I’ve decided that since most of my gaming time is spend playing older titles over again. I would create a space to talk about what made these games great, and why perhaps someone like yourselves should go back and give theses games a whirl. I’ve appropriately titled this segment ‘When Old is New’ and below is my first installment in what I hope will be a long running series.

I can’t speak for everyone but for myself my pre-teenage years were where most of my favorite gaming memories were made. It was a time when I was young enough that people didn’t question my love of video games, and old enough to be able to appreciate what made a title good. With that being said when I was twelve I finally got a hold of the long sough after Dreamcast, which in my town was next to impossible to be found. The Dreamcast itself was beyond its years, with amazing graphics and some really original titles. One of which was and still is one of my favorite RPG’s of all time, SKIES of ARCADIA. The game which was released in 2000, featured a young protagonist and his companions is a fantasy world set in the sky.

Skies featured some amazing fights and story lines. One of these particular features, was the ability to sail around in one of three air ships and engage in some well planned out ship battles. Each battle was a treat, because they were widely spread out and allowed for the player to make strategic decisions such as where to attack from and what weapons to use. Beyond the battles these ships were used as transportation between dungeons and cities, as well as used to make discoveries. This made the world actually feel as wide open as the characters in the game said it was.

Skies’ storyline is horribly cliched but still manages to be immersive. Boss battles are often marathon runs of two to three back to back fights that really make your victories mean something. Along with a constantly changing battle soundtrack that matches your progress in a particular fight. The game also featured dozens upon dozens of sidequests and activities to distract you from the main story line.

Skies of Arcadia was remade and released in 2002 for the Nintendo Gamecube, under the title of Skies of Arcadia Legends. The remake left everything in, as well as added new quests and items, making an already great game better. While there is much more to the game than what I mentioned above these are the parts that made the game special for me. As well as hopefully given you enough new and interesting ideas to go out and try the game for yourself.