I should start this review off by saying that Skies of Arcadia is my all time favorite turn based RPG.
I want to take you guys back to a time when life was much simpler... a time before God of War or Call of Duty... a time where 3D graphics were finally starting to get there legs... a time where the Sega Dreamcast was KING.
I remember a copy of the Official Dreamcast Magazine landing in my mailbox (the December 2000 issue to be exact). This was always a special occasion due to the fact that it came with a demo disc (& keep in mind this was before you could just go online & download your demos... no this was the only way you could get a taste of the upcoming releases, so it was a big deal to get that disc in the mail). See this particular demo disc was special as it had a demo of a game that had been reading about, but thoroughly underestimated... so much so that I decided to try it out simply to get a laugh at how bad I knew it would... well the joke ended up being on me, because that demo of the game that I had so little faith in completely blew my friggin' balls off. In case you haven't guessed it yet (Of course I doubt this is the case), the demo in question was in fact of Skies of Arcadia.
I knew that I must play this game at all costs... so that is exactly what I did. Let me say that it was a much needed breath of fresh air. The game's story was a mass departure from the emo influenced story lines that I had grew accustomed to (read: Final Fantasy VII) & instead focused on lighthearted subjects such as the spirit of adventure & the power of friendship (although there are darker subjects in the game, they too are handed in such a way that it certainly doesn't hurt that atmosphere). To be honest, I think that was the major reason that liked the game at first.... but once I got deeper into it, I realized that I was no longer playing the game simply because it was upbeat... I was playing it because I was having one hell of a good time. Vyse is my probably favorite main character of any game that I have ever played (with the possible exception of Yuri from Tales of Vesperia). He is heroic & selfless (unlike a certain other famous RPG hero *cough*Cloud*cough*) & is just an all around likable person. The story focuses on a group of blue rogue pirates (imagine robin hood as pirate... & not gay) who set out on a journey (you guessed it) to see what lies beyond the sunset (Oh wait a minute... they don't want to save the world... well that's a first). Along the way they discover many continents & cultures that had long been thought to have been erased. Each continent has a different moon (of varying colors) that governs the element of the monsters in the area & actually reflects what environment is like. The environment also has a key effect, on the culture of the people living there. See, instead of the typical stock NPCs of other RPGs, you get NPCs with many different personalities that reflect the way they live. At one point in the game you actually get your own base & once you do so can then begin to recruit crew members. Once recruited they can help you out in battle with the new crew command(& also control cannons in airship battle). Thats not there only purpose however. You can customize your island so that your crew will have a place to stay & more specifically a business to run. The shop keeps in your crew often sell items at a discount & some even sell rare items that you can't buy elsewhere, which needless to say comes in very handy.
Overall the game stands out as not only the best RPG on the Sega Dreamcast (although now that I think about it... that's not really saying much) but one of the best games in the genre period. Needless to say, I HIGHLY recommend this title not only to fans of turned based RPGs, but to anybody looking for a great story set in a beautiful & memorable landscape.
I should start this review off by saying that Skies of Arcadia is my all time favorite turn based RPG.
I want to take you guys back to a time when life was much simpler... a time before God of War or Call of Duty... a time where 3D graphics were finally starting to get there legs... a time where the Sega Dreamcast was KING.
I remember a copy of the Official Dreamcast Magazine landing in my mailbox (the December 2000 issue to be exact). This was always a special occasion due to the fact that it came with a demo disc (& keep in mind this was before you could just go online & download your demos... no this was the only way you could get a taste of the upcoming releases, so it was a big deal to get that disc in the mail). See this particular demo disc was special as it had a demo of a game that had been reading about, but thoroughly underestimated... so much so that I decided to try it out simply to get a laugh at how bad I knew it would... well the joke ended up being on me, because that demo of the game that I had so little faith in completely blew my friggin' balls off. In case you haven't guessed it yet (Of course I doubt this is the case), the demo in question was in fact of Skies of Arcadia.
I knew that I must play this game at all costs... so that is exactly what I did. Let me say that it was a much needed breath of fresh air. The game's story was a mass departure from the emo influenced story lines that I had grew accustomed to (read: Final Fantasy VII) & instead focused on lighthearted subjects such as the spirit of adventure & the power of friendship (although there are darker subjects in the game, they too are handed in such a way that it certainly doesn't hurt that atmosphere). To be honest, I think that was the major reason that liked the game at first.... but once I got deeper into it, I realized that I was no longer playing the game simply because it was upbeat... I was playing it because I was having one hell of a good time. Vyse is my probably favorite main character of any game that I have ever played (with the possible exception of Yuri from Tales of Vesperia). He is heroic & selfless (unlike a certain other famous RPG hero *cough*Cloud*cough*) & is just an all around likable person. The story focuses on a group of blue rogue pirates (imagine robin hood as pirate... & not gay) who set out on a journey (you guessed it) to see what lies beyond the sunset (Oh wait a minute... they don't want to save the world... well that's a first). Along the way they discover many continents & cultures that had long been thought to have been erased. Each continent has a different moon (of varying colors) that governs the element of the monsters in the area & actually reflects what environment is like. The environment also has a key effect, on the culture of the people living there. See, instead of the typical stock NPCs of other RPGs, you get NPCs with many different personalities that reflect the way they live. At one point in the game you actually get your own base & once you do so can then begin to recruit crew members. Once recruited they can help you out in battle with the new crew command(& also control cannons in airship battle). Thats not there only purpose however. You can customize your island so that your crew will have a place to stay & more specifically a business to run. The shop keeps in your crew often sell items at a discount & some even sell rare items that you can't buy elsewhere, which needless to say comes in very handy.
Overall the game stands out as not only the best RPG on the Sega Dreamcast (although now that I think about it... that's not really saying much) but one of the best games in the genre period. Needless to say, I HIGHLY recommend this title not only to fans of turned based RPGs, but to anybody looking for a great story set in a beautiful & memorable landscape.
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