While there are a number of legendary role-playing games out there that deserve another chance in the spotlight, Skies of Arcadia is one that definitely springs to mind.
The game initially released for the Sega Dreamcast, introducing a number of great characters and a sweeping storyline involving Vyse and his fellow air pirates as they attempt to find mythical Moon Crystals. Twenty years after its initial release, one of its developers, Kenji Hiruta, who worked as a programmer on the game for Overworks, spoke up about wanting a sequel, asking fans to help him in spreading the word about it.
He began earlier this week, when he shared the following hand-drawn image on Twitter, along with the note, “After 20 years, we can still see the new art of it.”
Dear funs of Skies of Arcadia, please watch this masterpiece. I’m soooo moved. After 20 years, we can still see the new art of it. Unbelievably I’m happy.
He followed up with another tweet, acknowledging the support from fans and even offering a custom art design as a giveaway to those who spread the word about the game.
Wow, many fans of Skies of Arcadia! I really appreciate your continuous support! So, I decided to give this autograph to an oversea fan(anywhere!) Please apply to get it:
-Follow this account(to send DM)
-Retweet this tweet.
I’ll choose the winner randomly at the end of Jan 2020. pic.twitter.com/sFGp9OR3tu
— 蛭田健司 Kenji Hiruta (@k_h00) January 13, 2020
His plan is to generate enough interest in the RPG that Sega will take interest in it again. “I really, really want to develop the sequel,” he wrote. And we know a lot of folks — several of us included — that would love to see it.
Sega has changed quite a bit since then, but it’s also shown that it still cares for its classic game library. Its Sega Genesis games not only saw a digital collection, but also the physical Sega Genesis Mini system. The Shenmue games also recently got a re-release, which did rather well alongside Yu Suzuki’s third chapter in the series, which came out last year under Deep Silver.
There is some hope, particularly with teases surrounding a re-release of the first Skies of Arcadia, which would be its first since it last came out on GameCube back in 2003. But so far, nothing’s official yet.
Fingers crossed that Sega gives this one a second chance, either with a revisit to the original game or its long-awaited follow-up. These Skies deserve to be flown once more.
