FA+
Shop
Thousand Arms review
15 years ago
Member of the proud 
beastkings---prideoflions !
beastkings---prideoflions ! Since i figured i had an evening open, i figured id give a review of a game i remember from my childhood, and recently got a
new copy. Its a JRPG from ATLUS, makers of games such as Persona and and Shin Megami Tensai series.This game Is none other
then Thousand arms.
Story:
You start the game as Meis Triumph, the son of a former lord. I say former because days before, the army known as the dark
acyolites attacked the town of Kant, Meis' home town. Meis is a spirit blacksmith, meaning he has the ability to infuse
spirits into weapons and utensils. On his walk of defeat, he comes across the town of boyzby, where he hears a woman
screaming and comes to her aid...only to fail. After a few more events, meis is then trusted by his master to find the Holy
flames and to help save the world.
Along the way you meet up with Sodina, sister to jybil and meis' main love interest. Muza, a great sword wielding solider who
freezes up anytime a girl talks with him. Wyna, daughter of the king of the pirates...and sadly that's not luffy. Kylene, A
green haired money grubber. Soushi, ladies man and samurai. And Nelsha, A shy and nerdy girl who's dream is to become the
greatest dress master.
The story itself is kind of cliched, and quite frankly is very predictable. But the characters themselves are what keeps you
interested and gripped to find out what happens. The relationships change, go through loops and every character has their own
little back story that you search through, as well as interconnecting stories.
Gameplay:
A lot is unique in thousand arms, from the combat to the upgrades you get.
Combat consists of 3 on 3 battles, but with one on one fighting. The character on the front lines is the attacker, he is the
only one that can cause damage without the aid of items. the two characters behind him are the support team, which, as you
guessed it, support the front line as well as each other. the front lines can use special moves, summon spells and use
offensive magic depending on the character. once an option is selected, a timer at the top scrolls down until the action can
be done, which at the time a button press is to activate it. It can lead to some great tension in the battles and really
build up the action.
When you arnt fighting and not forwarding the story, you will be dating the women in your party. This is where the dating sim
comes along. Every woman in your party has 3 attributes in the dating sim. The attribute shows what element they are, the
intimacy level is basically the level of love the woman has for meis, and the mood is the chance of increasing said intimacy
level. The more developed the heart, the more likely she is of liking mies more. In every town there is a golden statue,
this statue is the place where you will start your dates. once you select the woman, you are to either date her, which you
bring her to a spot and she asks you questions which you must answer correctly, a present which can go either way depending
on the present and girl, and the minigame increases the mood of the girl. The dates with the girls are ALWAYS hilarious, as
well as very informative into their characters, which is what you should be focusing on on real dates. With every successful
date, her intimacy increases, in which you can use to upgrade your weapons.
You upgrade your weapons by forging. In order to forge in the world of thousand arms, you need to have a woman by your side.
Each woman, as i stated before, has an elemental power. when you reach a certain level of intimacy, you can begin forging the
weapons with the girl you choose. With each level, comes either specials, magic spells or just makes your weapon a little
stronger. However, in order to upgrade weapons, you have to use up MP. MP isnt magic power....im not sure what its called,
but it is the amount of energy you have for dating women and forging weapons, which you can replenish in battle.
Presentation:
I love the way this game looks. All of the characters, NPCs and monsters are all shown in 2D detailed sprites, with a
multitude of emotions. From Normal, to disappointed, to shock, and lust, the emotions come off very well and really stand out
among the normal 2D sprites we usually see. The graphics on the backgrounds look georgious too, while blocky by today's
standards, the backgrounds are fully rendered 3D environments, complete with a fixed camera that you can rotate around meis.
Voice acting is mixed. While most of them are competent, the rest feel like they are actors just reading off of cue cards,
and there's no real emotion behind it. Music is superb, complete with different styles for each town. The battle music is some
of the best ive heard since Legend of Dragoon.
Cut scenes are presented a little differently. the opening and closing cinematics are made using handdrawn anime, while the
rest of the cutscenes in the game use in graphics.....sort of. What the cinematics in game do is the camera pans down,
swirling away, pausing to load, and you see the characters, now hand drawn and fully animated. which is really cool, and makes you feel like you're in the action.
Overall:
Its a very Unique RPG, and one well worth playing. The lack of re playability and the spotty voice acting can be a downfall, but if you do like unique and well presented games, go find a copy on eBay for only $40.
TL;DR version: Its good, go buy it.
new copy. Its a JRPG from ATLUS, makers of games such as Persona and and Shin Megami Tensai series.This game Is none other
then Thousand arms.
Story:
You start the game as Meis Triumph, the son of a former lord. I say former because days before, the army known as the dark
acyolites attacked the town of Kant, Meis' home town. Meis is a spirit blacksmith, meaning he has the ability to infuse
spirits into weapons and utensils. On his walk of defeat, he comes across the town of boyzby, where he hears a woman
screaming and comes to her aid...only to fail. After a few more events, meis is then trusted by his master to find the Holy
flames and to help save the world.
Along the way you meet up with Sodina, sister to jybil and meis' main love interest. Muza, a great sword wielding solider who
freezes up anytime a girl talks with him. Wyna, daughter of the king of the pirates...and sadly that's not luffy. Kylene, A
green haired money grubber. Soushi, ladies man and samurai. And Nelsha, A shy and nerdy girl who's dream is to become the
greatest dress master.
The story itself is kind of cliched, and quite frankly is very predictable. But the characters themselves are what keeps you
interested and gripped to find out what happens. The relationships change, go through loops and every character has their own
little back story that you search through, as well as interconnecting stories.
Gameplay:
A lot is unique in thousand arms, from the combat to the upgrades you get.
Combat consists of 3 on 3 battles, but with one on one fighting. The character on the front lines is the attacker, he is the
only one that can cause damage without the aid of items. the two characters behind him are the support team, which, as you
guessed it, support the front line as well as each other. the front lines can use special moves, summon spells and use
offensive magic depending on the character. once an option is selected, a timer at the top scrolls down until the action can
be done, which at the time a button press is to activate it. It can lead to some great tension in the battles and really
build up the action.
When you arnt fighting and not forwarding the story, you will be dating the women in your party. This is where the dating sim
comes along. Every woman in your party has 3 attributes in the dating sim. The attribute shows what element they are, the
intimacy level is basically the level of love the woman has for meis, and the mood is the chance of increasing said intimacy
level. The more developed the heart, the more likely she is of liking mies more. In every town there is a golden statue,
this statue is the place where you will start your dates. once you select the woman, you are to either date her, which you
bring her to a spot and she asks you questions which you must answer correctly, a present which can go either way depending
on the present and girl, and the minigame increases the mood of the girl. The dates with the girls are ALWAYS hilarious, as
well as very informative into their characters, which is what you should be focusing on on real dates. With every successful
date, her intimacy increases, in which you can use to upgrade your weapons.
You upgrade your weapons by forging. In order to forge in the world of thousand arms, you need to have a woman by your side.
Each woman, as i stated before, has an elemental power. when you reach a certain level of intimacy, you can begin forging the
weapons with the girl you choose. With each level, comes either specials, magic spells or just makes your weapon a little
stronger. However, in order to upgrade weapons, you have to use up MP. MP isnt magic power....im not sure what its called,
but it is the amount of energy you have for dating women and forging weapons, which you can replenish in battle.
Presentation:
I love the way this game looks. All of the characters, NPCs and monsters are all shown in 2D detailed sprites, with a
multitude of emotions. From Normal, to disappointed, to shock, and lust, the emotions come off very well and really stand out
among the normal 2D sprites we usually see. The graphics on the backgrounds look georgious too, while blocky by today's
standards, the backgrounds are fully rendered 3D environments, complete with a fixed camera that you can rotate around meis.
Voice acting is mixed. While most of them are competent, the rest feel like they are actors just reading off of cue cards,
and there's no real emotion behind it. Music is superb, complete with different styles for each town. The battle music is some
of the best ive heard since Legend of Dragoon.
Cut scenes are presented a little differently. the opening and closing cinematics are made using handdrawn anime, while the
rest of the cutscenes in the game use in graphics.....sort of. What the cinematics in game do is the camera pans down,
swirling away, pausing to load, and you see the characters, now hand drawn and fully animated. which is really cool, and makes you feel like you're in the action.
Overall:
Its a very Unique RPG, and one well worth playing. The lack of re playability and the spotty voice acting can be a downfall, but if you do like unique and well presented games, go find a copy on eBay for only $40.
TL;DR version: Its good, go buy it.
