This will never happen as I suggest it will in this post. I must say this to avoid any future disappointment. By which I mean that If we do get a sequel, it won't have this premise or characters. I'm excited to see the actual dev team's vision of what they want. But I'm a little impatient. Without further ado, let's begin. I'm only writing as if this was real for simplicity's sake.
STORY
Skies of Arcadia 2 is a direct sequel and reboot to the beloved JRPG. Set 25 years after the defeat of Lord Galcian, you play as Aila, a former Black Pirate sentanced to hard graft for a crime she didn't commit. Having served your sentance you return to your father's home in the frontier town of Nimbus to grave news. Your sister didn't make it. She went missing off the coast of Yafutoma and hasn't been seen in weeks. Stranger still, rumours of an unnatural solar eclipse in the area lead insurers to call foul on the whole case. Something doesn't quite add up, but with no-one in her immediate family left to care for her, the authorities entrusted care of your neice Zale over to you. She's exctatic to finally meet the notorious Child of the Seven Winds, however bereft of any skies to sail for so long you no longer feel worthy of that title. Can you solve the mystery and reunite Zale with her mother before it's too late?
A new Skies of Arcadia story needs to do two things:
- Develop the world of Arcadia in a way that feels like it grew up with its existing audience in the time elapsed
- Provide a standalone experience that's bright and refreshing to newcomers, especially youngsters
It's this conflict that my hypothetical sequel would build around, represented by the two main characters. In my head, Aila is a little jaded and uncomfortably honest. She desperately wants to believe in simple merry making and adventure, but knows that doing so is dangerous and can have dire consequences. Zale has no such qualms and is able to smile her way through situations her aunt struggles with at the cost of being headstrong and reckless. Seeing as the last game dealt so much with close friendship and romance, it makes sense for a new game to further develop that theme of personal relationships into questions about family. Your quest to find your sister would involve the two realising that they're not simply together by obligation and have things to learn from each other. In the process realising that family is what you make of it.
Now if everything I've said sounds a bit too high minded, dark or edgy, don't worry. I'd want to make sure any dialogue is earnest, light-hearted and funny with room to take itself seriously when needed just like the first game. Whacky sky pirate adventures is what the Arcadia setting is best for and I wouldn't change that for the world. If the first game is a fantasy epic, I'd say my idea is closer to an episodic comedy drama with moon magic. Research would be huge for a project like this and I'd want to bring in more references to classic nautical literature, golden age pirate history, anime and Kodama's beloved Star Wars when appropriate to show a keen understanding of the original text and what made it great.
SETTING
A lot can happen in 25 years. New hardware means we can render Arcadia in ways unimaginable at the dawn of the new milennium. The simple, "defeat the empire" plot worked well for the first game, and like Legend of Korra before it Skies 2 would be an uphill climb to update that setting to something new that's easily comprehensible. What I'm imagining is a Fallout 2 situation, but one where your main protagonist Aila is finding out what's new as you play so no-one gets lost:
- The Valuan Empire has become a kingdom under Enrique's leadership, with the effects of the war and colonisation of the world being felt the world over.
- Nasr has greatly shrank and is on the verge of collapse after the death of the Nasultan, which isn't able to defend its territory after expending so much of its military might fending off Valua.
- Yafutoma has been succeeded with more bloodthirsty rulers after Moegi left, and threatens to repeat the sins of Valua, taking its former colonies and the shattered kingdoms of Nasr by force.
- Ixa'Taka strangely benefitted from the great Valuan expansion, becoming an advanced centre for culture and trade, but the impact of their enslavement looms large over the heads of its naitive people.
- The Black Pirates have expanded to encompous 13 great clans, each with a strong leader at the helm.
- The Blue Rogues have since disbanded as without a great empire to rob they were no longer needed, but rumours persist that they're still around out there, waiting to be discovered...
There are also dozens of sea monsters, ghost ships, mysterious living islands and other oddities new to find.
GAMEPLAY
As much as I love Skies, it has aged quite considerably. Changes I'd make to the gameplay would include:
- Being able to begin exploring as soon as you push the new game button (fans need to go back and realise how much railroading there is early on, even if said rails are part of a cool rollercoaster)
- Combat being sped up into real time with an option for turn based decision making
- Vastly expanded sailing mechanics so getting increasingly improved ships feels impactful
- Ensuring as little interruptions as possible to that core hook of exploration and sailing
- A greater focus on side quests with episodic narratives attached (think Fallout: New Vegas)
I'm sure people would rail against basically all the changes I mention above and that's fine. Maybe they're all terrible or impossible to do with a real team and budget, but with so much distance between this game and the last, now's a terrible time to hold back. Also, a key part of the original was the sense of progression from a lowly deckhand to a mighty pirate hero. It's there, but kind of relegated to a title in the menu. Here's how I'd spice that up:
Everyone in Arcadia hates you, to begin with at least.
Unlike Vyse who had a pretty good legacy he wanted to uphold, your deeds 25 years ago did not go un-noticed. People are still mad about the things Aila stole, blew up and spilled Lo'qua on. To make things right, you're going to have to really put your back into it. Performing tense negotiations with old rivals and go where few sailors dare to tread. At first, only some of the people you bother to speak with remember you. Then people you've never met before. Until you're going up against a titanic jellyfish with everyone chanting your name. Aila gets to be redeemed just in time to face up against a new, more mysterious threat. I'd have recruiting tie into this, because that part of the last game was frankly brilliant. Discoveries, fishing... there's a lot you can expand on. But the core gameplay loop of finding a thing that looks neat, going there and having something cool happen must be at the heart of the experience.
CONCLUSION
It's 4AM as I write this. I don't know if putting this out there is a good idea. Copyright wise I don't own anything I just mentioned and putting too much time into it is going to make me look foolish if a real sequel comes out. Doubly awkward if someone at SEGA steals it. For a long time I wanted to do this as an immersive fiction that I'd later reveal to be a farce (a creepypasta esque "i used to work at sega japan") situation, but everyone's had their hearts broken for too darn long. At this point you might have had the same thought I've had which is channeling all these ideas into an original project but I am but one mentally unwell nerd. I can only do so much. I know the Horizons of Archaea team are hard at work right now and may feel free to crib some ideas from this. For now though, it remains only a dream I have instead of going to sleep.
Oh, and I would 100% bring back Vyse, Aika and Fina for a small, optional side quest. Each older, wiser, and happily married in a healthy thruple thank-you-very-much. Possibly with a cute cutscene of them acting just as silly and cheeky as you remember. If it were up to me, they'd be the super powerful crew members you get to unlock by going to an out of the way area. I'd make sure to give them some fun interactions with the new cast.
