Wild Arms 4 - Main Characters

Main Characters

• Jude Maverick

Age 13. A young boy whose will to overcome obstacles tends to manifest itself as pure recklessness. He is a bit immature for his age, but this is partially due to fact that grew up in a very sheltered environment. He wears a jacket that is a couple sizes too large for him, which only adds to his immature image. He's the only party member who is capable of using an ARM. He is also the first non-Drifter hero to appear in the series since Wild Arms 2. Jude is the jack of all trades of the group. He has good attack power, can shoot energy beams with his ARM, and steal items. His special ability is Mystic, which allows a used item to affect all party members.

He is the son of Ethelda Maverick, and his father is later implied to be Hauser Blackwell, both of whom he loses before the game's end. After the catastrophe that strikes Ciel, Jude makes the decision to roam the world in search of survivors from his town and to protect Yulie. After multiple encounters with the forces of Brionac, his purpose later evolves into preserving Filgaia's future. Through the course of the group's struggles, Jude matures into a stronger person, and yet still manages to retain the youthful drive of his innocence. 10 years later, he is a forest ranger who works to protect the world's forests, and surrounds himself with the company of animals rather than people. He is voiced by Ryōko Shiraishi in the Japanese version and Julie Anne Taylor in the English version.

• Yulie Ahtreide

Age 15. A young girl saddled with the fate of being a Wild Arms heroine. She seems a bit shy at first, but is an upbeat and caring girl. Since losing her parents in the war, she has lived in the White Orphanage and has since retracted from adults. Though her abilities differ from Jude's, she also has the ability to control ARMs after activation. Unlike Jude, however, her ARM ability is not natural, and she only obtained it through extensive (and inhumane) experimentation. She is the white mage and summoner of the group. Her special ability is Material, which, depending on the HEX she's standing in, will either heal the party or unleash an elemental summon that attacks all enemies.

Throughout the game, Yulie wrestles with the guilt in believing that she had brought all this tragedy to Jude and the others, as well as having to oppose her brother, Kresnik. However, she later manages to overcome her feelings, as well as the unsureness of her faith in her brother. Brionac wish to control her so that they may use her abilities to control "The Divine Weapon", an incredibly powerful ARM. Although she is eventually captured at one point in the game, her brother and her friends manage to work together to free her. Later, with her powers amplified by the Marduk satellite (as stated by a village at the end of the game), she is able to assist in the Divine Weapon's deactivation. 10 years later, she acts as the town school teacher for Ciel's replacement. She is voiced by Ayako Kawasumi in the Japanese version and Kate Higgins in the English version.

• Arnaud G. Vasquez

Age 18. A magic user who prides himself "in everything from the neck up". He would rather spend his days wandering and searching for something for his own benefit, but, somehow, becomes tangled in Jude's travels. He specializes in attack spells and stat changing spells. His special ability is Jump, which can move him and anyone else in his HEX to another. If he has learned a certain skill, he can attack after using Jump.

A recurring joke with Arnaud is that he is constantly complaining about having been dragged into Jude's and Yulie's problems, and yet still remains loyal and by their side regardless. Arnaud lost his mother when he was young, and as a result, he resolved to learn how to fly so that he could see her in heaven. He later became a magic user and a Drifter, and just worked purposelessly until he becomes embroiled with Brionac. During the journey, he finds a purpose in being with Raquel and acting as her warmth. After the final battle, they both decide to go off together to find a cure for her illness. 10 years later, he has settled in a town as a restaurant manager, with his daughter assisting him. He is voiced by Hiroki Takahashi in the Japanese version and Yuri Lowenthal in the English version.

• Raquel Applegate

Age 19. The lady fencer isn't very "ladylike", but her strength in battle more than makes up for her faults. Seems hard to approach at first, but in reality this swordswoman is caring and is the most mature of the party. Traveling the world that has been devastated by the war, her objective is to find and draw the few beautiful landscapes left in Filgaia. Later, it is learned that she is doing so because she contracted an incurable disease when she was younger and wishes to have the ugly memories of war be erased by the beauty that is left in Filgaia. Her attack power in battle is the highest of the party, as she can often kill enemies in one blow. However, she is very slow. Her special ability is Intrude, which allows her to have consecutive turns. She is voiced by Hitomi Nabatame in the Japanese version and Wendee Lee in the English version.

The group first meet Raquel after she talks down a couple of soldiers from causing a ruckus, and later joins them after hearing of their plight, reasoning that she could still fulfill her original purpose by accompanying Jude and the others. Through a matter of unfortunate circumstance, Arnaud (and eventually the others) discover that Raquel has an incurable condition that is killing her. She had contracted it during an incident that wiped out her entire hometown, leaving her as possibly the only survivor. She and Arnaud fall in love, and she later decides to rely on him as her warmth. In the 10 year time skip, it is revealed that the two later married and had a daughter. Unfortunately, they were never able to find a cure for her condition, and Raquel quietly passed away after realizing the ultimate beauty in her baby daughter.

• Ethelda Maverick

Age 41. Jude's mother. A former ARM scientist, she and her colleagues moved to Ciel in order to escape their past and the war torn Filgaia. When Ciel is destroyed, the occupants are separated. She is captured by Lambda along with another group of Ciel residents (also former ARM scientists) so that they may activate the Divine Weapon. Although the Weapon was designed to help restore Filgaia, she believes it is also capable of great destruction, and she wishes to destroy it. She and the others are eventually rescued by Jude and company at Brionac's headquarters, Garra de Leon (a large sandship), and the two parties split up into two separate hovercrafts to make their escape. However, Lambda had set multiple time bombs all over Garra de Leon as a means to prevent Jude and the others from escaping, and Ethelda's craft is hit by one, killing her and everyone else aboard. Jude is sent into a depression over this, but eventually snaps out of it, and decides to fulfill his mom's last wish: to destroy the Divine Weapon.

• Hauser Blackwell

Age unknown. Wields the XERD_002GC "Gunclaw". Fuses with the fourth ARM, the Divine Weapon, sealed away under Ilsveil Prison, in order to wipe out humanity with its nanomachines. During the war he was a "hero", fighting for the sake of a better future. He has saved countless towns on his own, disappearing while trying to save the town where Raquel Applegate was born. He was dubbed "The Black Reaper". He is also the father of Jude. Although he is always spoken of as a highly dangerous war criminal, he is in actuality a fairly sympathetic character who is sick of war and just wants to live in peace. The party first comes across him when Jude tries to save a puppy being washed down the Autumn River in a box; Hauser takes the small dog with him as he leaves. He even heals the party back to health after the train they were riding on (Silver Star Express) crash lands into Verklarung. Hauser is then seen leading Yulie to the surface so that she may exorcise the earthbound souls of those killed in the city's destruction, which he accidentally caused. He is then captured by Gawn, and taken to Illsveil Prison. Once there, Lambda gives him a speech on how people are the cause of Filgaia's problems and shows him the collar of the puppy from earlier (he was implying the puppy had been killed, but lied about it) which sends the war weary Hauser over the edge. He escapes his bondage, and makes his way to the Divine Weapon so that he may use it to kill all life in Filgaia, as he believes that is the only way Filgaia will ever see peace. When the party arrives to destroy the Weapon, Hauser stops them and states his intentions. The party then battles him as he continually changes forms, each less human looking than the last. Upon his defeat, he reforms himself back into his old form, and chases Jude down with his ARM drawn. Jude then throws his own ARM away, and tries to plead with him that humanity is worth saving. It works, and Hauser drops his arm and places his hand on Jude's head, indicating he knows who Jude is and that he is proud of him. He then dissipates. Jude then breaks down into tears, presumably because he just realized that Hauser was his father. Later on, a townsperson suggests that Hauser actually didn't survive the Verklarung explosion, and the form seen throughout the game was actually a collection of nanomachines with Hauser's mind still intact (which explains how Jude always saw a scene from Hauser's past when he made physical contact with him). He is voiced by Masahiko Tanaka in the Japanese version and Dan Woren in the English version.