Get ready to clear your calendar, because next week brings the epic role-playing game Wild Arms 4 to PlayStation Plus. Now, if you've been following me on my Review Crew journey, you may remember that we've already covered both Wild Arms 1 and Wild Arms 2, but what about Wild Arms 3? As it turns out, Sony decided to skip right to 4, though observant fans will notice that Wild Arms 3 has technically been for sale on PlayStation 4 since 2016. In an attempt to stay current, we're going to be looking at both Wild Arms 3 and Wild Arms 4. Yeah, those are definitely the next two titles in the series, but are either of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, PSM, Game Informer and more classic magazines that reviewed these games back when they first came out. Get ready to direct all of your anger at the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, because this PlayStation Plus Review Crew!


After disappointing both fans and critics with the 2000 sequel, Wild Arms returns with a renewed spirit on a brand-new console. That's right, the role-playing series made the transition to the PlayStation 2 in 2002, this time returning to its western roots and bringing along a brand-new cel-shaded look. For many fans, this was a return to form, with Wild Arms 3 often cited as being the best game in the entire series. But is that how the critics saw it in 2002? Let's find out.

I normally like to kick things off with Electronic Gaming Monthly, but we're going to save them for the end. You'll see why in a moment. Up first is the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, which was the one magazine to start wavering on the Wild Arms franchise. Here they gave the game a 3.5 out of 5, explaining that “for new-school gamers – or anyone whose tastes have simply evolved – Wild Arms 3 is like serving up granny's special meatloaf to a vegetarian. No matter how good it may be, it won't go down easy. Basically, if you have the slightest concern that you might fall into this latter category, then rent the game first. Wild Arms 3 just isn't interesting enough to overcome its retro-tinged, formulaic gameplay. On the other hand, if you're one of those rare Wild Arms fanboys, then No. 3 will surely please. It's got more of what its predecessors offered – and best yet, it finally gets the Wild West theme right.”

Moving up the scale, we see Game Informer give Wild Arms 3 a score of 7.75 out of 10. After that, it's a three-way tie at 80%, which is also the ceiling for this third installment. PSM gave the game an 8 out of 10 in their 64th issue, while GamePro went with a 4 out of 5 in their 171st. They liked the graphics, bur raved that the “music is the star of Wild Arms 3. Melodic tunes that have a spaghetti western flair keep the pace and ambiance of the adventure.” They ultimately concluded that, “like its predecessors, Wild Arms 3 tells an involving story with colorful characters you can easily identify with in the real world. Though the gameplay can be linear, this Wild Arms adventure was worth the wait.”

You know who else gave Wild Arms 3 an 8 out of 10? That's right, it's Electronic Gaming Monthly. See, I told you we would get back to EGM. When Shane reviewed it, he argued that “since there's no Final Fantasy this fall, RPG nuts will have to scour the shelves for a suitable replacement. Wild Arms 3 fills this year's RPG void nicely, succeeding largely on account of its unique Wild-West style. Cool characters and inventive locales also make a difference. You'll encounter brooding cowboys, seedy drifters and bawdy barmaids while exploring desolate plains and forgotten temples. The gameplay mechanics also impress. Blazingly fast (and mostly optional) battles and complex, puzzle-packed dungeons will keep you playing. Wild Arms 3 does suffer from one damaging flaw that many RPGs share – it's too predictable. The town-dungeon-town-dungeon monotony can get tiring.”

With score ranging from 70% on the low end to 80% on the high, I feel like the reviews for Wild Arms 3 were pretty consistent. The overall average is a solid 78%, which is only five points down from the 83% the critics gave the first Wild Arms. This is also eight full points above Wild Arms 2, which suggests that the critics felt like this was a return to form for the franchise. Let's see if that trend continues with Wild Arms 4.

Despite both critics and fans praising the previous entry, the developers behind Wild Arms 4 decided to shake things up by making a number of major changes to the franchise. That cool western theme that everybody liked? GONE! In its place is a science-fiction future world that is more in line with the role-playing games of the 2000s. Also revamped is the turn-based combat, replaced with a new hexagonal system that, to put it politely, divided the fanbase. This was a big shift for the franchise, and not everybody was on board back in 2004. Now that we're two decades removed from its release, many have started to reevaluate the game, but where did the critics land? Is this the major refresh they were looking for?

When it comes to the reviews, I think it's fair to say that none of the critics out and out hated any of the first three installments. Oh sure, you got a few middling scores, but certainly nothing that I would call scathing. That ends today, because the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine hated Wild Arms 4, giving it a savagely low 1.5 out of 5. “Just about every tired Japanese RPG standby you can imagine shows up here, trotted out one more time by developers who can't think of anything better. Just as bad is the tortured battle system, which indicates that Media Vision recognized the need to innovate but didn't have a clue how to begin. The hex grid scheme mainly makes every battle slow, with many turns wasted getting your party into range of the enemy. Having long since outlived its usefulness, the Wild Arms series has gone, with this entry, from merely banal to actively irritating.”

Now, before you start writing angry comments, it's worth noting that OPM was the outlier here. The next lowest score came from PSM, who liked it enough to give Wild Arms 4 a 7 out of 10. That's the same score that came out of Electronic Gaming Monthly. Jeremy came in strong: “I can't fault developer Media Vision for wanting to make Wild Arms 4 stand out from the usual RPG schlock, but its ambition has been squandered by some really strange decisions. Rather than trying to create, say, unique characters or a creative story, Wild Arms 4 is just more of the usual ‘plucky kids save the world from an evil empire that wants ancient weapons' – a mash-up of scenes and ideas you've seen in dozens other (better) RPGs. Even the sci-fi western feel has been discarded in favor of a more generic anime look. Not entirely unremarkable ... but mostly for the wrong reasons.” Shane agreed, to an extent, wondering “what the hell have they done to Wild Arms? This new installment will totally baffle fans of the series. With its gloomy post-industrial setting, moderately complex platforming bits and surprisingly different battle system, Wild Arms 4 bears little resemblance to its charming, wild west-themed predecessors.”

While none of the critics hated Wild Arms 4 as much as OPM, it's also fair to say that none of the critics loved it. The highest score comes from Game Informer, which gave it a so-so 7.5 out of 10. “The world of Filgaia definitely has a more modern and sci-fi look this time around; even though you won't see any lonesome cowboys, there are still plenty of great characters that drive the story forward. Unfortunately, these fights fall short of their potential. Just because the battles take place on a hexagonal grid doesn't automatically make them strategic. Wild Arms 4 does have some cool buff and debuff options, but the system isn't very deep or intricate and it relies too heavily on chance. It is functional, since it allows you to kill a bunch of monsters, but it never really succeeds at being interesting. In fact, this is pretty much par for the Wild Arms 4 course, as it consistently provides innovations for the series but nothing to distinguish it among its other RPG peers.”

Even without OPM's harsh review, Wild Arms 4 still wouldn't be up there with the two best-reviewed installments, Wild Arms 1 and 3. The critics seem disappointed by the change in tone and scenery, as well as the change in the combat style. This fourth installment managed to earn an overall average of 61%, making it the lowest-scoring game in the series by almost ten points. With only one more PlayStation 2 game (and a PSP spin-off), I'm starting to doubt that any game will be able to top that first Wild Arms.