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The game of the month for July, 2024 is Skies of Arcadia for the SEGA Dreamcast.
At first glance, this game is a bog standard JRPG with all the standard tropes for a comfortable and familiar experience to those initiated into the genre. An overdesigned, young, enthusiastic male protagonist along with his two pseudo-love interests sail around the skies as sky pirates.
You pick up a few friends along the way, search for treasure and moon themed McGuffins, and unite the world to defeat the evil empire. To be quite honest, much of the story and character writing is forgettable. What will stick with you is the feelings delivered by a world designed around exploration, the moodiness of the music, and the feeling of comfort, satisfaction, and closure you will experience by game's end.
In many ways, this game picks up on some of the design cues that Panzer Dragoon Saga innovated on, but in a much more satisfying and fulfilling way. You have a couple battle systems to manage, one ship based, one character based. The character based system is highly reminiscent of Grandia II with positioning as a strategic element, the action bar serving to add fluidity to the turn based format, and the anime aesthetic with similar style, proportions, and console based restrictions.
Your freedom flying around the world map and finding little hidden areas is not too far removed from The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker. The islands floating in the sparse world invite discovery and exploration. This game survives on mood, vibes, and aesthetic. Here, the world and level design help to sell the emotional high of finding land after too long out at sea. If only the random battles weren't so frequent...
Skies of Arcadia, like many Dreamcast games, had a rerelease on the Gamecube later, Skies of Arcadia Legends. I prefer the Dreamcast release. The game is well worth a couple playthroughs. Just don't forget the DLC content....
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