History YMMV / SkiesOfArcadia

** Mileage will vary according to taste, but whether or not the Great Silver Shrine is a fun little BreatherEpisode or a boring slog depends on how you feel about three-dimensional mazes without random encounters and sci-fi imagery.

** If one does all the sidequests before the final boss fights, the group will be so overpowered that it will feel ridiculously easy. The final ship battle in particular uses magical attacks almost exclusively and lacks ContractualBossImmunity to [[StandardStatusEffects Silence]].

** If one does all the sidequests before the final boss fights, the group will be so overpowered that it will feel ridiculously easy.

* ThatOneLevel: Moon Stone Mountain. Feel free to rage at the memories of falling through floor tiles and having to walk all the way back again. Ixa'Taka generally is probably the worst-paced part of the game, with ''two'' big maze-like dungeons full of difficult enemies and light on save points, plus a village that, while colorful and impressive, can be difficult to navigate.

* GoddamnedBats: Loopers, in all their forms. They're nearly impossible to hit with normal attacks, but have magic defense so high that spells and Aika's (magic based) S-moves are near guaranteed to do 0 damage, they frequently buff the other enemies in the battle, and often ''run away'' before you can actually hit them with a Special attack and/or kill them, especially early in the game. Ironically, they're more likely to die if they attack you than if you attack them, since your counter-attack rate is likely to be higher than your hit rate against them. And worst of all [[MetalSlime they grant a lot of Magic XP so you'll ''want'' to try to secure the kill]].
** Skull Shield lets you pwn Loopers easily, as noted under: GameBreaker. Vyse's "Rain of Swords" also kills Loopers, since it deals physical damage.
* GoddamnedBoss: Well, Bosses, plural: Barta and Rupee. Daikokuya also counts.

* {{Moe}}: Belle.

* OneTrueThreesome: Not an unheard-of interpretation of the main trio's relationship, given how close they are as a trio by the end of the story. The game proper doesn't have anything conclusive to say about romance among them in any case, which is probably why ShipToShipCombat is very rare among the fanbase.

*** Not the first ThatOneAttack that Ramirez has either. You will quickly come to dread hearing the words

** Lapen. Let's see...he summons three durable mooks at a time that can each cause relatively high damage. He has an immensely powerful area attack that can easily knock out several characters, even with damage-mitigating special moves in play. He has a single-character attack which usually causes instant death. Good thing you saved an Aura of Valor so that you can instantly get a Prophecy off on him. Right? ''...Right?''

* {{Woolseyism}}: Chris Lucich and Klayton Vorlick, the two-man localization team, worked 80-100 hours a week every week for months to first put together a rough Japanese translation, then [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skies_of_Arcadia#Localization essentially re-write the entire game from scratch]] to create something that would play better to a Western audience. The results speak for themselves; ''Skies of Arcadia'' remains a quotable and beloved title for its witty, earnest dialogue even today.

** Delta Shield blocks all magic attacks and is invaluable against instant death attacks. It does unfortunately also block your own healing spells and the like, but the functionally identical items work just fine.

** Skull Shield makes your party immune to regular attacks and guarantees a counter-attack if a character is hit. This allows you to kill [[GoddamnedBats loopers]] easily- simply activate Skull Shield, then sit back and laugh as the loopers kill themselves while trying to attack you.

* GoddamnedBats: Loopers, in all their forms. They're nearly impossible to hit with normal attacks, have magic defense so high that spells and Aika's (magic based) S-moves are near guaranteed to do 0 damage, they frequently buff the other enemies in the battle, and often ''run away'' before you can actually hit them with a Special attack and/or kill them, especially early in the game. Ironically, they're more likely to die if they attack you than if you attack them, since your counter-attack rate is likely to be higher than your hit rate against them.

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Many minor characters make the cut, such as Belleza and Gregorio [[spoiler:with their [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turns]]]], as well as crew members such as Don, Hans, Ilchymis, and Lawrence. However, most fans would agree that the best example is Gilder, a [[ChivalrousPervert womanizing]], BadassLongcoat and CoolShades wearing [[TheGunslinger Gunslinger]]. He even acts as TheLancer for Vyse.

** Many minor characters make the cut, such as Belleza and Gregorio [[spoiler:with their [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turns]]]], as well as crew members such as Don, Hans, and Lawrence. However, most fans would agree that the best example is Gilder, a [[ChivalrousPervert womanizing]], BadassLongcoat and CoolShades wearing [[TheGunslinger Gunslinger]]. He even acts as TheLancer for Vyse.
** Among the recruitable crew, Lone Wolf Laurence is popular for the same reason cold, grumpy mercenary lone wolves are always popular and Ilchymis, the caring humanitarian doctor is liked by anyone who has taken the trouble to find him and use the ability to buy an unlimited number of attribute boosts from him. Both are also handsome and slender young men.

** Ilchymis is liked by anyone who has taken the trouble to find him and use the ability to buy an unlimited number of attribute boosts from him.

* MagnificentBastard: Galcian still controls [[spoiler: the Valuan Armada, in spite of the fact that he just erased their homeland off the map]].

* ClicheStorm: If you had to look at the game on paper, it'd be hard to see what all the fuss is about. It's an extremely standard turn-based RPG that follows the OneTrueSequence (or at least appears to) one hundred percent, it has your typical "race with the bad guys to collect the magic crystals in the world" plot, only a handful of the characters really undergo any substantial CharacterDevelopment, and the villains are an EvilEmpire staffed mostly by some of the hammiest, most straight-forward and one-dimensional {{Card Carrying Villain}}s ever. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools But it pulls off each and every single one of these cliches and tropes so well that the game is far more than the sum of its parts]], especially considering it came out in the wake of a whole slew of overly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' imitators, where these old cliches felt like a breath of fresh air after being smothered by the new ones so pervasively.

* ClicheStorm: If you had to look at the game on paper, it'd be hard to see what all the fuss is about. It's an extremely standard turn-based RPG that follows TheOneTrueSequence (or at least appears to) one hundred percent, it has your typical "race with the bad guys to collect the magic crystals in the world" plot, only a handful of the characters really undergo any substantial CharacterDevelopment, and the villains are an EvilEmpire staffed mostly by some of the hammiest, most straight-forward and one-dimensional {{Card Carrying Villain}}s ever. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools But it pulls off each and every single one of these cliches and tropes so well that the game is far more than the sum of its parts]], especially considering it came out in the wake of a whole slew of overly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' imitators, where these old cliches felt like a breath of fresh air after being smothered by the new ones so pervasively.

* FridgeBrilliance: [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Not only are the cultures in the game based on real cultures from the age of Spain's expansion]], but their locations on the game's [[http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100917235147/skiesofarcadia/images/d/d5/Worldmap6.png world map]] coincide with their counterparts' locations: Valua and Nasr are located in close proximity to each other around where Europe and the Middle East would be, Yafutoma is where China and Japan should be, and Ixa'taka is right around where you'd find South America. Cape Victory, an area colonized by Valua, is where Australia would be.

** also during the final encounter, Silver Binds if only for how cool it looks.

*** And in the same fight with ''that'', he may sometimes use Silver Tundra. It doesn't really ''hurt'' (at least no more damage per character as that ''other'' attack...) but boy does it ''ever'' look cruel. It involves a character being thrown into a tornado of ice that repeatedly cuts at them, then dropped down ''stomach first'' onto another icicle that ''impales them''. ''OUCH''.

* ClicheStorm: If you had to look at the game on paper, it'd be hard to see what all the fuss is about. It's an extremely standard turn-based RPG that follows TheOneTrueSequence (or at least appears to) one hundred percent, it has your typical "race with the bad guys to collect the magic crystals in the world" plot, only a handful of the characters really undergo any substantial CharacterDevelopment, and the villains are an EvilEmpire staffed mostly by some of the hammiest, most straight-forward and one-dimensional {{Card Carrying Villain}}s ever. [[TropesAreNotBad But it pulls off each and every single one of these cliches and tropes so well that the game is far more than the sum of its parts]], especially considering it came out in the wake of a whole slew of overly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' imitators, where these old cliches felt like a breath of fresh air after being smothered by the new ones so pervasively.

* ClicheStorm: If you had to look at the game on paper, it'd be hard to see what all the fuss is about. It's an extremely standard turn-based RPG that follows TheOneTrueSequence (or at least appears to) one hundred percent, it has your typical "race with the bad guys to collect the magic crystals in the world" plot, only a handful of the characters really undergo any substantial CharacterDevelopment, and a majority of the villains are some of the hammiest, most straight-forward and one-dimensional {{Card Carrying Villain}}s ever. [[TropesAreNotBad But it pulls off each and every single one of these cliches and tropes so well that the game is far more than the sum of its parts]], especially considering it came out in the wake of a whole slew of overly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' imitators, where these old cliches felt like a breath of fresh air after being smothered by the new ones so pervasively.

* {{Woolseyism}}: Chris Lucich and Klayton Vorlick, the two-man localization team, worked 80-100 hours a week every week for months to first put together a rought Japanese translation, then [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skies_of_Arcadia#Localization essentially re-write the entire game from scratch]] to create something that plays well to the Western ear. The results speak for themselves; ''Skies of Arcadia'' remains a quotable and beloved title for its witty, earnest dialogue even today.

* AngstWhatAngst: Vyse is this trope crystallized. [[DoomedHometown His hometown is destroyed?]] His base is destroyed? He gets separated from his friends? [[{{Determinator}} He shrugs it off and fixes it.]]
** This trope is so incredibly strong when it comes to Vyse, it becomes contagious. Wherever he goes, angst will fade.
* AnticlimaxBoss: Baltor the second time around, especially after De Loco.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Now has its [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AwesomeMusic/SkiesOfArcadia own page.]]

* ClicheStorm[=/=]{{Troperrific}}: If you had to look at the game on paper, it'd be hard to see what all the fuss is about. It's an extremely standard turn-based RPG that follows TheOneTrueSequence (or at least appears to) one hundred percent, it has your typical "race with the bad guys to collect the magic crystals in the world" plot, only a handful of the characters really undergo any substantial CharacterDevelopment, and a majority of the villains are some of the hammiest, most straight-forward and one-dimensional {{Card Carrying Villain}}s ever. [[TropesAreNotBad But it pulls off each and every single one of these cliches and tropes so well that the game is far more than the sum of its parts]], especially considering it came out in the wake of a whole slew of overly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' imitators, where these old cliches felt like a breath of fresh air after being smothered by the new ones so pervasively.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Many minor characters make the cut, such as Belleza and Gregorio [[spoiler:with their [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turns]]]], as well as crew members such as Don, Hans, and Lawrence. However, most fans would agree that the best example is Gilder, a [[ChivalrousPervert womanizing]], BadassLongcoat and CoolShades wearing [[TheGunslinger Gunslinger]]. He even acts as TheLancer for Vyse. Ilchymis is liked by anyone who has taken the trouble to find him and use the ability to buy an unlimited number of attribute boosts from him.
* EscapistCharacter: Gilder. Too cool to be real and yet, a fan favorite. See above for the reasons.
** Vyse can count as this as well. Unfailingly optimistic and driven, ends up personally exploring the entire world and becoming a world-famous pirate to the point of imposters showing up to cash in on his fame, thwarts an evil empire [[spoiler: and the man who tried to seize control of it, and then the man after that who tries to destroy everything, and then sails off into the sunset with ''two'' potential girlfriends who don't show a hint of jealousy towards each other.]]

*** Better. Recruit Ilcyhmis, upgrade the item shop at your home base, and he'll be able to sell you seeds. As in, the items that provide the given party member with a '''permanent''' stat boost. And given the MoneyForNothing nature of this game, you can very easily pump your party members full of seeds and transform them into stupidly broken Arcadia-walking deities.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Now has its own page: AwesomeMusic/SkiesOfArcadia

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Quite a lot. Let's start off with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7LLNqwMlAI the Great Silver Shrine]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F-hJjD3XAs Ixa'taka]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_6XF8oVguw Zelos']] themes.

* BrokenAesop: Daccat's Island ending in a "[[ThePowerOfFriendship Friendship is the REAL treasure]]" message is kind of hamstrung when it turns out that the single coin Daccat left behind is an antique worth a lot of money.

* CompleteMonster: Admiral Galcian is loyal to one thing only: power. When first seen Galcian is the DragonWithAnAgenda to the nation of Valua and its empress Teodora. A ruthless man who tries to wipe out Vyse and the heroes at any cost, Galcian pursues an agenda of hunting down moon crystals to enhance his own personal power. After finding the superweapon he's been looking for, Galcian reveals his true colors and uses it on Valua, his own nation. His reasoning is that if he obliterates the most powerful country, the other nations will fall in line. While he is a man capable of inspiring loyalty, Galcian possesses none for anyone but his own power and advancement.

* AwesomeMusic: Quite a lot. Let's start off with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7LLNqwMlAI the Great Silver Shrine]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F-hJjD3XAs Ixa'taka]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_6XF8oVguw Zelos']] themes.

* [[GoddamnedBoss Goddamned Bosses]]: Barta and Rupee. Daikokuya also counts.

* MostWonderfulSound: Mew...mew...mewmew...mewmewmewmewmewmewmew -- received (1) Cham!

* TearJerker: The death of [[spoiler:Rhaknam]]. Also a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming with regard to [[spoiler:Drachma]].

* FridgeBrilliance: [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Not only are the cultures in the game based on real cultures from the age of Spain's expansion]], but their locations on the game's [[http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100917235147/skiesofarcadia/images/d/d5/Worldmap6.png world map]] coincide with their counterparts' locations: Valua and Nasr are located in close proximity to each other around where Europe and the Middle East would be, Yafutoma is where China and Japan should be, and Ixa'taka is right around where you'd find South America.