The world of Azuma is vast, and if you’re looking for danger, it won’t take long to encounter it. But what happens once you’ve finished your initial playthrough of Wild Hearts? How many more things can one accomplish once you’ve conquered the main story? Well despite how much there is to experience as you travel through Azuma the first time, there is plenty to experience after the fact as well. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of six things you can do after beating Wild Hearts that’ll make you keep playing.
The Dreaded Volatile Kemono
I believe it was Socrates who once said: Just because you’ve beaten the game doesn’t mean you’ve beaten the game.
While Wild Hearts does have a main story that will make you feel well-versed in the art of monster — err, Kemono hunting — by the end of it, there are some creatures that you cannot face until you’ve played through and completed the main questline. Once you do, though, you’re in for a treat of sorts. The final boss that Wild Hearts has to offer is already no slouch, but it pales in comparison to the “Volatile” Kemono. And yet, there’s more!
Once you defeat the Volatile Kemono, you’ll acquire Keystones that are then used to challenge the Deeply Volatile Kemono. So if you thought volatile is volatile, think again. That said, defeating these monstrous creatures will be worth your while. And ideally by the time you encounter such ferocious monsters, you’ll be ready.
Hoard & Craft, Craft & Hoard
If you’re like me, then RPGs are your outlet to exercise all of the hoarding demons that your parents passed down to you. If you’re not like me, well then hey, good for you! But here’s the thing: it’s easy to get lost in the amount of resources and crafting materials available to you in Wild Hearts. So I am here to tell you to allow yourself to get lost.
Whether it’s racking up resource after resource by hunting the same creatures over and over, or simply setting your map to mark all materials and then walking to every little icon on said map (which is something I definitely did not do), that choice belongs to you. There are countless Dragon Pits to uncover; building everywhere is essential to surviving the treacherous land of Azuma. While not technically an open world setting, exploring is a crucial aspect of this game.
Sure you cannot carry everything at once, but there are plenty of armor and weapon builds to keep in mind while making your way. So hoard, and craft! And if you prefer a kinder word than hoard, nobody’s stopping you from collecting materials.
Dive Deep Into Multiplayer/Online
Playing alongside others in Wild Hearts can help your quest considerably, but if you’re stubborn like me, you may reject that notion entirely during your first playthrough. Once you’ve beaten the game, though, why not go back and hunt with some pals? Or, perhaps some friendly strangers? Linking up with others online is a seamless process in Wild Hearts, and the best part is that you can leave at anytime.
But if you’re looking to make your Kemono hunts a bit breezier the second time around, having backup is the way to go. If you’d rather have others do all the work for you while still collecting resources anyway, that is technically an option. Maybe you just want to distract certain Kemono and continue to reap the rewards. That’s fine! Probably. Until the others realize what you’re doing.
I’m just saying that I don’t particularly care for multiplayer experiences when I’m working my way through a video game, and I deeply enjoyed my multiplayer experiences while playing through Wild Hearts. Take that for whatever it’s worth.
Choose a Side Quest, Any Side Quest
Azuma is not a small place, we’ve covered this. And with the main story of Wild Hearts taking roughly 30 hours to complete, we understand if you don’t have much time for anything else. Life is finite, so focus on what you enjoy and all that. Yet what if upon conquering the main story of this beautiful RPG, you find yourself with a bit more time on your hands? Then you’re in luck, because there are plenty of side quests to complete.
The nice thing about side quests in Wild Hearts are that they’re all relatively similar. You’re here to hunt, collect resources, and help those in need of said resources. Rinse, repeat. They are not locked to your progress throughout the main story, and all you have to do to cycle through them is switch chapters (which are numbered 1-5).
So complete them whenever you’d like! If you’re looking for specific resources, then by all means focus on the necessary side quests. Azuma is your oyster, as it were, and one you can experience at your leisure.
Never Stop Hunting
Depending upon how you look at it, there’s a lot to do in Wild Hearts. Then again, others may see it as there being very little to do. After all, it comes down to this: hunt, kill, collect, progress, repeat. That said, you’re not pouring plenty of hours into this game unless you’re a fan of hunting and conquering these Kemono.
So once you’ve beaten the main story, what’s to stop you from going back and hunting these creatures again and again and again? The short answer: nothing! As always, a slightly longer answer does exist.
Say you wanted to attack a specific Kemono a certain way and you just weren’t able to do that the first time. Well that just means you need to get the resources necessary to craft your weapon of choice in a particular way, and set off again to take the beast down. Of course, maybe you’ve crafted everything you’ve ever wanted to and simply want to use a different weapon. Go for it!
Or, maybe playing the through the game and conquering every Kemono — from tiny and precious to volatile and deeply volatile — just wasn’t enough of a challenge. In that case, if you’re into that sort of thing, use the worst possible weapon imaginable for the creature you’re currently intent on hunting. That’s the beauty of it, you can hunt however the heck you want.
Get the Platinum Trophy/1,000 Gamerscore
If you’re like me, you don’t feel the need to complete every single facet of a particular game. But every once in a while, one comes along that makes you feel as though you want to. If Wild Hearts is that game for you, then a Platinum trophy or 1,000 Gamerscore awaits!
There are so many Tsukumo to befriend, Kemono of all shapes and sizes await, and we need not spend any more time on the volatile nature of some. Keep building and restoring while conjuring Karakuri to your heart’s content. Be sure to use one weapon a lot, but also keep in mind that you’ll have to use other weapons some of the time. Is that Dragon Pit as big as it can be? Check again.
More than anything, if you cannot get enough of what Wild Hearts has to offer and you’re hell bent on racking up every trophy imaginable, then by all means have at it. Because at the end of the day, who doesn’t want to be able to brag to their friends, family, and theoretical loved ones that you’ve just poured possibly hundreds upon hundreds of hours into a video game all for the prestige of seeing that digital declaration of dominance?
Who doesn’t want to chase that feeling?
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