Skies of Arcadia Legends

Arr, arr, and arr again! Sega has returned for more piratey action, and the GameCube's walkin' the plank tonight!

When Nintendo unveiled the GameCube in 2001, it touted the system's lovely graphics, convenient carrying handle, and abundance of games with walking plants in them. What Nintendo didn't mention was the Sega RPG time-warp engine it tucked inside?nearly every role-player released on the ?Cube has been a Dreamcast port of some kind. Not that this is bad. No, not when overlooked classics like Skies of Arcadia get another shot at the big time.

Buckle Those Swashes
Skies of Arcadia Legends is the same game as the Dreamcast original with a few gameplay tweaks and a lot of extra story content. Like before, you play as air pirate Vyse as his merry crew fights the Valuan Empire; this time, though, you'll get more background story on most of your party members. There's a gallery full of rogue pirates you can hunt down for cash, plus Sega has thrown in a couple of extra collection quests for variety, too.

Although Overworks tweaked the battle system for this GameCube port, fighting is still the weakest point of the game. The weapon system (you can switch your weapon's elemental alignment at any time) is innovative, but the play balance is knackered?once you learn a couple of good special moves, you'll find yourself using them again and again and again to kill everything in one hit. After 20 hours of this, battles end up becoming a blur of command inputs and skipped cut-scenes. Strategy, schmategy!

Batten Down the Mizzenpoop
But there's no need to harp on the battles too much?they're the only blemish on what's otherwise the Dreamcast's (and now GameCube's) best RPG. The graphics are dated but effective, and the musician was obviously overdosing on 1930s adventure serials when composing the over-the-top score. The story, though, is the best part?Vyse and crew are the most extroverted RPG heroes ever, and there's none of that Final Fantasy?style self-abhorrence present. Get over the battles, and you'll find Skies dangerously playable.

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