Customer Reviews

Wild Arms: Alter Code F (Prima Official Game Guide)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When at first I came upon the Wild Arms Alter code F guide, the first thing that came to mind was simple: It's Prima. And when I saw it was Prima I was immediately thinking, these are the guys who did the guides to Legend of Legaia, Legend of Dragoon, and Legaia 2. All of them, for games by Sony Computer Entertainment America, all of them ridiculously thin, and all of them lackluster. I'm proud to say that this guide is not like those guides. It's actually detailed, doesn't stray you wrong, and is actually a Wild Arms guide worth getting!

The guide begins quite simplistically. It doesn't waste time at all, it jumps right into the characters section. There are no bios but it does detail just about everything you need in terms of their abilities. It also includes those for the hidden characters as well. The game then jumps into the games unique system itself. It covers all of them perfectly within the first eight pages.

The walkthrough is much better than any Wild Arms guide before it. Each area begins by telling you how many chest are in an area, and if any of them need duplicators. It then shows the tools you'll need to clear the area (progress) and the tools you'll need to fully complete the area. This means getting all the chest because some of them are simply not accesible the first time through. The guide will tell you when to come back.

Each area is also detailed with excellent maps. In town, there are simple call outs using the ABC method. This means that if you see an "A" on the map, you look for section "A" in the walkthrough where it'll tell you what to do at that point. If it's something you can't do, they'll tell you what you need in order to access the area first. The walkthrough also has important call out tips in a separate box.

For dungeons it's a little different. It does not use the ABC method, but it still points out chest in the key, and tells you what tools you need. Instead, however, their maps are numbered by floor. This makes the guide simple to use. If you get stuck on Floor 1, for example, they have a description on what to do on that floor. This eliminates the old flaw the Versus Books Wild Arms 3 had, which was disorganization. This guide is perfectly organized. This makes it so that each "area" of the map has it's own section. It makes the walkthrough easier to use, and it gets to the point much faster. Likewise, it keeps the guide from revealing the plot and spoiling the story for those going through Wild Arms for the first time.

Likewise, boss strategies in the walkthrough are better than your average RPG guide. Most of them will simply state a weakness and expect you to attack. This guide tells you exactly who should do what, and they even explain why. And if you don't believe them, well you'll the results for yourself when you lose. The author of this guide (former Versus Books author Gerald Guess) doesn't dilly dally with boss strategies either. Right to the point.

The walkthrough is also helpful enough to make call outs to side quests and optional events in the walkthrough instead of you having to constantly flip to the back of the book to check for availibility. You'll still have to flip to the back for the quest itself, but that's not a problem. I personally don't like it in guides when they stick optional quests in the walkthrough, I usually tackle them when I find it best for me, not the moment they're availible.

All puzzle solutions are perfectly explained, as well as the just all out confusing situations some of the dungeons will trap you in. No plot spoilers also help the guide, especially if you didn't play the classic Wild Arms in 1997.

After the walkthrough, the guide tackles all the optional things you can do. This section is huge, and helps you complete areas such as the Devil's Playground, the Abyss, and Gardening, among what else the game has to offer. They also depict the location of every EX File Key.

The best thing about this guide is that it does something the Versus Books Wild Arms guides were too lazy to do. Give you a strategy for optional bosses. I don't know about you but when it came to Versus Books Wild Arms 2 and 3 guides, I couldn't stand not having optional boss strategies. I got stats, but no strategies. Here, I have strategies, and you know what? They're pretty GOOD strategies.

The appendices are incredible, most notably the monster list in the back. Most people don't like it when there no pictures in the bestiary. To them I say, you can read, right? No worries! Just know the name of the monster you're fighting, no problem. They also seperate the monsters found in the abyss from the ones found elsewhere.

As a bonus, the guide has a few Penny Arcade Comics. Not a whole lot, but they're particularly funny. Each of them (save for one) stars characters or monsters from Wild Arms. They're funny and memorable in the original Penny Arcade humor. Of course, for some of them, you have to know Wild Arms, but I'm assuming you got the guide because you have the game.

If there were any major problems with this guide, I'd say the only thing I don't like is that they don't call out how much HP enemies have in the walkthrough. They give a list of monsters you find in the dungeon (and tips on how to beat 'em), but they don't tell you how much HP they have, forcing you to flip all the way back to the monster index. It's forgiveable, though, and it shouldn't cause much stress. I don't mind flipping back, but some people do, so I thought I'd warn you of that.

The other big problem is that the game doesn't have a download list of regular enemies for Emma. Bosses are listed, but not regular enemies. Gerald Guess himself has seen this flaw and took time to post a download list on GameFAQs.com and it isn't too much paper to print it out either.

This guide to Wild Arms: Alter Code F is the perfect companion. Very easy to use, user friendly and the way it's written is more like someone is talking to you than like an instruction manuel. Well organized efforts make up for the lack of quality in Prima's earler guides for RPGs.

The Good
+Excellent Walkthrough
+Some of the best boss strategies
+All secrets and sidequest revealed
+Overall well organized
+Clear screenshots
+Nice appendices (they even include locations of extra items such as Migrant Seals--all 20 of them)
+Penny Arcade cartoons provide the guide with some humor

The Bad
-In including everything else, they didn't stick in a world map, which could've helped in some cases.
-There's no download list for normal monsters, but Gerald Guess has posted an FAQ for it if you need one.

I agree with the other reviewers. Initially, I was somewhat disappointed with the guide, but in comparison with a lot of guides out there, and especially in comparison with the original WA guide, this was done very well: detailed maps, item locations, enemies to be found in various dungeons, strategies on defeating bosses and getting through the side quests, and how to solve the puzzles to name a few.

There were, however, a few setbacks that prevented me from giving this a 5-star rating. A few things were either incorrect or left out, for example some of the item locations were not correct, certain dungeon rooms were left off or never explored, some of the layout was confusing, a detailed explanation or map on how to get through the 100 floors of the Abyss was greatly needed, the enemies Emma could download her abilities from were not present, and although Zed's skills were mentioned nothing was included on how to get them. I found this out quite by accident while searching online, but when and if you acquire Zed into your party, you can revist Vassim in the Ewl world to have the curse released from Zed's sword, and gain all of his abilities. This does end up making him a much more useful character.

That being said, the pro's certainly outweight the cons. Wild Arms is not an easy game to complete without some form of outside help, even if you skip all the sidequests and tackle just the main story, and the puzzles are more complicated than in the original game. This guide will certainly get you through the quest and sidequests without too much of a problem.

I found this strategy guide to be helpful, although at points in dugeon exploring it skipped rooms. But its worth the buy, because the game is different from the original PS1 game.

Thsi guide have been a great help for those who get stuck in the game. The guide is extreamly detailed and covers all skills, items, enemies and ect. Great to have if your stuck.

I received this much faster than expected! AND it was in brand new condition.

I know I reviewed this product once already. I'm not ashamed to admit that, but I now have a copy of the game that actually works! I got the game from another location, so now I have altered this reivew since I am pleased that the copy of the game I now have is working. Both with and without my chosen cheat device