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I snagged up skies of arcadia for my dreamcast awhile ago after reading about how its an original and non-cliche RPG. Very true. I was very pleased by the vibrant colours, and lack of 'emo' characters. As I got further and further into this game, something kept me from getting right into it. Which is when i realized, "god damn this game really is totally cliche." Not in it being a cliche game, but the fact that it is a childrens anime show. From the overly cheery girls that keep on nagging upset characters, right down to the power of friendship being what keeps everyone fighting to the end.

Has anybody else picked up on this? or do i just spend too much time watching tv with my little sister?

I never minded any of it. The characters are interesting and entertaining, but definitely not the best out there. They have their moments, but they can't compare with the cast of a game like KOTOR. My main complaint was the ship battles were too slow and didn't offer you enough actual control.

No, the points you mention are true. Especially the cheeriness and power of friendship thing. Maybe like a more mature version of the Pokemon cartoons or something? The protagonists are ridiculously optimistic and naive. It's nicely done though so I don't mind. I'm about thirteen hours in now and very much enjoying it.

My three year old daughter loves watching me play so maybe that tells you something. Her favorite parts are after the battles when they say stuff like," That was fun!"

My complaint isn't with the kid-friendliness or the cliched find all the pieces of so-and-so to save the world story, it's with those relentless random monster battles! Sometimes it feels like you can barely take two steps without having to fight again.

I find that most j-rpg's are cliche. But in the case of skies I find the gameplay system to be simple,
but just different enough to be enjoyable.

I've been considering buying this game. Would you guys recommend the one for the Dreamcast of the Gamecube? Both have received generally favorable reviews, so I'm not really sure which way to go.

(Sorry to hijack this thread...)

glynnahab wrote:I've been considering buying this game. Would you guys recommend the one for the Dreamcast of the Gamecube? Both have received generally favorable reviews, so I'm not really sure which way to go.

(Sorry to hijack this thread...)

Gamecube is better in every way except the music quality is somehow worse, and it's missing the VMU game, obviously.

RemyC wrote:From the overly cheery girls that keep on nagging upset characters, right down to the power of friendship being what keeps everyone fighting to the end.

Thanks. I have never played Skies of Arcadia but was always sorta intending to get around to it. But not after reading that; that annoys the hell out of me.

While we're dashing all my hopes for games I haven't gotten around to yet, is Panzer Dragoon Saga anything like that?

No, it's nothing like Arcadia. I mean, you don't have a party, just you. You're kind of a loner. You and your dragon. The game almost feels a little anti-social at times.

I actually considered SOA not cliche, simply because of how faithful it was to the whole pirate/explorer theme. I thought that made the game unique. I mean finding discoveries on the map, having a reputation as a pirate to keep track of, bounty hunting, ship battles, discovering strange, never before seen creatures, there's just so many ways the game stays true to its theme it impressed me. At the time, I don't think there were many, if any japanese rpgs with a similar theme. It's unfortunate when one plays a game and can't appreciate what it was for its time, but that's just how it is sometimes.

I actually never felt that SOA came across as a kids game. To me, a game like Tales of Symphonia is a kid's game. I never found SOA so silly that I couldn't take it seriously as an adult. I mean there's a way to do a kid friendly game that can appeal to adults too. Psychonauts and the Sly Cooper games both pulled this off well. Though, it might have helped SOA seem less kiddy if the American version wasn't censored. References to smoking, drinking and a scene implying an attempted rape were all changed I believe. You can read about that here:

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ ... rcadia.htm

I played the GC version. I hear people talk about the music not being as good. Having nothing to compare it to, I actually really enjoyed the soundtrack

I think it is a pretty cliche game - but a good one at that! Dragon Quest is also cliche, but its the best jrpg series! Skies of Arcadia's strong points are it's world map, characters, and tone. If you don't click with it I'm not sure the combat will hold you. Give it a chance though, it grew on me.