User Rating: 9.1 | Skies of Arcadia Legends GC
It’s easy to label Skies of Arcadia as the best rpg on GameCube by default because of the GC’s lack of role playing games, but really it’s one of the best rpgs you’re likely to play on any console. The game takes place in the world of Arcadia, a world of floating islands and unexplored regions of sky. You assume the role of Vyse, a young Blue Rogue onboard his father’s pirate ship. While stealing from a Valuan ship Vyse and Aika, a fiery little redhead and Vyse’s childhood friend, come across a mysterious girl named Fina. Fina is a Silvite and on a mission to gather the worlds moon crystals to prevent chaos, and she‘s rather unfamiliar with Arcadia‘s customs. This becomes the main quest of the game, helping Fina track down the moon crystals before the evil Valuan Empire’s Armada Generals get a hold of them. On your journey you’ll come across some great characters and some very distinct cultures. Skies of Arcadia is a port of a DreamCast game, so graphically it isn’t going to blow your mind and probably won’t measure up to other rpgs you’ve played this generation. That being said though, it does still look quite good. The world is huge, you’ll see things like jet-winds, reefs made of rock and stone, lakes, grasslands, deserts, it’s very nicely varied and detailed. The combat for the most part is what you’d expect from turn-based rpgs. But what’s really nice about it is the Spirit Points. Using SP characters can unleash some very cool moves such as Vyse’s Cutlass Fury or Fina’s Lunar Cleansing, which cancels out all negative status effects on your party. Spirit Points are pretty much the heart of the combat. SP is also used, as well as MP, when casting Magic. Spells in the game only costs one MP, but each spell also requires a different amount of SP. For the most part you’ll probably be using spells that increase your stats like Incremus, which raises your party’s attack and defense, or Quicka which increases your speed. While in combat you’ve got the option to run, attack, S-move, guard, use an item, or focus to increase spirit points for the next round. As you probably guessed you’ll be spending quite a bit of time flying around the skies of Arcadia. Aside from just moving from one area to the next you can take to the skies in search of discovering new lands and creatures. In quite a few of the game’s towns you’ll find the Sailor’s Guild, here you can report discoveries you’ve found or buy information on where others might be located. The discoveries are great as not only are there a great deal of them to be found, but they also give you incentive to explore every part of Arcadia’s vast world. Of course you’re not the only explorer out there searching for new finds, occasionally someone else may beat you to a discovery. Also at the Sailor’s Guild you can collect reward money on Bounties. If you were to label anything negative about SOA it would probably be the frequency at which random battles occur. The random battles in this game occur at a higher rate than most rpgs. This will most likely lead to frustration as you try to make discoveries or cruise around looking for bounties. However there is balance to this. As long as you don’t run away from too many of the fights then you won’t ever have to stop and take the time to level up your characters. Also eventually you’ll be able to make modifications to your ship to allow it to travel extremely high or low, and while in the upper and lower skies you won’t have to worry about random battles. During the course of the game, whether it be part of the story or a meeting in the skies, you’ll engage in ship-to-ship battles. These battles are pretty cool and throw some flavor into the mix. What’s really great is that you can purchase different types of cannons, sub-cannons, torpedoes and other parts for your ship. The ship also has extremely powerful moves such as the Harpoon Cannon and MoonStone Cannon, which required a greater number of SP and can only be used once each round. Eventually you’ll gain control of your own ship, which you can recruit crew members for. It’s actually really cool to have your own base, your own ship, and your own crew that look up to you as a solid leader. Skies of Arcadia also sounds particularly good. Many of the towns have cool themes; Horteka in particular was one of my favorites. The tune also changes when you knock a considerable amount of damage off a boss. While the story in SOA is expressed through text there is some small voice work such as laughter or phrases. Most of the time this can be annoying like when Vyse says “Uh-huh” or Fina says “Thank you very much”, they sometimes take away from the seriousness of the scene. However the S-moves that the characters have are voice-assisted, as our certain ship moves, and they’re pretty cool. You may even find yourself saying the lines with them on such moves on “Pirates Wraith” or “MoonStone Cannon..Fire!”. The greatest thing about Skies of Arcadia is its characters. They’re all extremely likeable. Joining up with Vyse, Aika, and Fina will be Drachma, an old fisherman hunting a huge archwhale, Enrique, the Prince of Valua who desperately wishes his mother would stop trying to rule the world by force, and Gilder, gun-toting woman-loving thrill seeker. The characters are pretty much what make this game as great as it is. As a pirate of the skies you’ll also see your reputation change over the course of the game. You’ll start out as just common Blue Rouge in your father’s outfit, but overtime you’ll develop a reputation of infamous proportions. Townspeople may comment on how they’re honored that “Vyse the Fearless” or “Vyse the Daring” has graced their town with his presence. The bounties you track down may also make mention of the progress and notoriety you’ve made. It really boils down to this: Skies of Arcadia is one of the most charming rpgs out there. As long as you don’t ignore the majority of the side-quests, and you wouldn’t want to, you could easily spend 60 plus hours on this game. If you’ve got a GameCube, or even a DreamCast, this game is simply a must.
