Are there things about Skies of Arcadia that could've aged better? Sure. For a game that otherwise makes exploration feel exhilarating and fun, the random encounter rate is a bit overtuned, and that's on the only version I've ever played; a rerelease that allegedly tuned it down a mite! Combat is a fairly standard affair if you've any familiarity with turn-based systems, and while I rather like that the player doesn't get to tediously micromanage everyone's placement from turn-to-turn and the AI isn't bad at it, it can still sometimes result in frustrating randomness. Turtle strategies are generally very effective, and while I don't mind that I know many people who eat their controllers in a fit of rage when defensive tactics can win out over aggression.
And, yes, a good deal of the character of Vigoro would not be handled today as it is in-game, to put it as mildly as possible.
But, if you can get past all that, you're left with one of my favorite JRPGs of all time. In an age when the whole genre was a wasteland of dour, angsty games about stoic people in miserable situations all trying to out Final Fantasy one another, here comes this cheery, colorful throwback about pirates (but, you know, the heroic kind) fighting off the tyranny of Fantasy Spain on a journey around the world. Characters aren't necessarily the deepest thing in the world, but they burst with appeal and charm, and they still tend to react to situations like human beings.
For that matter, there aren't even troubling colonialist overtones. These pirate explorers treat the inhabitants of every nation they encounter with open-mindedness and respect, and their enemies are at least as much industrialized imperialists as militaristic slavers and conquerors, a well-handled critique of both dark strains at the heart of European mischief. The multi-national crew the player assembles comes from all over the world, and none of their unique strengths are held in contempt.
Also, while the on-foot combat isn't exactly breaking new ground, it does have its own fun rhythm and ideas through the Spirit system, and the aesthetics succeed wildly where brute mechanics fail, with fun and well-animated attacks performed by well-designed characters and music that swells and drops depending on how well the player's doing. Plus, it also features ship-to-ship fights, which are also a fun strategy game of careful planning and back-and-forth, and no two of them are precisely alike.
Finally, there's something to be said for just how fun it is to fly around, making discoveries in a ship with well-designed controls, or to take in the unique aesthetics and layout of every individual nation's cities. This is the kind of fun exploration I'm often missing from dull, colorless sandboxes I often get as a poor replacement.
If you don't hate the genre too much to give it a fair shake, I heartily recommend Skies of Arcadia, especially the Gamecube port. There'll probably never be another sequel or re-release, but what you'll get is more than worth the time investment.
"Forgotten Gem" has long since become a tedious cliche, but...
Are there things about Skies of Arcadia that could've aged better? Sure. For a game that otherwise makes exploration feel exhilarating and fun, the random encounter rate is a bit overtuned, and that's on the only version I've ever played; a rerelease that allegedly tuned it down a mite! Combat is a fairly standard affair if you've any familiarity with turn-based systems, and while I rather like that the player doesn't get to tediously micromanage everyone's placement from turn-to-turn and the AI isn't bad at it, it can still sometimes result in frustrating randomness. Turtle strategies are generally very effective, and while I don't mind that I know many people who eat their controllers in a fit of rage when defensive tactics can win out over aggression.
And, yes, a good deal of the character of Vigoro would not be handled today as it is in-game, to put it as mildly as possible.
But, if you can get past all that, you're left with one of my favorite JRPGs of all time. In an age when the whole genre was a wasteland of dour, angsty games about stoic people in miserable situations all trying to out Final Fantasy one another, here comes this cheery, colorful throwback about pirates (but, you know, the heroic kind) fighting off the tyranny of Fantasy Spain on a journey around the world. Characters aren't necessarily the deepest thing in the world, but they burst with appeal and charm, and they still tend to react to situations like human beings.
For that matter, there aren't even troubling colonialist overtones. These pirate explorers treat the inhabitants of every nation they encounter with open-mindedness and respect, and their enemies are at least as much industrialized imperialists as militaristic slavers and conquerors, a well-handled critique of both dark strains at the heart of European mischief. The multi-national crew the player assembles comes from all over the world, and none of their unique strengths are held in contempt.
Also, while the on-foot combat isn't exactly breaking new ground, it does have its own fun rhythm and ideas through the Spirit system, and the aesthetics succeed wildly where brute mechanics fail, with fun and well-animated attacks performed by well-designed characters and music that swells and drops depending on how well the player's doing. Plus, it also features ship-to-ship fights, which are also a fun strategy game of careful planning and back-and-forth, and no two of them are precisely alike.
Finally, there's something to be said for just how fun it is to fly around, making discoveries in a ship with well-designed controls, or to take in the unique aesthetics and layout of every individual nation's cities. This is the kind of fun exploration I'm often missing from dull, colorless sandboxes I often get as a poor replacement.
If you don't hate the genre too much to give it a fair shake, I heartily recommend Skies of Arcadia, especially the Gamecube port. There'll probably never be another sequel or re-release, but what you'll get is more than worth the time investment.