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LTTP: Skies of Arcadia (Legends)

NovumVeritas

NovumVeritas

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,138
Berlin
Hi Era,

I am lately on an old school JRPG haul.
I am almost finished with my first playtrough of Tales of Symphonia, and I stumbled of Skies of Arcadia.
I have seen this game came out originally on Sega Dreamcast, and was later ported to the Nintendo Gamecube.
I am interested in getting it on Gamecube, and wanted to ask what can I expect from this game?

How was the conversion from Dreamcast to Gamecube? Were there any glitches introduced with the conversation?
What is the rough estimate for a first playthrough of this game, and how are the characters, world, story and the music?
When I would start the game, is there anything I would need to look out for, any missables or sidequests?

Looking forward to your impressions.
 
Grug

Grug

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,645
It's been about 20 years but my enduring memories were a beautiful and original game world and random battles that were frustratingly frequent.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,506
Gamecube had lower quality music but extra sidequests and lower random battle rates.

I would recommend gamecube as even on the gc you will find the random encounter rate too high and probably wonder how bad it must have been on the dreamcast lol

The game itself is great other than the encounter rate.
 
OP
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NovumVeritas

NovumVeritas

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,138
Berlin
sir_crocodile said:
Gamecube had lower quality music but extra sidequests and lower random battle rates.

I would recommend gamecube as even on the gc you will find the random encounter rate too high and probably wonder how bad it must have been on the dreamcast lol

The game itself is great other than the encounter rate.
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Lol good to know, I wonder why the quality in music is lower on GC though,
especially Dreamcast had GD-ROM and only 1.2 GB and I think GC discs had 1.46 GB.
But I will certainly hunt for the GC version.
 
RedShift_

RedShift_

Member
Jul 24, 2018
507
It's a great game. I don't know much about what has improved since the DC version as I played it first on GC, but I had a really great time with it. Charming world building, characters and story.

I only had a couple of issues with some boss aerial fights, but once you get the hang of it you're golden.
 
Diablos54

Diablos54

Member
Oct 26, 2017
401
Amazing game, nothing beats exploring that huge world.

A couple tips, search the world map as well as you can, the more 'discoveries' you find the more cash you can get. And always focus on the main trio of characters when it comes to moonberrys. Apart from that you can't really go wrong!
 

Skulldead

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,452
Lower encounter rate/ More XP make the game a little easier overall for me. But you should go with gamecube version for sure.
 
Oreiller

Oreiller

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,849
It's tied along Grandia 1 and Wild Arms 5 in terms of games that make you feel like you're on an adventure imo.
 
Bard

Bard

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
12,462
One of the best games to give you the feeling of ADVENTURE. Very few have given me the same vibe since then.

Great cast, fun world, really great to explore, and the battle system is cool.

Play the gamecube version.
 
Weiss

Weiss

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
64,265
Gamecube has lower quality music but extra sidequests and rebalances the encounter rate and EXP loadout.

Skies as a game can be best described as retro chic, and even though the trends it was made around aren't as prevalent the current direction of RPGs hasn't dulled its sparkle a bit. It is a fantastical, swashbuckling experience through a unique constructed world where even the act of exploring it is part of the game's story, with an optimistic tone drilled so hard that the act of piracy itself has become split between noble Blue Rogues who only steal and plunder from the evil empire trying to conquer the world, and actual pirates who steal indiscriminately.

Possibly the most subversive aspect of the game is that Vyse is a swashbuckling rebel pirate and that would be a really easy way to make him an orphan, but then his dad is just still alive and a consistent and positive factor in his life.
 
Petruccis Biceps

Petruccis Biceps

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,535
It's the definitive version of the game, with the exception of lower quality music. It almost sounds like sometimes other sounds cancel out some of the music channels(similar to the way NES and Snes games would have instrument channels disappear with a lot of shit on screen).

I love SOA though, really made you feel like an adventurer/explorer and the discoveries and ship battles were so much fun
 
Djalminha

Djalminha

Alt-Account
Banned
Sep 22, 2020
2,103
I recall reading the GC version added a new important character, I think a female pirate. I only played Dreamcast and loved it, it was considered one of the top 3 RPGs of that console.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,506
Djalminha said:
I recall reading the GC version added a new important character, I think a female pirate. I only played Dreamcast and loved it, it was considered one of the top 3 RPGs of that console.
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important is debatable, just a side quest character.

Which really annoyed me as I assumed she'd become a party member when you completed the sidequest. ALAS.
 
Tailzo

Tailzo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,941
I liked the Dreamcast graphics better since I could connect my dreamcast to a vga monitor. I was also one of those that enjoyed the vmu game more than the gamecube addons, but both versions are amazing
 
OP
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NovumVeritas

NovumVeritas

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,138
Berlin
Thanks for your input everyone, I will probably get the GC version and go the Dolphin way, I hope the lower sound quality won't be an annoyance in the long run, but I am glad that the GC version got some improvements.
 
Rzarekta

Rzarekta

Banned
Nov 27, 2017
1,289
One of the GOAT games. Legitimately. The DC game was my favorite game of all time back in the day.
 
mikehaggar

mikehaggar

Developer at Pixel Arc Studios
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
1,379
Harrisburg, Pa
Bard said:
One of the best games to give you the feeling of ADVENTURE. Very few have given me the same vibe since then.

Great cast, fun world, really great to explore, and the battle system is cool.

Play the gamecube version.
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I agree. I remember having such a fun time with the game and really feeling like I was on an adventure. Also, I didn't find the encounter rate to be too bad in the GCN version.
 
Soltis

Soltis

Member
Feb 28, 2019
1,027
United States
I sunk hours and hours into the Gamecube version in my teens. This was basically my Final Fantasy 7 growing up - the very first RPG I ever played that showed me that videogames could have really good stories.

The characters and story, I think, are quite enjoyable, though they are perhaps somewhat formulaic by today's standards - that doesn't mean that they're bad, just that things usually play out in the ways you would expect.

As for missables, I am not sure if anything worthwhile is truly missable (I can't remember anything, at least), though there are some things that are easily missed:

1) The game has a discovery system, as someone else mentioned, and finding these discoveries gives you cash. You can find all of the discoveries yourself, but there is also one character who can find the discoveries before you, which reduces the amount of gold you can find (you can still turn in these discoveries, but you just won't get as much cash, since you won't have found them "first"). It's hard to find every single discovery first, on your own, without a guide and who finds the discovery first doesn't really matter in the big picture of the game, but I'm just putting this out there in case it's something you care about.

2) There is technically one, super-short cutscene near the beginning of the game you can miss, but it's kind of a creepy cutscene anyway. It's like a couple of seconds long, I think, at most.

3) Eventually, you will be exploring a kind of crazy, kind of disorienting dungeon in your airship. I *hated* this area when I first played the game - probably because I got lost for actual days trying to get through it! He is not really missable, but know that there is one person within this dungeon that you probably want to locate and speak with. If you miss him on your first run through the dungeon, you can go back and speak with him at any time, but IMO I'd much rather speak with him on my first trip through the dungeon just to avoid coming back for it.
 
Raww Le Klueze

Raww Le Klueze

Member
Nov 1, 2017
848
I love this game. I had the original on Dreamcast and double-dipped for Gamecube. GC is the better version by far, especially since I don't really notice or care about the music quality.

Still waiting on a remaster or just port for current consoles.
 
FinalArcadia

FinalArcadia

Member
Nov 4, 2020
1,802
USA
It is my #1 favorite game of all time (and where half my username comes from). Hope you enjoy it, OP, when you play it! The Gamecube version is definitely the way to go; as others have said, the music quality is worse, but the soundtrack itself still shines and it's not like a horrendous quality that it's distracting.

The characters are where the game shines. The main three characters have a great chemistry together, and the other party members are good too (Gilder is the weak link IMO, but I know a lot of people consider him one of the best, so YMMV).

As a tip, make sure you level up your Blue magic to get Quika on at least a couple characters; there's fight later where you'll really want it, and my first playthrough I kinda ignored buffs and had trouble there, so now I'm always quick to get that spell in every playthrough lol.

Also, items are generally more useful than healing magic IMO outside of early on; money isn't much of an issue in this game.
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,198
A wonderful world with super charming characters and earnest, gee-shucks writing.

The criticisms at the time were definitely the random encounter frequency (better on GC) and the fact that the combat was pretty simple and adynamic, especially considering it released so close to Grandia 2. But it is very much worth playing, and the game has some seriously hardcore devotees.

When you're finished, I'd also recommend (to any fan) the wonderful ode to Skies in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. The Skies creator apparently teared up when he saw it. See below (timestamped on lap 3)

 

Endymion

Member
Oct 27, 2017
749
Dammit, when I saw Skies of Arcadia in a thread title I thought it was going to be some news on an HD update or something. :(

I don't think anything will ever trump SoA as my favorite single-player RPG. At a time when other games were self-serious and giving you an airship halfway through the game, Skies was a light-hearted adventure that gives you your first airship almost immediately and lets you go explore. I'm sure some of that sense of exploration will be lost playing it fresh now just due to the lack of visual fidelity, but back then it felt awesome especially with the way the world opens up as you progress. I picked up Skies after I'd already started FFX and Grandia II and it held my interest so much that I didn't really have any desire to play those other games until I'd finished it. I've beaten it multiple times since then but not lately and am probably due for another playthrough.

The lower quality of the Gamecube soundtrack is a bummer since it's also my favorite soundtrack, but the GC version is still the one to play due to the decreased encounter rates and additional side stuff. Really hoping we get a port that combines the best of both worlds one day. I'd really love to see a full HD remake but I don't see how it'd be feasible while also maintaining the scope of the world unfortunately. :(
 
OP
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NovumVeritas

NovumVeritas

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,138
Berlin
Endymion said:
Dammit, when I saw Skies of Arcadia in a thread title I thought it was going to be some news on an HD update or something. :(

I don't think anything will ever trump SoA as my favorite single-player RPG. At a time when other games were self-serious and giving you an airship halfway through the game, Skies was a light-hearted adventure that gives you your first airship almost immediately and lets you go explore. I'm sure some of that sense of exploration will be lost playing it fresh now just due to the lack of visual fidelity, but back then it felt awesome especially with the way the world opens up as you progress.

The lower quality of the Gamecube soundtrack is a bummer since it's also my favorite soundtrack, but the GC version is still the one to play due to the decreased encounter rates and additional side stuff. Really hoping we get a port that combines the best of both worlds one day. I'd really love to see a full HD remake but I don't see how it'd be feasible while also maintaining the scope of the world unfortunately. :(
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Sorry about that. Didn't want to open an old wound.
I have seen this game was well received by the press. But it still sold not well enough to warrant a sequel. Why was that ?
Was it released at the wrong time ?

I have seen there are custom textures available for Dolphin:

Skies of Arcadia HD v0.06 (June 27, 2020)

Introduction: An HD texture pack for Skies of Arcadia by Bighead and frozenwings. This pack is still very early in development, so don't expect it to be anywhere near complete. At the moment much of t
forums.dolphin-emu.org forums.dolphin-emu.org
This looks quite good. I hope so too. And I liked Grandia 1 too, when I finished it on Switch.
I like older JRPGs more, than the newer ones. Don't know why.
 
OP
OP
NovumVeritas

NovumVeritas

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,138
Berlin
Huey said:
A wonderful world with super charming characters and earnest, gee-shucks writing.

The criticisms at the time were definitely the random encounter frequency (better on GC) and the fact that the combat was pretty simple and adynamic, especially considering it released so close to Grandia 2. But it is very much worth playing, and the game has some seriously hardcore devotees.

When you're finished, I'd also recommend (to any fan) the wonderful ode to Skies in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. The Skies creator apparently teared up when he saw it. See below (timestamped on lap 3)

Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Thanks for the video and in depth explanation. I like simple fighting systems, then these over complicated ones.
They have a higher dynamic. Less bloat, the better.
 

Endymion

Member
Oct 27, 2017
749
NovumVeritas said:
Sorry about that. Didn't want to open an old wound.
I have seen this game was well received by the press. But it still sold not well enough to warrant a sequel. Why was that ?
Was it released at the wrong time ?
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The Dreamcast wasn't very popular and I don't think the Gamecube was really seen as an RPG machine in the way the PS2 was (not to say it didn't have good RPGs, mind you). There was supposed to be a PS2 port alongside the Gamecube port but it was canceled for whatever reason. Also, even though Skies was and still is beautiful in its own way, FFX probably skewed people's expectations as far as visuals are concerned.
 
OP
OP
NovumVeritas

NovumVeritas

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,138
Berlin
Endymion said:
The Dreamcast wasn't very popular and I don't think the Gamecube was really seen as an RPG machine in the way the PS2 was (not to say it didn't have good RPGs, mind you). There was supposed to be a PS2 port alongside the Gamecube port but it was canceled for whatever reason. Also, even though Skies was and still is beautiful in its own way, FFX probably skewed people's expectations as far as visuals are concerned.
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I remember that people were happy when Tales of Symphonia was released on Gamecube. So that applies here probably.
Oh yeah I forgot, Xenosaga and FFX were releasing in the same time frame. I wonder whythe PS2 port was caceled though.
 
Hogger

Hogger

Member
Nov 18, 2017
1,292
This game is why I still own my Gamecube. Amazing game and I loved the 2nd half when you got to recruit around the world.
 
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