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A Very Good Game...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 40 / 44
Date: February 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Skies of Acradia Legends is the revised version of the origional Dreamcast title. As such, it is really not much more than an add on to the old game. Graphics and gameplay have changed very little and storyline is mostly the same. Really the only thing that makes this game a must buy for all RPG loving Gamecube owners is the fact that Skies of Arcadia is great. Peroid.

Following the basic guidelines set by the beloved Final Fantasy series, Skies of Arcadia starts with Vyse, a young Blue Rouge sky pirate. Over the course of his adventures he will meet new people, gain new powers, and kill entire populations of random beasts. What makes Skies so much more than a FF rip off is the setting, a world of floating continents and powerful flying warships. Few games place the importance of exploring like Skies. You will literally need to fly into every corner of the map if yu expect to win the game.

Combat is a slight twist on the standard fare. Both ship and personal combat revolves around the idea of placing in commands then letting the move play itself out. Fastest charaters go first and slowest last. Its fun and useful and if you want to go get a drink, the action can continue without you. Ship battles are only slightly different but even more fun to watch.

The story in and of itself is a great one and will keep you well interested throughout. Although Vyse is placed on a very set path, at any time a player can leave it and go off in search of battles and "discoveries" which can be found by searching the skys. The new Wanted Battles also allow a bit more variety in movement and a new set of powerful foe. Although the ending is not nearly so twisted as FFVII, it is plenty interesting.

The only real problem with Skies is the high level of random encounters and their monotony. Though lower than the Dreamcast title, you still only have about 15-20 seconds to fly around before you are attacked by another dozen enemies. If you are trying to find discoveries or treasure chests, this can quickly become annoying. Fortunetly the new "moonfish" quest will give you a way out of this fairly early, if you should want.

Overall, this is the best RPG for the Gamecube to date. This is not suprising because Skies was the best RPG on the Dreamcast to date(minus Grandia II). If you like RPG's or even like a bit of flying around and exploring, I highly recommend this game for purchase. Like it, Live it, Love it.

A very competitive RPG to the FF and Zelda series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 25
Date: May 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I never owned a Dreamcast so I haven't know this game until it comes out on GameCube.

The first impression was "huh? Air Pirates? A bit corny then". But then I read so many good reviews on different gaming magazines that I eventually got a copy of it myself. I imported it from States for I have a Jap+States Cube (and an Australian Cube - but this game is a hard to find gem in Aust.) and tried it out.

The starting part was like typical RPG stories, hero got involved in an evil plot while looking for his dreams. However, the story gets better and better and you got some good tricks and twists from time to time.

For the battle system, it is like a mix of Final Fantasy and Wild Arms. It is turn based which you go through different commands for different characters and you have different elements and class of magic. So you would expect to see Fire Fira and Firaga but in a different term. Also it adopts a SP system which is similar to the FP system in Wild Arms 3. You accumulate SP every turn and when certain amount of SP is accumulated, then you would be able to perform a super move. The difference between Skies and Wild Arms is the SP in Skies is shared among all 4 characters, so you have to plan ahead strategically as super-moves could cause devastating attacks or protect your parties from enemies attacks. Nonetheless, you could speed up your SP accumulation by using your turn to Focus, which could be helpful under certain occasions.

On top of regular battles, the introduction of ship battles gave you an alternative in game play. Nonetheless, since most of the ship battles are story driven, they are mostly boss battles that could take up a lot of time. You really need to plan strategically to win these battles and it could take you a whole hour to finish one if planned badly. The crew system in the ship battle nonetheless is very unique and despite you might not be usuing the crew in the battle a lot, when you use them, they DO contribute to the whole battle.

In terms of story, Skies of Arcadia is very clever in a way that some of the side quests are actually stories that you could weave into the main story. The side quests also integrate into the game world very well. For example the Bounty Hunting side quests make you feel like you are really a good pirate going around the world ridding the evil, no matter big or small. The dialogues are actually less corny than expected. The Final Fantasy series sometimes is annoying because of really bad dialogues and extremely stupid characters. However in Skies, the characters are well balanced and they have the kind of subtle humour that you would share their laughter. I think in terms of character building Skies of Arcadia is much better the most of the Final Fantasy series.

Another strong part of Skies of Arcadia is the vast world they was built in the game. Each world has their own distinct culture and by upgrading your ship, you would be able to reach areas that are not opened to you before and there would be new discoveries for you to earn a good fortune from. The dungeons in the world of Skies of Arcadia are also cleverly built. I particularly like the one that you need to wear the underwater suit from time to time to solve the puzzle. They are really well designed, and at the same time integrated to the particular culture of that dungeon world. You would be able to find cultures similar to the Maya, Arabians, Westerners and the Orientals, and these are just a few of them.

There are heaps to do and play with in Skies of Arcadia and it could take you a considerable amount of time to finish it if you want to do everything. The only down side of the game is the random battles are like stars in the skies. It could get really annoying at the beginning for your weak characters. However, running from battles are not recommended in a way that it could affect certain course of the story and character development in the later part. I heard that Sega actually reduced the encounter rate in the GameCube version. If so, I feel sorry for the players of the original one then.

All in all, Skies of Arcadia is a very well developed game with brilliant ideas. So far, everyone I know who had played this game love it and as I said the game is a rare commodity in Aust. and the price at ebay for a second hand copy is staggering. This could tell how good this game is considering it has been out for so long already. I heard the sequel is in development for GameCube, just couldn't wait at all now.

A different kind of RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 23
Date: April 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Okay. First off, I'm going to say that if you've played a lot of rpg's in the past, Skies of Arcadia will surprise you constantly.
Since the beginning, it's seemed that Squaresoft has dominated the console RPG world. I've long been a fan of the Final Fantasy line of RPG's, and have come to expect certain things from the genre having been saturated with the certain style that Squaresoft has. Anyone who's played a couple FF games will probably agree with me.
Now, I've also played a few non-squaresoft RPGs, and up until now I've really been disappointed. I've found that most other games can't really stand up next to the FF line. But then I played the Dreamcast version of Skies on recommendation from a friend and thought, wow. I couldn't put the game down. Though very different from the Squaresoft style, I didn't see it as a disappointment, I saw it as refreshing. You get a completely different experience from Skies than you would from a Final Fantasy game. While it borrows a few things, mostly the world of Skies is well-thought-out and original. The cliche's (whether fun or slightly annoying) of Squaresoft's style are thrown aside and replaced with a brand new system of gaming. I'm not saying that it's better, but it's certainly a game that any Final Fantasy fan should try out.
Having sold my Dreamcast in favor of Christmas money, I'm excited to hear that Skies has been ported to the Gamecube.

One of the Greatest RPG's Ever Made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: January 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The few people who played Skies of Arcadia on the Dreamcast regard it as one of the greatest RPG's ever made - most of them will put it on their list of "Top 5 Greatest RPG's Ever" and many consider it the greatest even. If you are a fan of any of the Final Fantasy's, Suikoden series, or RPG's in general, you will love this game.

If you want to know about this game I recomend reading up on the Dreamcast version. By now you should know a bit about this game but if you don't, let me just give you a hint to the kind of enjoyment you will get from this game. Picture commanding your own flying battleship with up to 22 crewmates and preparing to engage in a massive air battle with an enemy ship - awesome background music ensues and you spend the next 20 minutes simply partacking in perhaps the most fun turn-based battle ever. Trust me, there is nothing more fun that Skies of Arcadia ship battles (the ships fight with cannons and stuff) - the only thing I wish this game had was more of them. The majority of the battles are very Final Fantasy-ish.

The Gamecube version, by the way, will be significantly improved. In fact, the lead director said herself (yes, one of the few major Japanese RPG's to be developed by a woman) that this is the "definate" version of Skies of Arcadia. Thus, I have listed the additional features that the Gamecube version will have...

BETTER GRAPHICS
Better draw distance, less load times, higher resolution textures, and higher polygon counts and more detail on many of the characters.

BETTER GAMEPLAY
Enhanced and tweaked battle engine over the previous one and much less random encounters (the original had so much it was extremely annoying) and the EXP-gaining system has been tweaked. Also, loading times have been significantly reduced. In fact, the battle engine and random encounter system was the only flaw in the original version of the game and the creators have listened to their critics and have fixed it - thus making the Gamecube verson of Skies a flawless masterpiece.

NEW EXTRAS
5-10 hours of new playable backstory so that you can learn more about the characters, new wanted quests that let you hunt down fugitives for fame and fortune, and plenty of new sidequests, fish to catch, islands to discover, weapons/items to find, and EVEN NEW CHARACTERS including a new female bounty hunter that will play a major role in the game.

Anyways, please do not be fooled by the kiddy image of this game or the strange art style. This is in no way a kids game. There is lots of liquor drinking in the game (they call it liqoa though) and in fact, the US version of the game was censored because in the Japanese Dreamcast version there was a scene which implied the rape of a girl. Please do not mind the censorship however, it was more of a culture change than censorship (in Japanese culture rape isn't as serious an issue as it is here) ..they just changed the scene a bit but basically the final product is still the same. I'm just saying, this game has an incredibly great story and although it's visual style appeals to kids it is in no way a kids game.

Second Chance at a Great RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: January 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you're one of the many poeple who passed on buying a Sega Dreamcast, you're lucky enough to get a second chance at a really good RPG you may have missed. Vyse, a good hearted air pirate in a world where ships sail through the skies, battles alongside his friends against an evil empire bent on world domination by controlling powerful weapons. Not the most original story, but the characters are fun and entertaining enough that you feel invested in the story. The menu-based combat is easy to pick up and carries over nicely into the ship battles. For the less battle oriented, there's enjoyable side quests like discovery hunting, crew recruiting, and even a little town decoration. Even fans of the game on the Dreamcast may find the new version worth picking up for the added features. These extra battles and item hunts are well blended into the game, expanding on the story rather than just making the gameplay a little longer. RPG fans should give Skies of Arcadia a try; they won't be disappointed.

This awesome Dreamcast game stands the test of time!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 16
Date: December 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The definitive RPG for Gamecube is finally here! The gameplay is bursting with innovation, which is very noticable after you play a while. The random battles are toned down from the original, making it easier to play through. The battle system is like no other RPG, but the learning cuvre is a little steep at times. Graphically, it is nice, although a little more detail would have helped. Framerate and animation are pretty good however. If you ever gets frustrated with typical RPGs (FINAL FANTASY X), you should try it. Even if you already own this on Dreamcast, the journey is magical enough to take again.

Fun for Everyone!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: February 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am not a fan or RPG's. I think that Final Fantasy is pretty boring, dull and alot like pokemon: promoted WAY more than it needs to be. I've never enjoyed an RPG in my life. Yet for some weird reason i absolutly LOVE this game!

You are Vyse, a blue rogue pirate out to make a name for himself. You'll go through many adventures and alot of hardships. First you retrieve a meteor, your parents are kidnaped, then you have to break into a death-star like fortress with enough firepower to instantly kill you in one round. Being a pirate is tough.

The play is very intuitive. It might take a few minutes to get adjusted to the setup of the battles (the camera likes to pick odd angles which confuse you at first). There are 2 kinds of battles: Hand to Hand and Ship to Ship. I personally like the ship to ship because you can predict what the villian will do.

Alot of RPG's and games now are using pre-rendered graphics for the story mode. This can get kinda jarring going from such high resolution graphics to the klunky blocky graphics of the actual game. But this game uses the same characters you play with in the story mode. I must admit, i've never seen characters like these be so expressive! The facial expressions are VERY well done and the animation is actually pretty good. (and there's alot of it too, unlike the loops used in most games).

There's no talking except for a few buzz words and noises from each character (mostly used in the fights). This i think is also an advantage. When you start to get full audio games, it can loose some of it's charm if the actors don't read correctly ("mystic heros" is an obvious example).

The worlds are massive and the detail pretty good. The ability to rotate the camera around your character is nice to have but can get tricky sometimes in tight corners.

Finally, the funnest things about this game isn't the main quest, it's the side quests. Looking for hidden spots on the map, searching for outlaw pirates to bring to justice, building your own ship and hideout, and fulfilling the wishes of an ex-doctor and his daughter are some of the more interesting things to do.

I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't for one thing: magic. Each magic effect you have has a totally weird name. You can't tell what they are when you are fighting, only when you are browsing through your menus. This makes it hard to cast a spell unless you know absolutly what it is. you'll have to use the handy booklet they give you which has it all mapped out.

All in all this is a great game! There's so much to do that it'll keep you playing for hours! (heck i've only gotten 1/3rd of the way into the game and i've played it for 11 hours!) Treat yourself to this game, it's worth every penny!

THE BEST RPG FOR GAMECUBE!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: March 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The best RPG for Gamecube. Skies of Arcadia: Legends is basicly a port of the Dreamcast version Skies Of Arcadia. Though the graphics are improved, longer levels, less enemy encounters, new quests and some more things that the Dreamcast version didn't have. Still a game worth buying even if you did own the Dreamcast version though. The game requires a minimim of 50 hours and the ussual time it takes to beat is around 60 hours with or without a guide book. So that basicly means your going to spend 10 hours on each level. Which may be a bit long for some but the game is really fun and there is always something new that doesn't make the game repetitive. As you keep on going threw the game you'll meet people going the same way as you and they'll eventually joing your party. Only 4 characters can be in a party no more than that. The game is fun for whatever age you are and the anime look doesn't spoil the game at all!

Gameplay
The gameplay in the game is pretty simple just move around the places (using the joy stick) and press the "A" button to confirm and teh "B" button to go back. As you move around the level your in ever couple of steps you'll get into a random battle. When in a battle its basicly the same thing use the "Joy Stick" to switch to what attacks you want to use and press "A" to confirm and "B" to go back.

Graphics
The graphics in the game are nothing special because its a Dreamcast port and doesn't use the full power of the Gamecube. But you won't really notice it much. The graphics aren't HORRIBLY awful they look kinda like Sonic Adventure 2: Battle so you shouldn't be companing.

Sound
This is the part of the game that was a bit annoying. In some parts of the game the sound got a bit blurry. I'm not sure if it was because my disk was scratched or if Over Works (the creators of the game) were very lazy when finishing this. After you beat this one part in the game where the sound is blurry, but it will go away when you come back to it so don't worry to much about it.

Replay
Like any RPG game once you finished it you don't want to play it again. You can still sail threw the skies in your ship (I'll get to that later) and try to find new discouveries or go to different towns to fight some pirates on the wanted list. Thats about it though but some parts should still be fun.

Story
It brought a tear to my eye how sad the story was. Not sad as in the story was really bad. The story was excellent! One part of the game was more sad then when Aeris dies in Final Fantasy 7. I won't say what it was though because that would spoil the game for you. The story is where you, the main character Vyse. Is an air pirate. He is a Blue Rouge a pirate that is good and is sometimes fighting against Black Rouges (pirates that are bad). The Blue Rouges steal from Back pirates and give to themsleves to help others while the Blacks steal from Blue (and others) and keep for themselves to fight against savilians who don't have a ship that can fight. As time goes by Vyse is dad finds a young girl named Fina. Who was captures by Valua (also the bad guys in the game). She tells her story about Moon Stones (stones power to make powerful destructive weapons) and Vyse and his friend Aika agree to joing in her quest. There is more to the story but that would just spoil the whole game for you. As you go threw the game you will get items and weapons to use and learn new magic spells and techniques as you grow levels. You'll be using a ship that can fly around the world to get to different places, kinda like the air ballon in Final Fantasy 7. Just that sometimes when flying around other ships may want to fight you and you'l be engaged in a ship battle. People can joing your crew to help around with the ship (Look Out, Gunner, Cook, ect) so talk to every one you know.

Fun Factor
You'll be spending hours on this game nonstop! Not wanting it to end! There is a little camera problem at the beggining (first hour of gameplay) but thats it after the part where you revouver Finas ship its NON STOP ACTION!!! And with hours and hours of playing this game (around 50 or 60 hours is the ussual time around where you should have beaten it) you won't get bored with the game any time soon! If your not a fan of RPG's you should at least give this game a try!!!

I gave this game 4 stars because the first hour of playing the game isn't very fun(don't worry after the first hour its great!). And the graphics were not as good as a game like Metroid Prime. Still best RPG for Gamecube though!!!

The RPG for non-rpg fans and fans alike

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: April 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

A few years ago, I had this game on my Dreamcast, and I could never stop playing it. Night after morning after afternoon to night again, I would be lazily sitting in my room awaiting the next heroic and brave adventure of Vyse the sky-pirate (Much like the disney movie Treasure Planet). There is so much to do in this game, and so many places to explore, and one of the only RPGs that has a relitavely open-ended way of playing it. The main plot is pretty unorigional and expected, but has some great twists, and MANY smaller sub-quests to do that always motivate you on to the next level. For example, in one part (big spolier here), when trying to hunt the large killer whale of this fantasy world, with a compainon whale hunter, you get shipwreked and have to take care of Vyse on an Uncharted Island for three days, then get rescued by a woman-loving and rather whealthy sailor who tells you of a legend of ancient treasure hidden on an uncharted island. While this is all happening, your other two lady compainions, who survied in the shipwrek, were rescued by the very woman the wealthy sailor was running from. Then, being dropped off at a (Greatly themed) dessert village, find one half of the treasure map where those ancient riches are buried. Vyse, while being dropped off at the same island, finds the other half, and comicaly walks past his two shipmates alot without ever noticing them. Later on, both partys eventually meet up at the uncharted treasure island, and after solving some two-person puzzles, finnaly become reunited again!(Spoiler Over now). After going through one-in-a million of these small complicated-yet-simple, and WIDLEY varried sub-quests, you are always motivated to continue on. Its such great storytelling that makes this title one of the most unique RPG's out there. The "ground" battle system is nothing new, basic turn based ground fighting with actions like attack, guard, cast magic, and use item, but has a great way of getting the player not confused with all the items you have. OTher RPG's (FF series) has many-many items that comonly get piled up in the player inventory and get him/her confuesed about what to do with them, none of that here. Instead of having a single ice based, water based, ligting based weapon each, you can change a weapon or item to each one of those elementals, saving ALOT of space in the inventory and brain power. WHile this may be the only innovative feature in the fighting system, the player will usually be having to much fun with the fantastic storyline to even bother, as it has practically no downfalls to it. The ship-fighting is a wonder that will forever be remembered, While two sky ships carefully glide through the air side by side, shotting at each other with side-positioned cannons, with commmon panoramas and great other camera angles circling the action, this can be overwhelmingly the most fun part of the game, next to being told the story of course. The ships all fight loosly similar to ground fighitng people, but each crew menber can be asigned a ceratin task, like atttacking, repairing, casting magic, and then speacial attacking. Ypu also get to see some info of what the enemy ship will do next turn, so with each turn you get a chance at throwing the perfect "combo" at the enemy, for example, Crew Member A starts off the round by sheling, or incrasing the defense of it. Crew Member(CM) B then shoots a basic cannon at the opposing chip, CM C then does another basic attack, and CM D then casts a magically-cast cannon ball of the opposing elemental at the enemy, while CM E finished the round off with a devistating special attack. Watch as the enemy ship catches on fire and slowly sinks toward the unknown depths of the sky, not standing a chance with it's measly two CMs. The sound effects are pretty averge, but with no voice acting, except a "whoa" or "hey" at important events, unlike soome people, I am not against this. I think that the voice actors that sega did hire dont sound at all like their characters and if I had to listin to their voices through the whole game, it would of made a completly unenjoyble experiece, but, like i said before, the player will have so much fun watching the story than to bother. The music tracks, I think, are great. Remember on Zelda64, when you first sat foot on Hyrule feild, looking at it's vast, enourmous lands of posibilitys and beauty, and then there was an excellent, perfectly fitting tune to go in the backgoround. With the combination of these two attributes, you probably inerly giggled with delight and became overwhelmed with adventure at your first step upon that beautiful field. Now imagint the same thing, only in Skies of Arcadia, and instead of being in the main feild/center of the world, its everywhere. That sense of adventure, wonder of exploaration, follows you all throughout this game, never stoping at even the deppest and darkest dunguens. This overwhelming sense of adventure, and the perfectly fitting characters and storyline along with it, is what makes Skies of Arcadia so great. From slicing through the whispey clouds at middle sea (or sky,), or frommarching through a savage-roamed forest, and even when running through a poverty striken and dirty city, this sense of adventure follows you throughout the whole game, and theres not a single moment that feels bland, or boring, not a single moment. WIth this implemented so well, along with the ship batteling system, and stupendous storyline, Skies of Arcadia has easily became my favorite RPG of all time, and will probably be there for a very long time, as it easily stomped on and sliced the throat of FFX and FFVII.

My Cause Shaking,Temporary Blindness,and Hyperventilating

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 13
Date: July 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

We all know the CameCube Desparetly needs an RPG game [That's Good Mind You]. Skies of Arcadia Legends is just the game that you need. There's lots of magic and the plot is very intriguing and keeps you playing for hours. I enjoy the complex characters and quests that are imbedded in the game. Don't the expect the graphics to be spectacular, but the game intracacies more than compensate for that minor drawback. Flying your ship is very easy and you will learn quickly. The same goes for battles against enemies. In parts of the game you may find yourself stuck, but its easy to return the point at which you got confused and continue from there. Each character has a specific atribute that you can employ when needed. There are many spells for each color, for example green- the power to heal and create poison to damage foes, red - makes firey explosions and improves your attack attribute. Your game collection will not be completed until you own this game. DEFINATELY BUY IT. YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPPOINTED.

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