The Skies Of Arcadia (/ Eternal Arcadia) Page

Genre: RPG. (Turn based.)
(Dreamcast users viewing this page on your console: Check your VMS for extra stuff.)
• You can see a fan art picture of Fina & Cupil that I did here, the Moon Crystals here and one of Gilder here. Plus I have more fan art for the game in my gallery there too, if you wanna peek.
• Please have a read of my fan story as well if you’ve played through the game.

(This page may contain quite a bit of the game in later stages, so if you haven’t got very far, then come back later if you don’t want to see any spoilers! Yeah, and I know it’s rather messy too, but bare with me here.)

“The age of exploration has dawned upon the world of Arcadia. Brave adventurers set sail across the vast skies in search of treasures untold. And, where there is treasure, there will be Air Pirates…”
Skies Of Arcadia is one of the greatest RPGs there is, and it’s probably my favourite game of all time. The game was created by Sega’s Overworks division, who’s members have worked on many Sega related games in the past. Overworks started in 1996 and is directed by Noriyoshi Ohba. I got my copy on the 30th of August, 2001, along with Sega Extreme Sports for free.
Skies Of Arcadia takes you to a world of floating islands, where ships fly the skies. The Blue Rogues, Vyse and Aika are the 2 main characters in the game to begin with, and throughout the game they embark on many amazing journeys to far away places, where you’ll encounter various monsters and other baddies, and a certain Silvite named Fina.
Fina is in search of some pretty powerful crystals, known as Moon Crystals. She’s been sent on a mission to collect all of these from around the world of Arcadia. There’s one from each of the 6 moons, Green, Red, Purple, Blue, Yellow and Silver. Although the quest to collect these isn’t easy. The Valuans also have their eye on these Moon Crystals and Fina’s knowledge of them, and in amongst having to take out monsters and sentinels in various locations, you must also take on the Valuan Armada. The Valuans are seeking supreme power, and with the Moon Crystals, they wish to re-awaken the Gigas, massive living beings from the Old World, which have the power to destroy whole islands. There are 6 Gigas (Recumen, Grendel, Bluheim, Plergoth, Yeligar & Zelos) as there are 6 moons. The moons have also been used in the past to bring down the Rains Of Destruction, something that Fina hopes to prevent from happening again. She too knows the power of the Gigas, but is there something that she doesn’t know? Something her once best friend Ramirez knows?
You’ll meet up with some pretty interesting characters as you play, and 3 in particular, come to join your crew. The 1st of these is Drachma, who is an old man, hunting down a huge arcwhale. 2ndly is Gilder, a right legend if you ask me! He’s a cool guy with a pistol, and a love for the good life. 3rdly is Enrique, Prince of Valua, the son of Empress Teodora. He doesn’t agree with her and the Armada’s ways, and he decides to humbly join Vyse, Aika & Fina. Plus he let’s you use his awesome ship, the Delphinus! Oh yeah! This ship is Valua’s top of the line model, and with some decent cannons and torpedos, you’ll be blowing small ships out of the sky with 1 or 2 hits.
Battles occur in 2 distinct ways, either taking on enemies with your ship, or with hand to hand style combat. In a ship battle you must organise on a grid the firing order of cannons and the like, and who does what. You’ll need to heal your ship if it takes on too much damage, and focus up your all important Spirit Points, in order to fire cannons, perform magic and fire your special weapon. In the the hand to hand style combat, you take on various nasty monsters and other baddies with an amazing array of MoonStone enhanced weapons. Vyse uses cutlasses, Aika uses boomerangs and Fina uses her Silver buddy, Cupil, a Silvite creature that can morph into various shapes. Drachma busts some skulls with his artificial arm, Enrique uses his flashy rapier, and Gilder blows the nasties away with his pistol.
The magic you learn in the game is based on what colour MoonStones you use in your weapons. The more you use red for example, the more of the red magic you can use. Certain MoonStones react differently to others, so you can inflict more damage on your enemies if you use a colour that works against their colour. Purple for instance, does a lot more damage to red coloured enemies than anything else.
Each character has several special moves also, which you can learn by eating Moonberries, a type of fruit.

Spells Table:

Green:
Red:
Purple:
Blue:
Yellow:
Silver:
Sacri
Pyri
Crystali
Wevli
Electri
Curia
Sacres
Pyres
Crystales
Wevles
Electres
Risan
Sacrum
Pyrum
Crystalum
Wevlum
Electrum
Riselem
Sacrulen
Pyrulen
Crystalen
Wevlen
Electrulen
Eterni
Noxi Increm Sylenis Quika Driln Eternes
Noxus
Incremus
Panika
Slipara
Drilnos
Eternum

The green magic in the game is related to nature and the like. The red is related to fire, purple is related to ice, blue, the wind & water, yellow electricity, and silver has the power to bring or end life.
During the game, you’ll encounter a treasure hunter named Zivilyn Bane, who finds some very expensive items. Generally he pops up when you open a treasure chest and he can be tricky towards the start of the game if you’re not prepared. You’ll take him on in quite a few places too, but the rewards are worth it. Here are most, if not all the items you’ll get from him, and their values in gold:

Item:
Found Where:
Value:
Rune Of Ill Omen
Pyrynn
1 000
Golden Mask
Rixis
2 000
Soul Crystal
Daccat’s Island
3 000
Unholy Dagger
Grand Fortress
4 000
Chalice Of Blood
The Dark Rift
5 000
Windsong Orb
Mount Kazai
6 000
Winter Orb
Glacia
7 000
Orb Of Serenity
Soltis
10 000

The Delphinus 

The correct strategy is always the key to doing successful battles. Especially the 1st time you play. Observe which enemies use magic against you, and others which maybe deceivingly strong. 2 nasty characters you’ll run into are Jao & Mao, the Tenkou twins from Yafutoma, who threaten to kill you, unless you hand over your weapons. You have the choice of course, but the best option is to keep them, and take them down, naturally! Their special attacks come in the form of Irnagun and Tatatimorutto, which can be quite potent if you’re not ready for them. Using Vyse’s Pirate’s Wrath and Increm is one of the best options to take them out quick smart, and Enrique’s Justice Shield will cut back on the damage by any of their attacks. The same applies for all grunty foes, like Zivilyn Bane for instance. Use your strong party members to attack, such as Vyse, and not so strong members, like Fina to do all the healie pealie stuff.
The gameplay is outstanding all round, with 36 different types of magic to use, a massive range of weapon choices and the variety of monsters and creatures, makes this all add up to a very interesting experience everytime you play. If you have access to the Internet on your Dreamcast you can even download extra weapons (Swirlmerang, & Tuna Cutlass) plus a new island and baddie battle. There was a CD “image” available of Dreamcast game saves, that had the ones for S.O.A., but it seems to have gone. But if you’re interested, I may be able to send it to you by e-mail. It’s 8.38 MB.
If you’ve got 83 blocks free on ya VMS, get a couple of CR-2032 batteries, and get playing on Pinta Quest! Once you meet Pinta at Sailor’s Island for the 1st time, you can play the mini game on your VMS, which pulls in all sorts of cool stuff to help you on your way, like crystals, boxes, and plenty of gold! Also there are 3 exclusive items to the Pinta Quest — rare items that Pinta is searching for. These are the Pharax Idol, Magillex Idol and the Euconyx Idol, which are all rather expensive. The events in the game include dodging rocks in high winds, pushing against headwinds, fighting Black Pirates, trading with merchant ships and simply collecting items as you go by, that pop up from time to time. You can also set what parts of the map to explore.
Graphically, Skies Of Arcadia is excellent, with impressively detailed environments, monsters and some jawdropping special effects, especially on the magic. One effect of particular note is in the battle with Ramirez and Zelos, in which he turns completely transparent, yet he refracts the background, like glass. Wow! Rhaknam’s tear drops kinda look a bit like that too, but I’m not sure if they actually are.
The music is also of particular note in this awesome game, with some great tunes that really set the mood for each area. Plus it’s available on CD! (See further down the page.)
Also, in case you didn’t know, Sega have released “Skies Of Arcadia Legends” for the GameCube. This version features pretty much the same graphics, apart from a few more character polygons on occasions, extra characters & modifications to the story. If you’ve been silly & not lapped up the Dreamcast version, which I may add has been out for over 15 years or so, then you can make your amends by getting it for the GameCube. (If you can find a copy anywhere.) Owners of the original may want to think carefully about forking out dosh for the same game again, as not only does it have added extras, but it has had parts removed also. One main example being the VMS Pinta Quest game. Some of the textures are a bit sus in the GameCube version also, in comparison, and so is the music and several sound effects, just so ya know.

Graphics: Superb. They’ve pretty much used every trick in the book on this Skies Of Arcadia — fog, coloured lighting, motion blurs, particle effects, and even a couple of effects you don’t usually see on Dreamcast titles, such as the refraction dealie with Ramirez and that “full scene glow” effect or whatever it’s called. There’s even some interesting streaky effects when the Great Silver Shrine explodes, and when Vyse is on the Deserted Island, there’s some pretty yummy looking rain that pours down outside, and that also drips nice and slowly off the cave entrance. The magic & special moves make great use of numerous colourful transparencies and particles also. Texture quality in some areas is fantastic, such as in the Temple Of Pyrynn, Mt. Kazai, Glacia and Horteka. Make sure you check out the awesome size of the Grand Fortress Gate and the Temple Of Pyrynn! 98%
Animation: Unlike a lot of Dreamcast games, which feature a 60Hz mode, Skies Of Arcadia has none. Still, it runs very smoothly not much in the way of slow down. Bringing the Delphinus through Ixa’taka can slow things up, although the frame rate doesn’t appear to actually drop off.
The bits where the characters keep fighting in the background when someone else is attacking is a great touch, and stuff like flowing water, leaves blowing past and the butterflies that appear here and there, give an added realism that brings it to life. 97%
Sound: Top sound all over. Awesome music that’s very pleasing to listen to, and when you’re up in the air, it changes to match the area you’re in as you fly! Excellent sounds for weapons, ships and even footsteps. It’s all there. Could’ve done with a bit more speech, but it’s no worse the game for the lack of it. 96%
Playability: Easy to get into and to understand. Smooth animation along with a good control system will have you playing this with ease. 97%
Lastability: With bunches of discoveries to make, truckloads of places to visit and the epic storyline will have you stuck to your chair for hours. You can easily pass ¼ of a day playing this! Plus it will literally take you more than 2 full days to complete! Unless you’re like ultra fast at it or something. I spent almost 2 months playing this on and off, and now I’ve started it again (and a 5th time [& 6th])! 98%
Overall: An amazing achievement from Overworks & Sega. Truly spectacular in all departments. Originality for the flying ships gives this extra points too.
This is more than a game, this is an epic jouney that will unfold before your very eyes - an adventure you virtually live. This has to be one of my most fave games of all time. That said though, you must experience what this game has to offer. It’s a masterpiece you’ll never forget! Perfect! A big 99%

(18th of Sept’ 2002) Hooray! My OST for SOA arrived from Japan! Look out for the rare Eternal Arcadia sound track CDs! These 2 CDs are very sweet! Jam packed with the game’s music, featuring 67 tracks.
(There are 5 tunes that I noticed missing from the CDs which are Clara’s theme music, De Loco’s choon, the Dark Rift music, the tune for when you get the Blue Moon Crystal and the music for Nasrad when it’s destroyed.)

Here’s a growing list of most of the game’s enemies:

Ferratus, Praeses, Flestik, Latro, Looper, Elooper, Loopalon, Yulooper, Golooper, Arclooper, Elcian, Pinalisk, Scarabée, Ballista Rostram, Bleigock, Carcer, Scorfly, Marocca, Burocca, Azbeth, Lurker, Kanezl, Medulizk, Kilite, Valgand, Zivilyn Bane, Langry, Magma Tiki, Deatth, Oestrus, Salamander, Rokwyrm, Thorkryn, Grouder, Ghastling, Graver, Varkris, Tsorok, Serpantis, Fossor, Digger, Lucich, Roseln, Que’lak, Totelm, Ferlith, Polraxis, Furiosus, Rik’talish, Razorbeak, Jynnus, Enforca, Scorpon, Thryllak, Baroo, Walrenk, Feralisk, Centrallk, Sinistra, Destra, Grapor, Custodiae, Dralkor Lacus, Tsirat, Tsurak, Imezl, Florast, Delzool, Fiendo, Flyst, Ghrost, Jellikra, Jao & Mao, Crylbeast, Sphyrus, Slithar, Mantoid, Alusphere, Tortigar, Tenkou, Mereo, Red Praeses, Muraji, Drogerp, Iridzu, Alania, Anguila, Gelu Vermis, Dolthstra, Slothstra, Cerosik, Veltarn, Dementis, Crylhound, Basallish, Dralnog, Roc, Obispo, Monstrum, Nairad, Nadnarb, Dracolurg, Shrilp, Carnilak, Praeses Elite, Lurgel Tank, Berserker, Raja, Umbra, Eliminator, Marauder, Sorcerer, Assassinata, Hydra, Defensor, Dracoslyth, Hopril, Delvax, Hunta, Dorntak, Telsor, Garagor, Custos, Sceptum Praeses, Sentree, Susceptor, Linark…

Ships:

Name Of Ship:
Who’s Ship:
|
Ships You Get To Fly:
The Albatross (II)
Dyne
|
The Albatross
The Primrose
Clara
|
The little ship that goes to Shrine Island. (The Albatross’ lifeboat?)
The Claudia
Gilder
|
The Little Jack
The Iron Clad
Centime
|
Bellena’s ship
The Blackbeard (II)
Baltor
|
The Claudia
The Cygnus
Alfonso
|
The Claudia’s lifeboat
The Serpent
Galcian
|
Aika & Fina’s ship
The Hydra (Valuan Sky Fortress)
Galcian
|
The Delphinus
The Delphinus
Enrique
   
The Bloodlust
Gordo
   
The Auriga
Gregorio
   
The Lynx
Belleza
   
The Chameleon
De Loco
   
The Draco
Vigoro
   
The Little Jack
Drachma
   
The Yin Yang
Jao & Mao
   
The Monoceros
Ramirez
   


Admirals:

1st
Alfonso
2nd
Gregorio
3rd
Vigoro
4th
Belleza
5th
De Loco

Discoveries:

Alupas
Ancient Fish
Ancient Palace
Aurora
Balloon Flower
Beak Rock
Black Moon Stone
Blimp Wreck
Bottomless Pit
Dancing Lights
Dheerse
Eclipse Point
Flutterflies
Flying Machine
Garpa Fruits
Gates Of Rixis
Giant Squid Nest
Golden Man
Grieving Prince
Guardian Walls
Guidestones
Icebird
Inverse Isle
Iron Star
Ixa’ness Village
Ixa’taka
Ixa’takan Palace
Lighthouse Ruins
Loopers’ Nest
Moon Stone Lake
Mysterious Rings
Mystic Orchard
Oasis
Observatory
Philosophy Stone
Pirate’s Grave
Rabbats
Rainbow Island
Roc’s Nest
Ruins Of Rolana
Sandfalls
Ship Graveyard
Silver Moon Pit
Skull Rock
Sky Anemone
Sky Coral
Southern Cross
Spice Island
Stone City
Temple Of Pyrynn
The Frozen Giant
The Ghost Ship
The Giant Throne
The Great Bird
The Lands Of Ice
The Mother Tree
Topple Rock
Uguisu’s Nest
Valuan Wreckage
Wanderbirds
Wandering Lake
Will o’ Wisps
World Is Round
Yafutoma

More Screen Shots!

Yummy Fina & the yummy Blue Moon Crystal
Aika, Fina & Vyse
Nasrad
Nasrad
Vyse on the Deserted Island
Fighting on the train
Moon Crystals in the meeting room
Aika & Fina on Clara’s ship
The red Moon Crystal
Rixis Entrance
Clara
De Loco
Fina snuggling up with Vyse. Aww.
Ramirez / Zelos refracting stuff
Fina and Cupil’s new outfits.

Interesting Bits:
• The various Valuan ships in the game appear to have some relation to star constellations. The Delphinus, (also a dolphin, which is mentioned by Fina anyhow,) The Auriga, The Draco, The Monoceros and The Cygnus, are just some of the ships which have relevance to constellations.
• Arcadia in the dictionary is described
as a mountainous district in ancient Greece, with a simple and innocentness about it’s people, which leads onto the next point:
• Aika’s moves, the Alpha Storm, Lambda Burst, Delta Shield, Epsilon Mirror and Omega Psyclone all start with Greek letters.

• The Red Magic, Pyri, is a close relation to the word pyr in Greek, which means fire.
• Zelos in Greek, means zeal, meaning enthusiastic diligence, or devotion.
• Ixa’taka it would seem, was originally going to be called Montezuma.
• (13 Jan’ 2020:) The loquat berry used to make the drink, loqua, in the game, is actually a real plant.
• To the east of Cairo (in Egypt of course,) is a place called Nasr City. So perhaps this inspired the in-game land of Nasr.

John’s Tippy Tips:

• Before you take on Belleza, you may have noticed that it’s tricky to get your hands on some Repair Kits from the Ship Parts Merchants. The fella at Sailor’s Island is outta stock before you go to Valua, the guy in Valua isn’t there at all, and in Maramba, the dude won’t sell to you without a ship seeing as Drachma sods off on you. So, just before you set sail for Maramba, after you’ve returned home from Valua, head back to Sailor’s Island and try the shop again. This way it makes it easier when you face off with Belleza to have some Repair Kits handy. It’s also a good time to make the Topple Rock, Sky Coral and Silver Moon Pit discoveries, which you can report in Maramba. Then, when you head off on Bellena’s Ship, you can also make the Oasis, Wandering Lake and Sandfalls discoveries, as well as the Temple Of Pyrynn of course.
• When Vyse is deserted on Crescent Island for the 1st time, it’s a good idea not to open the chest in the cave near Gonzales’ diary and his bed. When you fly up to Daccat’s Island with Fina and Aika, call in there to Crescent Island and open the chest with Aika instead. There’s something like 1827 gold in there, and seeing as the girls don’t have any money, you can use this if you fly back to Nasrad to get supplies before heading into Daccat’s Island. The other chest there contains a Moonberry, so it’s up to you who needs it the most, seeing as the inventory is split between the 2 parties at this stage.
• It’s a good idea to learn Vyse’s Pirates Wrath move before you take on Sinistra and Destra in Daccat’s Island, because using that with Increm, you can take them out with only one move each, which is very efficient. If this isn’t the case for you, try to concentrate on only one of them 1stly, because they work as a team with the Death Waltz move, and it can be quite nasty.
• Save up the majority of your Captain’s Stripes for the Delphinus. When it comes to the final battle with Zelos, it isn’t a bad idea to have a bit more health on your ship, so only use about 2 when you have the Little Jack.
• If you’ve flown directly from Nasr to Ixa’taka for the 1st time that you cross South Ocean, it will be some time before you get to the Sailor’s Guild again to report discoveries. Instead, look out for the Black Market ship where you can sell off what you’ve found and also buy other interesting items.
• When you’re in MoonStone Mountain, don’t forget to return to the start after you’ve rescued Centime to go to the 1st lift you come across that
’s initially inactive. This will lead you to a Moonberry.
• When you’re in the catacombs under Valua, in the Maw Of Tartas, be sure to check out the yellow crystally bits sticking up for extra items. When you 1st enter the place, you’ll come to an intersection. Head to the right 1st, and you’ll score yourself a Dexus Seed. Then, turn around and head straight ahead, and when you fly into the left direction of the intersection, you’ll reach another junction type area. Go left here to get a Moonberry, then turn around, and keep to the left hand side, and you’ll fly into the right path which will take you to Yeligar.
• When you’re in the Claudia, head passed Nasrad, and follow the Dark Rift south. You’ll eventually find the Ruins Of Rolana on a flat piece of land from Nasr on the west side.
• If you’re looking for the Eclipse Point discovery, keep just above the clouds and look for an area that suddenly goes a bit dark, just to the east of the stone reef.
• When you get the Delphinus, head straight to Sailor’s Island to get Polly on your crew. That way she’ll recognise Robinson when you head into the Dark Rift. He can be found by going through the other vortex thingie which is on the same side as you, when you enter the zone with the Black Moon Stones.
• While you’re down in the Vortex looking for Fina’s ship, grab the 2 pieces of Velorium also to save yourself from having to go back down there again later.
• After you find out that you need 100 000 gold to give to Brabham and Izmael, head up north from Crescent Isle as far as the corner of the sky rift. Head west a little bit, and fly around there until you find the Balloon Flower discovery. It should pay over 8000 gold. You should also then fly over to the east coast of Valua to find the Skull Rock dealie and then to the north (of Valua) for the Philosophy Stone and Stone City too. The Kanezls that you fight on deck should pay out some good dosh too while you’re in the area. If you’re lucky, you’ll pick up the Golden Pollen also, which is worth 5000 gold.
• What are the 3 downloadable extras? Not really a tip, but for those of you who haven’t been able to connect your Dreamcast to the Internet, here they are:
2 new weapons — the Swirlmerang for Aika which always confuses enemies and looks like a Dreamcast logo on a giant lollipop, and the Tuna Cutlass for Vyse, which looks like a large fish and does a nice bit of damage, but doesn’t hit very well. Only available from the Mystery Merchant.
A new island — this place is called Hamachou Island and is directly above the Dark Rift. It’s filled with Hamachou birds, and a peculiar old man who’s dressed as one. He tells you certain game stats, such as how many battles you’ve fought, your discovery of treasure chests percentage, how many fish you’ve caught etc.
A ship battle — The Giant Looper. This fella is a massive orange coloured version of the small loopers you fight just about everywhere else, except you take it on with the ship, not hand to hand. You even score a Captain’s Stripe and 13000 gold for it too. :-) It’s found just near the Loopers Nest Discovery, and if you haven’t discovered that, then at least Giant Looper will point you in the right direction.
And in case you missed it above, there’s a CD (image) you could get, which you can just burn, put in your Dreamcast, and transfer the download files to your VMS. So if you have no way to connect your console to the Internet, you’re still good to go! You won’t have to miss out. Just send me e-mail, if you can’t find it on the ’net, and I can send you it.
• Even though taking on the Elcian can be tricky, simply make sure you have the Black Map on during the battle, use some shieldage ;-) and you should be sweet as meat. The rewards are pretty cool too with 7500 experience, 20 magic experience and 15000 gold. I think you need the White Map though before you take it on, which you get from Domingo after finding 50 discoveries.
• After you’ve called Pinta back to port and got all his goodies, make sure you save the game! If you reset for some reason, or just turn off your Dreamcast, the stuff you collected will be lost, because of the Pinta Quest being updated.
• Here’s a piccie on the locations of the velorium and Fina’s ship in The Vortex incase anyone’s interested: