Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #392: Wild 9

Wild 9

PlayStation

Nostalgia Factor:

I have extremely vague memories of Wild 9 from when I was a kid. I never played the game, but I remember seeing it all over video game magazines back in '97 and '98. I wanted to play this, but life got in the way. And due to all the other awesome games coming out around this time, it was never a huge priority for me anyway.

From what I can recall, the game never really took off or became popular. I'm willing to bet if you walked around and polled 100 random people, none of them would be able to tell you a single thing about Wild 9.

Well, now is the time for me to finally come back and give this game the look that I wanted to give it when it first came out. What would my opinion on it be? Let's find out.

Story:

This is what I call a "manual game", meaning nothing about Wild 9's story is explained in the actual game itself. You have to own the instruction manual to have any idea what is going on. Since the game doesn't bother to explain anything, I'll keep this short. From what I can gather you play as a character named Wex. There is an evil being named Karn (no, not Al from Home Improvement) who is threatening the galaxy. Wex goes on a mission to free his eight buddies (hence their nickname, the Wild 9) from captivity in order to defeat Karn.

And that's pretty much it. This is not a game you play for its storyline.

Gameplay:

Wild 9 is what is considered a 2.5D platformer. Meaning that although the graphics and the environment are fully 3D, you play on a 2D field. The game only gives the illusion of being fully 3D. Pandemonium! is a good example of this type of game.

Taking control of Wex, you'll notice a few basic commands at your disposal. You run, you jump, and you fire a weapon that is called "The Rig". If you've seen Star Trek or any other type of science fiction series, The Rig is essentially a tractor beam. You can use it to grab onto enemies and smash them back and forth into the pavement, like Hulk smashing Loki in the first Avengers movie. You can also use it to grab projectiles out of the air and throw them back at your foes. You can use it to swing from certain hanging areas, like a grappling hook.

Mainly you use The Rig to solve puzzles. See a pit over a body of water that seems too large to jump over? Grab an enemy and toss it into the water and use his body to cross the gap. Giant spinning fan blocking your way? Toss an enemy into it to break it apart into a million pieces. While these are just a few simple examples, some of the puzzles in this game can get pretty creative.

In addition to The Rig, you can also pick up missiles and grenades that you can use to destroy your enemies.

Most platforming stages require you to rescue a member of the Wild 9. While some of these characters are self-sufficient, you'll have to escort some of them to the end of the level. The Rig comes in handy here as well, as you can use it to pick up your friend and guide him or her through areas they wouldn't be able to traverse normally. Other members of the Wild 9 serve the purpose of helping you out. There are some that you can get on top of and ride. Another one likes to randomly explode all the time, meaning that you can grab onto him with The Rig and use him to blow up sealed doors or other obstacles in your way.

When you aren't making your way through platforming levels, you'll be playing through what I like to call "variant" stages. Some of these stages involve riding on a hovercraft and shooting down enemies with missiles. Others have you free falling through tunnels as you work to grab onto enemies and smash them into the tunnel walls.

None of these variant stages are very difficult, and they help to break up any potential monotony you'd experience playing through the platforming levels.

Graphics:

There are two ways to look at this game, and neither one is really wrong.

1: Wow this is terrible looking. This era of 3D graphics is just the absolute worst!

2: I love these early 3D polygon graphics. The animations are fluid, the backdrops are gorgeous, and the lighting and special effects look so good. This game is just bursting with personality, too. I'm absolutely charmed by this game's visual approach!

Can you guess which one of these views I align with?

Sound:

Any time you see that a game's music has been done by Tommy Tallarico, you know you're in for a treat, and this game is no exception. Wild 9's soundtrack is comprised of a series of techno/hard rock tracks that really help pull you into the action. The musical tracks fit perfectly with the sometimes goofy/sometimes serious sci-fi theme of the game. If I had to complain, it would be that the music seems very quiet sometimes, overpowered by the game's sound effects.

The sound effects are fine. I don't really have anything to say about them, good or bad. I know a lot of people online have expressed irritation regarding Wex's one-liners, but I kinda liked them. They didn't seem too intrusive or overly obnoxious to me.

Overall:

My initial impression when I started playing this game was that it was going to be a run of the mill, easily forgotten, completely average platformer from the PS1 era. I was wrong. The more I played this game, the more I began to enjoy it and fall under its spell.

I won't say that this is an amazing game or one that can't be missed, but it is entertaining and brings a lot of fun and personality to the table. It isn't too hard and doesn't take too overly long to beat, either. Anyone can pick this up and have a good time with it.

This is a 2.5D platformer done right, unlike Pandemonium which I really didn't care for. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the genre. If these kind of games aren't your thing, however, Wild 9 will do nothing to change your mind.

This is a solid game, as generic as that term is. Not amazing. Not groundbreaking. Not a must-play. Solid. That's about all the praise I am willing to give it.

THE GRADE:

B-

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