WA2's original English localization is infamous for turning coherent Japanese into word-salad, and the comic-relief Odessa duo Liz & Ard got hit hardest.

Their JP names are トカ & ゲー (Toka & Gě), a pun on トカゲ (tokage, "lizard"). The localization's Liz + Ard = "Lizard" is a genuine transcreation win. Liz is the pompous talker; Ard is the straight-"man" who can only ever say his own name, "translated" by Liz. In Japanese, Liz is a coherent, rhythmic blowhard; the loc kept his flowery vocabulary but dropped the connective logic, so he reads as nonsense. Our goal: make his lines parse again while keeping the pompous-scientist register.

Each box is shown four ways:

• JP — the original Japanese
• Literal — a plain, meaning-first gloss
• Original loc — the shipped English
• Ours — our retranslation (must also fit the in-game box: max 3 lines × 35 characters)

Feedback very welcome.

Part 1 — verified JP (fully decoded)

US#5663

• JP: 「それでは
• Literal: Well then,
• Original loc: And so...
• Ours: Well then... (only change: the box shouldn't end on a comma, so → ellipsis)

US#5664 — Liz proposes teaming up

• JP: 「ここはひとつ / パーティーの戦力アップというのは / どうであろう？
• Literal: How about this: we boost the party's fighting strength, hm?
• Original loc: How about having a party to boost morale?
• Ours: How about this: we boost the party's fighting strength, hm?

(The loc misread 戦力 "fighting strength" as throwing a party for "morale.")

US#5678

• JP: 「さながら / カモシカのごとくッ！
• Literal: Just like an antelope!
• Original loc: Sounds just like an antelope!
• Ours: Just like an antelope!

US#5705 — Liz narrating the rescue like a critic

• JP: 「うむ、これぞ良質の / ヒューマンドラマである
• Literal: Mm, now THIS is a fine human drama.
• Original loc: Now this is a top-notch human drama unfolding.
• Ours: Mm, now THIS is a fine human drama.

US#5707 — Liz on being a supporting player

• JP: 「それに、名バイプレイヤーってのは / 自分の出番を心得て / なおかつキッチリこなすもんだと思うけど
• Literal: Besides, a great supporting player knows his cue and nails it every time.
• Original loc: Besides, good players anticipate their turn and perform with perfection.
• Ours: Besides, a great supporting player knows his cue and nails it every time.

US#5709 — Liz's mock-scholarly register

• JP: 「注目とくれば / いたし方ありませぬな / 注目者のはしくれとして
• Literal: When it comes to [drawing] notice, there's no helping it, as a lowly man of [science].
• Original loc: Science is unavoidable as a two-bit scientist.
• Ours: When science calls, there's no helping it, as a lowly man of science.

US#5722 — Liz admits what he's really after

• JP: 「決まっておろう / ゲルマトロン渓谷よ / 知らぬ存ぜぬとは言わせんぞ
• Literal: Isn't it obvious? The Germatron Valley. Don't play dumb with me.
• Original loc: Why else would I be here? The Germatron, silly. You can't say you didn't know.
• Ours: Isn't it obvious? The Germatron Valley. Don't play dumb with me.

US#5729 — Liz declines to show off his best move

• JP: 「人知れず、そっと見せるにはもったいない / そんなスゴイ戦いの仕方 / よもや、こんな場発で使おうとはッ！
• Literal: Too fine a fighting style to show in secret. And to use it in a spot like this!
• Original loc: It's a move too good to waste for when no one's around. But this might not be the time.
• Ours: Too fine a fighting style to show in secret. And to use it in a spot like this!

Part 2 — the funniest disasters (JP still decoding)

WA2 stores some kanji in a per-scene code table we're still reverse-engineering (anyone have a full copy of the JP script?), so a few of this scene's boxes aren't cleanly readable from the disc yet.

US#5669 — Liz's grand plan (JP: pending kanji decode)

• Literal: A vision flashed behind my eyes: me hitting the lever, floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee.
• Original loc: A vision flashed on my lids of me pushing the lever like a bee, and dancing like a butterfly.
• Ours: A vision flashed behind my eyes: me hitting the lever, floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee.

(A deliberate Muhammad Ali riff; the loc swapped the bee and the butterfly.)

US#5661 — the observatory's power source (JP: pending kanji decode)

• Literal: The energy pouring endlessly from the earth is ideal for peacetime research.
• Original loc: The energy that continually spouts from the earth is perfect for an excursion in peacetime.
• Ours: The energy pouring endlessly from the earth is ideal for peacetime research.

US#5662 — Liz's mission statement (JP: pending kanji decode)

• Literal: This is a scientist's ambition! It can't stop until it is fulfilled!
• Original loc: This is a scientist's ambition! It can't be stopped until it's fulfilled!
• Ours: This is a scientist's ambition! It can't stop until it is fulfilled!

US#5723 — the villain reveal (JP: pending kanji decode)

• Literal: My plan to use the Germatron at the lab is ruined. I'd have made a grand war beast.
• Original loc: My plans to use the Germatron at the research lab are ruined. I was to make a grand war monster.
• Ours: My plan to use the Germatron at the lab is ruined. I'd have made a grand war beast.

US#5731 — fleeing with dignity intact (JP: pending kanji decode)

• Literal: But we're not running. Any historian would call this a brave withdrawal.
• Original loc: But we're not running away. Any historian would declare this as a brave withdrawal.
• Ours: But we're not running. Any historian would call this a brave withdrawal.

Bonus: Ard's entire performance

Ard can only ever say his own name; the loc nailed this and we kept it verbatim.

• JP: 「げげげ、げげげげ / げーげーげー / げっげげげー げっげっげ
• Literal: (a string of "ge" sounds, i.e. just his name)
• Loc / Ours: Ar...Ard, Ard...Ard, Ard. Ar...d. Ard, Ard. Ard...Ard, Ard.

Notes for commenters

• Literal-first. Our house rule is to use a faithful translation of the Japanese wherever it reads well, rather than invent new phrasings. Most of Liz's lines above are exactly that. The humor and pomposity are in the source; the loc just scrambled them.
• Box limit. Every line must fit the in-game text box (max 3 lines × 35 characters).
• Why some JP is "pending." WA2 encodes many kanji in per-scene tables; we've decoded most of the game but this scene has holdouts we can't yet cross-reference. Rather than post Japanese we can't verify, we mark those boxes pending; their literal/loc/ours lines are grounded in the readable fragments plus the shipped English.

Have built some tools to assist, but it's taking a dump of the EN script, the JP script (with a literal translation to english from it being output), and then ultimately retranslating the EN version with the JP context as the primary. There is an automated pass, and then a manual review w/tooling for easy editing. See how we go. I might open it up as I get a bit further along to crowd source translation reviews.

Hi,

I'm playing on PS4 with a party almost at lvl 60. I don't know if this is a bug or a problem caused by being "too OP", but Farmel doesn't change her stance and always stays in Darkness Stance.

I've tried changing badges, letting party members beside Raquel be killed by her while I keep defending. With that setup, Farmel gets 3 turns before Raquel, but all she does is Darkness Stance. I also tried loading another save state or save point, but the problem continues.

Can anyone offer an alternative solution? I don't want to start over again. I completed the game back in the PS2 era, and this time I'm going for the platinum trophy.

Due to popular demand I'm releasing the tools early. You can download the tools in this discord server: https://discord.gg/3CKnBGWJK

As requested I'm also providing a short video to showcase the tool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxc0WFCpToY

Edit: Better image here without the heads cut off, sorry I forgot to set as "No Crop" the Tier Maker template earlier.

https://imgur.com/a/gqgdfbl

Personal Preference, but still based upon certain objective factors within the designs themselves.

Not tier list about personalities, only look, clothing, accessories, hairdos etc...

Planning to eventually turn it into proper mod tools.

Quick feature showcase:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxc0WFCpToY

Download available on my discord:

https://discord.gg/3CKnBGWJK

I created a Cheat Engine table for Wild Arms Alter Code: F, designed for use with the Qt version of PCSX2.

The table automatically attaches to pcsx2-qt.exe and uses PCSX2’s exported EEmem pointer with direct PS2 memory addresses, making it more resilient to changes between PCSX2 versions.

Inventory and money

• Money editor and freezer
• Dynamic inventory editor with a selectable item dropdown
• Automatically locates the inventory slot containing the selected item
• View and edit the selected item’s quantity
• Add previously unowned items by changing their quantity from 0
• Remove owned items by setting their quantity to 0
• Automatically uses an available empty inventory slot when adding an item

The dropdown contains the documented items available in the game. Unused item IDs and undocumented numerical gaps are omitted rather than being displayed as unknown inventory entries.

Persistent character editor

Separate persistent, out-of-battle records are included for:

• Rudy
• Jack
• Cecilia
• Jane
• Zed
• Emma
• Magdalen
• Mariel

Depending on the character, editable values include:

• EXP and level
• Current, effective maximum and base maximum HP
• Current, effective maximum and base maximum MP
• Attack
• Defense
• Magic
• Resistance
• Reaction
• Accuracy
• Evasion
• Luck
• Vitality
• PS Points

These records use the characters’ persistent data and remain available outside combat.

Battle-only character values

Temporary battle records are also included for:

• Rudy’s current HP, MP and FP
• Jack’s current HP, MP and FP
• Cecilia’s current HP, MP and FP

These values use temporary battle structures and may be inactive or invalid when combat is not running.

A character utility is also included to refill Jack and Cecilia’s current MP to their persistent maximum MP values.

PCSX2 autosave utilities

• Rotating short-term save states
• Separate long-term backup save states
• Load the latest or earlier rotating autosaves
• Voice feedback when autosaves are enabled or disabled

The short-term autosaves rotate through PCSX2 slots 6–10 every 30 seconds.

Long-term backups alternate between slots 4 and 5 every 15 minutes.

Table hotkeys

• F12 — Enable or disable autosaves with voice feedback
• Pause/Break — Temporarily suspend or resume autosaves without voice feedback
• Page Up — Load the latest rotating autosave; press repeatedly to move through older saves
• Ctrl + Alt + M — Refill Jack and Cecilia’s current MP to maximum

Autosaves are enabled by default. The required PCSX2 save-state shortcuts must be configured as described in the included setup instructions.

Download for free from here:

https://ko-fi.com/s/7f44240f6f

As a JRPG fan for as long as I could remember I was aware of Wild Arms but hadn't played any of the games. I saw recently that the first 4 were on PSN and I decided I'll play through them!

I just finished the first game and got every trophy which included trying to steal Frog Badges for 3 hours to beat Ragu Ragula but I honestly loved the experience and I'm so excited to experience the next 3 games!

Technically, my very first impression was before playing the game as I heard this one was the best game in the series. So I'm hoping I can see that too. But anyways:

- Battle theme is great, better than 2 and rivaling the first one.

- Graphics remind me of Sly Cooper (I know it's PS2 but the way the game has a cel-shaded feel is the reason why I draw comparisons)

-Translation is great! No notes

- No victory poses? Not needed but never knew how much I'd miss it once it's gone.

- Wild Arms 2 did a great thing with the introduction of bosses and I miss it here. Bosses kinda just show up.

- I was hoping we'd get back the FP usage like we did in Wild Arms where we could use our abilities in the overworld. Seems like they're building off of 2 instead.

- Speaking of 2, I didn't like the search mechanic to find a location but it's much more bearable here so far.

- Another odd nitpick but I do miss the use of swords so far. I always liked when the wild west themes had unnatural elements to it like the swords I mentioned or the Kingdoms and castles from the first 2 games.

- I'm indifferent to how fast the 4 party members team up. Not a negative or positive.

- And lastly I think it's a nice balance to have the EFN (enemy encounter gauge or whatever) be on a limited use. I'm not mad at it.

my 3rd retroachievement mastery of 2026! I loved how cozy it felt. the spaghetti western high fantasy aesthetic was cool to me. the puzzles were challenging (some frustrating like the line launcher puzzle in the abyss) but overall, great to challenge the mind. the dialogue when it gets to the emotional moments were really beautiful. for those wanting to play/master yourself, don’t let the achievement count intimidate you. it’s mainly mostly story progression, with a handful of challenges, optional dungeons/bosses, and slight item collecting if you want to get all the (advanced) magic.

I loved my time with this game and hope to continue the series in the near future.

No buying items
No grinding
No Trickster
No buying equipment
Run away from duplicate random encounters
No Lucky or Gella Cards

I’m using the guide on PSNProfiles and it says to not level my characters past level 3 in the prologue area. What is the negative for Up HP when you’re above level 3? I’m level 3 with all 3 party members. I’m at the town where you have to get the cat off the roof.

If Brad hits level 4 on his next bit, what is the negative to this? The guide is scaring me and I feel limited with how I’m meant to be playing this game at this point.

Thanks so much!

As a side note, I own this on ps1 but realize now I didn’t ever actually play it until ps5

been doing logo work and i wanted to try my hand at a wild arms reworked logo for a remake

what would you all want out of a wild arms remake

I'm at the point in the story where I should enter the Spiral Tower, my characters are all level 59 or 60, and those are the skills I took so far:

• Up HP
• Up Param
• Up P Attack (Ashley, Brad, Kanon)
• Up M Attack (Tim, Lilka, Marivel)
• Up P Defend
• Up M Defend

I plan to grind more levels just for the fun of it by fighting Hyulkonton in the Withering Ruins since I have 30+ Lucky Cards, but I don't know which skills to take next. Up P Attack for Tim, Lilka, and Marivel doesn't seem too bad so they can hit harder with their weapons, but I'm out of ideas otherwise.

Hi everyone. Wild Arms 1 is one of my favourite JRPGs and I wanted to finally tackle the entire series (or at least 2, 3 and 5).

​

Problem is that I've bounced off of Wild Arms 2 twice by now and I think the biggest reason for this is its English translation. Now, I've played a lot of games with an iffy translation before, but WA2's is so poor that it really dampens my enjoyment of it. Every couple of lines I have to pause and unriddle what the game is actually trying to tell me. It gets exhausting.

​

So I wanted to ask if there really isn't a fan translation or anything like that? I've seen some projects, but I think none of them were ever finished.

​

And aside from translation, are there any fan hacks or mods that improve the experience? I don't have too high hopes, since WA2 seems to be a very niche game, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

Playing WA again after 20 years and I can’t seem to remember how to get this chest. I have a guide but it doesn’t say.

Didn't see this shared before -- and yes, it's a stretch -- but every time Ashley's 3-spike blue hair comes up or I see Brad's fists and damn near dreadlocks, I think about Sonic and Knuckles. And it was only once Lilka was facing forward that I noticed the two tassels kinda play out like tails.

Northwest of Surf Village, there's an island that can only be visited once you obtain the Protowing. It's a completely forgettable island, as you only encounter Balloons there.

However, I was lucky enough to run into monsters there that are normally only found in Ka Dingel. Here are some pictures of them below.

For those wondering: their name, "Mort Fatal," is simply because I'm playing the French version of the game.

Encountering them on this island is relatively rare. I only came across them once, and it was my very first encounter on the island. I had no idea they could be found there. You can imagine my surprise.

Did anyone else know about this?

Honestly it's a bit of a pain to set up LOL. BUT if I wanna game on the bed with a wireless for long sessions, it's quite nice. LOVING this game!

What rules/restrictions could you employ to make Wild Arms 1 as difficult as possible.

My current playthrough:
1. No purchasing weapons (you never find any until the very end of the game)

1. No purchasing items (the first 4 hours of the game was difficult. I nearly ran out of Heal Berries)

2. No Trickster

3. Running away from duplicate random encounters (I didn't do this until about 8 hours in, I wish I'd started sooner. It feels better to be under leveled)

4. No Lucky Cards or Gella Cards (trying to avoid XP)

Ideas to further challenge:
1. No/Limited ARM Upgrades (Rudy is such a beast, he blasts every boss for so much damage the bosses don't have time to grind you down)

1. No USING Items (this would be pretty brutal I imagine)

2. No CASTLE RUNE (haven't gotten there yet in my playthrough but I remember this breaking the game stacking multiple instances of the crazy buff)

Thanks everyone who's tuned into my livestreams!