Okay, so it's been a bit.
A month.
Still. I had this one all written out and then my computer crashed. It was frustrating.
But let's dive right into the next installment on this prestigious list. It's not in a popular series like the last three, but it's still deserving of its spot on the list.
Number Seven - Skies of Arcadia
I've played both the Dreamcast and Gamecube versions, I'll refer to it just as Skies of Arcadia, but I'll put a picture of Legends to make some people happy.
The tough thing about bringing an old rpg onto a list existing in the present day is that the genre tends to be more obviously dated than the others. The tolerance for random battles has shrunk tremendously and the thirst for speedy games has risen. But although Skies of Arcadia may sport random battles and a slightly slow battle system, there are many timeless features that hold up with great force.
Any adventure game or RPG strives for a sense of exploration. Some do a decent job, and some fall flat on their face. It's rare for a game to truly capture the awe and wonder of traveling through new lands. It's even more rare for a game with a compelling story and interesting characters to still make you want to explore the world before finding out what happens next. Skies of Arcadia succeeds at creating this deep sense of exploration even with its dated blocky graphics. With a bunch of "discoveries" and rare fish to catch, the game did a great job at rewarding you for steering off-path. Something that even games that pride themselves on exploration are forgetting to do (see: Twilight Princess).
Now I mentioned interesting characters in that last paragraph. While that's true, it's not the best part about the characters. The biggest fault in RPGs are the completely unbelievable conversations. The characters only ever talk about their quest and it creates a very one-dimensional feel to the game. Maybe the occasional talk is thrown in about somebody's past or struggle, but it usually feels very seperate and forced. Skies of Arcadia doesn't fall prey to this and although some characters are just exaggerations, everybody still interacts believeably the entire game. Whether or not these are very "real" characters, they work extremely well within the world and their actions and reactions change depending on who they talk to, how well they know someone, and what's happening around them. The characters just feel integrated and whole instead of a cookie-cutter hero with a single struggle thrown in for good measure. Skies of Arcadia has heroes, creeps, theives, shy girls, strong girls, nutcases, sleezeballs, bitter old men, and brat kids, and it all works. The sense of humour makes the game approachable and the characters are probably the true selling point of this game. They make everything work. And when you have extended cut-scenes, you actually pay attention. It's very impressive since few games still manage to pull that off.
But it's not just good story-telling that makes this game a RPG lover's wet dream. The battle system, while slow like I mentioned, is engaging and full of simple yet addicting customization. Special Moves and weapon elements are all it takes to always enjoy navagating the beautifully presented menus. And that's before the game really opens up later on with crew and ship customization. There are so many little things that it's quite amazing how Skies manages to make you not seem over-whelmed, not make you feel like you're just on fetch-quests (excepting a few spots), and ALWAYS make you feel like you have something to do that you want to do.
There is much more to say about Skies of Arcadia, but all I can say to wrap this post up is that you have to play it if you haven't already. Even non-RPG players could get wrapped up in this deceptively simple design. It's an extremely impressive accomplishment, and maybe one day we'll see a sequel.
Anyway, agree with me yet?
The next one is a common one in Top Ten lists, so I apologize.
Thanks for reading.
_ethan
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