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ARMS
Playable Characters
Ashley Winchester
Ashley Winchester
A young man who belongs to a military organization called the Musketeers, later promoted to a special task force code-named ARMs. After a terrorist attack he finds himself burdened with great power. His weapon is an advanced bayonet.
- Background Music Override: The battle theme changes when Ashley uses his Knightblazer form.
- Big Damn Heroes: Ashley does this a few times.
- BFS: Both his bayonet's blade, which is ridiculously large, and Argetlahm.
- Demonic Possession: He is possessed by Lord Blazer at the end of the prologue, but is actually able to keep him in check and even gets a Super Mode from him. Until the final battle, that is.
- Duel Boss: He's got quite a few boss fights where he has to fight alone. In order, we've got Kalivos, Trask, Vinsfield, Caina, Grauswein and Lord Blazer.
- Empathic Weapon: Argetlahm
- Enemy Within: He fuses with a demon destined to destroy the world.
- Evolving Weapon: You can buy upgrades for it as you go along.
- Gender-Blender Name: For those who don't realize that "Ashley" was once more prominently a guy's name.
- Henshin Hero: Via Access. Ashely transforms into a being that is a balance between Lord Blazer, a Demon King and the Arghetlahm, a Holy Sword.
- The Kid with the Leash: He must contain Lord Blazer within himself.
- Lightning Bruiser: Especially when he obtains Access.
- Previous Player-Character Cameo: In Wild Arms 5 he gives a sidequest to Dean Stark.
- Scarf of Asskicking: His Knightblazer form.
- Superpowered Evil Side: His Knight Blazer form.
- Took a Level in Badass: As a result of Caina taking Marina hostage and attempting to get revenge via killing her, his emotions cause his Knight Blazer form to become the golden Knight OverBlazer, which while more powerful is harder to control because it's due to the balance leaning towards Lord Blazer.
Lilka Eleniak
Lilka Eleniak
A teenage wizard-in-training who takes her missing sister's place in the team, despite her self-doubts. She fights with umbrellas.
- All Love Is Unrequited: It later becomes clear that Lilka is in love with Ashley, but can't have him because he's in love with Marina.
- Big Eater: Like Cecilia before her, and like Cecilia justified by her being a Crest Sorceress who needs the extra calories.
- Child Mage: She's a 14-year-old sorceress.
- Inept Mage: Her magic is usually reliable... except for her teleportation spell, which sometimes goes wrong. Her Establishing Character Moment has her accidentally teleport in the middle of a meeting.
- Parasol of Pain: Her weapon of choice is an umbrella.
- Parasol of Prettiness: Symbolizing innocence. Evident in her official art as well as her battle end pose.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Jelly rolls. (Yakisoba bread in the original Japanese version.)
Brad Evans
Brad Evans
A large man who is an expert in heavy weapons and explosives. Originally the hero of a revolution, he was later imprisoned for "war crimes" (before joining ARMS.) He uses metal gloves as his weapons.
- The Big Guy: He's even the only one who single-handledly has the necessary power to defeat Ragu O'Ragula. Not only is he Badass, but just watch him move.
- Clear My Name: Brad is falsely accused of the nuclear destruction of his home country. Possibly subverted in that he's never officially cleared.
- Dead Person Impersonation: A positive variation: he is actually filling in for his crippled best friend.
- Evolving Weapon: Like Ashley's bayonet, you can buy upgrades for his bazooka.
- Explosive Leash: His collar.
- Faking the Dead: His almost Heroic Sacrifice.
- Gentle Giant: He's tall and fierce-looking, and even more formidable in battle. But to ordinary people, he's actually surprisingly affable and level-headed. Just very reserved about the details of his background.
- Kill Sat: Sky Eye.
- The Scapegoat: He spent the last 5 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: This is half-true, as his shirt has only one shoulder strap, showing a good portion of his torso at all times.
Tim Rhymeless
Tim Rhymeless
An innocent boy who discovers he's the Chosen One to receive powers from the planet's spirits. Fights with a staff.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He is introduced a good long while before he becomes vastly important to the game's plot, although his giving Ashley a Guardian Medium and his "enter name" screen having a portrait are big clues.
- Child Mage: At 12, he is the youngest of the playable characters, and relies on magic in combat.
- Summon Magic: He provides this for all the heroes.
- White Magician Boy: At first, although he wanders more into The Red Mage territory later.
Kanon
Kanon
A bionic, female bounty hunter, who at first opposes the group but later joins it. She uses daggers (and her bionic implants) in combat.
- Artificial Limbs: Her arm.
- Hero Antagonist: Until after the third time you fight.
- Honor Before Reason: Kanon is obsessed with her family honor.
- Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand: She's put in this position with regards to Ashley. She stays her hand, of course.
- Nothing Personal: She makes it clear several times that she knows Ashley is a good man and doesn't actually hate him. She continues to oppose him because she believes its her duty as a descendant of the Sword Magess.
- Redemption Demotion: Kanon seems to stop being so awesomely powerful when she joins the party (at least until you unlock her later skills). Justified, as she took a tremendous amount of damage in a short time before joining the party and it's a miracle she's still alive at all, let alone being able to move. Also, she was overclocking her cybernetics in the first place, which she can't do afterwards.
- Recurring Boss: Is fought three times in the game.
Marivel Armitage
Marivel Armitage
A female inventor who helps the team with their technological needs. She becomes playable after a specific subquest. A pair of robots fight for her.
- Child Mage: Or at least, she looks like a child.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Marivel is the only Crimson Noble alive.
- Humongous Mecha: Marivel uses these in her summon magic.
- Improbable Weapon User: Among other things, a Frying Pan of Doom.
- Last of Her Kind: She is the last of a race of vampire-like beings called Crimson Nobles.
- Optional Party Member: Recruiting her is not necessary for beating the game.
- Our Vampires Are Different: She is a Crimson Noble
- Power Copying: Marivel can learn certain enemy abilities thanks to her vampiric heritage.
- Pride: Of being a Crimson Noble, who according to her, are the absolute rulers of Filgaia.
- Vampires Are Sex Goddesses: Tony has an enormous fetish for Marivel's vampiric side.
Other Members
Irving Vold Valeria
Irving Vold Valeria
The commander of ARMs. He purchased the unit after it was decimated in a terrorist attack, and appointed Ashley, Lilka, and Brad as its initial members.
- The Chessmaster: He's pulling the strings behind everything. And we mean everything.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices himself along with his sister to stop the end of the world.
- Necessarily Evil: He formed both the heroes and the villains as a two-tiered plan to gather information as well as global resources in order to stop a sentient dimension from swallowing their world. The villains could use whatever tactics they wanted; and the heroes would be able to get the combined support of the world's governments who wanted them to stop the villains.
- Xanatos Gambit: He pulls off a masterful gambit by creating both the heroes and the villains' organizations. Whichever side wins, Valeria will have united the whole world in pursuit of his true goal - the destruction of the Kuiper Belt. The world would NEVER have united in time to stop it without his creation of a threat. Of course, if ODESSA won, they'd stop the threat too.
Altaecia Rune Valeria
Altaecia Rune Valeria
Irving's sister, who supports him unconditionally.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices herself along with her brother to stop the end of the world.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Her pink dress.
Amy and Kate
Amy and Kate
Irving's telepathic assistants, who operate the communication device, and also the chateau.
Supporting Characters
Marina
Marina
Ashley's childhood friend, whose mother owns the bakery where Ashley lives.
- Anger Born of Worry: A lot of her arguments with Ashley and his deeds stem from his having to risk his life on a daily basis and how she feels so powerless in comparison while being unable to do anything but wait and worry.
- Girl Next Door: She serves as the reminder for what Ashley is truly fighting for: The chance to live a peaceful day-to-day life like an ordinary person.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: She's the one whose words manage to reach Ashley and return him to normal after the Grauswein battle even as his Overblazer form is strangling her.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The first time she sees Ashley transform into Overblazer, she panics and rejects him, driving him into despair. When she's alone a few moments later, she's kicking herself for not wholly accepting him or his current situation.
- Victorious Childhood Friend: She ends up with Ashley, and has children with him.
- I Will Wait for You: Her promise to Ashley near the end of Disc 1. She never stops believing that he'll return and continues waiting even after he's briefly lost in space.
Tony Stark
Tony Stark
A friend of Tim's whom Ashley rescues from kidnappers in the prologue.
- Totally Radical: Dude!
- Precocious Crush: Has one on Marivel.
- Shout-Out Theme Naming: To Iron Man.
Scott Summers
Scott Summers
Another friend of Tim's. The three of them are always together.
- Shout-Out Theme Naming: To Scott Summers (aka Cyclops) of the X-Men.
- Verbal Tic: He begins nearly every sentence with "in my humble opinion".
Pooka
Pooka
A "sub spirit" that Tim can summon, which is sort of like a Guardian Lite. He serves as Tim's first tool.
- Expy: Of Hanpan from the first game, at least as far as his appearance and uses go.
Lombardia
Lombardia
A biomechanical dragon that can turn into an jet.
- Global Airship: Getting to ride in Lombardia greatly opens up the world map.
- Humongous Mecha: Your party members barely reach up to the ankles of Lombardia's model.
- Our Dragons Are Different: A mechanical airship dragon.
Odessa
Vinsfeld Rhadamanthus
Vinsfeld Rhadamanthus
The leader of Odessa, a terrorist organization which seeks to take over the world.
- Optional Boss: You can fight his ghost after defeating him.
Liz and Ard
Liz and Ard
The game's comic relief villains, and Odessa's science division. Liz is prone to spouting nearly-nonsensical poetry, while his companion can only say "Ard".
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Liz, courtesy of the translation.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Played with: they're two lizard-like characters named "Liz" and "Ard". They're a literal Deconstruction of the trope!
- Dual Boss: They are always fought together.
- Pokémon Speak: Ard only ever says the word "Ard". Liz can translate this one word into long sentences, but it's unknown how accurate he is.
Cocytus
In general
Cocytus
A group of four powerful individuals that fight for Odessa.
- Shout-Out Theme Naming Cocytus is the ninth circle of Hell in The Divine Comedy, and Antenora, Caina, Judecca, and Ptolomea are parts of it.
Caina
Caina
The source of monsters for Odessa and the person who controls Randolf the Magic Key.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Caina loves Vinsfeld, who instead loves Antenora.
- Homoerotic Subtext: With Vinsfeld, leading to the above trope.
- Improbable Weapon User: The aforementioned magic key.
- She's a Man in Japan: His feelings towards Vinsfeld were too much for Western censors, who changed his gender to female. This was easy to do with someone as androgynous-looking as Caina.
Antenora
Antenora
An assassin and strategist for Odessa.
- Improbable Weapon User: In game dialogue and official art indicate she is attacking you with long wires on her gloves that somehow inflict status ailments.
- Revenge: She joined Odessa in order to exact revenge on Vinsfeld, who was responsible for the deaths of her family.
- Tomboyish Ponytail
- The Vamp: To Vinsfeld. Getting him to love her and allowing herself to be killed, just so that he can know the same anguish of loss as she did when Vinsfeld murdered her family.
Ptolomea
Ptolomea
A very tall man and the leader of Odessa's troops. He's prone to spouting cheesy lines and uses a windmill-like three-bladed claw as a weapon.
- Anti-Villain: For someone who fights you most of the times you meet him, Ptolomea is unfailingly respectful. When he finally meets his end, he honorably asks your group to see to the safety of his men.
Judecca
Judecca
Odessa's hitman and an expert marksman, and a sadist to the core.
- Character Tics: Pushes his glasses up and down rapidly when he's excited - which is usually when he's about to kill someone.
- Driven to Suicide: After the party spells out to him what a monster he is.
Walking Spoilers
The Sword Magess
Anastasia Valeria
A young woman who fought against evil using the sword Argetlahm. She is revered in the present day.
- Animal Motifs: Her companion is a wolf-like god.
- BFS: Argetlahm
- Cool Big Sis: During the time Ashley gets flung to the Memory Maze at the start of Disc 2, Anastasia calls herself as this.
- Empathic Weapon: Argetlahm.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Anastasia and Lucied guide Ashley through a short dungeon at the beginning of Disc 2.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the past, to stop the Blaze of Disaster. She reveals however that she didn't wanted to be a hero in the first place.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: When Ashley meets her in the Memory Maze, Anastasia reveals she never asked to be the hero and greatly wished to be able to just go back home and talk about inane things with her friends.
- The Paladin: Combines healing magic and physical attacks.
Lucied
Lucied
The Guardian of Desire, and Anastasia's partner.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Guardian of Desire is a hero this time.
- Gender Flip: In the first game, Luceid was a female wolf, now is a male wolf named Lucied. It's unknown if the change was intentional or just a dub error.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Same as Anastasia.
- Time Abyss: He is as old as the planet itself.
Lord Blazer
Lord Blazer
The demon possessing Ashley, who is destined to destroy the world.
- Duel Boss: Played With. Ashley has to fight Lord Blazer by himself, but his attacks are empowered by the spirit of his friends and pretty much everyone in Filgaia.
- Enemy Within: To Ashley.
- Post-Final Boss: The last battle in the game, fought as a Duel Boss after Ashley and co. defeat Irving.
Kuiper Belt
Kuiper Belt
A sentient alternate universe, that's looking to devour Filgaea.
- Alien Sky: Causes one called the "Stain Paradigm." First it makes the sky dark blue with flickering black, and then near the end of the game fills it with psychedelic purple patterns.
- Big Bad: The closest thing the game has to a true one, as its discovery led to the formation of Odessa, an Unwitting Pawn organization founded by Irving to create a threat that would engender a movement with the capacity to mobilize the resources needed to drive it off or destroy it.
- Eldritch Abomination: Along with Eldritch Location, though we don't see many of its inhabitants.
- Genius Loci: A sentient alternative universe.
- Planet Eater: It is an entire living universe that eats worlds, one of the most fantastic menaces ever conceived.
