Skies of Arcadia Legends

"I didn’t know games this good could still be made..."

Anyone who has been playing RPG games for some time knows how much the genre has changed over the years, since its original incarnations. Many games and developers have shown us how far the concept could go, taking it beyond its own initial ambitions. Obviously, Squaresoft alone has set the example that most of the games would follow, mainly through the Final Fantasy series. In more recent years, Final Fantasy VII, a rare case of almost unanimous success, seems to have been the definitive reference when it comes to RPGs. Since 1997, most of these games have followed its innovations, adding a new, sad and grim dimension to the stories they told. In this course, some players felt the original enchantment, of a somewhat innocent nature, of the genre was fading.

Which brings us to Skies of Arcadia. This game seems almost out of place amidst today’s RPGs. For some critics and players, the game will seem dated – and, to a certain extent, it really is. Playing the game will make it seem like the 16-bit era of RPGs never faded, except for the overall technology that is employed in the game (visuals, sounds etc.). It shines with a kind of innocence and thrill that was left behind somewhere on the path that the RPG genre has treaded through these years. Which is not to say the game is a complete throwback to an old style of gaming, either – Skies of Arcadia offers its own innovations and sheds new light upon the tradition.

In the game, you play the role of Vyse, an young guy who aspires to be an air pirate, just like his father (strangely enough, the main character isn’t an orphan, both his biological parents are alive). Of course, he wants to be a blue pirate (good guys), as opposed to black pirate (bad guys). He shares his dreams and adventures with his childhood friend, Aika. On a mission, the first you play in the game, the duo rescue a strange, mysterious girl (RPG writers always find a way to stick in a strange, mysterious girl in their games, don’t they?) called Fina. These characters are the core of the game and will become inseparable (well, not quite, really) in no time. They will travel together through the different lands of the world, fight an evil empire, meet new companions and be surprised by ridiculously obvious plot twists (well, not all of them are that obvious). Naturally, they will find themselves caught in something much bigger than what they thought they were doing in the beginning – something like saving the world from destruction, perhaps.

As you see, the story of the game is pretty basic RPG fare. However, there’s something in here that completely changes the game. Two things, actually: the storytelling and the cast. The ‘basic RPG fare’ kind of story is so well told in this case that it’s quite impossible – and pointless – to resist. The narrative of Skies of Arcadia is completely absorbing, making use of small, seemingly useless, resources to give flavor to the story (one thing that comes to mind is the drawing that appears whenever the party is arriving at a new land, but there’s many more). Also, the cut-scenes, which aren’t done in fancy FMV, were thought out just like the game was a movie – and the direction is pretty impressive, actually.

No RPG could be effective without great characters and the developers of Arcadia seem to have understood this. The cast of the game, from the main trio of characters to the least important NPC (characters that you don’t control), excels in all areas. I mean, their design, role in the game, personality and son on, everything shines. The dialogue, which is the basic element that builds the characters is also excellent throughout the game and that is definitely one of its greatest qualities. The importance given to narrative and character is something that relates to old Sega games (an example that immediately comes to mind is Phantasy Star IV) and they certainly used their experience in this to come up with the game’s incredibly magnetic storytelling. Unlike so many other games, you actually feel that you can relate to the emotions and changes each character is going through.

The story is mostly told in a kind of innocent, carefree fashion. This aspect of the game reflects, or perhaps is reflected by, what the characters are feeling or, better put, the very nature of these characters. While it may seem to some that the game is too happy or childish, such is not the case. Skies of Arcadia has its own share of tragic and dramatic moments, and they are masterfully told, through expert storytelling, just like the lighter and merrier moments. The seemingly easy and natural fluidity between such scenes only shows how much work went into telling this story. And the overall result is impressive.

Another element that adds to the enthralling experience that is playing Skies of Arcadia is the setting. The world of Arcadia is a group of suspended continents immersed in nothing but air. The oceans are replaced by skies and traveling is always done by flying ships. Certainly, the continents themselves aren’t that original, as each one is given a very traditional RPG archetype of land (Valua, for example, is inspired directly on Midgar from Final Fantasy VII). Anyway, the concepts are effectively built and the overall setting impresses for its original idea.

When it comes to gameplay, Skies of Arcadia is a pretty straightforward game, at least in terms of combat and leveling up stuff. The combat is turn based, each character acts once and you get a party of up to four characters. The magic and special ability system is kinda innovating, though, since their use require SPs, a single meter that is used by the whole party and that is filled by a number of points every turn. All magic consumes one MP only and a certain number of SPs, while each character’s special ability only consumes SPs. Each character has particular abilities that give each one a different use, and they learn these abilities by using moonberries, an obviously priceless item. In the beginning of each turn you can set the element of your weapons, and the element used at the end of battle also gains experience, thus giving the characters their magic spells. Certain elements are more effective against others, so that also counts when battling monsters.

Apart from the traditional battle, you also get ship battles to deal with. Some people would complain that the ship battles take up too much time and that’s true, but it certainly adds a new dimension to the game. In these battles, the characters employ cannons and special ship weapons (which all consume SP – there’s no ‘normal’ attack in these battles) to deal damage to the enemy and certain spells can also be used. There are special ship items to use and, further in the game, your ship’s crew members can also be called upon to help. The ship is essentially a new character that can be upgraded with certain items and equipped with armor and weapons. Aside from the battles, ship upgrading is also an important part of the plot, which will allow the characters to visit previously inaccessible territory.

There are also other bonus stuff to look for in the game. First, there’s discovery hunting, in which you look for hidden secrets in the skies you travel and then sell information in guilds. These guilds provide hints to find these discoveries and also lists of wanted bandits. The characters may track down and defeat these criminals and claim their reward afterwards. Also, at some point Vyse and his friends build a headquarters on an island (this is so Suikoden...) and you may develop you island as well as recruit new crew members that will help you out in various ways. These side quests offer an extended look at the world of Arcadia and also new items, money and abilities for the party. The ‘legends’ version of Skies of Arcadia also offers some other additions in relation to the original Dreamcast version. It mainly involves am incredibly interesting side-story of a doctor, a girl named Maria and one of the coolest characters in Skies of Arcadia, Piastol (man, I wish she was a controllable character).

Graphically speaking, Skies of Arcadia isn’t of monstrous technical prowess. The original game came out for the Dreamcast and it probably hasn’t changed much for the Gamecube version. In reality, the game differs from the recent RPG tradition from the beginning, since in its concept the game is of a more comic-animation feeling. The main characters aren’t that distorted or exaggerated, but they still don’t strike as painfully realistic, either. Anyway, the overall design of the game is excellent, specially when it comes to the characters, good, bad or neutral. There is a sense of cuteness among the characters that heightens the game’s sometimes innocent feeling, but the designers knew how to turn the scenario into a sad or tragic vision when they had to. Also, the quality of the graphics may not be the greatest of its time, but it is incredibly homogeneous throughout the game (not one section of it disappoints), well done and matching in feeling and quality with every other aspect of the game.

The soundtrack bears the same kind of quality. It avoids the current tradition (meaning, ‘Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame’ tradition). In a way, this soundtrack is pretty different from normal RPG music, because it bears a feeling that has been long forgotten or thrown away. Most of the tunes are of a lighthearted, happy mood, but, actually, from the soundtrack players will confirm the impression that Skies of Arcadia is an adventure game, a story of kids who want nothing more than adventures. The tunes are pretty good and it’s impossible not to highlight the battle themes, which are all excellent. Also, when the time comes, sad and tense tunes will appear, never letting the quality down at one moment. The overall sound quality is also pretty excellent. There are also nice touches in terms of sound effects, like the limited voice acting when characters use spells or special abilities in combat, which are all very well done.

In the end, Skies of Arcadia is one of those few games that has everything into place, but, more importantly, knows how to orchestrate every element with a marvelous storytelling ability so that each and each bit works out perfectly. More than being an RPG that takes us back to an old style of playing, Skies of Arcadia brings back a magic I had thought lost, while adding its own original qualities. This game makes you want to play not because you have to make you characters the most powerful beings to walk upon (or sail across) the world, but because you are deeply immersed in a great story, with great characters. Not many games have this quality and I hadn’t played one that did since 1997. However, while playing this game, and after beating it, it put a smile on my face that no RPG in much more time had managed to. Skies of Arcadia brings back the lost magic of a whole genre of gaming. At least it did to me.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/04