Part 1: Hillside Ruins

Video: Title Sequence

Cutscene: Introduction
Music: We Need a New Hero



There's a gunshot, and birds fly away from the sound.





Dean: Never seen him hit anything, not once.

His courage inspired all, paving the way to true independence. This is his story-



Dean: All right, time to dig! No small fry for me today! This time I'm gonna bring home the big one!

Music: On the Day the Shovel was Named Invincible



Welcome to the Hillside Ruins, the first area of Wild Arms 5. This area is designed to familiarize us with the controls and basic overworld gameplay.

Dean is here looking for parts of Golems. I don't see why he thinks he'll find anything here, as this isn't a particularly obscure or dangerous ruin, so it's likely to have already been cleaned out.





The Hillside Ruins contain diffcult puzzles, such as stepping on a switch to open the door.



The door above opens when you stand on the switch, but it closes when you step off! Those ancient Filgaians really knew how to protect their treasure from thieves!



Thanks to my razor-sharp intellect, I was able to figure out the solution of pushing the nearby box onto the switch.



In the next room, we run across a notebook.

"A honey-bosomed maiden sleeps restlessly amidst the spring breeze, yearning for the arrival of a handsom prince and his glorious white steed..."
... "Honey-bosomed"? What the heck does that mean?
Oh no, this must be Rebecca's poetry journal! And now I've gone and read it, too... She's gonna be so upset with me! Urgh. I guess I could just pretend I never saw it here...
...
...No, I couldn't do that. It's like a treasure to her, after all. I know I'd be really upset if I lost my Nightburn picture. Guess I'll bring it back to her.
Obtained Rebecca's Journal!



The next room is full of mounds of sparkling dirt. Our goal is to dig up a golem part from one of these mounds.



Most of the mounds just contain junk.

After checking every other mound (finding a Water gem, 50 Gella, and lots of dirt) we finally find something worthwhile.



Huh, I guess the only Golem Hunters to explore this ruin so far have somehow been even less competent than Dean.

Oh man, this is so great... The real thing feels so different! I wonder what part is is...? The color, the shape, the weight, the feel... This one's gotta be special, I just know it! I can't wait to take it back to the village and get old man Tony to take a look at it! And if it really is the real thing... Then finally...
Obtained Golem Part!
Whew... Guess I may as well head back to the village now. I've gotta get the old man to check out this new golem part, after all!



The ruin is much deeper than this, but our path is blocked by a sealed door. Looks like we'll be coming back here later. For now, it's time to backtrack out of here.

Music: The Place I'll Return to Someday



When we exit the Hillside ruins, we're automatically brought to Dean's hometown, Capo Bronco.



It's the real thing this time! I know it!
Tony: Well, quite a feisty one we've got here. And just who might you be, lad?
Come on, it's me, Dean! Quit joking around!
Tony: Heh heh heh! Good to see you so lively, Dean. So you went to those old ruins again, did you? How did it go this time?
Great! This one's the real deal! I'm sure of it! Here, take a look...
Tony: All right, all right, no need to make a fuss over it. Let's see...



Tony taps the part a few times. Somehow this is enough to tell if it's real.

Tony: Well, well...
So what do you think? I really found one this time, didn't I?!
Tony: ...Indeed, it seems you have. It's a bit damaged, but there's no question it's part of a golem. I give you my word as the world's finest golem engineer! Those ruins have been practically stripped bare, you know. I'm impressed you managed to find anything in there.
Really? Awesome! I can't believe it's the real thing... I finally did it... Thanks, Tony! This is exactly what I needed!
Tony: Needed...? What kind of mischief are you cooking up this time?
Sorry, that's a secret! Anyway, do you know where Rebecca is? I've got something for her.
Tony: Rebecca? I think I saw her over by the bridge.
Great, thanks! See you later!

A bit of Wild Arms trivia: every single Wild Arms game has contained a character named Tony. A young boy in Wild Arms 1, an orphan in Wild Arms 2, a train attendant in Wild Arms 3, a military commander in Wild Arms 4, and a dog in Wild Arms XF.



By Tony's place, we encounter my favorite NPC in Capo Bronco, the Secret Police Chief.

Secret Police Chief: A golem engineer? Living in this tiny backwater town? It's weird, man! I've decided to form a Secret Police squad to investigate the old coot, I bet he's creating evil golems in his basement! Listen, Dean, I like you. I'm gonna let you be a Secret Police agent, too. If you see anything suspicious at all, you report it to me immediately, you got it?!

Hell yes, we're officially a Secret Police agent!



The Memory Bird makes its return from Wild Arms 1. In both games, they serve the function of saving your game. Each Memory Bird says something different, so I'll be sure to show them all.



Looking around Dean's house gets you some flavor text.



Maybe it's cursed?

This is a reference to Wild Arms 1. In Wild Arms 1, Jack could get a sword called the Doom Bringer, which has the second highest attack stat of all his weapons. Unfortunately, it drops your luck to 'WORST' every time you equip it.



Over by the entrance to the village, we find Rebecca. You'd think Dean would have seen her when he came in with his golem part, but I guess he was too excited to pay any attention to his surroundings.

Cutscene: Rebecca
Music: Even a Dog Wouldn't Eat This



Rebecca: Have you seen my...
Dean: What're you looking for?
Rebecca: Um... nothing, never mind.



Rebecca: What the-?! My poetry journal! How did you get a hold of this?! Um, you didn't... don't tell me you... read it?
Dean: Well, uh... I found it down in the ruins, and I didn't know it was yours, so, uh...
...





Dean: I'm... sorry, really.
Rebecca: ...
Rebecca: ...*Ahem* I... I shouldn't have gotten angry like that. I really should thank you for finding it, Dean. And I'm sorry I yelled at you...
Dean: No problem. I know how important it is to you, Rebecca. It's a good thing I stumbled on it. I'm heading out now, so I'll see you around.
Rebecca: But... I thought you just got back! So where are you off to now?
Dean: I was thinking of heading over toward Celestial Peak.



Dean: Well... I wanted to go back on more time. You know, to say goodbye.
Rebecca: ...?
Dean: Actually, I guess I'd better tell you too... Hey, would you mind coming out there with me?
Rebecca: Um, I guess so... After all, I owe you for the journal. Sure, I'll tag along. I haven't been out that far in a while, all the way to Celestial Peak... I hope you remember the way, Dean!



Rebecca joined the party!


Sorry if that was boring at all. As you can see, not much happens at the beginning of Wild Arms 5.

The Art of Wild Arms

With today's update, we have Dean and Rebecca's profiles, which I shamelessly plagiarized for my OP.