Skies of Arcadia: Legends

A Genius · 04-18-2003, 01:13 PM

You know, I don't always like to give games averages. It's what I prefer to do, since it's the most truthful way, But, This is a case where the game gets less than it deserves. Skies of Arcadia is pulled down by poor graphics and the most annoying damned tune I've ever heard in my life thrown in with a collection of great tunes.

Graphics are Dreamcast quality, and heck, even for Dreamcast, it could've been better. The only good thing I can say about they're clear. And the Gigas look cool. That's about it.

Music is VERY well done, some great tunes are here. There are 3 boss tunes. The regular one, a GREAT tune that occurs when you're doing a good job against the boss. And an AWFUL tune that plays when you're losing. The last one I mentioned is REALLY annoying, and you'll grow to hate it for three reasons:

1. You're not supposed to like it, it tells you you're doing badly.

2. With all the hard bosses in the game, you'll be hearing it a lot.

3. The tune loops every 8 seconds.

That SINGLE tune waters the music/sound score to an 8.

Now, I've just been complaining about the game so far. But the game is REALLY fun. The plot is that you're a pirate, Vyse, and at some point, you'l clrealy have to save the world. The story moves along well, with the exception of one particular area around the second Gigas, which almost caused me to lose interest in the game. Once you get past that, the game continues on it's generally entertaining path. Heck, it doesn't even take long to get past that boring part.

There are 2 things about this game that make it worth playing all by themselves. First of all, you'll do battles in pirate ships. The strategy required in these battles is amazing. Think battleship with some RPG elements thrown in. I can't really describe ship battles very well, you just have to see them for yourself.

The other thing is, later in the game, you'll get your own ship. You'll be the captain, and you can appoint crew members, and you'll have your secret base, and it's custumizable and... that's it.

Replay value is fairly good for an RPG, with explorations and bounties. Still not endless though.

Grapihcs: 5/10
Music/Sound: 8/10
Gampelay: 9/10
Replay Value: 7/10
Overall: 7.6/10

Okay, this game deserves MUCH higher than a 7.6, believe me. So, I'm just going to add 1.4 points on there, to be fair.

Real Score: 9/10.

That's better.

-A Genius (Damn averages.)

04-24-2003, 07:22 AM

Man i love this game, good review, as far as the graphics go your right but in the end when your playing it you dont give a dam (although the magic could be a bit better, the effects arnt the coolest and everyone saying, 'moons give me strength!' all the time bugs me, special moves rock tho).

I dont really know wot tune your talking about, maybe its new for the GC game but I remember the tune on DC when you go into Gigas fights and other big ship battle bosses, it was awesome.

An annoyin thing is that theres no voice overs except really cheesy 'Yea!'s and 'Huh!'s, but sayin thats like being given a mansion for free and complaining that the carpet is green.

IMO this game has one of the best storylines in any RPG ive ever played, its just dam good.

A Genius · 04-24-2003, 04:01 PM

Not the ship battles. The REGULAR boss battles. I'm not sure if this is true for the Dreamcast version, but on GCN the boss battles on land have 3 themes, the regular one, one when you're winning, and one when you're losing. I was talking about the third one.

-A Genius (It may not have been on the Dreamcast version, I wouldn't know.)

04-18-2003, 01:13 PM	#1
A Genius Senior Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Place Posts: 2,657 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	You know, I don't always like to give games averages. It's what I prefer to do, since it's the most truthful way, But, This is a case where the game gets less than it deserves. Skies of Arcadia is pulled down by poor graphics and the most annoying damned tune I've ever heard in my life thrown in with a collection of great tunes. Graphics are Dreamcast quality, and heck, even for Dreamcast, it could've been better. The only good thing I can say about they're clear. And the Gigas look cool. That's about it. Music is VERY well done, some great tunes are here. There are 3 boss tunes. The regular one, a GREAT tune that occurs when you're doing a good job against the boss. And an AWFUL tune that plays when you're losing. The last one I mentioned is REALLY annoying, and you'll grow to hate it for three reasons: 1. You're not supposed to like it, it tells you you're doing badly. 2. With all the hard bosses in the game, you'll be hearing it a lot. 3. The tune loops every 8 seconds. That SINGLE tune waters the music/sound score to an 8. Now, I've just been complaining about the game so far. But the game is REALLY fun. The plot is that you're a pirate, Vyse, and at some point, you'l clrealy have to save the world. The story moves along well, with the exception of one particular area around the second Gigas, which almost caused me to lose interest in the game. Once you get past that, the game continues on it's generally entertaining path. Heck, it doesn't even take long to get past that boring part. There are 2 things about this game that make it worth playing all by themselves. First of all, you'll do battles in pirate ships. The strategy required in these battles is amazing. Think battleship with some RPG elements thrown in. I can't really describe ship battles very well, you just have to see them for yourself. The other thing is, later in the game, you'll get your own ship. You'll be the captain, and you can appoint crew members, and you'll have your secret base, and it's custumizable and... that's it. Replay value is fairly good for an RPG, with explorations and bounties. Still not endless though. Grapihcs: 5/10 Music/Sound: 8/10 Gampelay: 9/10 Replay Value: 7/10 Overall: 7.6/10 Okay, this game deserves MUCH higher than a 7.6, believe me. So, I'm just going to add 1.4 points on there, to be fair. Real Score: 9/10. That's better. -A Genius (Damn averages.)

04-24-2003, 07:22 AM	#2
Stuaval Guest Posts: n/a	Man i love this game, good review, as far as the graphics go your right but in the end when your playing it you dont give a dam (although the magic could be a bit better, the effects arnt the coolest and everyone saying, 'moons give me strength!' all the time bugs me, special moves rock tho). I dont really know wot tune your talking about, maybe its new for the GC game but I remember the tune on DC when you go into Gigas fights and other big ship battle bosses, it was awesome. An annoyin thing is that theres no voice overs except really cheesy 'Yea!'s and 'Huh!'s, but sayin thats like being given a mansion for free and complaining that the carpet is green. IMO this game has one of the best storylines in any RPG ive ever played, its just dam good.

04-24-2003, 04:01 PM	#3
A Genius Senior Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Place Posts: 2,657 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Not the ship battles. The REGULAR boss battles. I'm not sure if this is true for the Dreamcast version, but on GCN the boss battles on land have 3 themes, the regular one, one when you're winning, and one when you're losing. I was talking about the third one. -A Genius (It may not have been on the Dreamcast version, I wouldn't know.)