What's so good about Skies of Arcadia?

[vegeta1215]

I'm looking for a few new games to try on the Gamecube, and Skies of Arcadia: Legends is one I keep reading about. I've read reviews for it, and most of them agree that there's nothing very special about the battles, that the characters are kind of cliche, that the graphics aren't the greatest (I don't mind that), etc. and that overall the game is pretty average.

My question is, what is so good about Skies of Arcadia? The things I listed above don't bother me so much, but I'd like to know what aspects of the game people think really make it shine. I've heard that there are many many random battles in this game, and I'd need something to stand out in order for me to put up with them (though I heard there is an item you can get to reduce the amount of random battles - by how much I don't know. Does anyone know?)

[Darth Marsden]

Hmm. Challenging. I'll step up and have a go at convincing you, but be warned - I'm really not that great at this sort of thing.

Okay, I'm just gonna list what I think are the good points, explaining them as I go. <Deep Breath>

There's the ship battles, which are pretty different from standard battles. There's a lot more strategy used, and it's always fun blowing the s*#! out of other, bigger vessels. There's also the option to change your crew later in the game, although it's done in a similar fashion to changing your weapons. Still, there's a lot of people to sign up, so that's kinda fun. There's also the kinda cool Magic system (your group generates the equivalent of MP as a group, which has to be shared between everybody) and the pretty neat music. And while it's not the world's greatest game, it is definately more then average. Since there's so few RPG titles for the Gamecube, you've got a serious player here.

And no, I've never heard about an item to reduce random battles. I believe you're probably thinking of the fact that the number of random battles has been hugely cut down from the Dreamcast version, where you couldn't move five feet without being attacked. Great for levelling up, not so great for actual fun. The GC version is much more acceptable (pretty much the same as most RPGs, in fact). Alternatively, there is an Action Replay code I've used in the past to avoid random battles entirely, but I really do doubt that's what you meant :p

...told you I wasn't that great at this sort of thing.. http://armageddongames.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[vegeta1215]

Most places I've read said that they didn't really reduce the amount of random battles that much :shrug:

Supposubly, one of the moonfish side-quests gives you an accessory called the "white map" which reduces the rate of random battles and lets you run away more easily. Like I said, I'm not sure how much that changes things though.

[Blonde799]

Skies of Arcadia was never a show stopper. Cliched characters, average and sometimes annoying battles(stop raping Fina!) and average graphics was pretty much anyone could say about it. But you had the ship battles, which were slow but strategic. Uh...can't think of anything else, except the fact that when it originally came out on the Dreamcast, it was a refreshing RPG.

[Archibaldo]

I was actually plannig on getting this game after I beat Baten Kaitos. I talked to a couple of people about it who have played it and they said it was really fun. I might rent it this summer to see what it's like before I buy it. Although since it's pretty old it shouldn't be that expensive so even if you don't like it, it's not like it was a big waste of money.

If you're looking for a few good games you should check out Baten Kaitos. It has a pretty awesome story and the battle system is very unique.

[vegeta1215]

Although since it's pretty old it shouldn't be that expensive so even if you don't like it, it's not like it was a big waste of money.

That's what I was thinking too, but I like to look into my purchases. I'm currently the high bidder on a SoA Legends auction on eBay.

I was going to pick up Baten Kaitos, but I've heard more bad than good about it. I think I'll just stick wtih Tales.

[Skulkraken]

My opinion of Skies of Arcadia Legends is that it's a fairly average game, with the ship battles being the chief standout part of it (in actuality, most ship battles are easy to avoid and usually have little reward).

Adding on to what everyone else mentioned, however, the battle system is a little unbalanced. Magic gets shafted a bit, since characters get special moves throughout the game which are generally more effective than spells, on top of being cheaper to use. Apart from the healing spells, magic tends to be redundant when placed alongside the specials.

That being said, the rest of the battle system is still at least enjoyable (and every spell or special move can be skipped, which is nice once you've seen something a couple dozen times).

It's basically a toss-up. It'll still be worth your money if you get it through an auction. Just try to stay below 25 dollars if you can (the game's apparently on the Player's Choice list, so new copies are being sold for around that price).

[Rijuhn]

To be honest I purchased Baten Kaitos and Skies of Arcadia the same day from EB Games. Baten Kaitos was $30 and Skies of Arcadia was $20, so they both amounted to the price of one ordinary GCN game, thus I was happy. I decided to play Skies of Arcadia before I play Baten Kaitos because I knew if I played the better game first (BK) I wouldn't enjoy the lesser game as much (SoA).

I popped in the SoA disc into my GCN and started it up..."WHAT THE F***! THIS GAME SUCKS ASS THROUGH A STRAW!! GGRRR!!!!!" So I played Baten Kaitos instead and loving every minute of it.

SoA has crappy graphics, horrible camera angle in and especially during battle, the controlls suck, and the graphics suck, and the graphics suck. OMG, my eyes, this game should be destroyed! I figure once I beat Baten Kaitos I might try and give SoA a chance, but for right now the game is one major piece of garbage.

[Darth Marsden]

SoA has crappy graphics, horrible camera angle in and especially during battle, the controlls suck, and the graphics suck, and the graphics suck. OMG, my eyes, this game should be destroyed! I figure once I beat Baten Kaitos I might try and give SoA a chance, but for right now the game is one major piece of garbage. 1. They graphics aren't crappy, they're 'classic'. Seriously, it's a five year old game. What did you expect?
2. The camera isn't that bad. You may have to squint a little if you have a small TV though.
3. I will grant that the menu controls take a little getting used to, but then so do most games that deviate from the norm.

In future, try to avoid being childish when pointing something out. It just makes you look immature and hard to take seriously.

Moving away from pointing out people's flaws, I picked up Legends of £20 (around $28-ish) about a year and a half ago, so it was a good buy. Having tried out the original since, I can confirm that they've about halved the rate of random attacks and added more stuff then I'd care to mention.

You may recall a while ago I started a thread about terrible endings? This game was what prompted that. It was the most cliched thing I'd ever witnessed. Aside from that, it's an interesting 75%-ish game and I wish you the best of luck in your bidding. It's great fun until someone outbids you at the last second, which has happened to me more then once. Here's hoping it doesn't happen to you.

[vegeta1215]

Having tried out the original since, I can confirm that they've about halved the rate of random attacks

That's good to hear.



...and I wish you the best of luck in your bidding. It's great fun until someone outbids you at the last second, which has happened to me more then once. Here's hoping it doesn't happen to you.

Thanks. I hope it doesn't happen too. But you never know, I have gotten lucky in the past when I snagged BG&E and Eternal Darkness for like $8.00 each before shipping.

[Darth Marsden]

But you never know, I have gotten lucky in the past when I snagged BG&E and Eternal Darkness for like $8.00 each before shipping. Heh. I know that feeling as well. I managed to snag the cutest Sonic plush toy for just over £10 right at the last second. Hehe... He's sitting on top of my bookcase now, watching my every move... He's just so cool!

Oh, and I also snatched up all three CD-i Zelda games in a similar fashion, so I now technially own every 'official' Zelda game made so far. I know they're not Nintendo made, but I was curious, so sue me. Now to get me a CD-i...

[vegeta1215]

Heh. I know that feeling as well. I managed to snag the cutest Sonic plush toy for just over £10 right at the last second. Hehe... He's sitting on top of my bookcase now, watching my every move... He's just so cool!

Oh, and I also snatched up all three CD-i Zelda games in a similar fashion, so I now technially own every 'official' Zelda game made so far. I know they're not Nintendo made, but I was curious, so sue me. Now to get me a CD-i...

I have a Sonic plush toy. It's an old one too, like from the early 90s :) My brother has a Tails one from the same time.

Ever Zelda game huh? Do you have the Zelda Game and Watch game? (http://zappa.brainiac.com/cdyer/reviews/zeldagw.html) I scored one on eBay - I wound up paying $40 or so from a seller in the UK, but it was worth it. It's a very fun game, easily one of the best G&W games. (btw, you can unlock the Zelda G&W in Game and Watch Gallery 4 for the GBA, which I also have)

As for SoA, I have about 1.5 days left on my auction. I'm also thinking about checking out Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes, but none of the eBay auctions for it are very low price wise, and it'd be cheaper to buy it new since it's a Player's Choice game now.

[Warlock]

I think most of SoA's love came from it being one of very few RPGs around for the Dreamcast (from what I remember). It's like the people who called Quest 64 good just because it was the only N64 RPG at the time (I swear to god those people need to die too.. that game was quite possibly the worst RPG I've ever played).

[Darth Marsden]

I have a Sonic plush toy. It's an old one too, like from the early 90s :) My brother has a Tails one from the same time.

Ever Zelda game huh? Do you have the Zelda Game and Watch game? (http://zappa.brainiac.com/cdyer/reviews/zeldagw.html) I scored one on eBay - I wound up paying $40 or so from a seller in the UK, but it was worth it. It's a very fun game, easily one of the best G&W games. (btw, you can unlock the Zelda G&W in Game and Watch Gallery 4 for the GBA, which I also have)

As for SoA, I have about 1.5 days left on my auction. I'm also thinking about checking out Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes, but none of the eBay auctions for it are very low price wise, and it'd be cheaper to buy it new since it's a Player's Choice game now. No, but I do have the GBA Game & Watch Gallery you mention, so technically I do own it. Technicalities rule.

And with Twin Snakes, you are probably best off buying it new. Especially since it's Players Choice. The only down side is that you get the box teeeling you how cheap you are every time you want to play it, but that's a small price to pay :tongue:

[vegeta1215]

No, but I do have the GBA Game & Watch Gallery you mention, so technically I do own it. Technicalities rule.

And with Twin Snakes, you are probably best off buying it new. Especially since it's Players Choice. The only down side is that you get the box teeeling you how cheap you are every time you want to play it, but that's a small price to pay :tongue:

Have you unlocked Zelda in G&W Gallery 4 yet? It takes so many stars to get - like 175 I think.

I don't care if people see I have a Player's Choice copy. I am cheap! The only games I pay full price for are the ones I know I'll like. For anything else, I rent first and then buy if I feel it's worth it. That or I wait until the price comes down. It took forever for Super Mario Sunshine to become a Player's Choice.

I can't even imagine how my habits will change if the price for games goes up to $60 or more like I've read online (I think Nintendo will try to keep their's at $50 though)

[Darth Marsden]

...not yet, my thumbs are still trying to recover... :P

I can understand why games are rumored to become more expensive (higher costs, etc), but the only thing it's really going to do is put of the casual buyer. I have trouble enough buying new games (something I rarely do - second hand all the way for me!) at the current £40 mark, let alone the £50 it's possibly going to be. All it'll do is prompt people to buy less games, which sort of defeats the point really.

[Carcer]

I think I only enjoyed SoA because it was the only real RPG on the GC at the time. However, although the storyline was unoriginal, the beginning of the game was quite good in that there was a lot of be told about this world all at once.
If you like exploring worlds, then this game is quite good, especially once you can go anywhere. You find hundreds of discoveries about the history of this world. Shame you can't land.
If you're looking for a bit of enjoyment for a while, but nothign to blow your brains out, then you should get this game.
Oh, it has a really, really good sountrack, IMHO.

[King Link]

One of my favourite RPGs to date.

I became highly addicted to the chance to have your own airship, your own base, built up your own base and customize it, gain your own crew and change them around to take advantage of their special skills onboard your ship, and to fly through the huge world and visit all the cities.

The game has sidequests and a number of secrets to discover and find, and I quite enjoyed the music (a lot actually) and the boss battles.

The final battle I thought was quite epic too.

So yeah. That's my take.

[Silvanoshea]

Everything is good about it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Darth Marsden]

Everything is good about it!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, I don't think there's any way I could possibly top that. :rolleyes:

I forgot about the soundtrack. That rocked. Incidentally, how did the eBay bid go?

[vegeta1215]

Incidentally, how did the eBay bid go?

I lost :( And by only 2 cents!

I'm still looking for SOA Legends, but in the mean time I'm playing Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, which I snagged for $9.99 at Circuit City on Thursday. It's pretty good so far.

[Darth Marsden]

I lost :( And by only 2 cents!

I'm still looking for SOA Legends, but in the mean time I'm playing Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, which I snagged for $9.99 at Circuit City on Thursday. It's pretty good so far. Augh! I feel for you man.

How far are you in Sphinx? I can only get so far before losing interest, but until I do it's pretty good.

[vegeta1215]

The beginning of the game is kind of slow, specifically the "tutorial" parts with Horus, but it gets much better. I'm at the part where you control the Mummy for the third time (right after clearing the Abydos canal of monsters as Sphinx and meeting with the sick Mayor).

One thing you should be weary of if you play Sphinx, is the the supposed game-ending glitch. It didn't happen to me, but if you plan to play it, search Google for the "Castle Uruk glitch" for more info.

[Darth Marsden]

Yeah, I've gotten past that glitch, although I never noticed any problems. Probably because I was so focused, I forgot to until later. I'm currently having fun trying to release a woman/eagle hybrid thingy. I'm fairly certain it wasn't really like this in the olden days.