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SCE is celebrating the tenth year anniversary of “Wild Arms” series with the fifth title in the series, “The Vth Vanguard”. “Wild Arms The Vth Vanguard” continues the tradition of three main characters.

Every work in the Wild Arms series is an independent story, but all of them revolve around the same theme – Vanguard. This time, the stage is an alternative world melding fantasy and the frontier of the West. The three main characters embark on a journey into the wilderness to rescue the world from a crisis. The character images are so attractive with true-to-life facial expressions and dramatic performances of the small movements in the limbs enhance the charms of the characters.

Story

The male main character is Dean, a 16 years old boy, who dreams of being a Golem Hunter. Dean takes his first steps towards realizing that dream when he meets one of the two female main characters, Avril, a twenty years old girl, who fell from the sky in the arm of a Golem and remembers only one thing, the mysterious phrase “Johnny Appleseed”. Also joining the main character is a 16 years old Rebecca. You are started off with all three characters together. And the game takes place in the world of “Filgaia”.

Combat System

The Hex system from Wild Arms 4 returns in Wild Arms 5. During combat, the field is split into 5 hexagonal sections, some of which may have special properties. The player and enemies can move to different hexagons during their turn. This time around, the party count is three instead of four. (This change may be a deliberate throwback to the original Wild Arms.)

Exploration

Wild Arms 5 is a third-person console RPG. There is no world map in this game. Intead, the player traverses a world that is scaled like those of Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest VIII. Besides walking, the player can travel across Filgaia by employing various vehicles, including a train and monowheel. The field avatar cannot be changed; Dean is always the leader.

Dungeon exploration has two modes:

ACT Mode

The player can jump, slide, and interact with objects. Similar to controlling Jude in Wild Arms 4.

SHT (Shooting) Mode

Dean draws both of his ARMs and can fire them freely. By employing various cartridges, the player can interact with the environment in a number of ways. Some examples include activating distant switches, breaking down obstacles, lighting torches, freezing objects, and grappling up to higher places.

Developer : Media, Vision
Publisher : SCE
Genre : RPG
Platform : Playstation 2
Release Date : JP 14 December 2006, US TBA, NA TBA
ESRB : RP