This game is about the most fun I've had playing an RPG since Final Fantasy stopped being good. This one has been recommended to me for a while but I never had access to a Gamecube or a Wii so I didn't get the chance to play it until now. But boy am I glad I did. Sure, the graphics can't compare to modern RPGs, the story is cheesy, and the gameplay is turn-based and gets wearing after a while, but it still manages to be loads of fun. Why? Because it has something that most modern RPGs lack: a sense of scale. The epic fantasy adventure has gone out of style somewhat. Sure there are great games like
Skyrim
, but as epic as that game is you never leave the north and have to go everywhere by horse. Even though there is far more actual scenery to visit in that game it just doesn't feel as big as one that has you flying around the entire world in your airship. And while that world may be in danger of having bad things happen to it they're never as blunt and obvious about it as in an old-school RPG. Also, the open world sandbox system that they have prevents the sense of urgency that comes from a linear storyline. This isn't to disparage modern RPGs (Skyrim is one of my faves) but to point out what old RPGs did better so as to be able to compare it properly. This game can't hold up to modern games on graphics or complexity but it makes up for it by being slightly campy, good-natured fun.
The basic plot of the game is pretty simple. The entire world consists of floating islands and the people fly through the skies in flying sailships. The main character is a young pirate (but he's a Blue Rogue so that's ok) called Vyse, and he is blissfully free from the emo cliches overrunning the genre. He is good-natured, needlessly heroic, and somewhat cheeky. In short he's a pleasure to play as. There are other memorable characters but I'll leave you to discover them for yourselves. The character designs take full advantage of the cartoonish graphical limitations imposed by the Gamecube. They look like Anime characters and have a series of set expressions that can display a surprising amount of emotion. Their planet is in the process of being taken over by the Valuan empire (think the British empire with Spanish names) and Vyse makes it his mission to stop them from raising the gigas (giant monsters from ancient times). There are a few complications but the plot never gets that confusing. The villains are decent if not exceptional. The main one in particular would be much better if not for his highly generic name (Ramirez).
The best thing about this game is the ship battles. That's right,you get your own ship! When you run into an enemy ship (which happens depressingly rarely except for boss fights) you go into ship battle mode. This is a turn-based system where you plan your attacks based on what the enemy is going to do. It is surprisingly fun and easily the best part of the game. The regular combat system is basically the same one from every old RPG (think Final Fantasy). It doesn't really have any quirks except that the random battles are far too frequent given that you're on a ship sailing through wide open skies. Aside from the obvious attraction of flying your own ship and the beautiful music it's quite hard to say why I'd recommend this game above others in the same genre. It's hard to define what makes a game so great. There is just a sense of fun at the proceedings that makes it a joy to play. Try it out if you get a chance. I'm glad I did.
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