Arms 2 was still a ton of fun for me, but 3 on wouldn't make my top list of RPGs.

I absolutely loved the first Wild Arms, but life being what it is I wound up working so many hours it and FF7 were the last games I played and beat up until the Xbox and Halo were released. It wasn't for lack of wanting to, it was just for lack of time. I may have to find copies of the other Wild Arms and try them out. After all, dated graphics don't bother me, I've still got my SNES going.

I just replayed the whole series last year it was a blast too bad this didn't get any installment or reboot it's one of a kind

My introduction to the series was 2. I had just played through FF7, and i had gotten it along with 2 for Xmas. I fell in love with the style n story. When 3 came out I snatched it up day 1 n played it non-stop. 4 for me was it's downfall... it just missed the mark for me. I would love a callback to the ps1 era with an HD glow up, and an upgraded more modern battle system.. we can dream.

Watch Symphogear. (because some of the big creative staff from Wild Arms helped make it, but also just in general)

Thanks for the history, I lost track after 2 (played/finished 1-2). Shame I guess, it had a strong start and I still love that Wild West-y whistling intro/theme music from the first one.

Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness is a kickstarter set to release in 2025

Loving this series. Wild Arms and Golden Sun remain as some of my favorite RPGs of all time. Would love to see a video on the Breath of Fire series!

I loved the whole series. I still remember watching the opening cutscene for the first time. Amazing .

Glad to see the love the series got in this video. I still go back to the PS1 titles from time to time, and Wild Arms 5 remains my favorite PS2 RPG. I'd say that if the series doesn't continue, at least it ended with a great game.

Thanks for giving love to wild arms

Wild Arms was my Final Fantasy. Didn't even know what FF was until years later. The music is top notch. The intro has yet to be dethroned.

Man, this franchise was always eclipsed despite being absurdly good

I’m so glad to see someone else who thinks 3 was the best in the series. Outstanding story, great visual style, and game design that went against almost every established trope in JRPGs at the time. If they ever decide to come back to the series, I hope they build off of 3. The changes they made in 4 and 5 were just disastrous.

Man I love Wild Arms. One of my favorite JRPGs.

I loved the first one. Second was ok. Honestly, I'm ok if they never release another and equally ok if they release more. They should try to make something special though if they make another.

Honestly wild arms 5 was my favorite Jrpg on the ps2 and men the normal fight and boss themes slaps so damn hard and battle mechanics with the nodes where a refresh of the typical turn fight

A wild arms game with VC's art style would be interesting

Thank you for the shout out to Vagrant Story. My god I loved that game.

"What happened to Metal slug?" Please make it happen

It hurts my heart so much watching this video? Why? Because I played 5 out of all the WILD ARMS games mentioned above. I started with Wild arms 1, 2, and then 4, code F and then 5. Yes, I missed playing Wild Arms 3 because it was so hard for me to find the DVD. I always like the Tool items from Wild Arms. They are making me feel like a Genius when I solved the puzzle! Thank you Wild Arms. I hope to see you in the future.

I remember I loved the music and I found this video cause I was wondering the same thing haha thanks for the vid

Wild Arms 2 was my first PS1 JRPG as a kid. I loved it so much.

I wish for either New/ReMakes/ReMasters of the series or Spiritual Successors that hopefully well thought up. I got into the series because my Mother played the 1st game , as well as playing Megaman 8, the 2 Rival School games, the 3D looking Street Fighter game, Final Fantasy 7 , Breath of Fire 3 , Brave Fencer Musashi , Nightmare Creatures.

Wild Arms 5 is in my top 5 best jrpg. It's really good.

If they don't call it Wild Arms 6 Shooter I'm gonna be mad.

the first WILD ARM .... i am still playing by now... the music is really the best of the best...

This is interesting this pops up as I'm planning a full series retrospective and currently making my way through the first games. One of the best and most unique JRPGs series. Definitely subscribing. I've kept wishing for years wild arms would get a sequel especially going back to the wild arms 3 cell shaded look. I also feel like they only touched the surface of what they hexagonal grid could bring to JRPGs. I always thought Wild Arms 5 was great despite being very melodramatic at times.

And thus Wild Arms predecessor was born, let me introduce you to Armed Fantasia!

Nice work

Don't know why but Wild Arms intro song sticks in my head for like 20 years now. The composer is doing music for Eiyuden Chronicles. Can't wait !

Only played the first one when I was a kid, though I do remember knowing there was at least #2 and 3...had no idea there were so many!

I LOL'd at the tunnel joke! I might have to watch the English dub of Twilight Venom after all :P

I loved the original. It tided me over until FFVII came out. After playing the FFVII demo, I needed something like it immediately. I got Wild Arms and it ended up being amazing.

This is the first jrpg I ever actually played by myself, I was about 5 or 6. After that I got into all the FF's and I've been going strong my whole life.

I'm pretty sure you recommend me to check out this sound track of this game it's so good!

What happened to Wild Arms? Well in the end it might boil down to "Symphogear happened to Wild Arms". For those that don't know, Symphogear was an anime series that started in 2012, created by Noriyasu Agematsu and Akifumi Kaneko, the show's main composer and writer respectively. Before this project, Kaneko was the lead game designer on Wild Arms (and also did most of the writing), and the lead writer for Wild Arms 2-4. Symphogear is artistically extremely similar to Wild Arms, so many see it as Kaneko's attempt to get a "proper" Wild Arms anime made. For example, Symphogear uses the same coat of pseudo-mythological sci-fi paint, and of course the show is littered with references, ranging from a self-help book referring to the game's magic system with the colors on its cover in the first season, all the way to The "True" God of Earth/Humanity in the last season looking basically exactly like Rudy would as a Symphogear character. One of the most popular character insert songs uses the same kind of western inspired instrumentation, with a heavy focus on guitars and whistling. It's even a bit of a crackpot theory that the world of Symphogear is somehow a future of Filgaia or its inhabitants, and that the relics used to power the titular power armor are actually ARMs. Hell, *even in a meta sense*, the second season is considered the best narratively, and the show ended after 5 seasons! This is a rabbit hole that goes deep, but you're cordially invited if you want to jump in. Symphogear is an incredible musical ride.

No wonder, I was wondering why I feel so familiar with the title despite not having a memory of playing the game 8:06 I read the manga and it was pretty good, been forever tho so I forgot most of it already

I remember playing the first back in 1998, I bought it at the same time as SaGa Frontier (the first game I ever preordered) and both blew me away. I never managed to play 2 despite buying the PSVita PSone classic and might get into it after watching this video. When 3 first launched it was that odd time when JRPGs were in the middle of evolving but I found it incredibly charming. I did give XF a try a few years back but got incredibly frustrated early on and just sort of dropped it. Still I would love a new game in the series.

I should point out that Valkyria Chronicles is Published by Sega, not Sony. Media Visions also developed Digimon: Cyber Sleuth too. The problem is that Sony's games division is primarily focused on bigger Western developed games and doesn't seem to have much faith in more Niche or older titles.

Oh this is that one with the one animated opening, I remember watching it once like 12 years ago. Crazy coinky dinks

I think there's a possibility it could come back, but that possibility is limited to the next couple years. If we don't see anything on the PS5, I doubt we're ever getting anything Wild Arms again

This was one of my fav game back ⬅️ n 97 when I was younger

Wild Arms deserves better! The first game is so captivating.

Loved the first wild arms on the psone

Glad someone made video about wild arms in 2021.. Good news, now we got newest emulation ps2 on phone, and it run smoothly, i just finished alter code F, now wildarms 3-5 on going..

I see a Wild Arms video, I must simply leave a like

Wild Arms 5 was the best in my opinion. Never understood why it did not sell well. :( Great video thought. ^-^

Wild Arms 5 is my favorite. I also quite like the Wild Arms XF PSP game.

Another great series, hope if they do bring it back they don't ruin it.

The music was so good

Don't quote me on this but I recall Media Vision interview stated the games are not connected at all - despite the similarities between the games. Like you said, they were going for the Final Fantasy franchise but never got past 5 mainline games.

Ok a game by the old WIld Arms devs called " Armed Fantasia" is now officially in development! :)

I loved, loved, loved 3. Easily my favorite WA game. I played 4 and enjoyed it. It was unique and different, but still enjoyable. 5 was back to basics and a lot like 3.I loved it as well. I wish 4 and 5 would release on PSN. I would love to replay them.

My opinion here and probably the only one, but Wild Arms 1 was still the best of them all. I played all the numbered sequels, but nothing did it quite for me as Wild Arms did it despite the barely serviceable battle graphics.

jeez. I got this game on my 16th birthday. I just turned 40 last week..... where did the time go lol

A wild west themed JRPG sounds fucking awesome, I gotta try these! With the increasing popularity of steampunk, this should have been a massive hit in the west, and would absolutely steamroll the shit out of those godawful boring dime-a-dozen high fantasy themed JRPGs if well advertised.

Wild ARMS needs to come back or at least a release on modern consoles as a collection.

I would be happy with a bare bones Wild Arms collections, considering Ive never played a game after the second one and doubt these old games are easy to access now.