Post by Blackboxx on Jul 10, 2009 8:59:06 GMT -5
Ok. This is going to sound completely out of nowhere... Well, it is. Some of you may know that I love video games. I started all the way back on the Atari, and never dropped it. In fact, I only increased my playtime.
Well ,anyway, my favorite series of games is called Wild ARMs. The first game (1996 release) blew me away. It was early in the Playstation's lifetime, but it had orchestral music with a very well done wild west theme (whistles, plucky guitars, harmonicas, etc.). The gameplay was simple, but fun and rewarding (lots of goodies to find, even off the beaten path the game wanted you to follow).
Well, time marched on, and the game had its share of sequels. #2, and #3 kept the same wild west wasteland feeling in the story, and the music only got better as the composer got more experienced. Then came #4. Far too much was removed. the wild west atmosphere turned into a typical magic-based technologically advanced world. The original comopser left to do other projects. They did away with a lot of the exploration. They added voice acting which fell into the same old English dubbed tripe... I was very disappointed. Then I caught wind of #5. Not wanting to be disappointed again, I ignored it.
Fast forward to just last year. My bro bought a PSP, and heard of a new Wild ARMs title for the system. It was very different in terms of gameplay, but it was meant to be a crossover into another genre (a strategy, rather than an RPG). He bought it, and I borrowed it once he was done. It was actually pretty good. The wild west theme returned, the new composer wasn't that bad, and it was a blast creating your own little army.
Well... I got a strange nostaligic feeling last week. I don't know why, but I looked up youtube videos of Wild ARMs 5. By this time, the game was 3 years old, but it looked like fun. I took a chance and ordered it off Amazon. It only set me back $30 which I was willing to pay for a brand new game.
Just yesterday the package arrived. I was surprised to see it was so huge. It was just a PS2 game. No bigger than a DVD case. Why would they need to send such a large box? Well, I opened it, and the game was in there. I noticed a weird logo on the box; Wild ARMS 10th Anniversary. Included with the game was an 80 page book of artwork from all 5 games (the PSP one wasn't released at the time they made the book). Alright... Score, I guess. But the real question was about the game itself...
It is FUN. They fixed all the crap they added in #4. They replaced all the stuff from #1-3 that made them so fricking cool. Basically, it was the best of all 4 worlds. Character design was sweet, music was amazing (new composer is now on my good side), character building was fun again, the VAs were a bit better (though still typical average anime dub quality). I actually regret waiting so long to buy it. I played it for 8 hours straight the instant I opened it (except for dinner, but that only took 45 minutes).
I know. Wierd story, and has nothing to do with MVA, but I just wanted to share. Be open minded when your favorite stuff gets reimagined. Of course... this really only applies to us old fogeys on the boards here, but everyone will likely come across something like this someday. Maybe even with MVA (doubtful, but who knows?).
Well ,anyway, my favorite series of games is called Wild ARMs. The first game (1996 release) blew me away. It was early in the Playstation's lifetime, but it had orchestral music with a very well done wild west theme (whistles, plucky guitars, harmonicas, etc.). The gameplay was simple, but fun and rewarding (lots of goodies to find, even off the beaten path the game wanted you to follow).
Well, time marched on, and the game had its share of sequels. #2, and #3 kept the same wild west wasteland feeling in the story, and the music only got better as the composer got more experienced. Then came #4. Far too much was removed. the wild west atmosphere turned into a typical magic-based technologically advanced world. The original comopser left to do other projects. They did away with a lot of the exploration. They added voice acting which fell into the same old English dubbed tripe... I was very disappointed. Then I caught wind of #5. Not wanting to be disappointed again, I ignored it.
Fast forward to just last year. My bro bought a PSP, and heard of a new Wild ARMs title for the system. It was very different in terms of gameplay, but it was meant to be a crossover into another genre (a strategy, rather than an RPG). He bought it, and I borrowed it once he was done. It was actually pretty good. The wild west theme returned, the new composer wasn't that bad, and it was a blast creating your own little army.
Well... I got a strange nostaligic feeling last week. I don't know why, but I looked up youtube videos of Wild ARMs 5. By this time, the game was 3 years old, but it looked like fun. I took a chance and ordered it off Amazon. It only set me back $30 which I was willing to pay for a brand new game.
Just yesterday the package arrived. I was surprised to see it was so huge. It was just a PS2 game. No bigger than a DVD case. Why would they need to send such a large box? Well, I opened it, and the game was in there. I noticed a weird logo on the box; Wild ARMS 10th Anniversary. Included with the game was an 80 page book of artwork from all 5 games (the PSP one wasn't released at the time they made the book). Alright... Score, I guess. But the real question was about the game itself...
It is FUN. They fixed all the crap they added in #4. They replaced all the stuff from #1-3 that made them so fricking cool. Basically, it was the best of all 4 worlds. Character design was sweet, music was amazing (new composer is now on my good side), character building was fun again, the VAs were a bit better (though still typical average anime dub quality). I actually regret waiting so long to buy it. I played it for 8 hours straight the instant I opened it (except for dinner, but that only took 45 minutes).
I know. Wierd story, and has nothing to do with MVA, but I just wanted to share. Be open minded when your favorite stuff gets reimagined. Of course... this really only applies to us old fogeys on the boards here, but everyone will likely come across something like this someday. Maybe even with MVA (doubtful, but who knows?).
