Thousand Arms

Thousand Arms
Developer(s)	Red Company
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	December 17, 1998 September 30, 1999
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single player

Thousand Arms is a role-playing video game for the Sony PlayStation released by Atlus. Thousand Arms follows the goggle-sporting protagonist Meis Triumph as he chases cute girls and a dark villain across the world, eventually concluding with a classical role-playing game (RPG) ending. The game could probably be best described as a "romantic comedy RPG", perhaps even "harem comedy". It was also noted for having a large amount of voice acting, rare for games of the time, and for repeatedly breaking the fourth wall.

Plot

The game takes place on a "steampunk" type of world. The Dark Acolytes, a mysterious organization of cyborgs and robots, is trying to find the five legendary Sacred Flames, and bring chaos to the World in the process. Meis, a womanizing "Spirit Blacksmith" with the ability to make magical weapons, finds himself chosen to find the flames before the Dark Acolytes do. However, to increase the power of his weapons, Meis must have the help of a woman, and must increase his 'intimacy level' with her by going out on dates. Along his journey, he'll meet a colorful cast of characters, including girls to date and heroes who join his party.

Characters

Playable

Meis Triumph- The heir to a family of Spirits Blacksmiths, Meis learned to be a womanizer from his own father. Stubborn and lazy, Meis is forced to change his ways against his will, first when the Dark Acolytes force him to leave his comfortable home, and then when the spirits of the Ancient Blacksmiths give him the mission of finding the sacred flames. He is attracted to Sodina, but can't resist hitting on other beautiful women.

Besides his ability to reforge weapons to increase their power and grant them magical spells or special attacks, Meis can obtain "Elemental Beasts" to use in combat, similar to the "summons" seen in the Final Fantasy games. His weapon is a sword.

Sodina Dawnfried- The younger sister of a great Spirit Blacksmith named Jyabil, Sodina is the typical girl-next-door; however, she's also very brave. After her brother is killed by the Dark Acolytes, she decides to help Meis on his quest. She has feelings for Meis but finds herself often enraged by his behaviour. Her weapon of choice is a dagger.

Muza Grifford- A knight and an old friend of Meis, he's brave but not too clever, and is extremely shy around girls. He develops feelings for Wyna. His weapon is a huge sword.

Wyna Grapple- The daughter of the King of the Pirates, Wyna is a boisterous girl who loves fighting; she joins the party just to go on adventures. She wears a bikini as well as an eyepad, but just for effect, she's not missing any eyes. At first she's attracted to Meis, but later returns Muza's feelings. Wyna's weapon is a battle hammer.

Nelsha Stylus- A girl who suffers from multiple personalities (she claims her clothes are inhabited by spirits that possess her) Nelsha is a shy, nerdy-looking girl who speaks of herself in the third person. She dreams of becoming a "Dress Master", apparently a type of clothes designer. Her weapon is a magic needle. In addition, Nelsha can change her costumes in combat, which changes her form completely and gives her different powers.

Kyleen Nelphie- A green-haired girl and a thief who tries to use the party for her own purposes, but ends up befriending and joining them. Her personality is cynical and sarcastic. She seems attracted to Soushi. Her weapon is a fencing sword.

Soushi Maharoba- A samurai bishonen with a lot of pride, who considers himself a ladykiller as well. He and Meis can't stand each other at first but eventually come to respect each other. His weapon is a katana.

Villains

Medeus, The Dark Emperor- An ancient villain who transformed himself into a mechanical being so he could live long enough to find the sacred flames, which he believes will make him a god.

Schmidt- aka The Dark Master, he was once an apprentice to Jyabil, but has turned to the side of darkness, much to Sodina's consternation. He fights with two swords.

Jeala- A sorceress who serves the Dark Master out of unrequited love.

The Evil Mecha Five- Five powerful cyborg servants of the Emperor, all named after machine parts or tools: Bearing, who has long claws; Bolt, who has a mace for a hand; Shaft, who wields a huge sword; Ratchet, a crazy girl who carries a staff; and Wire, a jester-like cyborg who uses a scythe.

Bandiger- A flamboyant bandit. Not a member of the Acolytes, but the heroes keep running into him.

Damashi- The Damashi are ghost-like creatures who serve as the game's "mascots." The "saving points" in the game look like Damashi, and the heroes keep encountering one in random battles. Unlike the other regular monsters in the game, this Damashi "levels up" with the heroes, so he always presents a danger.

Meis' Dates

In addition to the girls on his party, Meis can also date the following women:

Marion- An inventor, with a childlike, bratty personality.

Palma- A priestess obsessed with cleanliness.

Kyoka- Soushi's sister, a shy and proper japanese girl.

Mil- A highly intelligent girl who dates Meis only as a way to research his womanizing personality.

Metalia, the "Jewel Master"- the oldest of Meis' dates, this woman was a friend of Jyabil's and helps the heroes find the flames.

Combat

Combats in Thousand Arms allow up to three party members to be taken into battle at once. However, only the front character is actually able to physically attack the enemy. The other two characters serve in a supporting role, taunting the enemy and utilizing certain items or spells. If necessary, characters can be rotated out such that one of the support characters and the lead character exchange position.

Since only one character can engage in direct combat with the enemy at a time, this tends to have the overall effect of slowing down combat when compared to games which allow all or most of the party to be fully involved.

Soundtrack

Thousand Arms features a number of musical scores sufficiently large to garner its own soundtrack. Depending on the version, the soundtrack was either included on a separate disc in the same retail package (as with the decorated Lunar: Silver Star Story release for the PlayStation), or could be obtained by mailing in a card (along with a small shipping & handling fee). In total, it features 40 tracks, with a running time of 54:23. The interactive soundtrack disc also includes neat perks such as wallpapers, biographies, and character voice acting excerpts when explored on a personal computer.

The soundtrack is noteworthy for having J-pop star Ayumi Hamasaki's fifth single Depend on You as its opening theme. The U.S. version also had the song, a stark contrast to the common practice of removing Japanese songs from English translations of video games at the time. Furthermore, if one places disk two of the game into a CD player, one can find a hidden track, Two of Us.

Thousand Arms' Dating Simulation

The key feature in this game which distinguishes it from most other RPGs is its built-in mini-dating simulation. While this type of game is in itself considered a separate game genre in Japan, it hasn't met with as much success in the US. Thousand Arms' dating sim featured dating locations in many of its major cities and towns, and a diverse cast of nine femme fatales. It is a rich source of laugh-out-loud comedy in the game; for instance, one of Meis' dates asks what he thinks his best trait is during a passionate night out. The player has the choice of several responses, varying from "My eyebrows. I got them from my father." to "My hairy legs." In another instance of the broken fourth wall, when the main character alludes to a night of sex with a female character during a date, she states that the "game isn't rated for that".

In addition to the entertainment provide by the dates, they also have an actual in-game effect. By successfully wooing each female, her intimacy level can be slowly raised. As this level rises, it grants the ability to imbue weapons with increasingly powerful spells and skills. This magical forging, which is possible due to Meis' training as a Spirit Blacksmith, relies on the smith having established such positive female relationships.

Unfortunately, a lack of in-game hints and directions make it easy to miss the dating simulation aspect of the game. As such, it is possible to get to the end of the game without going through any dates at all. For this reason, the game has been criticized, and this may have contributed to its lack of commercial success.

External links

• RPGamer.com Screenshots, Movies, and Official Art
• Thousand Arms at IGN
• of Red Company's Thousand Arms site (Japanese)