Sailing, wind in your
face, going off to explore the unknown: that is what it is to be a
sailor. The only thing lacking is the spray of cool salt water in
your face, mainly because there isn’t any. Skies of Arcadia Legends,
a slightly reworked port of the Dreamcast classic, takes the whole
flying ship theme in a whole new direction. The game is part
Pirates! and part Final Fantasy, and all thrown together into a
unique game.
I will discuss this title
both in terms of those who have already played it, as well as for
those who have not.
Graphics – Worst Point
The graphics in the game
are incredibly dated. They are such that many would scrunch up their
noses in disgust. Models are blocky, textures are basic, and
particle effects are dated. Still, they aren’t so bad as to give you
a headache or to be completely derogatory to the experience. They
work and get the job done, but not with eloquence of other titles.
The best point of the visuals is that the characters show emotion,
something absent in most RPG titles on the market, even the newer
ones.
For you Dreamcast people,
don’t expect any changes. I didn’t notice anything different and
even the new characters were modeled within the limited engine of
the game.
Skies could have done
well under a complete graphical overhaul, much like Capcom did with
Resident Evil, but it is not really all that necessary to do so.
They aren’t the top, they won’t win any awards, but the visuals get
the job done.
Sounds – Don’t Fare
Much Better than Visuals
Sounds aren’t anything to
brag about here. They, too, are showing their age. Musical scores
are catchy, but are done in a relatively primitive method. Not quite
as primitive as SNES, but are a slight step above. Characters have
these VERY brief clips of voice-overs during the game, and they are
strange and badly done, to say the least. Voices usually occur
during special moves in the game and during the cut-scenes. Battle
effects are basic, but they do what they are intended to do.
Dreamcast owners, nothing
new here.
Again, it would have been
a good idea to update the sounds to take advantage of a superior
sound system, but, again, sounds get the job done but aren’t going
to impress anyone.
Gameplay – Revamped
and Improved
The battle system in
Skies is somewhat basic. At the beginning of each battle phase, you
pick what each character does. The game then compiles their
initiative, and allows them to do their move. This allows a good
deal of strategy. Should I heal with my character? Will the enemy
unleash a magic spell I should counter early on? Also, there are
battle points that build up between rounds that can be used to cast
magic spells and unleash special moves. Magic does have a mana
system, but each spell uses up 1, it is the number of battle points
that are used up that determines if you can cast or not.
Moving around the world
is simple and intuitive. Point the stick and watch the character
run. Interact with the massive "A" button. Flying about in the field
is also as easy, but add in the R and L triggers to adjust altitude.
Battles use the random
battle system. You run/fly around, and SWOOSH, battle time. The
battles are well balanced and don’t get to be annoyingly common nor
are they so uncommon that you are stuck fighting a boss you can’t
touch.
Dreamcast owners – say
goodbye to the insane random battle setup. No longer will you walk
two steps and fight another monster. Everything else is pretty much
the same.
Story – Immersive and
Impressive
While the whole story has
that cliché rag-tag group saving the world, the method of story
development is anything but. The game revolves a lot around
exploration and incorporating that into the overall story. You play
as Vyse, a Blue Rogue, the sort of Robin Hood of the world, and his
partner Aika, a treasure happy hothead. When flying about, they see
a battleship owned by Valua (the Nazi Germany of Arcadia) blowing
away a small ship and capturing the occupant. They board the ship
and save the occupant who is Fina, a citizen of the Silver
Civilization that was sent to Arcadia to prevent a devastating
event. The story is about the journey to manhood, value of friends,
and the importance of seeking out the unknown.
You also get to find
discoveries, build your own pirate hideout, and populate it with
crew members that all flow into the storyline as you get them.
Dreamcast owners, there
are a few new things to do in the game and incorporate themselves
into the story. First, there is a doctor, an adopted girl, and a
strange bird that you have to go out and find invisible fish to
feed. The second is a strange pirate hunter that follows you around
and battles you a couple of times. There is also a Wanted System
added into the game. You go to the Adventurers Guild like you are
selling discoveries and you can find bounties as well as collect
them. There is a bit more to do in the game than on the DC version.
Miscellaneous Stuff
Loading times are
absolutely fantastic. Getting into the game, navigating menus,
saving the game, and going between areas is almost unnaturally fast.
A HUGE improvement over the Dreamcast version. Also, the whole
concept of cut-scenes is kept to a bare minimum, allowing story
development to develop while in-game.
Bottom Line
While Skies of Arcadia is
not a paramount of technical achievement, the substance is worth
buying. Great story and great gameplay elements are the very meat of
this title. If you have not played Skies of Arcadia yet, I suggest
you go out and get this right away. If you already have the
Dreamcast version, this is more up in the air. I was personally
happy pay for the upgrades, but it may be up to the individual.
Still, this title is a classic that belongs on any RPG fans shelf.
