How does /v/ feel about Skies of Arcadia? Do you think it would have found wider success if it was on PS2 rather than Gamecube?
>>333337189
Seeing how Sega has a thing for creating great IPs and then mismanaging the shit out of them, no. I'm glad it stood as a one thing only marvel.
>>333337189
>PS2
>Being able to handle this game
>>333337189
I actually played it on Dreamcast
>>333337472
Ah, right. I always assume everyone is talking about Legends when they bring up Skies of Arcadia, just since it's more or less the definitive version of the game (aside from shittier audio).
Regardless, seems like the game would have found the audience it needed easier among the PS2 JRPG library.
>>333337440
Why is that?
I just wish I didn't have to pirate it ( no pun intended) since my gc disc shit the bed. Shame, great game otherwise.
>>333338035
How does it work on emulation? I've heard it's kind of a bitch to run smoothly for some reason.
>>333337189
It may have had a larger potential audience on the PS2, but at the same time, its competition on that console could have pushed it to higher levels of obscurity. Being a big fish in a small pond with the Gamecube may have been the best it could have done in the end.
>>333337930
ps2 is arguably less powerful than the dreamcast
Who gives a fuck.
SoA thread.
>>333340169
>Stop talking about SoA in this SoA thread! I'd rather have a SoA thread where we don't discuss the game at all!
Why are you even here?
>>333340292
No, the thread was started as a console bitching thread.
There's zero discussion about the actual game here so far.
>have Skies of Arcadia Legends but it's been in the backlog for a long while, can't remember where or when I got it
>got gifted second sega racing game on steam recently, tried it out just to see if it'd be something I'd be interested in/worth taking up hard drive space and got hooked
>really liked Vyse and Rogue's Landing, favorite track actually
>wanna play SoA:L once I'm done with my current game and I believe I'm over the halfway mark in that
Anything I should know before I get started with SoA:L? I mean like gamebreaking glitches or things that may be easily missed and require a shit load of backtracking if I miss it?
>>333340869
From personal experience: Robinson can be a bitch to find.
>>333340507
>console bitching.
Not really. It's more a discussion about why the game hasn't found more mainstream success, and is mostly confined to a cult classic.
>>333340103
Really? Huh. I knew that PS2 was arguably less powerful than Gamecube, but I didn't realize it was that extreme.
>>333337189
I've been thinking of playing it again on Dolphin, I really enjoyed it back when I played on gamecube. I remember at the end I grinded to really high lvl off the cham things or whatever they were called, I was pretty much invincible.
>>333337189
MOONSTONE CANNON
FIRE
>>333337189
>How does /v/ feel about Skies of Arcadia?
Love it.
>Do you think it would have found wider success if it was on PS2 rather than Gamecube?
Probably not.
>>333338809
It runs fine nowadays. Back when I emulated it there were some problems with the shadows.
>>333340869
That SoA track on Racing transformed was pretty neat, I liked it a lot
>>333340869
>I mean like gamebreaking glitches or things that may be easily missed and require a shit load of backtracking if I miss it?
Chams I guess, lots of exploration points can be easy to miss.
one of the best JRPGs out there
>>333340869
Nothing gamebreaking comes to mind, but you better have a tolerance for JRPG random encounter bullshit. Because the encounter rate can feel excessive when you're just trying to get from point A to point B. Also, I think running often from battles negatively influences an invisible "Swashbuckler" stat? Which... certainly does something, I bet.
There's an item called the White Map that you can get that'll make travel less tedious, at least. Lowers encounter rates.
>>333338809
Different anon. Pretty alright now, still a bit janky due to how it renders some menu stuff. Tinker with the settings enough thought and you'll have it good enough.
3DS Remake when? Please Sega. I will even preorder it if you want.
>>333341362
Once you can fly above the clouds you can avoid most random encounters by traveling up there.
>>333340869
Piastol can be a bitch to beat if you're not properly leveled. Especially if she insta-deaths your main healer, Fina.
Chams. Collect them all, and watch Fina became an absolute BEAST.
Once you can fly in high/low elevations, fly in those elevations to avoid random battles (most of them at that point in already-explored areas will be pointless due to leveling).
Search for ALL the Discoveries. Some will be a BITCH to find (like the butterflies), but it's worth it.
As soon as you can upgrade your ship, do it. EXCEPT: Do NOT use any Captain's Stripes to add health to The Little Jack. It'll make some of the earlier battles a bit harder, but saving them for the Delphinus will give you more wiggle room for the REAL ship battles. Due to this, buy MANY repair kits and keep them in stock.
Keeping Kalifa in your crew will help you get those rare items, the other merchant will help you get items with high resale value after battles.
Once you are able to access the Lands of Ice, there will be an area where you can fight a hoard of Loopers. These creatures offer high exp & other bonuses but, like Dragon Quest Slimes, like to run away. At this point you'll be fast enough to slaughter them. Otherwise if you see loopers in random battles, try to kill them first (early on you'll have to use special moves to do so).
Don't underestimate Torpedoes. They can be used to give your assault that much more of a kick, or to stagger your ship/giant opponent out of their attack, etc.
If you lose a major ship battle (especially early on against the Giants), reload your save. Like Suikoden's Grand Battles, the game uses the same rock-paper-scissors like pattern. Example: During giant battles, you'll be asked if you want to fly low or high to attack. Both may be good choices, but one will be inherently less dangerous. Against certain major ship battles, certain choices will lead you into a trap that will likely kill you unless you have a LOT of Repair Kits (stock them).
there are lots of good rpgs on the ps2 that nobody gave a fuck about
>>333343025
Yeah, the only RPGs on the PS2 anyone gives a shit about are the FF games, or DQ too in moon land.
>>333343168
Totally missed out on the Shadow Hearts series until 2006.
>>333343334
See, I've never even heard of those games until your post. Cause you're the first person I've seen mention them.
>>333343025
Because they were either overshadowed or stuck in Jap.
>>333342895
>During giant battles, you'll be asked if you want to fly low or high to attack. Both may be good choices, but one will be inherently less dangerous.
Is the correct choice randomized, or are you able to consistently figure out the best strategy when facing those decisions?
Also, super helpful post. Thanks!
>>333340925
>>333341121
>>333341362
>>333342068
>>333342895
I'll try to keep that in mind. Thanks.
>>333343456
Likely because the PS2 is retro now, and /v/ doesn't talk about games that much anymore.
Check them out. The first game is rather dated, but fun as fuck if you ask me. The second game is one of the top 5 best JRPG's on the PS2. The third game was okay, but it couldn't keep-up with the absolute perfection of the second title (Covenant).
I just wish Grandia III wasn't such a letdown. Great graphics, but the characters were bland, the dungeons were just plain too long, little in the way of the trademark humor of the first two titles, and the overall 'Love Conquers All' theme was really...grating.
>>333343568
Consistent.
>>333340958
It's not as much as this person would have you believe either. I think the main thing dreamcast had going for it would be pretty much every single DC game featured 4X antialiasing.
A PS2 would have absolutely no problem playing SoA lol, even for the time it came out. It would've had way better load times too.
>>333340103
No it wasn't, it was just a bitch to work with vs Dreamcast. Gamecube was more powerful than both though.
>>333338809
runs great
>people expected Skies of Arcadia on DS
>instead they got pretty much the only Far East of Eden game to be officially released in english, except by another name
>>333337189
No, if anything being on the Dreamcast and Gamecube probably helped it stand out more. Lots of good JRPG games on PS2 have been completely overlooked.
Sure it probably would have sold more.
>>333344735
>Instead they got pretty much the only Far East of Eden game to be officially released in english, except by another name
Was it good? I always heard good word about that series.
>>333344903
It was okay. English version had some retarded bugs.
>>333343456
If you're not familiar with the Shadow Hearts titles but love JRPG's, then also check out:
Okage: Shadow King - It's an early PS2 RPG but the quirky humor is actually good
Radiata Stories - Made by the same people behind Valkyrie Profile (Tri-Ace). An absolutely HUGE game that starts a bit slow but is seriously good.
Rogue Galaxy - Made by the folks behind Dark Cloud 2 (Level 5). Game is fucking huge, really rips off Star Wars in lots of ways, and damn if it isn't good.
Wild ARMs Alter Code: F/3/5 - Skip 4, it's trash. Alter Code is a remake of the first game and is absolutely fantastic (with some iffy localization especially in the last few hours of gameplay), 3 has some of the best combat in the series (and a similar ship battle thing as SoA...just not NEARLY as good), and 5 is pretty much what one would call a Love Letter to the fans.
Magna Carta - The battle system takes some getting used to (fuck, the game is fundamentally flawed), but it had an interesting story if you can handle it
Suikoden - 'Nuff said. Seriously. Okay, 3 repeats itself a lot, 4 can be fully beaten in under 25 hours, and V starts slowly, but they're all Quality titles.
Summoner 1 & 2 - They're in my backlog, so I can't comment other than say that others liked these two titles.
Atelier Iris 1-3, Mana Khemia 1 & 2, Ar Tonelico 1 & 2 - If you like NIS games, you'll like these. Ar Tonelico 2 has a nasty overstack bug that'll freeze your game that was added by the inept idiots at NISA, but there's a gameshark/codebreaker code that's 1 line long that fixes it.
Tales of Legendia & Abyss - I'm not THAT Legendia fan...I'm the 2nd one no-one seems to realize exists. Yes, there are two of us. Both games are REALLY good.
>>333337189
>Do you think it would have found wider success if it was on PS2 rather than Gamecube?
Maybe. The PlayStations were more well known as JRPG centrals back then compared to Nintendo and Microsoft, so I think it would have had more success, although probably not on a very significant value. PS2 still had a good amount of other JRPGs it had to compete with, and Sega has always been pretty bad with marketing, especially for their niche games like SoA.
>>333337189
Possibly. The PS2 had a larger install base, but it also had a LOT more games of SoA:L to get lost in.
I'm not sure how many copies were actually made, vgchartz seems to indicate it was 170,000 in North America (which is a good size for a JRPG in America in those days), but it didn't seem large enough. Ar Tonelico sold 40,000 units per vgchartz.
Either way, it probably did as good as it could.
>>333345126
Legendia has the GOAT soundtrack. I need to go back and beat it someday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyO1oXuz8zM&list=PL9950ED48533311AA&index=7
How about we just make this a 6th gen JRPG thread?
>>333337189
This game still remains in my top 10. The demo blew me away as a kid and I finally found a disc to beat the game 2 years ago.
There's something to be said about charming characters experiencing a relatively straightforward story. I feel that the characterizations in other jrpgs tend to be more abstract to create a sense of depth, but if the plot is convoluted AND the characters aren't relatable, then there is no affinity carrying the player forward.
>>333337189
Fuck Sega for not putting characters from this game in Project X Zone. What a wasted opportunity.
>>333347979
There's always PXZ 3, which I heard they're already starting on.
But yeah, they're a total no-brainer to add but they never do. Toss in enemies like Vigoro, Ramirez, Galcian, and these three...
>>333337189
>How does /v/ feel about Skies of Arcadia?
Great game with an amazing ost. I keep dreaming one day we'll actually see a sequel but knowing modern day Sega they would fuck it up some how or make it a web browser game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an3P8otlD2A
>>333340103
wrong
the only thing worse about ps2 than dc was its lack of vram, which devs would later find a work around by just loading it all into ram instead
>>333345126
Suikoden 3 is one of my favorite all time rpgs. It's one of the few 3d ps2 games that doesn't feel all that dated.
>>333340103
PS2 was hard to work with and had anti-aliasing problems up the ass. On CRTs this wasn't a huge deal but it's really obvious nowadays.
I played it on the Gamecube and enjoyed it. Thought the ship battles were a neat change of pace. It'd be cool if it ended up on the VC, since my disc was stolen years ago.
>>333349652
Who plays their PS2 on a CRT? The only systems I hook-up to those are pre-5th generation (except the N64 - THAT looks like ass on an LCD/Plasma with S-Video).
Hell, even my Saturn & Playstation rock with S-Video on my older LCD.
PS2 could've easily handled Skies, the textures in that game aren't very detailed so it shouldn't have any problems.
Unlike something like Shenmue II where the graphics were amazing for 2001.
>>333350508
Know who it was? I'd gleefully kill them for you.
Played both GC and DC version, plus several times on Dolphin in addition to that. I've beaten the game 110%. Ask me anything.Red Gigas best girl
>>333350791
Why can't Sega do anything right?
>>333345126
There are better fixes for the Ar tonelico 2 problems than the code fix, such as the undub and the relocalization. And the bug isn't caused due to an overstack problem, but because these imbeciles literally zeroed out the entirety of a skill's code.
Dreamcast version is better. The music quality on the Cube sounds like complete ass.
>>333350564
>Who plays their PS2 on a CRT?
people who owned the system back when it was released.like me
>>333350993
The code works best if you're playing on an actual PS2 with the actual disc though.
And it's not just that one skill, the game crashes during normal battles as well due to an overstack issue. The code eliminates the crashes due to the random battle issues AND that particular boss battle.
>>333351016
Your opinion has been taken aboard, and will be promptly thrown overboard as soon as we leave shore. The GC version, while having lesser-quality audio, has so much extra that it MORE than makes up for that single deficit.
Plus you can still get Fina's final weapon since the SEGA net is down now and no-one uses 56k (yes, I'm talking about playing on the actual system).
>>333350871
Shenmue sucked and you know it.
>>333351016
That really annoyed me. When I played it for the first time I thought my TV's sound was fucked up but apparently the GC version just has bad audio quality. It's a shame because the OST for this game is amazing.
>>333351382
>Kingdom of Ixa'taka theme
>Put DC version in a CD player
>mfw
>>333351839
Panzer Dragoon Saga does this too.
Does anyone know any patches/cheats that lowers the encounter rate+increases EXP in the Dreamcast version, or gives the GC version Dreamcast audio quality?
>>333337189
I never cared for this game. It felt cookie cutter basic got to the end and never beat it. Really should I dumped 45 hours into it expecting it would pick up.
>>333352372
If the thought of AIRSHIP BATTLES doesn't arouse you then don't play it.
C'MON
DANCE FOR ME
>>333351776
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSDerbubUxw
Sup faggot, hope you don't have plans for the rest of the day so you can watch my long ass animations.
>>333352746
SWORD OF THE DARK MOON
>>333352591
>>333351776
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FghI7cRokJc
>playing racing transformed
>get the star or playing rogues landing
Oh god is this nostalgia?
no wonder nintendo makes so much money.
