Parrot on its shoulder? Wooden leg? What's that all about then? Well, SoA:L is based in a world made up of islands, but where there should be water there's nowt but sky, and clearly the only way across it is on a flying boat. Naturally you have the stereotypical black flag flyin', thievin' and plunderin' glass-eyed baddies, but there are also a band of pirates called the Blue Rogues who fight against the Imperial armada and all things nasty and evil. Needless to say, the story's main character Vyse is fighting the good fight, and being the son of one of the most famous Blue Rogues (Dyne), he's destined to save the world and stuff like that. In typical RPG fashion you'll adopt a few mates along the way - Aika the loudmouthed, over-excitable girl that you've known since childhood, Fina the mysterious, magic-wielding mini-goddess from the future, and Drachma, the chunky, battled-hardened captain.

   

The game is based on the idea of Moon Stones and Moon Crystals, these fall from the moon surprisingly, and are the worlds main source of power. The Moon Crystals are super-concentrated, and as your quest goes on you'll find out that they're the key to controlling hugely powerful monsters capable of destroying the world, and obviously the stupid evil people want to find and use them as well. These crystals also provide a bit of variation in the otherwise standard turn-based battles, as you can change the affinity of your weapon to the colour of any of the crystals you've found - This effects the amount of damage you'll dish out and receive, and there are lots of enemies that are immune to all but one colour. The other main innovation in this game is the inclusion of Ship Battles - throughout the game you'll get the chance to upgrade or acquire new parts for your ship, and in places you'll have to use it in fights. These are also turn-based, but tactics play a bigger part, as you issue commands to all 4 party members before the action starts.

   

The gameplay outside of battle will be very familiar to anyone that has ever played an RPG, its all about running around, talking and exploring and all the locations feel just about right. The graphics do the job without being anything special, there are some nice magic effects but in general its quite clear that this is a straight port of the Dreamcast game. The music is worth mentioning, as it rises and falls appropriately in battles and changes to suit your location and situation. There are a wealth of little side-quests and distractions should you get bored of the main story, but the plot offers enough surprises to keep you interested for a while at least.

I really quite enjoyed Skies of Arcadia: Legends, it offers enough new features to make it stand out from the crowd and the graphics and gameplay are solid without being anything to shout about. If you're a fan of the genre then its certainly worth a look, but otherwise you probably shouldn't bother, this game isn't going to convert you.