Alrighty, back and better than ever. Hello and welcome to my review of a game that is now one of my greatest treasues. Been a while but I am happy to be brining this to everyone and anyone willing to hear an honest man's opinion. What Game is this you ask? Well none other than Wild Arms 3 ofcourse. This JRPG takes us into the bowels of a wasteland where people get shot for looking at a guy the wrong way. Wild wild west baby, we got it all. Bet you never expected to play an RPG where everyone packs heat, did ya. If that isn't enough to sell this game to you then I guess it's my job to tell you everything you need to know to make sure you start shelling out them rupees for this sucker. Without further adieu, I present you with every reason I can think of for you and your friends and their friends and so on, to play this game.

Graphics: 9
This game is beautiful. I'll say it again, This game is BEAUTIFUL. Now keep in mind that this game is set in a wastland full of sand. STILL BEAUTIFUL. Cell shaded graphics merged with fluid animations just makes every moment of this game all the more sweet. Don't believe me? I challenge you to look up some gameplay and still think otherwise. The world itself is vast and as you would think of any wasteland, dreadfully empty. As far as landscape texture goes we get sand, sandier, quicksand, rocky and the occasional patch of grass. Doesn't sound too appealing however you will find yourself looking down at that horizon more than once. All in all this game is visually stunning and will have you coming back for more every day. SO what could possibly make this a 9 instead of a perfect 10? Simple. It's a lot of the same. Though it doesn't get old fast like you would expect, the landscape isn't very diverse and lacks certain qualities that a wasteland should have such as bones and wreckage. It's still so beautiful though so I just have to give it a 9.

Sound: 9
If this game excells in anything, it's the sound. Upon loading a save we are treated to a beutiful introduction accompanied by a beautiful, catchy, and rather fitting song that helps immerse us into the world. That's not it however because we are treated to much more than just an intro in this gem. As usual I will split this section into two paragraphs in order to clearly shine light upon both points.

Let's begin with the shorter topic, sound effects. Usually I would include voice acting as well however sadly we get none of that. As for the sound effects I will be the first to say they were not recorded the clearest. They do however get their point across very well. The gunshots sound like gunshot an d the growls sound like growls. When that annoying yeti-like beast paralyzes your party, he really sounds pissed. I'm certain it sounds even better in HQ so go ahead and get your angry yeti growl fix whenever you need it. As for cutscenes, I particularily loved hearing the cock of the guns whenever someone pointed their piece at someone. Wel also get some nice explosions. Needless to say, aside from a little muffling, the sound effects are not only great but do their job in telling you what is going on. Believe me sometimes sound effects tell the story better than the dialogue.

Aight, onto the real juicy bits, the music. It's all glorious and fitting in almost every way. From the intro to the battle themes to the dungeon themes and all the boss tracks including the multiple final boss pieces. Nothing but heaven for your ears start to finish. Most of these songs are so great I would reccommend them even outside of their respective moments in-game. If that's not enough to make you buy this game then I'm surprised you own any games at all. I mean nothing but good news and you still need more? Okay I'll provide more just for you guys. This game has western based themes as well as glorious wonder. That's right, 100% Clint Eastwood whistle themes here there and all over your eardrums. If there was any one quality of this game that I found flawless, it's the music. Makes me wish every game had a musical score this perfect.

All together sound gets a 9 simply because it's only flaw is the lack of voice acting, which is entirely opinionated and could mean absolutely nothing to you. If voice acting isn't an issue to you then go ahead and consider this a 10, just remember that it won't be officially reflected that way. That was a long one so I'd reccommend taking a break and getting a drink at this point. There is still a ton more to talk about. Ready? Let's get going.

Addictiveness: 10
Just incase I have not yet made my point, this review is persuading you to PLAY THIS GAME. Needless to say when I started this game I was hooked quite easily, and began to spend every ounce of my free time on it. Even now I wish I wasn't so busy so that I can give it another round. This section should be pretty self explanatory. In simplest terms "I LOVE THIS GAME AND HOPE YOU WILL TOO!"

Story: 7
I know what you're thinking. "Hold up, only 7 in story? what the hey?" Let me explain this. The story was great. It di what a lot of storylines can't. It made me actually care about what was going on. SO why only a 7? No story is perfect, this one is no exception to that. There are plot points that were never looked into and the basis for the entire final chapter wasn't even hinted at until the final dungeon of the chapter beforehand. I don't want to spoil the entirety of it because I hope that immediately after reading this, you go to the store or amazon or wherever to pick this up BUT, this isn't the story section without looking at the story so, I'll have to explain this as spoiler free as I know how. We'll start with some character backstory that you will learn within the tutorial stages of the game. I will be using the default character names as you are allowed to change them if you wish.

Virginia. Leader of our rag-tag group of western misfits, Virginia is confident, smart, and kind. Willing to help anyone for no reason at all however still asks payment for the jobs she and the group take on for their sake. Viginia is one of the only two people in the world capable of dual-wielding ARMS. Taught by her father (the other person whom can dual-wield) at a young age for reasons even she doesn't know. She became a drifter after using her ARMS to secure her hometowns supplies from the thieving Gobs. As a drifter she wishes to help those in need with her ARMS. Ends up at the chance meeting immediately after departing on her journey as a Drifter.

Jet. The unwilling attendee of the group, Jet cares about one thing. THE MONEY. Unable to remember his past, Jet was taught how to survive by a mysterious stranger. This same stranger provided him the Airget-Lamh, the only ARM he is compatable with. Having "no past" has left Jet with a darker personality. He doesn't feel much of empathy or other necessary feelings for relationships. As such he usually comes across as blunt and unfriendly, even to his comrades. End up at the chance meeting hoping to make a quick buck on the train's "Treasure."

Clive. Gentleman, brains, and heavy hitter of the group. Clive's work as a Drifter has led him through more than many would think. The most experienced member of the crew. Clive's past is kept a secret for a good chunk of the storyline. He makes his living via mercenary-like jobs, usually putting himself on the line for others. Ends up at the chance meeting after being hired to guard the Train's "Treasure"

Gallows. Spiritual fighter and jokster of the group, Gallows is lazy and uneducated, but with a heart of gold. Gallows is an apprentice priest who decided he didn't wanna be locked to his lineage. In a chance to escape he stole the Arc Scepter, an ancient and special artifact of his lineage, and ran off to become a drifter in the hopes of living a more free life. Ends up at the chance meeting because he hears of another Arc scepter on board a train headed for midland.

Wow that was long. And that was just the basics. Anyway, from there the characters all meet and immediately after what could have been the most epic standoff ever, the Arc scepter gets raided by a bunch of punks. Cue first team battle and boss fight of the game. Hope you pai attention to all those tutorial fights. From there the story begins you're epic quest to... make money and stuff... with magic on you're side and... well you get the picture. The plot does end up taking many twists and turns and you may end up confused so try to keep up. That's about as far as I can go without dropping any spoilers so I hope that's a good enough taste to interest any and all who are reading this. Finally, I gave story the rank of 7 because although I find it well above the average storyline, The flaws are there and can't be covered up. The fact that the main villain gets introduced later in the story really just drops an ff9 feel and doesn't work too well. Flaws and all it is still great and I would definitely give it another go if I had the time.

Depth: 8
It would take several paragraphs longer than fanfics to explain all of the extra content involved in this game. I'm gonna try to sum it all up without going into too much detail. Aside from the main story, dungeons, and puzzles this game includes plenty of secret content and some sidequests. As for secrets we get plenty of extra boss fights, including sandcraft fights. We also have a few extra dungeons such as the ABYSS. There is also Gunner's Heaven, and arena-like battle minigame that gives you a certain amount of turns to defeat your opponents. Lastly the two main sidequests of the game (Spanning pretty much the entire game) The Millenium puzzles and the Telepath towers. Millenium puzzles are block puzzle minigames that are just the fix for you Soul Reaver 1 fans. Telepath towers are bonus fights with alien beings that are attacking the planet. Needless to say there is a lot of extra content to keep you going long after you have finished the game. Finally, I gave depth an 8 because though there is a lot of extras, I wish they would have had more clear sidequests rather than hidden secrets. It makes the game seem a lot more linear than it already is. STill so much to do and collect so good luck perfectionists. You will definitely need it.

Difficulty: 8
Difficulty 8 huh? Must be pretty hard then huh? Not really. In fact, as far as battles go, no enemy will overwhelm you with anything big. SO why difficulty 8? Simply because the battle system is tough to learn and boss fights punish you for not planning ahead. LOOKING AT YOU HUMBABA! Yes the Force Point (FP) system is definitely one of the most fun yet tough battle systems to work with. What any player really needs to unerstand is that you don't need to spend FP to use skills, just have the FP required. The only actions that expend FP are Force skills such as Gatling and character specific skills. The biggest problem is having the FP to spend on one of these when you need it. Time again I find myself using gatling only to require my FP for Mystic next turn. As you can probably tell from my horrible explanation, It can be very confusing if you are used the the traditional HP/MP setup. If you can get used to the system however then the only problem left with the bosses are their gimmicks. Figure those out and you are home free. Good luck with that though, some can be pretty tricky. Anyway summed up in short, The system takes getting used to and the bosses don't wait for you to practice. Difficulty get's 8 because of that.

Overall: 9.5
Finally beginning to wrap this up. Been a long one so I hope I haven't bored anyone to death. I'll try to joke more next time I promise. It should be pretty obvious by now as to why this game gets a 9.5 from me. THIS GAME IS GREAT. I love it and I would reccommend it to anyone willing to have fun with a great work of art. Six shooters, Pony battles, Sandcraft riding, goats, books, this game has it all. And if it helps buy you out, it is awesome to play while listening to Wild Wild West. All in all a great title that I think deserves everyone's attention. Give it a shot, have a blast and above all, get you're groove on.

I'd like to take a minute to wrap this up. Thank you so much for reading my review, It means so much to me that people care about what I have to say. It takes time and effort to write these so I always appreciate it when people view my work. As always feel free to provide feedback, I want to improve and be as best I can with these reviews. Tell me what I'm doing wrong because I need to know. Most of all, tell me what you think of the game. I always love hearing new opinions about the things I love. Thanks once again for your time and I hope to see you again next time. BAI FOR NOW!