I missed out on this one back in the day, though it remained in the back of my mind, a constant nag that I need to sit down and play it. A couple years ago I finally did just that, and having now completed Skies of Arcadia, I do feel like I slept way too long on a classic, perhaps one of the better JRPGs of its era. Which is why it's a little surprising to me that there are so few reviews for it here. Maybe I'm overestimating how popular Skies of Arcadia is, or (more likely) the series has been dormant for so long that everyone has long since moved on from discussing it. I don't know.
My usual bullshit of constantly checking my progress was thankfully averted with Arcadia. It's not that I don't give myself enough space to really enjoy a game, but especially with JRPGs (and other lengthy games) I start to feel the pressure to finish them as other games pile up in my backlog. I was far too comforted by Acadia's world to do this, and spent a lot of time just wandering around, exploring the various islands in the overworld and chatting it up with NPCs when I should've been tackling dungeons. Something about this game just puts me into a zone where I can't be bothered by anything else, and that's nice.
Of course, actually exploring dungeons and engaging in combat feels pretty good too. Arcadia isn't the most complex JRPG out there but it's as satisfying as it needs to be. I've seen some people say the game is very slow paced, but clearly that wasn't an issue for me, even if I think that's a valid point of criticism. Some battles can drag, but I was cool with it. I got to play as a sky pirate, what do I care if some of the sky battles are a little glacial when I'm caught up in the spectacle of it?
I've been meaning to play Skies of Arcadia Legends as well. Sure it's just a Gamecube port, but that means I can get it running on my CRT, and that's reason enough to go back and play this game. This is pretty much JRPG comfort food to me.
My usual bullshit of constantly checking my progress was thankfully averted with Arcadia. It's not that I don't give myself enough space to really enjoy a game, but especially with JRPGs (and other lengthy games) I start to feel the pressure to finish them as other games pile up in my backlog. I was far too comforted by Acadia's world to do this, and spent a lot of time just wandering around, exploring the various islands in the overworld and chatting it up with NPCs when I should've been tackling dungeons. Something about this game just puts me into a zone where I can't be bothered by anything else, and that's nice.
Of course, actually exploring dungeons and engaging in combat feels pretty good too. Arcadia isn't the most complex JRPG out there but it's as satisfying as it needs to be. I've seen some people say the game is very slow paced, but clearly that wasn't an issue for me, even if I think that's a valid point of criticism. Some battles can drag, but I was cool with it. I got to play as a sky pirate, what do I care if some of the sky battles are a little glacial when I'm caught up in the spectacle of it?
I've been meaning to play Skies of Arcadia Legends as well. Sure it's just a Gamecube port, but that means I can get it running on my CRT, and that's reason enough to go back and play this game. This is pretty much JRPG comfort food to me.
Reviewed on Jan 04, 2023
13 Comments
One of the all time comfiest RPGs. Started a replay last year and gotta get back to it. Like getting under a blanket that just came out of the dryer
gave me inspiration to write about it later today with it being one of my all time favorite games
gotta play it on the CRT, great call
gotta play it on the CRT, great call
Been meaning to play this. I actually have a Dreamcast, but I'm pretty sure this one's a bit pricier, so I may play it on Gamecube.
I just have that jailbroken Wii so Legends is loaded up on that. My Dreamcast still works and I have cables and everything, but I've not tried to mess around with burning discs for it since some games need to get compressed in ways that compromise their quality and... eh. Just rather not.
At some point I'll get a MODE and that'll solve that.
At some point I'll get a MODE and that'll solve that.
I could never find it for Dreamcast at the few stores we went to when I was a kid, so the GC port was a godsend. Still have it, and s-video and a nice new Smash Ultimate controller made it feel sooo good
I got about half way through Legends on my GC and just never went back when distracted by other things. Great game though. I appreciated Vyse and Aika being playable characters in Valkyria Chronicles as Sega's almost only other acknowledgement this game exists.
I highly recommend NOT playing the gamecube version actually. I hear there's added content but the audio is massively downgraded. The pre-recorded music sounds like it's being played through a rotary phone under a pile of wet blankets. The sequenced music is not much better. Not only are the samples themselves much lower quality but lots of instruments are missing and people say that the dynamic music isn't properly implemented. It's not even in fucking stereo like come on. I don't care what minor stuff it might add there's just no way that could account for the massive audio downgrade.
I read a gamefaqs post from a few months ago that suggests that the encounter rate might not have changed in legends which people have been saying for a long time. Also I thought the encounter rate is totally fine so I don't get the issue to begin with.
I read a gamefaqs post from a few months ago that suggests that the encounter rate might not have changed in legends which people have been saying for a long time. Also I thought the encounter rate is totally fine so I don't get the issue to begin with.
also I recommend NOT getting a mode because Terraonion is a terrible company. Get a non-Aliexpress gdemu instead
Terraonion sucks:
Terraonion bullying krikzz
Terraonion customer service
they also do that thing where they lock the firmware behind an account and your serial number which is a big red flag for this kind of stuff. I understand that the manufacturers of devices like ODEs and flash carts are worried about clones popping up everywhere but making the experience shitty for your customers and being a dick when they ask for an alternative is not good. Also people cracked the psio when the was being an ass and did this stuff, now psio clones are all over aliexpress. Hopefully terraonion's stuff will be there soon too.
Terraonion bullying krikzz
Terraonion customer service
they also do that thing where they lock the firmware behind an account and your serial number which is a big red flag for this kind of stuff. I understand that the manufacturers of devices like ODEs and flash carts are worried about clones popping up everywhere but making the experience shitty for your customers and being a dick when they ask for an alternative is not good. Also people cracked the psio when the was being an ass and did this stuff, now psio clones are all over aliexpress. Hopefully terraonion's stuff will be there soon too.
@HylanBran Yeah I watched TransWitchSammy play some of the Legends version and the audio downgrade is... rough.
I actually just got done transferring my Dreamcast's innards to a new shell and put in a GDEMU, PicoPSU, and Noctua fan while I was busy rummaging around in there. Everything appears to be working well after testing it pretty extensively over the last week, though the internal battery probably needs to be replaced. I just get nervous soldering so despite having everything I need to address that, I've kinda just been setting the clock over and over...
Anyway, I appreciate those links. That's not a good look for them at all and fuck that business about tying it to serial numbers. Glad I went the route that I did. I'll probably do another run through this game as I work through the hundred some odd titles I added to the SD card.
I actually just got done transferring my Dreamcast's innards to a new shell and put in a GDEMU, PicoPSU, and Noctua fan while I was busy rummaging around in there. Everything appears to be working well after testing it pretty extensively over the last week, though the internal battery probably needs to be replaced. I just get nervous soldering so despite having everything I need to address that, I've kinda just been setting the clock over and over...
Anyway, I appreciate those links. That's not a good look for them at all and fuck that business about tying it to serial numbers. Glad I went the route that I did. I'll probably do another run through this game as I work through the hundred some odd titles I added to the SD card.
@Weatherby oh how is the fan? My Dreamcast can be a little loud. I'm a cool guy so I have a sakura wars dreamcast which is a va0 (the Japanese ones don't have those model numbers but it's the equivalent of a va0). Anyways the va0 consoles are not compatible with gdemu without modification but they do have metal fans that are quieter and more pleasant than the plastic fans of the other models. In general the console actually feels quite a bit sturdier. Anyways I'm curious as to how a noctua fan stacks up to it.
Oh and about the battery, I don't think it's worth it unless you're actually good at soldering. I love dreamcast very much I kiss it good night every day so I play games on it fairly often. Anyways on the off chance that I don't play games on it for a while it takes like three weeks for the battery to be reset so I don't think you should worry about it. The only game that I could imagine maybe possibly having issues if the clock is a bit off is Seaman but if you're not attending Seaman for three weeks he won't be alive anymore so that's not an issue
Oh and about the battery, I don't think it's worth it unless you're actually good at soldering. I love dreamcast very much I kiss it good night every day so I play games on it fairly often. Anyways on the off chance that I don't play games on it for a while it takes like three weeks for the battery to be reset so I don't think you should worry about it. The only game that I could imagine maybe possibly having issues if the clock is a bit off is Seaman but if you're not attending Seaman for three weeks he won't be alive anymore so that's not an issue
@HylianBran It's dead silent, massive step up from the stock fan though I don't know how it compares to your particular unit. Almost all of the heat generation is now out of the console thanks to the PicoPSU so noise reduction was the main thing for me, but since it uses 3D printed brackets for mounting and the case I'm using is aftermarket, the amount of small variances has resulted in the tray sticking a little. Thankfully not much of a need to open it with the GDEMU and it's hardly unworkable, but definitely lacks that glide.
And yeah, I think I can probably live with it. At some point I'm going to be so deep into this shit that I'll need to consider recaps for certain systems, so I have all the tools I need, but I need more practice. Definitely not there yet.
And yeah, I think I can probably live with it. At some point I'm going to be so deep into this shit that I'll need to consider recaps for certain systems, so I have all the tools I need, but I need more practice. Definitely not there yet.
Weatherby
1 year ago