<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>Just as an introduction: Skies of Arcadia is an RPG that revolves around Airships and floating Islands. The graphics quality is dated, but it is still the most beautiful 3D adventure game or RPG I have yet played (kind of how Chrono Triggers graphics are very dated and not even of the quality of Final Fantasy III (but close to it), but no one would deny that they're very pleasing to the eye still). The setting is the Age of Exploration, the main characters are Vyse and Aika, a male and a female who are small time Air Pirates who work for Vyse's father, Captain Dyne; there is also Fina, a mysterious girl who they meet early on. There are a number of supporting characters as well, and this game has possibly the best character development of any RPG ever created (much apparent on CD2 for the DC version, or the second part on the Gamecube version). The area is generally ruled by the Valuan Empire which centers around an Armada of ships, there are 5 Admirals in this Armada, and you will encounter them multiple times (not just once each, as it might be in some RPG's like Final Fantasy), and they have fairly big roles in the game. There is a lot of light hearted comedy in the game, and that adds a lot to the fun factor. One thing is for certain, there are a lot of characters in this game, not just people who are there randomly, but actual characters of importance (and of course that has to be the case in a game as long as Skies of Arcadia whose plot is primarilly character driven). As for the world itself, it is absolutely huge, and has several countries each with its own cities and towns (and other locations). There is a lot of exploration to go on, and A LOT to discover (particularilly in the new version which has quite a bit more extras).
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Now onto Skies of Arcadia Legends for those who have played the Dreamcast version...
If you've played through the first CD of the Dreamcast game, or have made it to Cresent Isle, then there shouldn't be any problems. Otherwise, I wouldn't read the next couple of paragraphs.
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It's at the part where Ramirez and a few Valuan Gunboats are firing at Rhaknam. Captain Drachma fires the Harpoon Cannon at Rhaknam, and hits, but Ramirez begins firing on the Little Jack (the ship named after his son). Then the four of you head to the Lifeboats and lift off, only Drachma stays behind, pushing the lifeboat off with Vyse in it while he appears to go to his death. Ramirez fires ont he lifeboats, and just as they manage to get away, Vyse is hit, and everything goes black. This ends the first part of the game. The second part of the game is much more plot driven than the first part, and has a lot more to do generally.
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It might be just me, but I think the music on Cresent Isle when you first arrive is strikingly similar to music in Final Fantasy 8. Fina and Aika are working somewhere in Nasrad while Vyse is stuck on a deserted Island. This is close to the part where Gilder is met, the Air Pirate that likes to hit on all the ladies and is posted as the Most Wanted Pirate on the Sailors Island Wanted Poster in the center of town. The part of the game is among my favorite parts in any RPG, my second time through the Dreamcast version I kept a permanent save at the beginning of Disc 2 just so I could come back to this part again at later times.
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So far what I have noticed that is different from Legends over the original is that I have found several new discoveries which I know I had never seen or heard of in the original. One was a Golden Ship that sped around in Ixa'Taka. The other was a Trinado, which was three tornado's floating around the North Ocean.
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Of course there are the new Pirates, and the Bounty Hunter, and I will add that these bosses are more difficult than I remember any boss being in the Dreamcast version, of course since they're optional, it's never bad to just return later, but I would rather fight them and get the rewards ASAP.
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Moonfish hunting is fun too, it makes searching through Towns and ancient ruins to be much more satisfying than before. The way to find Cupil Chams is done just as well as it was on Dreamcast, except a VMU isn't required to find them, Cupil makes noises on the screen instead when you are near by, and the rumble function is still there in the controller (similar to Zelda: Ocarina of Time, how the Rumble pack would go off when you were near items that you could find in a dungeon). That's a definite plus, no need to worry about accessories to get the full experience of the game, everything is built in.
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Back to Moonfish, each moonfish you can trade to a doctor who will give you an item in return. I have found these items to be quite useful for the most part, I got a Risalem Crystal early on, and that saved me when I was fighting Piastol for the first time.
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As for fights, usually the part from the South Ocean to the end of CD2 is the worst part for random battles. It seamed like there were exactly the same amount in places such as Rixis, but I found Moonstone Mountain to go by fairly smoothly. Flying around isn't such a big deal anymore either, fights are less frequent and are much shorter.
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I can't be certain, but I think they have sped up the special move animations making it so they don't last as long. I'll have to compare it to the Dreamcast version.
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One major thing I noticed about the game, I'm rich all the time, I'm always loaded up on concussion bombs (which are very useful until much later on) and other items. I remember having to skimp out on concussion bombs in the past, but because of all the extra bounty and discovery money I've made, that's no longer a problem.
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One thing I've noticed is that I've caught more fish so far than I have ever caught before in a game of Skies, and I'm not even to the point where I do most of my fishing (I almost never fish on CD 1)
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All in all, if you haven't played the game before, you might neglect all of the extras involved and just get on with moving through the game, so this game does have replay value. If you've played the DC version before, these extras might be enjoyable, they add a lot to the plot (or so I hear), and with the addition of the White Map clearing the skies of all enemies, it makes things just that much more fun later on in the game (I'm not sure how long, I don't have the White Map yet), so you can actually fly through the sky and not have to worry about flying above or below everything. The game has a much more polished feel, and it seams like there is a lot more to it, now I hope they hurry up with a sequel!
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<IMG Width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een007.jpg">
Now onto Skies of Arcadia Legends for those who have played the Dreamcast version...
If you've played through the first CD of the Dreamcast game, or have made it to Cresent Isle, then there shouldn't be any problems. Otherwise, I wouldn't read the next couple of paragraphs.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een001.jpg">
It's at the part where Ramirez and a few Valuan Gunboats are firing at Rhaknam. Captain Drachma fires the Harpoon Cannon at Rhaknam, and hits, but Ramirez begins firing on the Little Jack (the ship named after his son). Then the four of you head to the Lifeboats and lift off, only Drachma stays behind, pushing the lifeboat off with Vyse in it while he appears to go to his death. Ramirez fires ont he lifeboats, and just as they manage to get away, Vyse is hit, and everything goes black. This ends the first part of the game. The second part of the game is much more plot driven than the first part, and has a lot more to do generally.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een008.jpg">
It might be just me, but I think the music on Cresent Isle when you first arrive is strikingly similar to music in Final Fantasy 8. Fina and Aika are working somewhere in Nasrad while Vyse is stuck on a deserted Island. This is close to the part where Gilder is met, the Air Pirate that likes to hit on all the ladies and is posted as the Most Wanted Pirate on the Sailors Island Wanted Poster in the center of town. The part of the game is among my favorite parts in any RPG, my second time through the Dreamcast version I kept a permanent save at the beginning of Disc 2 just so I could come back to this part again at later times.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een009.jpg">
So far what I have noticed that is different from Legends over the original is that I have found several new discoveries which I know I had never seen or heard of in the original. One was a Golden Ship that sped around in Ixa'Taka. The other was a Trinado, which was three tornado's floating around the North Ocean.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een004.jpg">
Of course there are the new Pirates, and the Bounty Hunter, and I will add that these bosses are more difficult than I remember any boss being in the Dreamcast version, of course since they're optional, it's never bad to just return later, but I would rather fight them and get the rewards ASAP.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een005.jpg">
Moonfish hunting is fun too, it makes searching through Towns and ancient ruins to be much more satisfying than before. The way to find Cupil Chams is done just as well as it was on Dreamcast, except a VMU isn't required to find them, Cupil makes noises on the screen instead when you are near by, and the rumble function is still there in the controller (similar to Zelda: Ocarina of Time, how the Rumble pack would go off when you were near items that you could find in a dungeon). That's a definite plus, no need to worry about accessories to get the full experience of the game, everything is built in.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een003.jpg">
Back to Moonfish, each moonfish you can trade to a doctor who will give you an item in return. I have found these items to be quite useful for the most part, I got a Risalem Crystal early on, and that saved me when I was fighting Piastol for the first time.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een022.jpg">
As for fights, usually the part from the South Ocean to the end of CD2 is the worst part for random battles. It seamed like there were exactly the same amount in places such as Rixis, but I found Moonstone Mountain to go by fairly smoothly. Flying around isn't such a big deal anymore either, fights are less frequent and are much shorter.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een016.jpg">
I can't be certain, but I think they have sped up the special move animations making it so they don't last as long. I'll have to compare it to the Dreamcast version.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een005.jpg">
One major thing I noticed about the game, I'm rich all the time, I'm always loaded up on concussion bombs (which are very useful until much later on) and other items. I remember having to skimp out on concussion bombs in the past, but because of all the extra bounty and discovery money I've made, that's no longer a problem.
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een003.jpg">
One thing I've noticed is that I've caught more fish so far than I have ever caught before in a game of Skies, and I'm not even to the point where I do most of my fishing (I almost never fish on CD 1)
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... een003.jpg">
All in all, if you haven't played the game before, you might neglect all of the extras involved and just get on with moving through the game, so this game does have replay value. If you've played the DC version before, these extras might be enjoyable, they add a lot to the plot (or so I hear), and with the addition of the White Map clearing the skies of all enemies, it makes things just that much more fun later on in the game (I'm not sure how long, I don't have the White Map yet), so you can actually fly through the sky and not have to worry about flying above or below everything. The game has a much more polished feel, and it seams like there is a lot more to it, now I hope they hurry up with a sequel!
<IMG width=450 height=350 SRC="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/20 ... jpg"></div>
-Insert Inspiring Quote-
