Archive EntryPreservation Record
Wild Arms
Shelf markLIB-0033
Editorial StandingCatalogued · Permanent Record
1996Game
Catalog Information
- Original Title
- ワイルドアームズ
- Release
- 1996 (Japan) · 1997 (North America)
- Developer
- Media.Vision
- Publisher
- Sony Computer Entertainment America
- Platform
- PlayStation
- Region
- NTSC-U/C · North America · SCUS-94608
- Medium
- Pressed optical disc · PlayStation retail edition
- Subjects
- JRPG · Wild Arms · Early PlayStation · Lineage · Preservation
Archival Status
- Custody
- Permanent archive holding
- Reference Copy
- Complete in box: case, pressed disc, manual, and original cover insert
- Condition Report
- Complete in box. Light shelf wear consistent with age. Preserved as a playable reference copy.
- Acquisition
- Private acquisition · August 2026
- Filed
- August 3, 2026
Curator Notes
Wild Arms is the first Media.Vision chapter in a series that gave the PlayStation a western-tinged Japanese role-playing identity of its own. Released in Japan in 1996 and localized by Sony Computer Entertainment America the following year, it sits in the same early window as Beyond the Beyond — when SCEA was still teaching North American shelves what a Sony-published JRPG could be.
The filing is kept as the opening point of the Wild Arms lineage on this archive, not because every later sequel is already present. A series name without its first disc is only a rumor; the pressed SCUS-94608 copy is the concrete beginning.
Filed beside the other Original PlayStation holdings, it records another path through the platform’s first RPG years: tool-driven dungeons, hybrid 2D exploration and 3D battles, and a studio whose later work would keep returning to Filgaia.
Collection Documentation
Acquired in August 2026 as part of completing the Original PlayStation shelf.
The retained copy is the North American PlayStation edition published by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCUS-94608). It remains complete in box with manual and cover insert, and is kept as the reference copy for the opening of the Wild Arms lineage.
Dedicated artifact views of the individual copy have not yet been filed; the gallery below is held open for that documentation.
Preservation Notes
- Access Hardware
- Sony PlayStation; compatible North American PlayStation hardware
- Original Hardware
- Sony PlayStation · NTSC-U/C
- Playback Compatibility
- Pressed for North American PlayStation consoles. The retained disc remains the primary access copy.
- Preservation Concerns
- Optical-disc aging and surface damage remain the principal risks. The disc is stored upright in its original case under stable, dry conditions; printed materials remain housed with the copy.
- Edition History
- First issued in Japan on December 20, 1996. The North American localization followed on April 30, 1997 under Sony Computer Entertainment America as Wild Arms (SCUS-94608). European territories received a 1998 PlayStation release.
- Access Status
- The original physical edition is out of print and circulates through the secondary market. Later remakes and digital reissues do not replace this North American reference copy.
Connections
- Series
- Wild Arms
- Editorial Record
- Reserved for future critical writing in Bloodsoaked Media.
Artifact Documentation
Reference photography of the preserved copy held by Bloodsoaked Media. Each view records the edition, materials, and condition of the work in custody.
Space is reserved for official artwork verification, collection photography, scans, and supplementary archival media. Nothing is forced into the record until documentation is filed.
Stewardship History
A permanent chronology of this archival record — filed, revised, and tended over time. Entries accumulate; none are erased.
Collection Documentation entered
Connections established
Wild Arms series recorded.
Curator Notes entered
Filed into the Library
Accessioned as LIB-0033.
Preservation Notes entered
Published to the public shelf