I noticed the topic being discussed on GAF today; and not being a member, I couldn't join in.

It's also one of the earliest topics I created when signing up to reddit, and I got some pretty nice discussion there.

So I was just wondering if there was anyone else on VGChartz who was a fan of this series and if so, what they thought of it.  Soriku is welcome to elaborate his thoughts further on why WA5 is great (!)

From the games in the series I've played, I'd rate them as: 3 > 5 > 1 > 4.

Personally, my favourite game in the series is 3.  It refined the battle system - which was admittedly pinched from Breath of Fire - into a fine point.  The western setting was a stroke of genius and I really like how they worked in things like horseback battles; and many of the early themes of the story focused on the setting itself, which was great.  It did get a bit more 'generic RPG plot' towards the end and I saw a few complaints on GAF that it was too long, but honestly during the 70+ hours I put into the game, I can't say I ever felt like stopping playing.

I also thought the characters were much better than in any other game in the series, possibly bar the first.  Virginia was a great, interesting lead character; and Clive wasn't what I'd expect from a JRPG either (a middle aged man with a family).  The side characters, while hit and miss, were definitely fleshed out a great deal as well; with villains like Janus keeping the first chapter of the game incredibly interesting, while recurring side-characters like the Schroedingers provided great foils for the main cast with some much needed comic relief.

I'd throw passing props to 4 & 5 as well.  I often see 4 slated (for example, in that GAF post) for being childish and boring but personally, I had a fantastic time with it.  Jude was an annoying character and the story was often a bit frustrating; but the platforming dungeons were a huge amount of fun, and the HEX battle system I found was a really smart move.  5 improves on the features brought in even more, which definitely made it a better game on the whole (also, it had a world map!), but the story I personally found a lot worse than 4.  The twists towards the end of the game were predictable and the final scenes of the game weren't a satisfying pay off for the time I put in.

I need to complete my collection of the series at some point in the future.  XF is something I'll get around to once I have the time to get really stuck in to a tactical RPG.  As 2 is on USA PSN, I'll at least be able to play it on my PS3 if I make an American account and get a pre-paid card, which is nice; but Alter Code F is a bit of a struggle for me as it never released in Europe.

Still, let me know your thoughts about the series if you've ever played any of the titles!

Wut? there are 7 of them? 1 > 3 > 2.. didn't knew that there were more..

only own 1-4, can't really say I have a fav but i'll go with 4 since i've played that the most

I played a bit of all except alter code F because it never came out in the EU.

Wild Arms 3 is my favorite because of the art style. They changed the combat system for 4 and 5. To be honest, it didnt bother me, but i didnt see a need for it either.
With that said, Wild Arms 5 did seem pretty good aswell, even though i never had the chance to play it properly.

Wild arms 1 was a bit of a joke. It came off a bit before FF7, so it profited from that hype and lack of anything better, but it was horrible with those Big headed models. WA2 was ok. WA4 was a waste of potencial, like they had lost all funding after WA3. They revamped the combat, lost the cell-shaded look and lost the cut-scenes for a poor 2D presentation. It wasnt terrible, but it was definitly a step back.

I definitly think it was a mistake to lose the cell-shaded presentation after 3. It was a perfect fit for the series.

Thinking about it... it would be awesome if Sony made an HD collection of the PS2 games for the Vita (personally i would like for it to have Alter code F, Wlid arms 3 and wild arms 5). We can only hope. :(

First... the only I played... the other are meh so I didn't waste my time lol.

Did you actually play them?

Also, yay.  There are 4 more people who have played Wild ARMs on VGChartz than I thought there would be!

No. I liked the first after read something in a magazine... so I bought it and loved it... one of GOOD JRPGs I played in PS1 (well Grandia, Xenogears, FFVII, FFVIII, etc were better games).

But after that what I read about the second and third makes abandon the franchise.

So the first is a pretty good game... mainly because the gameplay (a lot inspired in old JRPGs games).

But what did you read?  Go check that thread on GAF, a lot of people bigging up the 3rd and 5th games :P

It's a very good series.  I'd recommend checking the other titles out one day if you wanted to play a new JRPG.

I have them all but I have only played the first three (Plus the remake of the first). I would have to say 2 is definitely the worst. But I like the first one/remake better then the third. So 1>3>2

I didn't remember because happened 1997-2000... the magazine didn't exist anymore (called "Gamers" in Brazil I guess).

I will check the other games in the future if I have a chance.