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March 21, 2008 | 4:04 PM PST
by: Matt Furtado
Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
Wild ARMS has made a name for itself on all the PlayStation platforms thus far. After starting off on the PlayStation 1 and then continuing its RPG tale on the PS2, it was time to bring the beloved RPG series to the PSP. Wild ARMs XF is the latest installment of the franchise and brings the series into the strategic RPG genre -- essentially in the same way as Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics. XF follows the story of Felius Arwin and Clarissia Arwin as they embark on a journey to take back Clarissa's mother's sword from the mysterious Rupert. What starts off as a simple quest ends up turning into an epic tale that brings the roles of the surrounding kingdom and political powers into the fray.
What's Hot
It's better to just get this out of the way early so we can move on with the review; after all we don't want to waste your time. Wild ARMs XF does offer a couple good qualities, but unfortunately the bad far out ways the good. If you are looking for a game with great dialogue, then you have struck gold. The game has very impressive writing, which features some clever lines and, remarkably, actually makes you stay interested in an otherwise lackluster story. Since the game is incredibly text-heavy, it is nice to see a solid script -- even if the storyline isn't anything special. You'll find that nearly all the characters have their own unique personalities and even their own little characteristics that really make them standout as individuals.
Aside from a great written script, the game features one of the most remarkable soundtracks on the PSP. The music is enjoyable and easy to fall in love with. Sadly, there aren't a lot of tracks to fall in love with, though. The musical soundtrack is very limited and you'll listen to the same music play throughout the game as the hours go by. Nevertheless, the game does feature an amazing voice-acting cast. One of the unique features found within the game is the option to select either the Japanese dub or the American version. We found the Japanese voices the better of the two. The Japanese voice-acting really adds to the experience because they add more emphasis to the key spoken parts of the game, whereas the American dub just doesn't enthrall you as much. However, the choice is there for your own personal tastes.
Wilde ARMS XF
What's Not
The main problem that lies within the heart of the title is the battling. In most strategic RPG titles, you find the battle system to be the most enjoyable aspect of the game, but XF is the complete opposite. Many of the battles are objective-based, which turn them into guessing games. If you enter a battle with the wrong job class, then you face almost certain failure. This is unnecessary in this day and age in gaming. By restricting you to basically use a specific class to win a battle, the game takes away lot of the freedom commonly found in strategic RPGs. This, of course, makes the game feel very straightforward and limits your own experimentations with the gameplay.
Even though the title lets you change your characters job classes at anytime -- excluding time in battle -- this doesn't help the gameplay feel fresh or fun. Since you have to change your characters class so often within XF, you'll never find a job class that you can feel like you have fully mastered or taken advantage off.
Aside from a disappointing battle system and customization freedom, the game features this ludicrous Vitality Point system. Every character has a set Vitality Points gauge that drops after you perform an action -- or in this case even waiting. Why should our characters lose vitality when they're stationary? This only makes things even more difficult when traveling across a vast grid-based level. In many of the larger levels, it is impossible to complete the battle before their Vitality gauge empties. After the VP gauge runs dry your character will begin to lose health, which ends up weakening your party thus making battles even more of a nuisance.
Final Word
Wild ARMs XF does have some enjoyable parts, but they are severely hurt by gameplay flaws. The objective-based battles aren't designed well and will quickly tire out the non-hardcore. Aside from the battles, there is also the poorly implemented job class system, which offers little to no player customization freedom. If you want a solid Strategic RPG experience for your PSP you best look elsewhere with titles like Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Jeanne d'Arc, or Final Fantasy Tactics.
What the Game's About
Wild ARMS has made a name for itself on all the PlayStation platforms thus far. After starting off on the PlayStation 1 and then continuing its RPG tale on the PS2, it was time to bring the beloved RPG series to the PSP. Wild ARMs XF is the latest installment of the franchise and brings the series into the strategic RPG genre -- essentially in the same way as Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics. XF follows the story of Felius Arwin and Clarissia Arwin as they embark on a journey to take back Clarissa's mother's sword from the mysterious Rupert. What starts off as a simple quest ends up turning into an epic tale that brings the roles of the surrounding kingdom and political powers into the fray.
What's Hot
It's better to just get this out of the way early so we can move on with the review; after all we don't want to waste your time. Wild ARMs XF does offer a couple good qualities, but unfortunately the bad far out ways the good. If you are looking for a game with great dialogue, then you have struck gold. The game has very impressive writing, which features some clever lines and, remarkably, actually makes you stay interested in an otherwise lackluster story. Since the game is incredibly text-heavy, it is nice to see a solid script -- even if the storyline isn't anything special. You'll find that nearly all the characters have their own unique personalities and even their own little characteristics that really make them standout as individuals.
Aside from a great written script, the game features one of the most remarkable soundtracks on the PSP. The music is enjoyable and easy to fall in love with. Sadly, there aren't a lot of tracks to fall in love with, though. The musical soundtrack is very limited and you'll listen to the same music play throughout the game as the hours go by. Nevertheless, the game does feature an amazing voice-acting cast. One of the unique features found within the game is the option to select either the Japanese dub or the American version. We found the Japanese voices the better of the two. The Japanese voice-acting really adds to the experience because they add more emphasis to the key spoken parts of the game, whereas the American dub just doesn't enthrall you as much. However, the choice is there for your own personal tastes.
Wilde ARMS XF
What's Not
The main problem that lies within the heart of the title is the battling. In most strategic RPG titles, you find the battle system to be the most enjoyable aspect of the game, but XF is the complete opposite. Many of the battles are objective-based, which turn them into guessing games. If you enter a battle with the wrong job class, then you face almost certain failure. This is unnecessary in this day and age in gaming. By restricting you to basically use a specific class to win a battle, the game takes away lot of the freedom commonly found in strategic RPGs. This, of course, makes the game feel very straightforward and limits your own experimentations with the gameplay.
Even though the title lets you change your characters job classes at anytime -- excluding time in battle -- this doesn't help the gameplay feel fresh or fun. Since you have to change your characters class so often within XF, you'll never find a job class that you can feel like you have fully mastered or taken advantage off.
Aside from a disappointing battle system and customization freedom, the game features this ludicrous Vitality Point system. Every character has a set Vitality Points gauge that drops after you perform an action -- or in this case even waiting. Why should our characters lose vitality when they're stationary? This only makes things even more difficult when traveling across a vast grid-based level. In many of the larger levels, it is impossible to complete the battle before their Vitality gauge empties. After the VP gauge runs dry your character will begin to lose health, which ends up weakening your party thus making battles even more of a nuisance.
Final Word
Wild ARMs XF does have some enjoyable parts, but they are severely hurt by gameplay flaws. The objective-based battles aren't designed well and will quickly tire out the non-hardcore. Aside from the battles, there is also the poorly implemented job class system, which offers little to no player customization freedom. If you want a solid Strategic RPG experience for your PSP you best look elsewhere with titles like Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Jeanne d'Arc, or Final Fantasy Tactics.
December 7, 2009
