Skies of Arcadia

Skies of Arcadia
North American box art
Developer(s)	Overworks
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Shuntaro Tanaka
Producer(s)	Rieko Kodama
Composer(s)	Yutaka Minobe Tatsuyuki Maeda
Platform(s)	Dreamcast, GameCube
Release date(s)	Dreamcast JP October 5, 2000 NA November 13, 2000 EU April 27, 2001 GameCube JP December 26, 2002 NA January 27, 2003 EU May 23, 2003
Genre(s)	Role-playing video game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media/distribution	2 × GD-ROM's, 1 × Nintendo optical disc

Skies of Arcadia, released in Japan as Eternal Arcadia (エターナルアルカディア, Etānaru Arukadia), is a role-playing video game developed by Overworks for the Dreamcast and published by Sega in 2000. Skies of Arcadia Legends, a port, was released for the GameCube in 2002. Legends was also in development for the PlayStation 2; however, the PS2 version was canceled shortly before the GameCube version's release. The game was also scheduled for a Windows PC release in Japan in 2004, although this port was subsequently canceled as well. The game's story focuses around Vyse, a young pirate in a Jules Verne-inspired fantasy world, and his friends as they attempt to stop the Valuan Empire from reviving ancient weapons with the potential to destroy the world.

Gameplay

Dungeons

Most of gameplay in Skies of Arcadia takes place in dungeons. Controlling the protagonist, Vyse, from a third-person view, players must traverse and defeat these dungeons in order to advance the storyline. Dungeons comprise of a network of pathways with treasure chests, puzzles, and ubiquitous monsters. Completing the dungeons is usually a matter of exploring each of the possible pathways presented to the player until the correct one is found. Treasure chests are commonplace and contain some of the most powerful items in the game. Throughout the dungeon gameplay players meet compulsory random encounters. If the entire player party is defeated, progress is reset to the beginning of the dungeon. In the Dreamcast version, it was possible to slightly foresee these random encounters by noticing a loud spin-up of the console's GD-ROM drive. This gave the player time to open the start menu and prepare for the battle.

Travel between the numerous dungeons is accomplished by piloting an airship through the overworld, a three dimensional sky with massive floating rocks forming islands and continents. Some islands are completely uninhabited, while others are filled with sprawling towns and cities. All dungeons are located on these islands and continents. There are two exceptions to this, where a dungeon is traversed while piloting the airship. This form of dungeon contains floating spherical objects instead of treasure chests, and vortex-like tunnels in place of corridors and doors in one case, and a single series of tunnels in the other.

Overworld

Overworld travel takes place entirely on the player's airship. The world is at first divided by impassable "sky rifts" which bar the player's passage. Throughout overworld travel, unavoidable random encounters occur as in the dungeons. These battles take place on the deck of the airship and are otherwise identical to their dungeon-based counterparts. Later in the game, however, an advanced mechanism is discovered for the player's ship which allows it to rise above the upper cloud layer and sink below the lower cloud layer of Arcadia, presenting two ways to avoid these encounters, and also provides the player the means to pass through sky rifts. In addition, ship-to-ship combat can occur while traveling through the overworld; however, the majority of these are unavoidable boss fights which advance the storyline. Random ship-to-ship battles can occur, but they are rare and avoidable.

Discoveries

The player can also find Discoveries hidden throughout the world while flying their airship. Information about discoveries can be sold at Sailor's Guilds located in cities throughout the game; the value of a discovery is determined by how well-hidden it is and how much time has elapsed since it was possible to find. When finding a new land, a discovery is recorded automatically, as these Discoveries are part of the storyline.

Battle system

Combat occurs frequently, especially during the overworld travel. It is not until late in the game that it becomes possible to avoid combat during overworld travel. Combat comprises two vastly different settings: those encountered in ship to ship combat, and character to monster combat. Ship to ship combat occurs relatively rarely compared to the common character-combat. This encounter rate was reduced for the GameCube re-release.

Character combat

Character combat occurs between one to four player characters and one to eight monsters or NPCs. Combat comprises seven main options: Run, Items (which can be used to change the characters' equipment as well), Guard, Attack, S.Move (Super Move), Magic and Focus. An eighth option, Crew Special, becomes available later in the game by meeting certain criteria (which replaces the Run command). After an action has been chosen for each character, the round will commence.

Ship combat

Ship combat is used when battling other ships and the extremely powerful gigas that are summoned throughout the game. Ship combat follows the same framework as character combat, however there are a few distinct differences. Each round in ship combat is divided into either three or four turns depending on how many characters are currently in the party. During each round, neither team has more than a single turn advantage over the opposition. Ship battles use a color-coded grid system to show each turn in the following two rounds, and the amount of fire the ship will come under during each turn.The green means there is no advantage on either side or the enemy is not going to attack.Yellow means the enemy will fire a cannon.Red means the enemy will fire something strong or has an advantage.Finally, C! means critical hit chance.

The same actions used in character combat are used here, albeit with small differences. The 'Attack' option now has the player pick between four different cannons that have been equipped to the ship. Cannons come in three different types - powerful main cannons, multi-firing secondary cannons, and delayed-effect torpedoes - and each one can only be used once per round. This same stipulation carries over to the S. Move command, which now uses a large, front-mounted cannon. In addition to the standard actions, the ship's crew can be called upon by one of the characters in the party. While each of these can only be used once in each ship battle, the diversity and power of the crew's abilities can be very useful.

Pinta Quest: The VMU Mini game

Skies of Arcadia included a mini-RPG for the VMU, called Pinta Quest. The game can be downloaded after the player reaches Sailor's Isle and talks to Pinta, a young boy who expresses a wish to sail all over the world and discover things.

Pinta Quest is essentially a miniature RPG based entirely on random encounters, and any items and money gained within the minigame can be loaded into the main game inventory. Due to the lack of a similar device available for the GameCube, Pinta Quest was not included in Skies of Arcadia Legends.

Storyline

Thousands of years before the events of Skies of Arcadia, six civilizations coexisted on floating continents in the titular skies of Arcadia, a world with no apparent surface that is orbited by six moons of different colors. The civilizations, one of which existed for each moon, developed technologically to the point where each created a Gigas, a colossal living weapon of mass destruction, as well as the Moon Crystals that could be used to control them. Using the Gigas, the civilizations warred with one another, which caused enormous environmental harm and threatened the extinction of all six civilizations. The most advanced of the civilizations, the Silver Civilization, used their Gigas to summon the Rains of Destruction, which pulled meteors from the orbiting moons and crashed them down onto the planet's surface. The catastrophic destruction stopped the rampage of the Gigas, as well as nearly destroying the other five civilizations, thus ending the war. A seal was placed on the Silver Gigas to prevent the Rains from being used again, and the Moon Crystals were hidden away.

In present time, the militant and tyrannical Valuan Empire, led by Empress Teodora, seeks the Moon Crystals in order to awaken the Gigas and take over the world. Valua's will is enforced through the Valuan Armada, a fleet of iron-clad warships led by senior admiral Galcian and vice admiral Ramirez under the authority of the Empress. They are primarily opposed by the Blue Rogues, a faction of Air Pirates who make it a point to harass the Armada as much as possible. Fina, a young girl from the Silver Civilization, is sent to find the Moon Crystals before the Valuans and bring them to a safe place. She is quickly captured by an admiral of the Armada, then rescued by a group of Blue Rogues, among them fellow protagonists Vyse and Aika. Although the shy and withdrawn Fina is initially reluctant to trust Vyse and Aika, she opens up to them after she is recaptured by the Armada, but again rescued. Vyse and Aika agree to join Fina on her mission to gather the Moon Crystals.

Accompanied by an initially uninterested old fisherman and ship's captain named Drachma, the trio recover the Red Moon Crystal from a temple in the desert nation of Nasr, and shortly afterward, find the Green Moon Crystal high above Ixa'taka, a continent of lush forests. In both lands, the Blue Rogues foil various Valuan operations. Vyse is separated from Aika and Fina when Drachma's ship, the Little Jack, is severely damaged in a Valuan attack. The three soon reunite, along with a fellow Blue Rogue named Gilder, but are then captured by vice admiral Ramirez and brought to the Valuans' impenetratable prison fortress. By enlisting the aid of the Valuan prince Enrique, who has lost patience with his government's tyranny, and stealing a powerful Valuan warship named the Delphinus, the Blue Rogues are able to escape.

Using the Delphinus's advanced technology to reach previously inaccessible areas of the world, Vyse and crew recover the Blue Moon Crystal from the eastern Oriental land of Yafutoma, as well as the Purple Moon Crystal from the southern glacial content of Glacia. After obtaining the Yellow Moon Crystal from the Valuan continent, Vyse and crew retrieve Fina's personal ship, which was lost upon her initial capture by the Valuans, and which she needs to bring the Moon Crystals to the Silver Civilization, which still exists in an immense shrine that orbits Arcadia. However, Ramirez's fleet assaults the Blue Rogues and he personally steals all of their Moon Crystals. Vyse, Aika, Fina, and Gilder travel to the Great Silver Shrine in orbit to confer with the elders; they are followed by Galcian and Ramirez, who assassinate the leader of the Silvite elders and from his body extract the final Moon Crystal.

Galcian and Ramirez use the six Moon Crystals to raise the lost Silver continent of Soltis and break the seal on the Silver Gigas. They then use the Rains of Destruction to annihilate the Valuan capital, killing Empress Teodora and seizing control of the Valuan Armada in a bid to dominate the world. Vyse rallies a fleet of Blue Rogues, as well as Yafutoman warships and various ships from other regions of the world, to battle the Valuan Armada. In the ensuing struggle, the crew of the Delphinus disables Galcian's capital ship, an armored floating fortress. Vyse and his friends board the ship and defeat Galcian; however, Ramirez has retreated into Soltis and, enraged at Galcian's death, prepares to use the Rains of Destruction to wipe out the Blue Rogue fleet. Before he can do so, he is stopped by the Silvites, who sacrifice their lives to take down the protective shield around Soltis. Vyse and his friends enter Soltis and defeat Ramirez, who then merges with the Silver Gigas. Returning to the Delphinus, Vyse and his crew defeat the Gigas, and then battle Ramirez once more on the Delphinus's deck, a fight which ultimately results in his death and the defeat of the Valuan Armada.

Cutscenes reveal that Enrique, the prince of Valua, marries his love interest, a princess of Yafutoma, and becomes emperor of Valua. With a promise of benevolent rule, he and his wife oversee the reconstruction of the Valuan capital. Vyse and Aika formally inaugurate Fina as a Blue Rogue, and together the three friends sail their own ship into the sunset. As the post-game credits roll, an epilogue briefly details the fates and further adventures of each member of the Delphinus's crew.

Characters

Party

Throughout the game the protagonist, Vyse, is the character that is actually controlled by the player. Vyse and Aika, the female lead, are permanent members of a four character party. At various stages, the player can pick up one, and only one, of the secondary characters. At some points the player has a choice which of these to use, but often it is compulsory for the party to contain a certain secondary character. A short way through the game, Fina changes from a storyline-only role to a playable character and a permanent member.

At one point in the game the four character party is split in two, with Vyse and Gilder, and Aika and Fina being the pairs. This part of the game presents an unusual challenge as the various strengths and weaknesses of the characters are unable to complement each other. The two primary damage dealing characters (Vyse and Gilder) are paired together, with little magical ability, and the two primary magic characters (Aika and Fina) are paired, with little damage ability.

At various stages in the game Gilder, Drachma and Enrique are added and removed from the character pool. This is usually done forcibly, however near the end of the game the player can choose which of the three characters to use for the final moments of the game.

Main player characters

• Vyse: A 17 year old Blue Rogue (air pirates that only attack armed vessels larger than their own ships, in particular those of the Valuan Armada). Vyse has an upbeat, optimistic and determined personality. Sometimes, he is the one who keeps the entire party's spirit up. He is also the character the player controls when not in battle. Vyse fights with twin cutlasses, one used for offense and one used for defense.
• Aika: Vyse's close friend since childhood and fellow Blue Rogue. She is also 17 years old, like Vyse. Aika has a strong and energetic personality; she is deeply and fiercely loyal to those around her, and has a bit of a fiery temper, yet has weaknesses such as obsession with treasure and fear of swimming. She also was orphaned at an early age, and was cared for by Vyse's family. Aika fights using an oversized boomerang. She also happens to be left-handed.
• Fina: Fina is a "Silvite" (survivor of the ancient, defunct Silver Civilization). She is also 17, like Vyse and Aika. Fina is beautiful, sweet-natured and demure, but hides an iron will. She is initially a little naive of customs and the Arcadian way of life, but proves to be a quick study. She forms a strong bond with Vyse and Aika (and an even stronger, almost sisterly bond, with Aika). Fina's pet, a silver ball-like creature named Cupil, fights for her. Cupil can morph into various shapes, and gains power by eating Chams, Moon Stone shards that are hidden throughout the game. His most powerful form is Final Cupil, although it required a download in the Dreamcast version in order to get the final charm. When not in battle, Cupil takes the form of a bracelet that Fina wears.

Secondary player characters

• Drachma: A 55 year old maimed man, Drachma lost his right arm, right eye, and only son while fighting the giant arcwhale Rhaknam. He now has a mechanical right arm which he uses as a weapon during battle. His obsession with hunting Rhaknam leads him to search the skies. Drachma is the captain of the small fishing airship, Little Jack. He travels with Vyse and the others for part of the game, and pretends not to care about them, but he shows up just in time to save them quite a few times. With his artificial limb and vendetta against a strangely colored, deformed whale, he seems to be based on Captain Ahab in Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick.
• Gilder: A rakishly handsome 32 year old man, Gilder wears a pince-nez and uses pistols as his weapons. He found and rescued Vyse from Crescent Island when Vyse was stranded, and joined him in his travels. Gilder is the captain of the light, swift pirate vessel Claudia. He has a parrot named Willy, who can be helpful when Gilder needs to break out of jail cells. He is a very laid-back individual, and loves good times and women. However, he seems to be constantly looking over his shoulder and running away from Clara, a Blue Rogue obsessed with Gilder.
• Enrique: At 25 years old, Enrique is the Crown Prince of the Valuan Empire, but disagrees strongly with the imperialist policies of his mother, Empress Teodora I. The name of his father is unknown. Enrique uses rapiers as his weapon in battle. He joins the party and gives Vyse his flagship, the Delphinus, when he escapes Valua with Vyse, Aika, Fina, and Gilder. His frank nobility and chivalry are in direct opposition to the attitudes of most of the higher Valuans, and it is his infectious goodness that ends up saving the entire party later on.

Antagonists

The Blue Rogues' sworn enemy, the Valuan Empire, continually hunts Vyse and Aika throughout the game. The Valuan Empire is ruled politically by the Empress Teodora I, but the real military power lies with the Lord Admiral Galcian. Galcian's five deputies - Alfonso (First Admiral), Gregorio, Vigoro, Belleza, and De Loco (Fifth Admiral) - each have a distinct personality, personified by their highly unique flagships. Amongst themselves they are each silently competing for promotion at the expense of the others, especially Alfonso, who thinks he should be Lord Admiral instead of Galcian. Galcian's Vice-Captain Ramirez later becomes the Sixth Admiral of the Valuan Armada and has a mysterious connection to Fina.

In addition, a significant number of lesser adversaries confront the player throughout the game. These are mostly 'Black Pirates,' a faction of unscrupulous criminals who lack the Blue Rogues' self-restraint and hence have earned the Rogues' ire. Notable Black Pirates include Captain Baltor, a bandit from Nasr airspace who pursues a small vendetta against Vyse, and Gordo the Round, an obese pirate whose plundering is driven by his lust for unique food. In the Gamecube rerelease, several more of these Black Pirates appear and can be hunted for bounty rewards, including a trio of criminals who resemble Vyse, Aika and Fina (named Vyze, Anita, and Faina) in appearance and poison Vyse's reputation unless defeated during an optional sidequest.

Guest appearances in Valkyria Chronicles

Two optional characters named "Vyse Inglebard" and "Aika Thompson" appear as members of Squad 7 in Valkyria Chronicles, and are listed on each other's Like list, indicating that they are friends. Differences in uniforms and weaponry aside, their appearances are otherwise identical to their Skies of Arcadia counterparts. Some of the dialogue spoken by the two contains subtle references to Skies of Arcadia, such as Aika's line when rescuing a fallen comrade "If you die on me, then I'm taking all your treasure!", or the line for her Nocturnal ability "I ain't scared of the dark! ...just ghosts...". Fina also appears as one of several identical sisters who serve as the squad's (unplayable) Medics.

The characters' profiles in the game allude to Skies of Arcadia. Vyse's profile states he is from a far off land, and once you complete the game his profile is updated to indicate the he and Aika left Gallia in order to seek adventure and treasure. The character profile for Alex Raymond, a good friend of Vyse's in the game, indicate that Alex was captivated by Vyse's tales of flying and that he accompanies Vyse and Aika on their adventures once the events of Valkyria Chronicles conclude.

In the Valkyria Chronicles anime adaption, Vyse makes a cameo appearance as a member of Squad 5 during the Liberation of Fouzen (episode 13), and the medic who tends to Rosie (episode 18) and Alicia (episode 21) has the appearance of Fina and her "sisters". Aika has not appeared in the VC anime. In the 2nd OVA of Valkyria Chronicles 3, Vyse makes a cameo as a member of Squad 7.

Soundtrack

On October 5, 2000, the game's musical soundtrack was released on CD as a double album. Composed by Yutaka Minobe and Tatsuyuki Maeda, it features 67 original tracks from the game and has a runtime of over two hours and twenty minutes. The album is named after the Japanese version of the game, Eternal Arcadia. Five tracks from the game (Clara's Theme, De Loco’s Theme, Dark Rift music, Blue Moon Crystal tune, and the post-destruction Nasr theme) are omitted from the official soundtrack release. A small number of copies were imported into the US.

Eternal Arcadia OST
Soundtrack album by Yutaka Minobe, Tatsuyuki Maeda
Released	October 5, 2000
Recorded	2000
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	Disc One: 71:10, Disc Two: 71:00
Label	Enterbrain

Disc One

Disc Two

01 - Opening Theme 02 - Main Theme 03 - Air Pirate Isle 04 - Galcian's Theme 05 - Theme of Reflection 06 - Air Pirate Secret Base 07 - Blue Rogues' Theme 08 - Blue Rogues' Ship (Nasrad, Ixa'taka, Valua) 09 - Dungeon of Searing Heat 10 - Ruins Dungeon 11 - Battle 1 12 - Vyse's Theme 13 - Kingdom of Nasrad 14 - Dungeon Cave 15 - Black Pirates' Theme 16 - Bombardment 17 - Let's Go! 18 - Sailor Town 19 - Kingdom of Ixa'taka 20 - Ancient Temple Dungeon 21 - Legend 22 - Sudden Storm 23 - Uninhabited Island 24 - Theme of Loneliness 25 - Drachma's Theme 26 - The Little Jack (Nasrad, Ixa'taka, Valua) 27 - Imperial Theme 28 - Valua City 29 - Tension 30 - Military Facility Dungeon 31 - Armada 32 - Boss Battle (Crisis, Opportunity) 33 - Victory in Battle

01 - Headquarters 02 - Fina's Theme 03 - Everyday Life 04 - Gag 05 - Gilder's Theme 06 - Nervous Crisis 07 - Tragedy 08 - Hatred 09 - Delphinus (Nasrad, Ixa'taka, Valua, Yafutoma, Ice Continent, Temple Island) 10 - Yafutoma Dawn 11 - Eastern Air Pirates 12 - Ice Dungeon 13 - Nervous Crisis 2 14 - Battle 2 15 - Rejoice 16 - Town of Ice 17 - Dimming Lights 18 - Giga's Theme 19 - Bombardment 2 20 - Bombardment Victory 21 - Remote Town 22 - Great Silver Shrine 23 - Ramirez's Theme 24 - Armada Battle 25 - Battle Defeat 26 - Enrique's Theme 27 - Final Dungeon 28 - Zealous 29 - The Final Moment 30 - Final Battle (Opportunity) 31 - Emotional 32 - Legendary Sinking Continent 33 - Epilogue 34 - Credits

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	90 out of 100 (43 reviews)
Metacritic	93 out of 100 (21 reviews)
Review scores
Publication	Score
Edge	8 out of 10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	9.4 out of 10
Famitsu	DC: 33 out of 40 GC: 32 out of 40
Game Informer	DC: 8.5 out of 10 GC: 9 out of 10
GameSpot	9.2 out of 10
IGN	9.2 out of 10
Official Dreamcast Magazine	8 out of 10
Awards Entity Award IGN Editor's Choice Electronic Gaming Monthly Game of the Month IGN Top 100 (2006) 58th best game of all time EGM Top 100 (2001) 80th best game of all time

Skies of Arcadia was well received by most game reviewers. IGN gave the game a 9.2, praising it for its "solid overall visuals, lively and appealing characters, excellent use of camera angles, and some of the coolest mechanical designs for the airships". GameSpot gave the game a 9.2 as well, also praising the visuals, stating that they were "some of the most painstakingly detailed ever seen in a role-playing game". As a whole, GameSpot concluded that the game "lives up [to] the high expectations". Game Informer also listed it as one of the top 10 Dreamcast games. It sold nearly 100,000 copies on the Dreamcast in Japan and 10,000 abroad. Gamecube sales were lower, selling 70,000 copies worldwide. As of 2012 Skies of Arcadia Legends sold 220,000 copies. With 170,000 coming for US, 40,000 in Europe and 10,000 abroad. Combined Sales of both Versions are over 300,000.^{[citation needed]}

One major complaint about the game was the high rate of random encounter-based battles, which made traveling a test of the player's patience. This was fixed to a degree in Legends, the enhanced port for the GameCube. The game was successful enough that it was re-released in Q4 2002 in Japan, which vouched for a similar release in North America on January 27, 2003.

Skies of Arcadia Legends

North American box art

On December 26, 2002, an enhanced port, Skies of Arcadia Legends was released in Japan for the GameCube. It was subsequently released in North America on January 27, 2003, and in Europe on May 23, 2003. Legends features slightly enhanced graphics, shorter loading times and some additional content. The game also includes the Dreamcast's downloadable add-ons, and some new scenes, some of which tell stories of events that happened prior to the game.

Differences

Legends is unable to make use of the Dreamcast's external hardware, such as the VMU, to let players know when many treasures or events were near. For example, in the Dreamcast version the official Sega VMU would start to beep whenever there was a Cham in the area. Cupil would also appear on the VMU screen to guide players to the Cham's exact location. Since the GameCube version has no VMU, Cupil would instead start making a "Pyu!" sound and appear in the corner of the screen as an icon when the player was on top of a Cham. Finally, the rate of random encounters is slightly lower in the GameCube version but experience points earned are higher per battle to make up for this.

There are not many significant graphical differences between the two versions; even the texture level of detail bias remains the same despite the GameCube's more powerful texturing abilities, however, the majority of character models have gained some additional polygon counts, which are especially apparent on most characters' hands, heads, and torsos. In addition, framerate drops that occurred on the Dreamcast while sailing in certain areas or performing certain super moves or magic have also been largely reduced or eliminated. The GameCube makes use of its improved hardware to reduce game saving and loading times as well as battle sequence loading times. Also, the GameCube version does not require the use of a second disc, whereas the Dreamcast version does. However, in order to fit on the single GameCube disc, the music in Legends is lower quality than in the Dreamcast version.

Legends, as well as the original English-language Dreamcast version, has stronger censorship of mature content. All traces of cigarettes are removed, shops serve Loqua juice instead of alcohol, and one female character's attire is altered to be less revealing.

New content

Twenty-four new discoveries are in Legends. These are scattered throughout the game and reduce the difficulty somewhat as they act as a very large source of income for the player. In addition a potential lookout, Domingo, can be recruited earlier. Another alteration between the two versions is the inclusion of Moonfish and a ship flying near Sailor's Island flown by a doctor, Doc, and a young girl named Maria. Maria has a pet bird, which turns out to be a Hamachou. Moonfish, fish which are invisible to the naked eye, are placed throughout the game for the player to collect. When prompted by the distinctive sound Moonfish make, Vyse is able to see Moonfish with a special adjustment to his headgear. When returning these Moonfish to the Doc, Maria's bird begins to grow, and eventually it turns into a fully grown Moon Hamachou and is added to the journal as a Discovery.

Another addition to Legends is Piastol, a woman who hunts air pirates under the nom de guerre "Angel of Death". Piastol is after Vyse because she mistakenly believes that he killed her father, Admiral Mendoza of Valua, seven years before the story began. One night, her father's ship, the Aquila, caught fire. Dyne's Blue Rogues saw the ship aflame and staged a rescue mission to find survivors. However, Piastol thought it was they who set the ship alight and attacked the first person she saw, which was Aika. Aika came unarmed thinking it was a rescue mission, so Vyse defended her from Piastol's throwing knife and received a scar on his cheek which remains to this day. When Mendoza's corpse was found and examined, it turns out it was a sword wound that killed him instead of the fire. From then on Piastol planned to avenge her father's death by hunting down any and all air pirates. It is later revealed that Piastol is Maria's older sister, who was traumatized by the same incident and believed her sister to be dead. Piastol is armed with a scythe and Eterni spells, along with a Deathhound at her side. She has an attack called Tempest Dance, which becomes longer and more deadly each time Vyse and company fight her.

A third major addition to the Legends version is the inclusion of a wanted list, with large bounties to be rewarded when the player defeats any of these foes. While some of the NPCs on the wanted list are present in the original, most of them are entirely new to the GameCube version. As with the new discoveries, the "Wanted List" provides another source of income for the player. The "wanted list boss battles" are markedly more difficult than the rest of the game (including the other boss battles), partly because they level up when the player characters do, meaning that they will be consistently difficult regardless of the player's current level.

Also added were the three secrets which could be unlocked by getting most of the requirements for Vyse the Legend. A new discovery, a new music track for Nasultan and post-attack Nasr, the best set of swords for Vyse, and a murderously hard battle against an old "friend."

External links

• Eternal Arcadia at the Internet Movie Database
• EsoArcadia Unofficial fansite
• Skies of Arcadia World Unofficial fansite
• List of Skies of Arcadia Characters
• Skies of Arcadia, an external wiki

Dreamcast

• Skies of Arcadia at GameFAQs
• Skies of Arcadia at GameSpot
• Skies of Arcadia at MobyGames

GameCube

• Skies of Arcadia Legends at GameFAQs
• Skies of Arcadia Legends at GameSpot
• Skies of Arcadia Legends at MobyGames