Media Vision’s Wild Arms series returns in Wild Arms 4 to the PlayStation 2. This time the familiar western setting may be infused having a modern-day feel. Also of note could be the new HEX battle system among other additions. Will gamers enjoy this new take on the world of Filgaia? Let’s learn!The story of Wild Arms 4 involves ARMS, which can be destructive weapons with immense power. The main character, Jude, meets a female named Yulie, who has the power to manipulate ARMS. Jude has exposure to ARM material anf the husband to gains the power to materialize one. As usual, a business called the Congressional Knights attempts to capture Yulie and use her powers because of their own evil ways. Jude and his awesome companions, Arnaud and Raquel, carry on a trip to rescue her and prevent the business.Now, let’s discuss the platforming part of Wild Arms 4. In these areas, Jude can run, jump, slide, and stomp. This makes dealing with dungeons and exploring much more fun. It’s really done well and complements the RPG aspect of the overall game perfectly. Also, keeping with tradition are Wild Arm’s dungeon puzzles. Most of the puzzles require some skill but aren’t too difficult. Getting through them calls for things like using dungeons specific items, bombs, switches, and deactivating security systems. The JRPG staples remain contained in the game. You travel to different areas, have conversations with characters, level up, buy equipment, continue side-quests, visit towns, etc. Overall, after playing and beating the overall game, I found so that it is considered one of my personal favorites inside series.The battle system of WA4 is often a fun mixture of action and strategic elements. The battlefield, called the HEX system, contains seven hexagons. Three of which have elemental properties like fire, water, earth, or wind. The other three are regular hexes in the middle of one in the middle. All of which together make up seven. The character’s turns are based on a list just like the one seen in Final Fantasy X. You can start an action by staying on the grid or after moving to 1.Speaking of grids, the characters are able to move freely bewteen barefoot and shoes. They can likewise have many character at any given time with a hex. This leads to battles which are more strategic naturally. For example, suppose Jude and Yulie are over a Hex. You can move Arnaud to that particular Hex and heal all of the characters immediately. But if an enemy attacks or runs on the status aliment, seventy one of these is going to be affected. Sometimes this plan will continue to work and at other times it’s great to discover them. You also provide to be familiar with status effects, good or bad, on certain hexes.The graphics in Wild Arms 4 are fantastic. All from the character models and textures are detailed by having an anime influence. The environments are stunning also. You’ll see beautiful blue/sunset skies, nighttime city, a futuristic orphanage, a lava cavern, Friv.Com as well as a snow covered land by having an aurora inside the background. This is just a sample of the unique areas you will be traveling through. WA4 also features some nice artwork in the characters. You mainly see them during conversations between characters. For important parts from the story, you can find real-time models and voice acting. Some gamers will spot the static artwork conversations tiring after a few years. Other than the artwork, WA4 boasts some cool opening and ending anime scenes. The fantasy/western settings of Filgaia haven’t looked better.The soundtrack of Wild Arms 4 is incredible. Composer Michiko Naruke has was able to infuse western style music with upbeat and slower tempo beats and will cause you to wish to whistle like a cowboy. A few of my favorite features are: Perilous Change, Over the Wind, Gun Blaze, Time/Rocks Piled Up, and Condition Green. I recommend you buy the soundtrack to the game. It’s that good! The voice acting is okay. Some are superior to others, but there sufficient. The rest with the audio is spot on. Overall, the sound/audio part of WA4 is superb and helps to future immerse you into the world.Wild Arms 4 successfully combines the signature western settings having a modern touch. The new additions just like the HEX battle system and action/adventure platforming keep the overall game fresh, even though the familiar western themes, storytelling, and music with the WA series remain intact. Overall, Wild Arms 4 is considered one of the best inside series and I recommend it to your JRPG fan.Pros: Battle System, Soundtrack, Adventure Gameplay, Characters, SettingsCons: NoneScore: 9.0