WA3 - Beaten! That was a thoroughly enjoyable romp. Nega Filgaia was absurdly gimmicky, and Beatrice was okay. Could've been ugly if half my party didn't have Sleep immunity. But, anyhow, what I care about is talking about how it ended. The ending... wow. CK told me it's actually a reference to some western. But the "whee, we saved the day oh crap we're wanted" device is so rarely used in RPGs that it got me by the leg. And it was pulled off okay, too. I like being surprised, and the game delivered in that point.
Now, for overall thoughts?
The game was amazing. I came with admittedly high expectations, and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere and setting consistency are amazing, and they make the game aesthetically great. Music, graphics usage (the game itself doesn't have great graphics, but they set everything to its fullest), it's just incredible how they create a highly immersive wild west wasteland setting. This alone would make the game above average to me.
However, the game also gives a great battle system. I like customization systems, and it's even better if they manage to keep the cast distinctive and unique. WA3 did this perfectly. Base stats and Force abilities play a huge part on how effective your setups are, and taking advantage of this leads to maximum effectiveness. As such, Jet will never be nearly as good a mage as Gallows, say, nor will Virginia hit nearly as hard as Clive outside of Valiant Gatling setups. The PS system was also cool. Customization and exploration of distinctive character traits walk hand-in-hand, and that's simply awesome. Plus, every setup is flexible to the point you can switch them around whenever you fancy - literally. If I need a fast Devastate in a particular turn, or Extension Permanence in another, no fear. Just change the mediums before a turn begins. Being able to control battle flow like that is great. And the boss battles were pretty fun, too. I enjoy gimmick/trick fights, and WA3 had them in gallons while making them creative. Just tons of fun.
Now, for plot and characters? It was the part I expected to enjoy the least, but ended up being among my favorite things in the game. The characters were well-written enough to make me care for them one way or another, and the game did a great job of keeping plotholes to a minimum. The wing metaphors were painful, of course, and there was a fair amount of cheese, but the interactions and characters were overall really likable and memorable. Virginia's growth from an obnoxious naive lass into a strong-willed leader and defender was great, and I respect her a lot for that. Gallows is one of the most likable lazy dumb blokes I've ever seen (and surprisingly badass when the right buttons are hit). Clive works very well as the voice of reason, alongside being a generally cool individual. Only Jet really needs a kick in the ass, but he could be far worse. The villains were effective in what they're supposed to do, sans Janus, and Beatrice's Xanatos Gambit is just galling. Plus, I love how freaky she was. The Schroedingers were awesomely entertaining foils, and suitably badass when push came to shove. It's a cast I generally like a lot, even though the Prophets pathetically fail, Janus can go die in a ditch like he did in-game and Werner feels like an uncomfortable Deus Ex Machina. Fortunately, the game never really crumbles under its writing, which is all I ask.
The gameplay length, however, suffers a bit. There's so much going on that the game ends up intimidatingly long - excessive amounts of dungeons and map travelling, which hurts its replay value. It's kinda like Suikoden 3 in that sense, but it's hurt by menial navigation and unnecessary extra systems, like the sandcraft and Lombardia battles. They're not implemented poorly, but feel pointless. It makes an already long game even longer, which could be rethought. This is mitigated a bit by the fact I liked WA3's dungeon crawling. WA puzzles aren't usually that interesting, but I had a lot of fun with WA3 puzzles, partly because none of them were retardedly obtuse, unlike in WA1 and 2. Still, there could be some trimming.
But doesn't change the fact the game ended up standing tall to the gigantic expectations I set for it. Amazing game, 9/10 material. Definitely set up a standard for a series that started off on the wrong foot.
