deeply flawed and frustrating the face of its charm. it has some adorable presentation, the opening act culminating in the stand-off was really exciting. and GOD i love Virginia, the rest of the cast is sorta middling but FUCk she's so fun. not that i hate any of the other characters, but Virginia outshines them so hard that she should've been the sole protagonist somehow. i shouldn't have to say shit like this but having a JRPG with a great, fun female protagonist where NO ONE says weird shit about her or objectifies her and she's just allowed to be cool and the leader? fucking refreshing. LOVE her. the idea of playing through a wild west themed JRPG as a young girl off to find her destiny and become a (capital D) Drifter armed with dual revolvers and undying optimism hooked me the second it started.
but then the rest of the game started. and oh. the first big problem i encountered was in Gallows' prologue section. you need to find a temple, issue is i had no fucking clue where it was. and i couldn't exactly explore to find it considering the enemies that spawned in the overworld were all unwinnable battles. cool. turns out you actually need to just spam the square button around anywhere there might be an area, because i guess every town and temple in this world is under a cloaking device and our yeehaw asses can't see for shit. the combat itself is fine. like, it's okay. has some great customization, but it's not anything particularly involving. the system of force/medium moves have a unique balance that's more cute than compelling, most regular fights won't have you getting enough FP for it to really matter. same with the encounter dodge system, it's a cute concept but the sheer volume of encounters leads it to barely even matter. dungeons are generic, puzzles are simple. camera's kinda awkward.
Wild Arms 3 has really cool ideas and characters but it's just a bit too undercooked and lame as fuck in some areas. HOWEVER. i'm glad it exists just for Virginia Maxwell though. give her a remake or something she deserves it she fuckin RULES
but then the rest of the game started. and oh. the first big problem i encountered was in Gallows' prologue section. you need to find a temple, issue is i had no fucking clue where it was. and i couldn't exactly explore to find it considering the enemies that spawned in the overworld were all unwinnable battles. cool. turns out you actually need to just spam the square button around anywhere there might be an area, because i guess every town and temple in this world is under a cloaking device and our yeehaw asses can't see for shit. the combat itself is fine. like, it's okay. has some great customization, but it's not anything particularly involving. the system of force/medium moves have a unique balance that's more cute than compelling, most regular fights won't have you getting enough FP for it to really matter. same with the encounter dodge system, it's a cute concept but the sheer volume of encounters leads it to barely even matter. dungeons are generic, puzzles are simple. camera's kinda awkward.
Wild Arms 3 has really cool ideas and characters but it's just a bit too undercooked and lame as fuck in some areas. HOWEVER. i'm glad it exists just for Virginia Maxwell though. give her a remake or something she deserves it she fuckin RULES