We're hedging our bets on the former. Why? Because we've already been blown away by a limited demo of the game, handed out at the recent Tokyo Game Show (you can see all new videos, some translated into English, throughout this story). We've stared at the screen shots, made the artwork into our wallpaper, and attempted to style our younger siblings' hair similar to Aika's Pippi Longstocking-ish dew. Mostly, though, we came away impressed upon speaking with the game's producer and scenario writer recently at Sega of America.

Meet Reiko Kodama, producer of Skies of Arcadia (and its Japanese equivalent, Eternal Arcadia. Kodama-san is a producer in Sega's R&D Dept. 7, which now operates independently under the name Overworks. Prior to working on Skies of Arcadia, she served as one of the original designers on Phantasy Star 1, 2 and 3, and was involved in the making of Sonic 1 and 2, and the Saturn version of Magic Knight Rayearth. Quite a list of credits.

Meet Shuntaro Tanaka, scenario writer of Eternal Arcadia and director for the game's US version. Prior to this game, Tanaka-san was seen working in Sega's R&D 7 on Sakura Wars 1 and 2. Specifically, he wrote the scenario for part 1 of the series. Quite an important task when one of the series' strongest foundations is in its story. If you haven't played Sakura Wars, let us assure you that having this man writing the scenario for Eternal Arcadia should be a treat indeed.

It seems that Sega's been pulling their finest for this game, with other staff members having previously worked on Dragon Force and Advanced Daisenryaku (which came out here on the Saturn as Iron Storm). In fact, the final script writer for the US version of the game, Chris Lucich, worked on the subtitling of Panzer Dragoon Saga. Are you excited yet?

We spoke with Kodama-san, Tanaka-san, Lucich-san (or Mr. Lucich, if you like), as well as US producer Klayton Vorlick to get the full word on why this game deserves to be hyped as high as a Grandia, Shenmue, or Final Fantasy.

Select members of the Skies of Arcadia Team:
Clockwise from lower right, Producer Reiko Kodama, Scenario
Writer and US Director Shuntaro Tanaka, Slayer of Evil and
Final US Script Writer Chris Lucich, and US Producer and
translator extraordinaire, Klayton Vorlick.

IGNDC: You guys obviously have a lot of experience with role playing games. A lot of Dreamcast owners are hoping for a really big story driven RPG, and in America at least, Skies of Arcadia should end up being the first game to fit the bill. How does it feel to be working on this game?

Overworks: When we first set out to make this game, we knew that there were no other story driven RPGs in development for Dreamcast, so we knew the game would be very important for the Dreamcast. We went in facing the full challenge and were prepared for all the difficulties that the project would bring. We knew it would be one of the system's flagship projects.

There was no real time when we felt the game would fall apart. It all went forward smoothly. We have a good team with experience in role playing games. Now, we're hoping that the amount of work and depth that we put into the game will shine through.

IGNDC: The demo that was handed out at TGS gave many a chance to look at the title. However, as the demo was just bits and pieces, we're still wondering about the story as a whole. Can you shed some light in this area?

The Japanese Skies of Arcadia trailer (view this to understand what's going into the game) Part 1 (9732KB, QT) Part 2 (5415KB, QT) Part 3 (7977KB, QT)

Overworks: For this game, we created a whole new world, one that takes place in the skies. It is now the age of exploration, much like the age of exploration in our very world, where people set out to see the four corners of the world. This new world is in that same type of setting, where people are starting to wonder what the rest of the world looks like. The main characters are called Air Pirates. Since there's so much travel and trade opening up in the world, of course there are going to be pirates who are there to rob the merchant ships. The main characters are good pirates, though, the Robin Hoods of this world. Their objective is adventure, exploration - they're looking for treasure. And as they explore this world, stumbling upon new discoveries and various other things, they meet new people and kinda get sucked into a story line.

IGNDC: Can you speak about the three main characters, Vyse, Aika and Fina specifically?

Overworks: Starting off with the main character Vyse, he's actually just the crew member of his father's ship, and he kinda looks up to his father who leads the blue rogues, has his own ship and his own headquarters. Vyse is a guy with dreams, and we wanted to make him the most easily identifiable character for the player. He does not like being told anything is impossible - his dream is basically to become a captain like his father with his own crew and headquarters and to explore the four corners of the world. He wants to see everything that there is to see in the world, and his whole policy is never giving up, never backing up from a fight, he always goes straight into any fight, any challenge.

IGNDC: … he's like Marty McFly

[Laughter]

Not quite so obsesive, but yes. He's a really likable guy because he brings everyone's moral up. He's the center of the story.

Aika, the red-haired, braided girl…

[Two people in the room use their hands to form a mock version of Aika's hair style]

… Of the two girls, she's the energetic, lively one. Every time Vyse hesitates or is not 100% sure, she's there to smack him upside his head and say "Come on, Vyse!" She's basically his pushing force. They've known each other all their lives, as they grew up on the same island. Every once in a while, she's a bit childish. She has preconceived notions about the rest of the world that could be true or false, as well as strong likes and dislikes, which she often voices. She's kinda like the youth in the group, the fire, the energy.

Her expressions and dialogue are probably some of the more interesting parts of the game. She's one of the driving forces in the story as well as some of the comic relief.

The last of the three main characters is Fina. She's a mysterious girl - the mystery behind her is part of the game's story. She's not quite the opposite of Aika - they actually work together as a team to pick on Vyse. She's a quiet, reserved, proper girl, but she has inner strength. It's not like you can just touch her and she falls down and crumbles - she is very defiant and believes in what she's doing. The mystery behind her and the secrets she knows are part of the driving force behind the story, and as you play the game, you'll learn about her and why she's there.

Outside those three, there are three other characters that you can get into your party, one of which is a secret that has to do with the story line. Two other characters are Guilder and Drachma. Drachma is an older man, a sailor, gruff.

IGNDC: Is he the guy with the patch?

Overworks: Yeah… and the iron arm. He's a grumpy old man, a sailor type. He seems a little cold. One thing that's cool about this game is that all the characters have a story line. For Drachma, you'll find out why he is the way he is as you progress through the game. He always seems to be there for the three kids, so they kinda tease him, because he seems to be gruff, but they know he has a soft spot.

Guilder, the other character we can talk about, is another blue rogue. He's an Air Pirate in search of the good life. He's laid back, and he'll do basically anything as long as he thinks it will be fun. He's searching for adventure with money and women - anything he can get his hands on, basically. He goes along with Vyse because he thinks this kid's going somewhere and he can have a good time as a result.

In this scene from the Tokyo Game Show Eternal Arcadia demo, we see Vyse and Aika raiding a Barua Army ship. The English subtitles were provided by us and are guaranteed to be no more than 40% literal. SEE THIS CLIP (9097KB, QT)

IGNDC: One other element of the game we noticed from the demo as far as strength of character goes, are the bosses. They have one giant blob guy whom we affectionately refer to as "Pukey."

[Laughter]

IGNDC: We were wondering how you went about designing the boss characters.

Overworks: All of the monsters are designed to be organically connected with the stage they're in. If there's a desert area, we would go through and look at what kind of creatures would be in an area like that -- small creatures that can make their way through a desert without losing too much water. In an ice land, you would find a lot of hairy beasts. We went through painstaking detail work to create unity with the lands and the creatures that inhabit them, which ties into things like the dungeons as well. Even Pukey (who does not have an official name in English yet -- in Japan, his name is Inotario) is living underground at a certain point -- we're not going to tell you why or when yet. But that's why he has that blobby shape.

IGNDC: We nominate the name 'Pukey' …

[Laughter]

Overworks: There are numerous interesting characters coming up in addition to "Pukey." For every monster that came up, we went through an amazing design process where we just pushed ideas further after conception.

Actually, it's not just the design or look of the enemies that gets you. Many of the monsters can hit you and bite you and do basic things like that, but the more grotesque monsters like Pukey will throw up. Others will throw body parts at you, or else they'll jump and attack. And many have multiple attacks, so you're on your toes, for many reasons.

Since so much went into the monster design, please don't kill them right away. Enjoy the animations. Let them take a chunk out of you first.

[Laughter]

IGNDC: Not a problem. On the topic of different areas, the game will obviously be very diverse and very big. We're curious as to the size of the world and how many monsters we'll be facing?

Overworks: The exact number of monsters is kind of a secret, but you can expect over 150 types of beasts in the game. As for the land size, there are six areas for six types of worlds. But like in our very own world, the continents take up a very small mass, and the rest is ocean in between. The ocean can be traveled upon, and there are islands in between and people all over -- merchants and sailors and such. Same when you're flying through the air -- you can go up or dip down. And even in some towns, you can go up on buildings or go underground. It's a vast world. The game is all about exploration, so the concentration was to make sure that there's lots of things to see if you look for it.

Flying through Skies of Arcadia. This clip, which was shown in our Tokyo Game Show coverage, shows how navigation in the overworld is achieved. Check out the island swarm! SEE THIS CLIP (11463KB, QT)

IGNDC: As far as ship-to-ship combat goes, how much involvement is there in that?

Overworks: Since Skies of Arcadia is a game about exploration and pirates, ships are very important to the story. You spend a lot of time aboard your ship, and yes, there are ship-to-ship battles. Since the demo version, the gameplay there has been tweaked considerably, though the interface is essentially the same. Not only can you battle other ships, but also you can fight large monsters onboard your ship, and also explore areas via the ships. You encounter other sailors and gather information, and sometimes you meet Black Pirates and other enemies.

In total, there are about 80 unique designs of ships in the game. Even with your own ship, you can customize the vessel with weapons. Some weapons have different qualities, like one would hit harder but miss more, another can be fired over and over in rapid succession. It makes planning your defense and offense and customizing your ship very important to gameplay.

The same thing goes with building up your own crew. The bigger the crew and the better your men, the stronger your ship runs. You can actually go through and find a lookout, and engineer, a cook, a gunner... There's a ton of crew members you can find scattered throughout the world, and it's possible that many will have a different crew. The shipmates help the ship, but also serve other functions in the game as well.

In actual ship battle, you can choose your plan of attack, whether you want to go head-on or make up a gameplan of some type. The crew will actually say, "Oh no, they're trying to cut behind us! What do you want to do, Captain?" And you have choices in that. You can suggest that you gain some space between the two ships in order to be safe and change up their plan so you have the first move. You can try to get behind them somehow, or you can give the order to take them straight on. That will affect how the enemies fight and the chances of survival on your part. You may possibly gain an opening to bring out your big cannons - there's a lot of strategy involved in the battles.

IGNDC: We also noticed there was a fair bit of customization as far as the characters themselves, that they can learn attacks and grow. Can you tell us how the man-to-man battle system works and how this growing character ability factors in.

Overworks: Actually, we wanted to create a traditional RPG with a system that everybody's familiar with. You go through and gain levels, strength, endurance, etc. One of the new features in this game is that you can change the color of your weapon on the spot, which ends up effecting a weapon's properties. You have to get certain items in order to change colors, but once the color changes, the weapon changes. Color your sword red, and it will have the property of fire. Depending on what color your weapon is, you also learn those types of spells faster. You can build up a fire-resistant character with a fire sword who learns fire spells quickly. You can make one person strong in healing. Or you can achieve a balance by constantly switching back and forth.

Outside of magic, there are also special techniques that each characters can get by acquiring certain items. The more items you amass, the more techniques you can get. These are the big special moves of the game. The difference between magic and special techniques is the use of the Spirit Bar. Magic will use much of your Magic Power, while Special Techniques suck up your Spirit Points. Your characters can focus and build up the Spirit Bar, and that way you can have some character support the others or else focus your attacks together. It adds several levels of strategy to the game. You can try to conserve Spirit Points if you're trying to build them up, or else save Magic Points for later.

Beyond that, you can build your character on an emotional level, beyond stats. Different characters will react differently based on how you've handled a situation before - which choice you make in dialogue, for instance. So, in addition to building your character through the battle system, you can also build up through the story.

And just so you know, the battles are not like something in The Patriot, where everybody makes a line and takes turns attacking. Characters move around as they attack. It's more like Cutthroat Island, where you see them running around on the ship, leaping from the mast, battling each other. There is no set position for the characters, and it adds a sense of liveliness to the fights.

This boss encounter from the Tokyo Game Show demo takes place on a ship. Alfonso, member of the Barua Army, unleashes this nicely designed beast, who breaks through a steal wall and attacks. SEE THIS CLIP (11463KB, QT)

IGNDC: We were really impressed with how the game handles the surrounding world. Buildings, for instance, cut away when you walk in, there are numerous seen throughout the world.... How long have you been working on the technology behind the game, and how do you like working with the Dreamcast?

Overworks: As for the effects, the Dreamcast lent itself to the technology. With the library of effects, we were able to use really nice special visuals. The design of the game went relatively smoothly. There wasn't really any instances of getting hung up on the programming. We really wanted to impress users with the colorfulness of the game, so the visual set worked great.

And with the cut-away entrance of buildings, numerous other RPGs handle such a transition by giving you a loading screen. But half of this game is going in and out of buildings, and we wouldn't want players to spend all of their time looking at a black screen. We spent a lot of time making the cut-away smooth, so that when you go into a building, you're instantly inside. The city you explore is large, and that actually works as a benefit. The game will stream in sections of the city as you're exploring, so there is very little load time in the final version.

As a whole, the Dreamcast just made it easier to concentrate on the game, and the colorful effects and lighting and elements of design and characters just came through easily and nicely without having to work through the kinks of the game system. It wasn't so much that we were reliant on the Dreamcast and its libraries. It just happened that it worked spectacularly for this game, and the artists were able to look at what the Dreamcast could do and make the best possible look and effects palate based on that.

IGNDC: The game most definitely has that colorful, bright and happy look. Can you explain how the decision to go with a more traditional set of characters was made? Many of the more modern RPGs are going for a more sophisticated, hyper-real look. Square, for instance, has been struggling between realism and fantasy, and while some of the more realistic titles are doing great business, Final Fantasy IX went back to the fantastical designs of yesteryear and is blowing everybody away.

Overworks: Originally, the reason why we went with the - not quite super-deformed look, but certainly anime-skewed - character design, was because we wanted to use expression in the face. The number of possible expressions is greater because the face is bigger. You don't have to go to a super close-up to see what a characters' eyes are conveying or what kind of grin they have. When you have a more realistic character, it's hard to see a face, and so everything is done by body language. In reality, body language is hard to pick up on, and so when you go to a play, you'll see overacting and huge expressions just because people far back require these in order to see what's going on. The same goes in games.

Also, we wanted to go for that sense of high adventure morale feeling. To get this across, all of the expressions are made big. If we were to have gone more realistic, you wouldn't have been able to see faces, the movements would have been toned down, and it would have brought down the morale of the game to a normal level. When people play a game, they want to get out of and above their daily existence. They want this high feeling and adventure. If you look at Final Fantasy, part seven went super-deformed and realistic, while eight tried to go even further than that. Now they've gone back to short, big-headed characters. We think that maybe Square went through the same process that we did, and came to the realization that facial expressions are more identifiable by the users, especially since users -- the core RPG fans -- are used to doing so. It may be that realism may not be quite acceptable for an RPG just yet.

But the other thing about this game is that color is very important in actual gameplay, and so the use of bright colors is key to the game's success. Changing weapon colors for weapon strength means that you have to make a visual connection with the weapon, and enhancing the color set really brings that out. It's a bright game, and though it does have a sobering and dramatic quest, the pervading spirit of the game encourages you to never give up. Never surrender.

Don't let the cartoony look fool you, though. Skies of Arcadia has a deep storyline, and it's not all bubbly and happy all the way through. It's an important quest. It's just one that's best conveyed by a beautiful graphic set and whimsical style. You're running the gamut of emotions of the game, and that's again why the characters have to be big enough to see that and identify with. With this, you don't need the exclamation point over their heads, because you can see it in their faces.

This scene from the TGS demo of Skies of Arcadia shows Vyse, Aika, and Drachma being taken in. This game is obviously more than just a kid's story…. SEE THIS CLIP (11463KB, QT)

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