Wild Arms laid a solid foundation for developing an engaging premise. It wasn’t perfect, but a Wild West JRPG offered nearly endless possibilities, and a sequel could be the moment it truly established itself as a franchise. When the first game came out early in 1997, it still largely fit the mould of 16-bit JRPG sensibilities where the heroes are heroic, and the bad guys are downright inhumanly evil. Then Xenogears came out in 1998 and dared to challenge the conventions of JRPG tropes. Xenogears drew inspiration from the insanely popular anime Neon Genesis: Evangelion, leaving a lasting mark on Japanese media. In many ways, the world is still experiencing the ripples from its original debut. In the mid to late ’90s, many JRPGs aimed to capture the existential philosophical depth and emotional weight of Evangelion and Xenogears, sparking an era where the genre became darker, more profound, and deeply introspective. Wild Arms 2 was no exception, but how does it hold up now that time has passed and the zeitgeist is long gone?
Wild Arms 2 eschews a straightforward heroic adventure toward a more introspective, morally grey examination of power, trauma, and the true cost of saving the world. The first Wild Arms leaned into the power of friendship and classic underdog heroism amid its Western-fantasy setting. Wild Arms 2 still has a little of that but grounds nearly every major character in personal damage and unresolved guilt. Odessa, a militant terrorist organisation, seeks to reshape the world through advanced weaponry, dark magic, and chaos. To counter them, a mysterious benefactor named Irving Valeria forms the elite anti-terror unit ARMS, which now means “Agile Remote Missions Squad”. Yes, it’s true, Wild Arms 2 changes the meaning of “ARMS”, despite being set in the same Filgaia.
Just like the first game, the story begins with three separate prologues that converge: Ashley Winchester, a young musketeer whose squad is caught in a disastrous demon-summoning experiment; Lilka Eleniak, an insecure teenage Crest Sorceress overshadowed by her more gifted older sister; and Brad Evans, a burly former war hero from a past conflict, now branded a war criminal and forced into hiding.
Unlike in the first game, Ashley, the main character, isn’t a silent hero. He survives the experiment by merging with a demon called Lord Blazer, but this also leads to mass deaths in its aftermath. Haunted by guilt and the tension between these forces, he grapples throughout with what it truly means to be a “hero.” Lilka brings magical support and kawaii energy that often masks her self-doubt. Brad provides raw physical power and military insight while confronting the emptiness left after the wars that once defined him. The tone is noticeably darker and more introspective than the first Wild Arms. It evokes a melancholic and sometimes bleak atmosphere within a Western fantasy setting, where deserts, ruined landscapes, and Guardians coexist with steampunk technology and demonic corruption amid a dying world.
While Wild Arms featured a small party of just three characters, Wild Arms 2 expands the roster to six, one of whom is an optional member. Tim Rhymeless serves as the team’s healer. He is a gentle, soft-spoken orphan boy from Meria who later reveals his ties to a tribe of Guardian Worshippers. He possesses a rare natural ability to communicate with and channel Filgaia’s Guardians, the elemental spirits that sustain the planet and is otherwise a sweet kid.
Also joining is Kanon, a cybernetic bounty hunter who starts as an antagonist who repeatedly confronts the party, but eventually joins ARMS. She is fast, aggressive, and high-damage in combat using blades and her cybernetic enhancements, though relatively fragile. Her story examines identity, the cost of becoming a living weapon, and the conflict between imposed destiny and personal desire. Talk about beauty and the beast; she’s both.
The sixth and optional party member is Marivel Armitage, a gadgeteer vampire. Arrogant, self-important, and often lonely after centuries of isolation, she claims her kind were the rightful rulers of Filgaia and treats humans with a mix of superiority and reluctant interest. In combat, she utilises unique abilities, including draining skills from enemies and executing mecha-based attacks. Her dialogue is always humorous due to her unbelievably pretentious nature.
As in the first Wild Arms, the sequel features many puzzles and adventure game elements connected to each party member carrying a unique set of tools that are essential for exploration and solving environmental puzzles outside of battle. Dungeons and outdoor areas are designed around needing the right tool at the right time, often requiring the player to swap characters mid-exploration and combine abilities creatively. Unlike the first Wild Arms, there are now six characters instead of just three, and each of them has their own unique tools.
Ashley’s tools focus on ranged interaction and detection. His Hurl Knife is thrown in a straight line to trigger switches that are too far or too high to reach by hand; the knife can also drop after hitting a wall, allowing it to hit lower targets. Brad’s tools emphasise physical force and demolition. Kick Boots let him kick objects, open rusted doors or stuck chests, and shove heavy blocks into position. Bombs are placed and explode after a short delay, destroying cracked walls, weak obstacles, or triggering explosive switches. These are just a few broad examples; however, the tool system encourages frequent character switching and careful observation of the environment. Many puzzles call for using different tools in sequence, requiring players to switch between the entire cast to tackle some fairly elaborate challenges.
With the jump to fully 3D modelled environments, the level design has gotten more complex and deeper. The camera is fully rotatable with the shoulder buttons, which helps reveal hidden paths, items, and puzzle elements. Cutscenes have a bit more cinematic flair with deliberate camera angles, cuts, and frameable frames and picturesque vistas. Towns showcase diverse architecture and atmospheric details that conjure a dusty, lived-in Western-fantasy setting blended with steampunk and magical elements, featuring desert plains beneath warm skies, wooden frontier buildings, stone fortresses, and sporadic high-tech or mystical ruins.
Visually and tonally, Wild Arms 2 feels darker and more sombre than its predecessor. The sequel’s 3D environments and more realistic character proportions ground the world in a heavier atmosphere: rainy night sequences, shadowed ruins, industrial or prison-like structures, and landscapes scarred by past disaster contribute to a sense of weariness and threat. Character sprites are more elongated and proportioned than the fat chibi style of the first game, giving them a cleaner, more mature anime look with improved animation. The colour palette, while still capable of warmth in open plains or towns, frequently shifts toward subdued or ominous lighting in story-critical or dungeon areas, supporting themes of guilt, sacrifice, possession, and moral ambiguity. It’s got a genuine mood that captures the feeling of the zeitgeist of the time.
Wild Arms 2‘s turn-based combat system is a tad more complex than its predecessor, with up to three active party members out of a roster of up to six. At first, it might seem like a standard turn-based system, but the key resource is Force Points, which are equal to the character’s level (up to a maximum of 100) and increase by attacking or taking damage. Most special abilities, such as Ashley and Brad’s upgradeable ARMs (which are guns with limited ammo), Lilka’s spells, Tim’s Guardian magic, and others, require a minimum FP threshold. However, they do not consume points when used, allowing for free repeated use once unlocked. The exceptions are each character’s four Force Abilities, powerful unique techniques that spend 25, 50, 75, or 100 FP.
Ashley and Brad collect and upgrade ARMs for attack power, accuracy, and capacity. Lilka learns spells via Crests. Tim equips Mediums to learn Guardian magic and enable party summons. Kanon focuses on fast physical combos, while optional Marivel uses skill-drain machine-based attacks. Passive skills are purchased with level-up points, further customising stats and effects, allowing for a wide range of player expression. The battles themselves are fast-paced and look much better than they did in the last game. Character models have more personality and detail.
The only problem is Wild Arms 2 is a very easy JRPG. The range of systems available makes it way too easy to overpower enemies and most bosses. Most random battles can be skipped (at the risk of getting ambushed later), and gimmel coins (this game’s versions of continues) are plentiful, so losing isn’t that big of a deal or much of a setback. Wild Arms 2 has a much darker tone than anything else in the series, so, unusually, the challenge doesn’t align with its atmosphere.
Cubed3 Rating
Wild Arms 2 is a dramatic improvement over its predecessor. It’s got a richer, deeper narrative with more complex characters, and it aims high with its philosophical themes of duality. The gameplay has expanded thanks to its bigger cast of characters, and the puzzles are fun throughout. The music will grab players and easily keep anyone engaged in the adventure, even if it isn’t that challenging. It may not reach the lofty ambitions of Xenogears, and it’s got a spotty translation, but Wild Arms 2 still manages to be one of the better (and more affordable) JPRGs on the original PlayStation. It comes very close to reaching an all-time classic status, but sits neatly as a cult classic comfort JRPG.
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