Wild Arms and Breath of Fire

[Ando85]

I'm a big JRPG fan, but believe it or not I have little experience playing either of these series. The only one I finished was Wild Arms 2. I've played bits and pieces of a few of the others. I understand none of these are direct sequels, so for those who have played where would you recommend I start?

I have all 9 numbered titles in some way shape or form be it PSN or the physical game. I don't have XF or Alter Code F. I do have BoF Dragon Quarter, but not too fond of it and would rather start with the more traditional titles. Also, my BoF3 disc might not be in working order as I bought it used several years ago.

 

[krazykidd]

What ever you do don't play wild arms one . It didn't age well at all , and i'm not talking about graphics . My favorite is wild arms 3 . The hex system in 4 and 5 aren't bad . It's a new take on turn based combat . Worth looking into . Story and graphic wise they are pretty good , if not challenging . All in all they are fun games ,with a ton of extra content if you want to keep playing after you are done with the story . But ad a personal suggestion ,go with 3.

As for breath of fire , i only played 3. And true classic game . But i have nothing to compare it to .

Off topic : have you played the growlanser games? They are fun Sjrpgs , look into it if you don't know what they are .

 

[Ando85]

What ever you do don't play wild arms one . It didn't age well at all , and i'm not talking about graphics . My favorite is wild arms 3 . The hex system in 4 and 5 aren't bad . It's a new take on turn based combat . Worth looking into . Story and graphic wise they are pretty good , if not challenging . All in all they are fun games ,with a ton of extra content if you want to keep playing after you are done with the story . But ad a personal suggestion ,go with 3.

As for breath of fire , i only played 3. And true classic game . But i have nothing to compare it to .

Off topic : have you played the growlanser games? They are fun Sjrpgs , look into it if you don't know what they are .

I played Wild Arms 3 for about 10 hours. I just got sidetracked for whatever reason. I might start it up soon. Seems like a good choice.

I own Growlanser Generations but only finished Sense of Justice. I also have Heritage of War in my backlog. I should give it a go. I got a few hours into it and got sidetracked with other games.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

For both series' I would consider the 3rd to be best. With Wild Arms 4 and 5 it sort of felt like Grandia 3 with how they were counting on an admittedly excellent new battle system to make people overlook a more bare-bones plot.

If you can put up with annoyingly high encounter rates in some areas, the re-translation of Breath of Fire 2 is also available for download, and its story is pretty good.

 

[Ryuo]

Wild Arms I've never played, so I can't comment.

Breath Of Fire, however... I've played both 3&4, and they're both well worth playing. I'd argue that 3 is ultimately the better game, and one of the true unsung classics of the JRPG genre. It not only has a huge world, it also has an incredibly well-paced story that opens the world up to you in stages, meaning you're never swamped or overawed by what to do next. The story follows distinct 'acts', and they all lead on from each other in an involving way. Great cast of characters, simple but fun combat, about a million-and-one minigames and sidequests, and the Dragon Gene system is one of the coolest battle mechanics ever included in an RPG.

BOF 4 is still great, but it does feel a little like a step back in some regards. The world doesn't feel quite as huge, the Dragon Gene system gets totally nerfed, it doesn't feel like there's quite as much to do, at least initially... on the plus side, however, the world is a very interesting mash-up of Japanese and Indian artstyles, the story is possibly even more intriguing than the story in 3, the characters are all great. I wouldn't rate it as highly as 3, but it's still well worth playing.

I second this opinion to the letter. (Including not playing Wild Arms.)

BoF4 has a very interesting story, and unique aesthetic; however, I prefer BoF3 for reasons stated by Jeffers.

Both 3&4 aged well, which is a nice bonus.