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The best true RPG EVER

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Once you start the game. You are engulf in an immense story line that has comedy, drama, action, and serious parts. The story line is a 5 star. Well, thought of and told. On to the graphics. By far some of the best I have ever seen. Lush environments mixed with spectacular lighting and dazzling special effects adds to the all ready intriguing game. The graphics being a 5 star and the story line as well. Sega went ahead and made the sound 5 star also. Great sound effects. Everything from footsteps to magic effects. It has it all. Game play is also a 5 star. Movement, camera angels, all sorts of movement is well, thought out and planned. No camera view behind a wall when you need it behind your character.

The game will draw you into an original story line. Where you are an air pirate that instead of sailing the seven seas. You sail the skies in ships that fly. The story line will draw you into and make you want to play just to discover treasure and witness what might happen next.
The game has a good learning curve of about an hour. Easy to play. The only thing that might discourage some people is the fact of the battles. Sometimes you can end up fighting battle after battle. But in the end. This is a game that is not meant to be beat in a week. It is meant to long, enjoyable and savored like a fine wine. Worth the money and the time.

Also. The game has a mini game that can be played on the VMU. While this may not sound important. It is because whatever items or gold you find on the mini game. Can be transferred into skies of arcadia and used.

An overlooked gem

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is an absolutely fantastic game that has been overlooked by a great many people. Really, I have no complaints with this game. However, before I get into what makes this game so great, I'm going to list a few of the drawbacks that may put off a potential buyer.

Given that this game was released back in 2000 for the Dreamcast, the graphics will appear to be crude next to what's exhibited by the current-gen consoles. However, as a Dreamcast game, the graphics for most of the game are quite good. The background and ship graphics are gorgeous by almost any standard, though the people aren't very natural-looking.
The battle system, while having nothing wrong with it, is simple turn-based combat. I didn't mind it at all, but I know it bothers some people. Also, at times the enemy spawn-rates are so ridiculously high that you can't go more than a few feet at a time.
No voice acting except the rare sound bite, and no CG movie cutscenes.

Those minor details aside, this game is near-perfect. The spirit meter and changeable elements for your weapons require a small amount of extra strategy without requiring a big learning curve. The Ship-to-Ship battles are great and give the gameplay even more depth.
The music in this game is unmatched with any of the many games I have played. Crisp, clear music that sounds right at home in a performance from an eminent professional orchestra.

Best of all this game has to offer is the story and the characters. The characters complement each other very well and seem almost real. The story itself is told in a masterful way that puts many novels to shame; it's presented in a way that reinvigorates the player's interest in the game at every twist and turn.

The last thing to mention is the great sense of exploration that this game offers. You can literally travel the entire world of Arcadia. Special discoveries can be found during exploration that not only give money but who's description provides glimpses into Arcadia's mysterious history. As the game progresses you explore in a way that slowly opens the world to you; and after you've visited a location you can almost always go back whenever you want, almost no matter what else is going on in the story. Lastly, this game offers something that few other exploration-minded games give: a home. At a certain point in the game, you get your own home base you can return your ship, and it gets rather lively as you recruit your various crew members.

In conclusion, give this game a try if you have a Dreamcast or a Gamecube, I promise that you won't regret it.

Sweet graphics and audio

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game truley is magnificent. The visual effects are amazing, especially when using magic. The sound also is great. The perfect music and the perfect time. Definatley worth 50 bucks.

The Best RPG Produced yet for Next Generation consoles

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is great, make no mistake. Although it offers nothing really ground breaking in way of plot, the story is just so incredibly well done and well told that you can look past any cliche that may come up. This game is good.

You don't make time to play Skies of Arcadia, you make time for everything else. Take time off work, tell your friends not to call and kiss your wife goodbye for a while, you've got a game to play.

Take that Final Fantasy!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well. This game that I am trying to review is not capable of being conveyed in words. It is an experience that cannot be described. There are times when I yelled YAAAHOOOOO out loud and scared the living crap out of my dog. This is the kind of game that I pay the hundreds of dollars to buy a system for: high quality in almost every respect.

Let me start with player appeal. This game will appeal to adventure, RPG and some action gamers but is not for all people. As it is with all RPGs. If you are not into RPGs, you might not like this game. If you like fantasy novels/movies and dont play video games, this is like having the best mixture of the two melded into one. If you are a FPS lover you might be dissapointed because it is not all action. But then what the hell are you even checking out rpgs for???

Battle system. IT is a pretty basic turn based battle system sort of like ff. You have your regular attack, defend, and super moves (very beautiful) and magic that every one can learn. The story is very good and original. The best part of the game is that you can explore this huge world at the begginging of the game. It is like starting off wiht the airship in the beginnningn of the game. (well actually you are hehe) The Plot is very good too. I am not tellikng you anything else about the game becasue it might spoil someting but if you have a DC PS2 or GC you will love this game.

Best. Game. Ever.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I don't do a lot of console RPG - but I do know a good story when comes along. Now on the surface, it may appear a standard 'Save the world' plot that is used so much, that it's almost a cliche

Clearly the development team draws from many different sources - Jules Verne style of ships comes to mind immediately. More subtle sources of inspiration would be the extensive works of Leji Matsomoto - most notably Captain Harlock (a space pirate with big hair half covering his eye patch - sound like a lead character from a certain game?. Of course the parallel to Space Cruiser Yamato/Star Blazers - wherein a spaceship built out of a sunken World War Two battleship, equipped with a bow cannon of unspeakable power, and crewed by a team of youngsters, save the planet - cannot be denied. Heck, even Vyse's second ship looks a LOT like the Argo.

This is not to say that the game is just a shameless amalgamation of other ideas. Far from it - it takes the inspiration, builds on it with an extensive cast of characters, throws in enough side plots and character development of it's own - and tops it all off with a dash of over-the-top adventure.

The depth of characters - I'm stunned on how much feeling the programmers can evoke from the simple models. Simple motions such as a glance away speaks more than a thousand lines of dialogue. People always ask why anime characters have such big eyes - it's because the eyes portray such emotion. This is never more clearly demonstrated than in this game. By the end of the game, when Vyse gathers his allies for the final showdown against the main enemy, all the characters have so much emotional weight behind them, you cant help but cheering them on to their final destiny.

The graphics - unbelievable. The backgrounds are simple, yet amazingly detailed. The most trivial of objects - mere background filler, would be enough to take center stage in a lesser game. The lighting effects are fantastic, the spell animations are astounding, the smoke and water effects are lifelike. It's about on par with the quality that Shenmue put forth, but in it's own cartoon-ish way. The game definitely raises the bar for console games.

The sound and music - the often cited problem of voice acting is non-existent here. The development team, went with text instead of speech, so aside from one or two line - that's not a problem. The music on the other hand is GREAT. The background score for the Ixa'taka city is damn catchy - probably the best music out of the game. The Valua theme is heavy and sinister, the Silvite music otherworldy - It's the best BGM I've heard since . . . oh, Shenmue a month ago.

The battle system - Tight and intuitive. It makes sense, without ever opening the manual. And the ship battles are like a turn-based RTS - a contradiction in terms, I know, but it will make sense once you play it. Both aspects are deep and fun - and easy to master, to this RPG-newbie.

The only down side - and there is a down side: the random battles. Sometimes they come way too frequently, almost to the point of frustration. Most of the time I just wanted to get onto the next section of story, and didn't want to fight. If not for this problem, the game would be perfect. So that means the game must settle for simply stunning. Provided the user can overlook the one flaw, considerable entertainment awaits within.

The bottom line - this is one of the MUST HAVE games of the Dreamcast - and this is coming from one who doesn't play RPG's as a rule. The blend of characters, story, graphics blow anything the Final Fantasy franchise has to offer out of the water (with a blast of the Moonstone Cannon, no less. *BLAMMO*). The RPG drought for the Dreamcast is over, and Skies of Arcadia is at the forefront.

SoA tested my brand loyalty

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Like a couple of other people who already reviewed this, I too am a devoted Final Fantasy fan who has played lots of RPGs and been somewhat disappointed in most of them. I've played only three SEGA RPGs, and of the three, two of them are perhaps my most hated RPGs of all time: Game Arts' Lunar:SSS and Grandia. (The third was Panzer Dragoon Saga, which I absolutely LOVED.) I couldn't stand Lunar and Grandia because of their over-blown humor and mindless cheerfulness. Yech. Well, the more I read about Skies Of Arcadia, the more it sounded like those Game Arts games. I had no plans to buy it. But more and more I kept hearing friends who shared my tastes saying that they'd played SoA and that it was a stunningly great game. So I decided to give it a shot. I must admit, for the first few hours of the game, my fears seemed to be confirmed: not much conflict, not much drama, just a lot of cheerily romping around the world. But slowly the characters started to win me over. They don't have miles of depth, but they are irresistably likeable. The story took off and kept a perfect pace until the very end of the game. If there's anything this game does better than recent Final Fantasy games, it's the impeccable dungeon design, and the joy of exploration it gives you.

If the characters were just a little deeper and the plot was more original (it was quite predictable), I'd easily give Skies Of Arcadia 5 stars. As it is, it's still one of the best RPGs on the market today and I'd say it's easily a must-play for even the most casual RPG fan.

By the way, I understand that a sequel is underway as I type this.

SoA= quality RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Along side Grandia II, RPG's have another great RPG to add to their favorites list. While Skies is a pretty standard RPG, it has all of the essental RPG elements done right to make this one satisfying RPG. I love the main characters and their interaction with each other and the supporting cast made this one of the more enjoyable RPG's I have played. With a completely 3-D world to explore, SoA is a treat for the eyes. While not groundbreaking, the game is solidly made and stands as one of the best looking RPG's available today. The textures look great, character models are well done, and the spell effects look to please tossing around all sorts of crazy lighting effects. As a bonus, you can skip the longer spells so you don't have to wait through all the time (something Square has picked up on). With a great story, interesting characters, great graphics, and sound to match there is one glareing flaw: random battles. At times you can only go around for a few seconds before hitting another random battle, which can get quite irritating and time consuming when you feel just like exploreing the (huge) map. Aside from that, Skies of Arcadia is a much needed RPG for Dreamcast. And at 2 discs, with over 40 hours of playtime, you're in for quite the journey (Quick thought, why are Square's games 3 or 4 discs? All of those CG movies take up alot of space folks...). Highly recommended.

Best RPG of All Time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: February 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Skies of Arcadia is an RPG of epic proportions. The characters are some of the most original and friendly bunch you'll ever meet! The facial expressions are so well done, that you'll start to mimic them time after time for as long as the game keeps you enthralled! Not only that, but the story is one of the best I've ever been impacted upon. The Valuans [value-uhns] are trying to get the mooncrystals in order to awaken the dormant Gigas' powers! Each Gigas is enormous in size, and shows off the Dreamcast's graphical ability, which pokes fun at the higher-spec systems such as PS2, Xbox, and GameCube. Yeah, they're that good! Incredible architecture here, folks. Everybody who likes to play a good RPG must pick up this masterpiece! It is by far, my favorite game. Nothing comes close. Please, do not miss this adventure at any cost, and buy a Dreamcast if you don't have one, just to play this!!

Can't we give it 1,000,000 stars?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: August 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I don't know what to say about this wonderful RPG which I call the best game of all time. This game is so exciting and it will definitely keep you hooked. Explore the vast world of Arcadia, but don't waste time in taking in the scenery; you also have to do a ton of other stuff, but I don't want to ruin it for you. Buy this wonderful game that also has perfect graphics for the kind of game that it is!

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