The PSP has become the de facto target platform for SRPGs, and as a fan of the genre I couldn't be happier. The great screen and the familiar PlayStation button layout work exceedingly well for the genre, and being able to put the system to sleep ensure that even long drawn-out battle can be played in quick bursts.

Unfortunately, Wild ARMs XF (pronounced "crossfire") falls short in most aspects. Hex-based maps are a welcome change from the genre convention square tiles, but missions are poorly designed, and the more flexible battlefields don't help. Crossfire features a lot of interesting and unique jobs, but you won't really get a chance to use them as you see fit because each mission pins you into a specific job. And Wild ARMs XF manages to capture the feel of the wild west in every regard except for weapons. For a game that supposedly takes place in the wild west there are scant few guns to be used. Additionally, most SRPGs are carried by their battle system so a cliché "kill all these guys; now kill those guys" plot is acceptable, but in Crossfire the hackneyed plot is just one more aspect that noticeably fails to deliver.

Mission objectives stray from the norm insofar as escort missions and stealth missions show up far too often to satisfy a tactical battles craving. To make matters worse, neither mission type is handled well. If any of your party members are spotted by enemies whose lines of sight you can't see the mission must be restarted. Such a tight restriction is bad enough when you're the one in control, but non-controllable characters show up in stealth missions and tend to get caught. The only strategy that seems to work is to play the mission, take note of the NPC's path, and don't get in their way.

Further diluting the strategy portion of this SRPG is the invisible hand of the developer pushing you toward a specific class for each mission. Much of the fun to be had in a class-based SRPG lies in creating the combatant or team that most appeals to me and adapting my strategy to fit my taste in warriors. Crossfire takes this freedom away from the player by designing each mission with specific goals that can only really be met with one class. Don't like to play as a healer? Too bad. It's the only way to ensure all the NPC villagers make it from one end of the map to the other.

Issues of balance abound as well. In most tactics games, higher-level characters are difficult, but not impossible to beat with a well-managed team. In Crossfire, however, enemies that are a mere three levels above your own average will absolutely destroy your team. Levels are important, and higher-level enemies provide encouragement for the player to develop his or her team, but here character level carries far too much weight causing it to outshine strategy as the driving force behind a victory.

Visually, Wild ARMs is beautiful. Character models are large and detailed, battle maps are varied with different flora, differing terrain heights, and a good amount of both indoor and outdoor maps. Time was spent to make the interface both visually appealing and full of pertinent information. Unfortunately, the slick interface and clean visuals can't make up for Crossfire's numerous shortcomings.

May 28, 2008 | 0 comments
Justin Last