Combining the fairly popular pirate theme with a sci-fi/exploration theme, this Dreamcast remake has something for everyone. This gamer, however, found one of the best RPGs ever created. Read on to find out why.

Although a DC game, Skies didn’t really age a lot for the GC generation. It doesn’t show the polish that Metroid might have, or the shiny beauty of Pikmin, but it has really nice graphics, and slightly reminds me of the older RPGs on the SNES, even if they’re 3D. The best part, however, is the overworld, it’s very expansive, and each of the small islands can be seen from far away. The enemies are likewise nice, as they’re aren’t many rehashes, unlike other popular games. The audio is nice as well, but the soundtrack is somewhat forgetful, and the game would have been improved if they would have removed the occasional voice acting, as there’s so little, and it doesn’t really fit in with the game. The victory speels in battle are nice, however.

When you’re walking around, the game is very traditional (there are a few additions, but nothing that will blow your mind). There’s random battles in a traditional battle system (once again, a few additions, but nothing that will take too long to learn), treasure chests, and at the end of each dungeon, a boss battle. However, when you’re in your ship, it’s a totally different thing. There’s Discoveries to be found, many islands to be explored, and at the end game an upper sky and lower sky with even more to see. This also brings us to a very interesting aspect of the game: ship battles. They, like the random battles, are turn based. You might think “Turn based, that’s stupid!”, however, the battles are very great, and are much too complex to explain in one paragraph. To sum it all up, you’ve got a great traditional game with an extra, very unique side to it.

I played the game for a little less than 40 hours, which is a good length for an RPG. There is also a huge amount of sidequests (most of which I did, and I really enjoyed), but some where only for a hardcore gamer (beating a total of 2,500 enemies, for instance). Replay value is pretty high, as you might want to speed run the game, or do all the sidequests, etc. Not to mention that the story and characters are excellent.

If you’re doubting getting this game: don’t. SoA:L is one of the best games I have ever played and definitely the best RPG. Get it now!