Skies of Arcadia (spoilers included) How good is it really?

[Strider]

I had this on the Dreamcast and never really got in to it. Thanks to my current holiday though, I'm now around 35 hours into it and really enjoying everything the game has to offer.

I love the game's visual look and the wonderful world that Overworks has created, but it's the little things that really impress.

The best moment so far, has to be when your group is split into two and you're exploring Dacaat's Island. I would have loved to have seen this used more often as it worked really well. Battles throughout are really enjoyable and some of the special moves are easily as good as anything the Final Fantasy series has to offer.

Random encounters continue to be a pain in the arse and it's a shame that the visuals weren't giving a complete overhaul, but currently I'm really enjoying it.

The thing is though, is Skies really the amazing game that everyone made it out to be, or was it a case of having hardly any competition?

I'm certainly finding it to be very good, but IMO it's not the best RPG I've ever played.

[tokyochojin]

I tried so hard to like this game, however i got stuck in some wind at the south part of the map and just gave up!

[Garibaldi Biscuit]

Good to hear you're enjoying it, personally the game never clicked with me at all though. I could only bear to play about an hour of it before I threw in the towel, just found the starting battles and dialogue so stilted and banal, plus random encounters really do my head in these days ( it's a shame no other RPG has taken up some of the ideas of Fallout on random encounters; you could increase your 'outdoorsman' skill to the point where it would tell you what was lying in wait and whether you wished to fight them or not, saved me no small ammount of sanity that did ).

I'm sure there's a chance it improves later on, but I couldn't find the enthusiasm to get that far.

[saif]

I "liked" it but not that much. I gave it about 8hrs of my life but it failed to grab as I hoped. Oh well.

[johnjwaters]

I gave it sixty hours of my life and was bored by pretty much all of it. I think this means I am in some way, "stupid."

[ryodi]

Loved it. Owned it on both DC and GC and am currenlty working my way through Legends. It has so many good characters (Gilder ), distinctive lands for each set of people and an adventurer who is not some stroppy teenager. Whats not to like? Also the addition of Piastol is great, I just love her schythe (sp?).

[Marvelon]

On Phantasy Star Online RPGs we're often discussed (as can be expected) and most of the online community their seemed to love it to bits. Both on DC and Cube. I played it for about 12 hours (the warming up period for RPGs) but It didn't click, I spent half an hour looking for an island to dock after navigating through the aforementioned storm. The battle system was decent I thought, some nice ideas. But The fact I didn;t carry on said enough for me.

Grandia II I'd say, as an alternative (on DC or PS2)

[Mayhem]

Loved it. Go read my Cube review on here Strider

Should really finish it though, I was 40 hours in and right at the end and never got around to actually polishing it off. Maybe when I have some spare time to remind myself how to play it again

The GC version hardly sold, especially in the US, so it's actually a semi-rarity and still sells for $40+ second hand...

[Darwock]

No way! Skies was massively overrated... there's no variety in the gameplay, combat is a chore and random battles are never challenging, just mundane. The daccats island bit you mention.. what's good about it? There's no island to explore, it's tiny. The whole game is just the same thing, over and over, for 40+ hours.

If we're not counting FF, I would say Suikoden III is what Skies should have been.

[Flabio]

Its incredibly cliched, but that doesn't seem to detract from its charm. All the characters are likeable, no annoying mopey blokes or silly cutey creatures. It feels like a boys-own adventure, rather than a serious quest to save the world.

One of my favourite games. The only thing cooler than pirates is sky pirates. Reminded me of Laputa in places

Grandia 2 is good. It has a better combat system and doesn't pull random battles on you. But I didn't find it as much fun, hard to say why.

[dataDave]

The dialogue is a bit **** at the beginning, but the more you progress the better it becomes. It almost feels like the characters are maturing as time goes by. Especially considering the ending moments of the game. Poetry.

I admit - some parts of the story were immensly cliched and cheesy, although I did my best to ignore those parts and concentrate on the out-weighing good bits instead.

The part where Valua gets showered with meteors is horrible!!

I played the DC version back in January 2001, although some weird bug prevented me from entering Soltis (It just crashed everytime I entered the final dungeon! ft: ) - so I picked up the GC version and played it through last August.

I liked the ship battles myself. I thought they were really well done. The game as a whole could have been a little harder but I don't care about difficulty when it comes to RPGs, I play them to experience the worlds + characters they have to offer, I like to sit down with some smokes and chill when I'm playing RPGs.

[Kieran76]

I've only played the DC version, the random battles really started to drag. I played it for about 25 hours and then just stopped. I mean to one day return and try again, but at the moment I just don't have the time.

[MCJess]

How good is it? It's the best 3D role-player out there - apart from Final Fantasy VII.

[taurusnipple]

Well I wasn't too fussed over the DC version at the time, but since then I've read Mayhems review and from that I've desired it. However, twice I've seen the game in stock at CC and both those times other titles have preceded me buying it. Damn thing is though, you will not find a new copy of it over here. If I'd have known how rare it'd become I would have got it on the spot. ****, since when has buying videogames become harder than collecting Pokemon?

[dataDave]

Well I wasn't too fussed over the DC version at the time, but since then I've read Mayhems review and from that I've desired it. However, twice I've seen the game in stock at CC and both those times other titles have preceded me buying it. Damn thing is though, you will not find a new copy of it over here. If I'd have known how rare it'd become I would have got it on the spot. ****, since when has buying videogames become harder than collecting Pokemon?

That's a bit like my mate who had not one, but TWO chances of buying Panzer Dragoon Saga from EB when they first opened in Burnley. He ended up buying SF collection and then something else later instead.