Customer Reviews

Skies of Arcadia for Sega Dreamcast

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an absolutely fantastic game that has been overlooked by a great many people. Really, I have no complaints with this game. However, before I get into what makes this game so great, I'm going to list a few of the drawbacks that may put off a potential buyer.

Given that this game was released back in 2000 for the Dreamcast, the graphics will appear to be crude next to what's exhibited by the current-gen consoles. However, as a Dreamcast game, the graphics for most of the game are quite good. The background and ship graphics are gorgeous by almost any standard, though the people aren't very natural-looking.
The battle system, while having nothing wrong with it, is simple turn-based combat. I didn't mind it at all, but I know it bothers some people. Also, at times the enemy spawn-rates are so ridiculously high that you can't go more than a few feet at a time.
No voice acting except the rare sound bite, and no CG movie cutscenes.

Those minor details aside, this game is near-perfect. The spirit meter and changeable elements for your weapons require a small amount of extra strategy without requiring a big learning curve. The Ship-to-Ship battles are great and give the gameplay even more depth.
The music in this game is unmatched with any of the many games I have played. Crisp, clear music that sounds right at home in a performance from an eminent professional orchestra.

Best of all this game has to offer is the story and the characters. The characters complement each other very well and seem almost real. The story itself is told in a masterful way that puts many novels to shame; it's presented in a way that reinvigorates the player's interest in the game at every twist and turn.

The last thing to mention is the great sense of exploration that this game offers. You can literally travel the entire world of Arcadia. Special discoveries can be found during exploration that not only give money but who's description provides glimpses into Arcadia's mysterious history. As the game progresses you explore in a way that slowly opens the world to you; and after you've visited a location you can almost always go back whenever you want, almost no matter what else is going on in the story. Lastly, this game offers something that few other exploration-minded games give: a home. At a certain point in the game, you get your own home base you can return your ship, and it gets rather lively as you recruit your various crew members.

In conclusion, give this game a try if you have a Dreamcast or a Gamecube, I promise that you won't regret it.

Although I have yet to beat the game myself, it swept me away the first time I borrowed and played it for the Gamecube, and now that I have a Dreamcast, I plan on buying the original version. The story is unique, the characters, such as Vyse and Aika, are so close to being real you could almost feel their expressions.

As for gameplay, I absolutely hated turn-based RPG's until I played this game. With graphics that are skilled(which beat some mediocre companies to this day) are strung together with anime-styled characters, funny expressions, and overall...it's fun.

The music is so accepting, even someone who hates some of the "classic music" style tracks could be moved. Unfortunately, it's hard to find games with such devotion in their music as much as Skies of Arcadia.

Fun, compelling, touching, exciting and you can go back and play it when your done, this is Arcadia.

Welcome, friend.

I am a 10 year old girl and I love this game! My older sister played it and completed the whole game! She LOVED it too! That is why I decided to try it and so far it is AWSOME! I still don't know why they rated it T for teen. I mean when you fight something, it just disappears, no blood. I would recomend this for a girl or boy who is 10 and up or in Middle School. If you are, say, 18, I think you would still have lots of fun! It is not a kiddie game because it is very hard. Now, if you are not a very experenced gamer, then I don't recomend this game to you unless you are actually a teen.
Ok, just a little heads up, ask people questions in the game. They can help you get around. When you drive your ship, before you get on, ask someone nearby because they can tell you which direction to go in. I love this game!

I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth after Final Fantasy XIII. I could not even finish that game by the time I got to Gran Pulse. I needed an RPG after that, and wanting to increase my Dreamcast library, I went with Skies of Arcadia. And to all of you feeling the same: this is the exact opposite of that other game. It is a great lighthearted, yet serious when it needs to be RPG that has exploring be such a huge part of it that the characters will not stop talking about making new discoveries and finding the unknown. And this is exactly what I wanted to hear.

The game's setting is a large world of floating islands in the sky with 16th century era flying ships that sail the skies. In here, there are two groups of pirates, the Robin Hood-esque Blue Rogues who take from the rich, greedy empires and help the less fortunate, and the Black Pirates, who you guessed it are the evil greedy pirates with a guy who looks like Blackbeard captain of one ship. The world of this game is filled with discoveries for you to find, each one letting you sell it to merchants for a bit of money.

As far as RPG stories go, this is filled with cliches. You have the mysterious girl from a far off land, an evil empire wanting to awake a sealed off evil, and a quest by a group of rebels to put a stop to the empire by finding the five sacred gems. Yet even with all of these cliches, the story still strays from feeling stale. This is due in large part to the fantastic chemistry between the characters Vyse, Aika, and Fina. Though none of these stand out like HK-47 from KOTOR, but nevertheless, you will be sucked into them and their quest, in the same way Pixar will suck you into one of their movies. This is in large part because they feel like real people. joke with each other, show signs of weakness, and wish for life's simple pleasures. My favorite parts of the dialogue is when the Aika tells of rumors from the unkown lands, each of which involve Vyse in painful situations such as having his hair caught on fire or being eaten with chopsticks.

Even the evil empire known as Valua is able to branch out and feel different. Part of this comes from the heavy influence from 16th century Spain: they're imperialistic, take countries by force, and have the rich spoiling themselves while the poor work hard to live an uncomfortable, hopeless life. The developers really went out of their way making Valua seem bleak, as even the sun is blackened out from there. But the main reason that makes your foes so great is the armada admirals. You'll be meating up with at least one on your quest for each gem. And each time with one exception, their deceit, craftiness, and power will make you legitimately feel screwed, not seeing a way you can beat them.

Battles in this game take place both on foot with the tried and true swords and magic, as well as in your airship, fighting cannon battles against other ships as well as some unknown surprises. For each of these, you will have your standard health and magic meters, as well as a measure of your focus. In between each turn, each member of your party will give a number of focus points. These focus points allow you on foot to use magic and special moves, which don't use magic points, coming purely from your focus. In ship battles, they let you use magic and are necessary to fire your cannons.

It's the focus that keeps the battles from becoming stale. They force you to make the decision of whether to go for an attack that takes seven points, or to let a character use a healing spell and use an attack that takes significantly less, making you fight battles in a much more tactical approach.This is magnified in ship battles where your basic attacks also use points, as well as your very powerful special cannon and using your crew member's abilities. There is much more damage being done in ship battles as well, requiring careful thought into each turn you put.

But it's not just the thought required for these battles, the game's developers put in much detail here to ensure these battles would entertain. You'll see your characters still fighting enemies while another is performing a move. The special attacks give some very flashy and entertaining effects, so much so that they had to put in a warning that this game may induce seizures. And then there's that simple satisfaction coming from taking out a ship over five times your size.

Yet this game is not without its flaws. Random battles are as annoying as they've been since your first RPG, though the game does give you the courtesy of showing your ship battle enemies, as well as warnings of them. But still, they are a little too common, as you will have to fight enemies often. But while it impedes exploring initially, as you become much stronger than your enemies they will appear less often. Also, though the story is told through text, you will find bits of voice acting each with the talent ranging from okay to just plain bad. The worst of this is Aika's spell casting, ugh.

Still, these flaws are very insignificant, and without these, I could very much call it a perfect game. Why it is not held in the same regard as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger for JRPGs, I don't know, as it beats both of those great games. And it beats a lot more that I love, as it just passed the passed the tied Metroid Prime and Fallout 3 to make it to my top 5 favorite games list.

Score: 9.7/10

I bought this game because I heard it was good. Let me tell you this game is really good!!! If you still have a dreamcast and love rpg games then this game is for you. I don't know if I would recomend it to those that don't like rpg's. The story line is great and captivating. This game had certain battle features that I really liked. For example having the ablity to change weapons weapons quickly during battle based on strategy. The graphics still look good today but sure they are a bit outdated. Over all this game will have you hooked wanting to play more and I highly recomend it. This game is just a great example of why I am so proud to own a dreamcast today (11-15-2011) 12 years after its release!!!

"Skies of Arcadia" is one of those games that you have to play, just because it is THERE. While the story and the ground combat system are a bit conventional (and, honestly, evoke feelings of the classic Final Fantasy series), there is much to love about this game and it's execution.

First, the ship-to-ship combat system is something that very few games, if any, have ever done. I don't think there is a role-playing game out there since Skies of Arcadia that has used ship-to-ship combat as a modifier. Also, there is a real world to explore in the game. Probably not until Mass Effect has there been a game that has given you so many options on places to find and discover and explore.

Go and check out the Game Cube version of Skies of Arcadia : Legends, and check it out. If you can get the original Dreamcast version, even better.