Welcome to my completionists guide for the original Wild Arms game. For me, this was an absolute classic, and will always hold a special place in my heart. It was also the beginning of what would become an unforgettable era for RPGs on the PlayStation 1, after an already incredible era for them on the SNES. When you start a new game, you will be prompted to select a character's prologue. This guide will be beginning with "A wandering youth", but if you'd like to start with one of the other two characters, you can proceed to the next chapter; the order in which you complete the characters is entirely your choice.
If this is your first time playing Wild Arms, I highly recommend that at the title screen, you let the game sit for a minute or so and you will be treated to a background story that will not be told during the game and contains several important plot points.
We open with a young boy, Rudy, who is hard at work at the stables of the small village known as Surf. He will be given a Heal Berry as payment for his work and will be told to go and see the town's mayor. Now in control of Rudy, I recommend that you go into the game's settings and change your button configuration so that "Select" and "Dash" are different inputs. This is just my opinion, however, and them sharing a button may not bother you as much as it does me.
If you go around the building from where you start and throw the crates on the backside, you can pick up a Heal Berry and a Hardy Apple, the former that permanently increases a character' Vitality stat.
Make your way through the barn on the east-side, then check the barrel outside for 17 Gella.
To the north-side, around where this is a dog sitting outside a house, if you throw one of the chickens here it will turn into a Light Shroom item. This item can be obtained an infinite amount of times; the chicken will respawn each time you leave town and return.
On the west-side of the village, you can throw more crates for another Heal Berry.
Yet another Heal Berry is located in the barrel beside the house, near previously said crates.
On the eastern-side of Surf, throw the crate that is between two sets of barrels to pick up a Power Apple; this will increase a character's Strength statistic by 1, permanently.
Southeast, beside the house near the village entrance, pick up 20 Gella inside the barrel there.
Make your way to the mayor's house, which is beside the Memory Bird, then pick up 8 Gella from the barrel in the corner of the first floor.
Surf's mayor, Pifer, will give you your first tool: Bombs, then a fellow villager will rush in informing the mayor that a child has gone down to the Berry Cave by himself.
If you Bomb the Memory Bird outside, all the chickens in the village will become upset and mob Rudy! You can similarly do the same with the village's dog; whom will chase you.
Before we leave for the Berry Cave, make a stop at the village's store. It sells basic items, which I would recommend picking up a few extra Heal Berries, but also the Long Knife, which is Rudy's starting weapon. If you're a player that likes to collect multiple of every item, this shop is important. It's the only place you can purchase the Long Knife and this shop will be closed for the entirety of the game once you complete the next dungeon. You can, however, still get the Long Knife from an enemy drop. When you are ready, leave the village and make your way a small distance southeast to the Berry Cave.
Within the Berry Cave, unless you encountered one outside, you will be introduced to your first battles. While they are frequent, I recommend you fight every battle; as escaping can be troublesome at best depending on your character's Luck. If you check your character's status, their Luck, which will fluctuate, determines your chances of escape. If it is below "Good", I, personally, would not try to escape. If you encounter a Goblin or Tatzelbelm, you may consider using Rudy's Hand Cannon on them; they can hit fairly hard, but make sure to conserve your bullets.
Bomb the crates in the first room for a Heal Berry. Then continue on to the next, where you will need to throw a lever to move the statue.
Onward on the linear path is a chest with 50 Gella, then there will be another with the same inside after it, followed by a sign you need to Bomb. Next, before you flip the lever, Bomb the crate, then proceed to the next area.
You'll come across the above sign not too long afterwards. Going forward, in certain sections, if you dash through them, you will become inflicted with the "Bad Omen" status which increases your encounter rate, so just walk, for now.
You'll come across a chest with a Heal Berry farther inside, then right afterwards, another chest containing a Holy Symbol; which will cure the Bad Omen status if you happened to have picked it up.
Yet another Heal Berry is inside the crates you will pass next.
Down the next flight of stairs, you'll see this wall which looks suspicious, so plant on a Bomb on it. Inside, you'll find three chests with a Power Apple, Hardy Apple, and Agile Apple. The Agile Apple increases a character's Agility, permanently.
Go south and Bomb the crate for another Heal Berry, then proceed to the east, under the above walkway, to a chest containing 300 Gella. Then, further south, flip the left-side lever, then the right-side one, to move the statues from the stairs leading onward.
In the next room you will find a save point and a Bullet Clip item. Bullet Clips will fully reload one of Rudy's ARMs, but be conservative in using them; they are rare outside of being stolen/dropped by monsters.
You'll find Tony nearby and will need to Bomb your way through the wall. I get the feeling this entrance was covered for a reason...
In the next room, there is a semi-hidden chest containing a Bandanna helmet for Rudy. The Bandanna is a rare item that you only have a small window of opportunity later on to acquire more of, so hang on to it. You can then take the Holy Berry from the nearby altar. Tony will come in and the two will exit the Cave together...The ground will begin to shake and the monolith back where you found the Holy Berry will crack and crumble as Tony and Rudy meet the villagers at the entrance.
You'll then be thrown into your first boss battle against the Zombie. Normal attack until Rudy's Force builds to level 1, then use his ARM Lock On ability for a guaranteed Hand Cannon shot that hits. The Zombie's Rotten Breath deals a respectable amount of damage, but just make sure to use a Heal Berry if Rudy's HP gets below 60. Just to note, when a character's Force level rises, so does the character's attack and physical defense, but not magic. Because of this, it can be beneficial to sometimes fight without using your Force abilities.
Having seen Rudy use his ARM, the villagers will blame him for the earthquake and other recent misfortunes on their village...Whether you agree or not, the villagers will take Rudy back to Surf Village to decide on a punishment.
Listen to the ungrateful villagers talk about Rudy, then head downstairs and out of the village to begin your exile. Unfortunately, you won't be able to use Surf Village's shop anymore. Rudy's prologue having ended, the character select screen will come up, but before we pick another character, select Rudy again to be back out on the world map.
Head southeast down to the castle town of Adlehyde. Right at the entrance of town is a shop and an inn. I recommend using the Gella you obtained from the Berry Cave to purchase the Chrome Blade, Magical Rod, War Coat, and White Robe for the upcoming characters. While not necessary, it will help out. At the inn, an NPC can reload Rudy's ARMs for a cost, as well. For an extra scene, Rudy can also talk to the engineer, Emma, inside her
house (The one with the screw-looking sign outside of it). On the second floor of Emma's house you will find an ARMs meister who can upgrade Rudy's ARMs for a price. I would recommend prioritizing accuracy for the Hand Cannon, for now. When you are ready to play your next prologue, talk to the Memory Bird outside of the inn and select "Change". I'm going to be selecting "A girl from an abbey".
