Line #89 VideoGame/WildArms2


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wild_arms_2.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The sunset got more room than the characters.]]
3	''Wild [=ARMs=]: The 2nd Ignition'' is the second in the series of [[RolePlayingGame roleplaying video games]] produced by the Sony Company. Released in the year 2000, the game shares stylistic elements (combining the {{Western}} genre with both {{Fantasy}} ''and'' ScienceFiction) with the previous game, but no direct story connection.
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5	Like the other ''VideoGame/WildArms'' games, the story takes place on the planet Filgaia, which, long ago, was attacked by a powerful demon. A magical sword chose a young woman, known as the Sword Magess, to wield it against the monster, banishing it to another dimension. Centuries later, when a young man is possessed by the demon, he is also granted the sword's powers, which not only returns him to normal but grants him great powers. Because of that, he is chosen to become part of the A.R.M.S., a new international anti-terrorist organization, to combat Odessa, a group that seeks to rule the world. Joining him are various heroes from around the planet.
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7	Most of the playable characters have (non-canonical) cameos in ''VideoGame/WildArms5'', just like all the other heroes in the series. Marivel also stars in a story that the characters read in ''VideoGame/WildArms3''.
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9	----
10	!!This game provides examples of:
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12	* AbsurdlyLongStairway: Nearing the end of the game there's the spiral tower, which has an extremely long staircase leading down into the center of the planet. Once you get to the end of the staircase you have to go through another dungeon then fight several minibosses, and the final boss to beat the game.
13	* AdjectiveNounFred: Most bosses are named like this.
14	* TheAlcatraz: Ilsveil Prison.
15	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: At least once.
16	* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The vocals of the opening were replaced with a trumpet solo in the Western release.
17	* ArcWords: Hero. The entire game is an analysis of what it means to be a hero.
18	* ArtisticLicenseSpace: The term "Kuiper Belt" in this game refers to [[spoiler:an EldritchAbomination that's best described as a sentient and evil parallel universe]]. In real life, the Kuiper belt is simply a ring of debris which surrounds the Solar System.
19	* AscendedExtra: You'll be surprised to see how much Tony took Marina's screen time in the Drama CD.
20	* BabiesEverAfter: In the epilogue, [[spoiler:Ashley and Marina have two kids]].
21	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Irving and his sister both had to die to destroy the Kuiper Belt. And, as always, Filgaia is still a wasteland that is slowly recovering.]]
22	* {{BFS}}
23	** Ashley's weapon isn't actually a sword, but a rather normal rifle...equipped with a ridiculously large bayonet that may as well ''be'' a sword.
24	** The sword Argetlam might as well count. While it won't rival some other [=BFSes=], it's as large if not larger than Ashley's bayonet.
25	* {{BFG}}: Brad's weapons of choice are generally this, especially his Railgun.
26	* BlindIdiotTranslation: The game script has signs of this throughout and it's jarring when one comes upon them, but overall the translation is actually fairly decent for a Playstation-era Japanese RPG. Not to say it's great, but it's definitely better than both versions of ''VideoGame/WildArms1''.
27	** Liz's poetry is this; since it's originally a mass of Japanese cultural references, translated directly it becomes a mass of gibberish.
28	** Brad's HoYay subtext actually comes from this, due to the games overuse of PurpleProse in its writing.
29	* BefriendingTheEnemy: Ashley & company develop a friendship this way with Kanon. Kanon, a demon hunter, has made it her mission to assassinate Ashley who [[SuperPoweredEvilSide is possessed by]] the ancient demon Lord Blazer who Kanon's ancestor sealed away thousands of years ago. The team reluctantly fight repeated battles with Kanon, until Ashley manages to convince her that he's a good person, and asks her to join the group plus entrusting her with the responsibility of striking him down (and killing Lord Blazer) if he can't control the demon's influence any longer [[spoiler: when this moment finally does arrive however she can't bring herself to kill Ashley as she's developed feelings of friendship with him and the other members of ARMS.]]
30	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: With [[spoiler:Judecca after his boss fight]], as [[SoundOnlyDeath the camera turns away]] (along with Tim and Lilka) right before a bright flash and sound like a gunshot, then turns back to show [[spoiler:Judecca's body falling away into the void inside his Diablo Pillar]].
31	* BlockPuzzle
32	* BloodFromTheMouth: Judecca coughs up a sizable spray after his boss fight, to help get the point across with the sprite artwork.
33	* BoxedCrook: Prisoner No. 666 Brad Evans.
34	* BossSubtitles: Before a boss fight, the boss is shown as a black silhouette on a red background, and their name along with a title.
35	* BrotherSisterIncest: In one scene, it's very strongly implied that [[spoiler:Irving engages in sexual intercourse with his sister Altaecia]].
36	* TheCameo: Axel and Ruka (translated as 'Luka' in the English version) from ''Gunner's Heaven'' appear in a bar named after their game of origin.
37	* ChildMage: Tim and Lilka.
38	* CognizantLimbs: A lot of bosses have body parts which can be targeted and destroyed. Doing so may stop the boss from using certain attacks, and will also grant you bonus experience and gold after the fight.
39	* CombinedEnergyAttack: [[spoiler:How the BigBad is destroyed.]]
40	* CurbStompBattle: The second battle with Trask after Ashley [[spoiler: gains his superpower]]. What was about half an hour ago a reasonably tough boss battle for Ashley, Lilka and Brad is now a powerless wimp for Ashley by himself. Trask can barely hurt Ashley with the big damage attack, and does single digits (or 0 depending on your level and gear) damage with its regular attacks, and seems to always miss with the poison breath. All it can do is flail around helplessly while you murder it.
41	* DesertPunk
42	* DiscOneFinalDungeon: Heimdall Gazzo, which leads up to [[spoiler: Ashley temporarily being stranded in outer space]].
43	* DoNotAdjustYourSet: Odessa makes itself known to the world by transmitting Vinsfeld's message across ''every reflective surface in the world.''
44	* {{Doppelganger}}: [[spoiler:Several fashioned in Brad's image.]]
45	** GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler: Copied so well they include his ExplosiveLeash. Oops.]]
46	* DreamingOfThingsToCome: The Dreamseers of the Baskar have this ability, granted by the Guardians.
47	* DuelBoss: Trask (the second time), Caina (the last time), [[spoiler:Brad's doppelganger]], Judecca, Vinsfield, the [[spoiler:Kuiper Belt roots]] and [[spoiler:Lord Blazer]]. Possibly even more. There are a lot of 'em.
48	** Until you get your fifth party member, you can arrange for any battle to be one.
49	* EdgeGravity
50	* EldritchAbomination: Lord Blazer, along with the SealedEvilInACan like Ragu O'Ragula. And then there's [[spoiler:the Kuiper Belt]], which is somewhere between this and...
51	* EldritchLocation: [[spoiler:[[BossSubtitles Encroaching Parallel Universe: Kuiper Belt]]]]
52	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: ''Everyone'' in Meria assumes Ashley and Marina are going to get together sooner rather than later, no matter [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend how much Ashley protests]]. It doesn't help his case that Ashley spends his first leave from [=ARMs=] visiting her, or that he instantly decides to give her a gem he finds. Not to mention he goes into a genuine panic when someone brings it up.
53	* EvilCounterpart: Odessa to ARMS in general, and Cocytus to the main team in specific. The Cocytus members often parallel or invert something important about their counterpart in ARMS. To wit:
54	** Irving and Vinsfeld, as leaders of their respective organizations, are both charismatic and forceful personalities. Under them, ARMS and Odessa grow from a local to a global scale but still entrust important missions to a small core cadre of elites. Vinsfeld looks like he could be Irving's cousin, with similar hair styles and profiles, but a much more sinister-looking fashion sense. Where Irving needs a crutch, Vinsfeld is fit but with a massive sword - though Irving was said to have once been a skilled swordsman himself.
55	** Ashley and Judecca, as the gunmen of their teams. Ashley is still young and naive, struggling to come to grips with his childhood fantasy of being a "hero" and what it means in a world that's more complex than he realized. Judecca is his inverse, as a PsychopathicManchild who thinks cynicism is a substitute for wisdom, denigrating the very idea of the "hero" and caring nothing for the world beyond himself.
56	** Brad and Ptolomea, as the BigGuy of their respective teams with penchants for massive melee weapons and explosives. Both are veterans. Both turn out to be far more caring than their hostile exteriors suggest. Both also ended up in leadership positions that didn't turn out well for them - Brad is [[SurvivorGuilt one of the only survivors of his old comrades]], while Ptolomea [[spoiler:reverses things, asking you to be lenient to his men when he dies]].
57	** Lilka and Antenora, as something of TheHeart for their teams. Both are apparently the only living members of their families, and are part of different love triangles - Lilka [[spoiler:loses hers]], while Antenora [[spoiler:has already won hers]]. Lilka struggles to find direction for her life, overshadowed by her missing sister. Antenora, meanwhile, has an abundance of direction, all toward [[spoiler:the grave, as she intends on getting herself killed after winning Vinsfeld's heart, to then rip it out with her death in a long-delayed vengeance for the deaths of her family in the Slayheim revolution]].
58	** Tim and Caina, both androgynous-looking young men who tap into powers outside themselves. Tim draws on the world's Guardians through the spirit Pooka, gaining attack magic but also providing the team's SummonMagic. Caina is also Odessa's user of SummonMagic, thanks to the strange power he draws from a magic key to call creatures and forces from beyond the world, rather than of the world.
59	* EvolvingCredits: The opening animation changes depending on which disk you're on.
60	* EvolvingWeapon: You can buy upgrades for Ashley's and Brad's guns.
61	* ExplosiveLeash: On Brad.
62	* FakeDifficulty: You can't buy healing items (though as with later games, this is justified as Filgaia is mostly a barren wasteland). You also can't take back Personal Skill points once you've used them to buy skills. Did you buy a useless skill? Sorry! [[spoiler:Put everything into Up HP first and don't ever get the status resistances, with the ''possible'' exception of Ability Block.]] However, see the GameBreaker entry on healing items.
63	* FamedInStory: "The Eleniak Witch-Girl", Lilka's older sister. Which makes it odd that she's [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Only Known By Her Nickname]].
64	* FantasticNuke: One mission has you intercepting a "nuclear weapon". It gets unleashed and it's a nuclear breathing ''dragon''.
65	** Also the Angel's Halo, which was used on the country of Slayheim prior to the start of the game and left behind nothing but endless plains of salt.
66	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The American Old West combined with the Modern World.
67	* FreeRotatingCamera
68	* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: [[spoiler: The Kuiper Belt]] is only vaguely hinted at once in the first disc, and is the focus of the second.
69	** On a smaller scale, there are also plenty of random giant monsters for the party to fight throughout the story.
70	** Played with by [[spoiler:Lord Blazer]]. It was obvious [[spoiler:he and Ashley would eventually fight]], but not many expected [[spoiler:him to be the ''FinalBoss''.]]
71	* GRatedSex: [[spoiler: Ashley and Marina]]. The scene does a FadeToBlack, but the subtitles remain.
72	** Likewise [[spoiler: Irving and Altaecia Valeria]]. The same thing happens, but it's somewhat less G-Rated considering [[spoiler: it's incest]].
73	* GuideDangIt:
74	** Some of the puzzle solutions, especially on the second disc, are quite obscure and would have required references on Website/TheOtherWiki if The Other Wiki had ''existed'' back then. Also, if you don't receive recommendations on which Personal Skills to pour your points into ([[PointOfNoReturn which you can't take back, by the way, unlike the games that followed]]), it's very easy to have an underpowered party and struggle through the game.
75	** The game also gives zero explanation on how Tim learns new spells. [[spoiler:He must kill a certain number of enemies for each Guardian Rune and the exact number can be checked in the status screen]].
76	* HelloInsertNameHere: To a rather ridiculous extent; you can name not only the party members and Lilka's spells, but almost every single plot-important NPC ally in the game.
77	* HeroicSacrifice: [[DeconstructedTrope This is a major theme throughout the game. Apparently, it's the job of heroes to sacrifice their happiness and their lives so the common people don't have to fight.]] The game makes a heavy point of pointing out all the myriad flaws of this idea. [[spoiler:In the end a planet-wide CombinedEnergyAttack is much more effective.]]
78	** The Sword Magess, when the Blaze of Disaster previously attacked Filgaia.
79	** [[spoiler:Brad left in what appeared to have DroppedABridgeOnHim, but it was really FakingTheDead as the sacrifice was actually one of his {{Doppelganger}}s.]]
80	** [[spoiler:Irving and Altaecia.]]
81	* TheHero: The concept is put through the wringer, along with HeroicSacrifice, above. Ashley's early fixation on becoming a hero comes off as fairly naive, Brad is hostile to the very idea (and blames it for his arrest at the beginning of the game), and Kanon is utterly driven by the need to live up to her legendary ancestor, the Sword Magess. Just to drive it in further, after you fight Kanon for the third time, Judecca comes along to mock her and Ashley and the simplistic black-and-white morality inherent in the idea:
82	---> '''Judecca:''' The 'Demon' and 'Hero' are passing dreams, a bequest from the past.
83	** This concept is so ubiquitous and explored that pretty much every character in the story is a hero in some way, to someone or something. It's such a {{Deconstruction}}, {{Reconstruction}}, and DiscussedTrope of the ideology of heroism that even the villains are heroes from a FromACertainPointOfView, [[spoiler: including, and especially, Irving]]. Think of pretty much any HeroTropes you can, and it'll be in this story somewhere.
84	* HonorBeforeReason: Kanon is obsessed with her family honor, as is Irving. [[spoiler:Not particularly surprising as they are in the same family, after all.]]
85	* HomoeroticSubtext: Caina and Vinsfield (Caina was [[ShesAManInJapan male in the Japanese version]]); definitely also Billy Pilder and Brad Evans.
86	** Caina is male for the ''entire first disc'' of the American version, as well. And part of the second.
87	* HumongousMecha: Marivel uses these as her summons. Some of the Bosses are Mecha as well.
88	** "Dragons" in this series [[OurDragonsAreDifferent are essentially Humongous Bio-Mecha]], but especially Lombardia, who can [[TransformingMecha turn into a jet]]. [[spoiler:She even gets a Gundam-esque "launch sequence" when you first recruit him as your GlobalAirship.]]
89	* ImprobableWeaponUser: Lilka (umbrellas) and Marivel (robot-things)
90	* InsufferableGenius: Marivel, mixed with [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Girl]]. And Liz. especially Liz.
91	* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Duplicators.
92	* InterfaceSpoiler: There are slots for six party members. Also, while [[HelloInsertNameHere you can name many characters in this game]], playable characters will have a portrait when you do so even if there is otherwise no hint that they will ever join you.
93	* JustifiedTutorial: All three characters' introductory chapters, since they can be done in any order.
94	* LetsSplitUpGang: For the final three sub-boss fights.
95	* TheLifestream: Glaive Le Gable.
96	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Way to go, [[spoiler:Irving]]. You genuinely saved the universe, and all it took was a boatload of NecessarilyEvil that [[DespairEventHorizon tore the heroes an emotional new one]]. Oh, and did I mention that the demon inside of Ashley feeds off of negative feelings? [[spoiler:The demon that ''you put there!?'']]
97	* NonLethalBottomlessPits
98	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lilka's sister, "The Eleniak Witch-Girl". Quite odd, considering she's FamedInStory to the point of Lilka having a bit of an inferiority complex.
99	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Unlike in the other Wild Arms games, the demons here are not aliens, but actual supernatural beings.
100	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: They're sentient, bio-mechanical airships.
101	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: [[spoiler:Marivel]] and the other Crimson Nobles. They're still pretty traditional Vampires as far as this trope is concerned (Exposure to sunlight is life-threatening, they drink blood, they even have the fancy collars and [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} annoyingly-designed castle]]).
102	* PartyInMyPocket
103	* PensieveFlashback: The Memory Maze.
104	* PercussiveMaintenance: Using Brad's kick ability on a malfunctioning computer terminal in the prison level makes it work again, giving you access to a room with a few bonus stat boosters.
105	* PlotTailoredToTheParty: Some of the dungeons are tailored to the party's skills to a ''ridiculous'' extreme. Others are slightly justified by having the tool necessary to get through given right there - either left behind by the makers (such as Tim's Air Ballet) or given expressly because it could be used to get through (Ashley's throwing knife).
106	* ThePowerOfFriendship: A mild theme throughout the game, [[spoiler:exemplified in Ashley's Impulse ability in the final battle]].
107	* RecurringBoss: You fight almost every major villain three times, including each member of Cocytus, Kanon, Liz and Ard, and Vinsfeld [[spoiler:(the third time is his ghost)]].
108	* SavePoint: The [[InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals Memory Service Ladies]] who appear in towns and the Amazing Stones that are found in dungeons.
109	* TheScapegoat: Brad is in jail for a crime he didn't commit; later, Ashley and company almost get executed [[spoiler: but SuperPoweredEvilSide [[DeusExMachina Ex Machina]] happens]].
110	* ShoutOut: The land of Urartu was once the home of the [[spoiler:Crimson Nobles]], but was genocidally depopulated during the past rampage of Lord Blazer. Urartu is an archaic name for UsefulNotes/{{Armenia}}, where a RealLife genocide in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI killed 1.5 million Armenians, including nearly the entire Armenian population in most of the former West Armenia.
111	** There's a poster of [[{{Anime/Trigun}} Vash the Stampede]] in Marina's bedroom.
112	** The Japanese version has a spell called [[Franchise/SailorMoon Deep Submerge]] and a dungeon called the [[Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne Zone of Absolute Fortune]].
113	** Tim's friends are named [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] and [[ComicBook/XMen Scott Summers]].
114	* SolemnEndingTheme: "Atomic Arms" and "Zephyr's", the ending themes of Disc 1 and 2 respectively.
115	* SpritePolygonMix: Overworld sprites, polygon battle screens.
116	* StableTimeLoop: Ashley meets [[spoiler:the Sword Magess, Lucied, and Marivel]] during a time travel sequence.
117	* StupidSacrifice: Luckily averted in [[spoiler:Tim's]] case, and is a major theme throughout the story.
118	* ThemeMusicPowerUp
119	** Transforming into Knight Blazer is accompanied by an awesome theme song that lets it be known that you're about to kick some serious ass.
120	** The final boss theme is a remix of the game's main theme, "[[YouAreNotAlone You'll Never Be Alone]]". [[spoiler:Appropriately, Ashley has just transformed into a warrior capable of wielding the Argetlahm and using ThePowerOfFriendship to kick ass.]]
121	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The final dungeon in this game sees the party heading into [[spoiler: the living, mud core of the planet called Glaive Le Gable,]] where [[spoiler: an encroaching parallel universe has been manifested into a physical form.]] Before this dungeon was a huge, inverted Spiral Tower located conveniently on the center of the world map, and on the highest point to boot.
122	* TheVoice: Lilka's sister.
123	* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Irving bankrolled Odessa. Either Vinsfeld takes over the world, gaining the resources needed to defeat the Kuiper Belt, or the world unites to help ARMS defeat Vinsfeld, in which case they'll be in a position to cooperate to stop the Kuiper Belt. Either way, Irving has succeeded in creating something that can potentially defeat the Kuiper Belt.]]
124	* WellIntentionedExtremist
125	** Odessa wants to unify the world... with themselves on top, of course, in such a way that they're also WesternTerrorists.
126	** Kanon starts out as this when you first meet her, but she gets better.
127	** Then there's the man behind Odessa: [[spoiler:Irving.]]
128	* WhatTheHellHero: To say Ashley is outraged over [[spoiler:Baskar Village's [[StupidSacrifice plans]] for Tim]] would be a ''huge'' understatement. He's also outraged that [[spoiler:Irving arranged for him to be sent to Ilsveil Prison, risking both his and Lilka's lives, just to recruit Brad.]]
129	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: A series of short skits, followed by still images over the end credits, show the lives of the characters as they "retire" and go their separate ways. Followed by another short skit set a year later as the members and crew of ARMS reunite to [[spoiler:leave the Argetlam as a memorial for Irving and Altaecia]].

Context VideoGame / WildArms2