Wild Arms 2: What in Blazes?

Kind of a dummy What’s going on here?

This is a Let’s Play of Wild Arms 2. This is not a franchise-spanning Let’s Play like some LPs, just Wild Arms 2.

So will you be addressing the other Wild Arms games?

Not very much! Truth be told, I only played Wild Arms 1 (and its remake), Wild Arms 2, and Wild Arms 3 to completion. By the time of Wild Arms 4, I had kind of fallen out of love with playing every JRPG that came down the pike, and I quit that one somewhere about halfway through. Wild Arms 5 met a similar fate, and Wild Arms PSP was a gorram tactics game, and who has time for that?

So what’s the spoiler policy here?

You can pretty much assume I’m not going to spoil other Wild Arms games, because I can barely remember those adventures. Actually, that’s a lie, I’m probably going to bring up superficial similarities between WA2 and other WA games (that I’ve played), but, in general, this will be laser-focused on WA2. I will also likely spoil Final Fantasy 7, a game wherein Aeris dies, and other JRPGS contemporary to Wild Arms 2. I will also inevitably make references to Kingdom Hearts and Xenosaga, because, hi, I’m Goggle Bob.

Should I read this LP if I’ve never played Wild Arms 2 before?

Sure, why not? I may make oblique references to future events, so don’t expect a completely “surprise-based” Let’s Play, but, other than that, I’ll be doing my best to make sure old fans and new may enjoy this Playstation 1 JRPG from 1999.

What will be the focus of this Let’s Play?

Like a certain other franchise, Wild Arms 2 has a reputation for having a confusing mess of a plot. Whether this is because of a weird translation (“weird” is probably the best descriptor here), the plot is plain bonkers, or some combination of both is immaterial. One way or another, it seems that a lot of people that played Wild Arms 2 have no damn idea what just happened, so maybe this Let’s Play will rectify that.

So you’re focusing on the story?

It’s what I do! Speaking of “What I do”, like the Xenosaga LP, I will be cheating my ass off here, so don’t expect killer boss strategies.

Cheating? Again?

Wild Arms 2 has a classic JRPG battle system. That means it’s boring as hell. I don’t think I’d be able to continue the LP if I had to repeat a dungeon, like, once. Sorry! This cheating is for your own good.

Picture or Video LP?

I’m gonna copy and paste this from the last LP: Picture, for two reasons. One, I personally find it difficult to “follow” video LPs, if only because if I’m in a situation where I can sit down and “watch” something, I’m probably watching a scripted show, and not someone else play a video game. This isn’t to disparage video LPs, incidentally, it’s just how my own viewing habits work, which naturally influences what I myself produce.

Are these pictures small?

Sorry if it’s a little hard to read, but I’m formatting these shots so they’ll appear well on mobile devices as well as computers-proper. I have a tendency to browse the net on my phone, and, again, I’m a giant narcissist, so I assume my audience is me. I understand me.

Hey, you missed (fill in the blank)! What gives?

This isn’t a walk through, and I’m not going to hit every single sidequest, because I want this thing to end before the heat death of the universe. I’m also not, if I can help it, using a FAQ, so it’s pretty inevitable that I’m going to miss some stuff. All that said, the comments are open for the whole LP, and I do tend to read and reply to them.

This is a classic JRPG with a lot of name options, may we, the audience, choose the names of characters?

No! This is a no fun zone! Errmm… I mean… In the interest of fully analyzing the plot, we’ll be sticking to the default names for most of the characters. … I just really don’t want to write a thousand page essay on the motivations of PANTS! Winchester.

When does this LP Update?

The Let’s Play is over now, so never again. What you see below is what you get.

Anything else?

Special thanks to this Wild Arms 2 script that has saved me quite a bit of time.

Wild Arms 2 Let’s Play Index

Prologue

· 01: Going to the Dogs

· 02: The Girl in the Box

· 03: Wide-Eyed Heroes

· 04: Chasing Cats and Legends

Chapter 1

· 05: Magicians and Monsters

· 06: Prisoners and Pugilists

· 07: Under Traffic Under Siege

· 08: Reach Out and Threaten Someone

· 09: The Kids Are (not) Alright