I’ll take some screenshots and make some videos… I’ll do a side-by-side, unedited comparison of the two versions. It’ll be fun.
I personally prefer the Saturn over the Dreamcast too, but I’m pretty biased on this one; I stopped seriously playing games for some time during the DC era, and as a result I never ended up buying several of the more important games. Currently my DC is packed away, and rarely gets played… for a fairer comparison though, my Saturn is currently beating out my N64, SNES, Mega Drive, NES, and (at the moment) my Gamecube for space next to my TV. As people have already said, it’s got a lot of high-quality exclusives in its favour, and many of those games (such as NiGHTS and the PD series) offer a more-than-averagely-unique experience on top of that.
I haven’t played Skies yet, but I was thinking of picking up one version or the other in the near future… which version would you guys recommend?
The Dreamcast version has better sound and more solid graphics, while the GameCube version has a few extra things to do and considerably faster load time for battles.
You really need to decide for yourself which is more important to you. I cannot simply tell you that one or the other is better, since we all prefer certain things more. I’m a huge audiophile, so I’d pick the Dreamcast version. shrug
While on the topic of Skies of Arcadia, are the DC version’s bonus downloads “built in” to the GameCube version? I bought the GC version too, but haven’t gotten around to playing it yet. I figure I’ll get around to it one of these days…
Yes.
Yep, the Tuna Cutlass and Swirlmerang weapons are trophies from one of the bounty fights, and the other stuff is sold by the Mystery Merchant.
I’ve never played the GC version fully through but I do remember me thinking how th DC version looked more colorful and vibrant while the GC seemed a little washed out and dull. I will always love the DC version more personally.
I used the colour control on my TV. But, in all honesty, since I never got to play the DC version, I will probably end up being a bit biased.
There are no major technical deficiency’s in the GC version. The audio and the colors are not as prevelant as they were in the DC version, but it’s not a big deal (Parn is over-exaggerating). Having played through both the DC and GC versions I noticed NO graphical glitches in the GC version that were not present in the DC version. Gameplay-wise they’re the same, and that’s all that matters.
[quote=“Scott”]
However whenever my friends come round we always decide to play Dreamcast over the Saturn (unless theres about 7 of us then we go for deathtank). But even thought i play my dreamcast so much more (even single player games) i would choose Saturn because it was my first console, and i have had a lot of great experiences/memories with it.[/quote]
Hmm… I’ve often thought of the DC as the more sociable console of the two; I had great fun with 4-player Powerstone II, Rush 2049 and (to a degree) Quake III. The most memorable Saturn games were ones that prompted me to disappear from the outside world for hours or days at a time… maybe it just depends what kind of atmosphere you like to game in.
[quote=“Lance Way”]
I haven’t played Skies yet, but I was thinking of picking up one version or the other in the near future… which version would you guys recommend?[/quote]
To what Parn said, I’d add that one of the greatest appeals of the DC game (for me) was the music. I haven’t played the GC version, but what Parn’s said in the past on the subject has effectively changed my plan to buy a GC for SA alone.
You mean, that’s all that matters to you. I happen to care about the entire product.
As an example of one of those graphical glitches, check out Temple Isle, and as you run through the dungeon, keep an eye on the walls. You may just happen to notice a very thin line where the polygons don’t quite meet. I liken it to several areas in Phantasy Star Online for GameCube/Xbox where the same problem happens. It also happens for FFXI PC, which was ported from PlayStation 2. Those breaks in the environment in these games most certainly exist, it’s just that a lot of people don’t seem to see them, I guess. Maybe they don’t want to see them? Maybe they think it’s part of the game, I dunno. They’re not that hard to spot though.
You call it exaggeration, I call it telling it like it is. Someone ought to record Ramirez’s Theme (one of the best songs in the game) for both versions of Arcadia and just compare them side by side. The Dreamcast version of the song is pretty damned ominous while the GameCube version has glitched instruments and lacks any form of bass.
Edit: This is in response to Raizen1984.
Edit 2: In response to you Jinx, don’t buy a GameCube for SoAL alone. Snag Ikaruga, Tales of Symphonia, and Pikmin 2 as added reasons to get a GameCube. If you like old school RPGs, Tales of Symphonia certainly delivers that old school feel. If there’s any game that sells the GameCube, Tales of Symphonia gets my vote. The new Zelda coming later this year is only an added bonus, too.
The problem is that they both have their differences in which you enjoy them to what game strenghs are.
The DC for example has the most varied colection of experimental games
while the Saturn has the most deep arcade style of games.
They’re both a good representation of their era. The DC with the good but flashy type of arcade games/video games that came to dominate the
arcades/homemarket during the late nineties/early noughties and the Saturn has the meat and potatoe arcade gameplay that dominated the mid nineties.
I would definitely agree with you there.
And may I just second Parn when I say to Jinx that the Gamecube is absolutely worth getting for Tales of Symphonia. I absolutely loved that game, it was the first game since Skies of Arcadia on the DC to enthrall me and absorb me like so many old school RPG’s did.
‘Worth’ is a pretty relative question when I can barely afford to eat right now :\ Buying any console is pure pipe dream at the moment.
Parn, was it you who had a comprehensive list of the original SoA tracks when I asked about them on a SoA dedicated forum a while back? If so, do you still have them? I only had the opportunity to download them a while after posting the topic, and the link seemed to be broken - and from your(?) comments, it sounded like it was difficult or impossible to find equally clear tracks anywhere else!
Actually, in defense of the “where the polygons don’t quite meet” comment, I’m pretty sure you’re talking about the mip-mapping. It’s the line where the lower-res textures are swapped out with the higher res textures. It’s quite a distinct line, sure, but it’s prevalent on the DC version, too.
I haven’t heard about any of the other issues that Parn has mentioned, but I also think it’s fair to mention the fact that the GC has about 30% less random encounters or so 
It’s a shame that the music quality was lowered, and I think I read in a couple reviews that they even took some tracks out. The SoA OST was simply amazing in it’s 2 Disc glory and that didn’t even cover all the tracks. (I believe they cut a track from early in the game right before you rescue your father).
Sorry, Jinx; I can actaully relate to you since at one point I had a Gamecube with Tales of Symphonia and had to sell it because of financial difficulties on my part, my Dreamcast met the same fate only months earlier when I sold it to a friend who wanted it and I needed the money.
I think about how I can get it back many times a day. 
Jinx: Those files are down, but they will be back up at some point in the very near future.
Abadd: Nope, I am not referring to mipmapping, anisotripic filtering, anti-aliasing, or any other video filter. If anything, the GameCube does mipmapping better than the Dreamcast does. This is very apparent if you play the GameCube version of Phantasy Star Online versus the Dreamcast version. What I am referring to is actual breakup, where polygons are just barely not connected, enough that you see a break instead of what was meant to be solid. When I get my copy of Skies of Arcadia Legends back from my friend, I will post screenshots and show you all precisely what I am talking about.
It’s quite possible that Sega of Europe tweaked the PAL version of the game. I assume those guys have minds of their own.
If can overlook the graphical and audio glitches in the GameCube version, then it’s worth buying for the extra content alone (the GC-exclusive bounty quests lend an extra helping hand in creating the illusion of roaming free in a huge non-linear world).
If you loved the Empire from Panzer Dragoon as much as I did, then Skies of Arcadia won’t disappoint. The empire in SoA has more than a few things in common with the Empire from Panzer Dragoon (knowing Sega, I’m almost inclined to believe that the similarities between the two were intentional). Of course, I have a particular fondness for flying warships, especially when they gather into fleets so large that they block out the sun.
The only thing that you may find off-putting are the incessant random battles. They really go with the territory, though (no one seemed to complain about the random battles in Final Fantasy X etc). In my opinion, the ship-to-ship battles alone make SoA worth the price of admission.
It’s a shame you no longer have any permanent web-space where you could host a comparative review of both versions.
I didn’t mind the random battles in the DC version at all. The land battle system, while simple, had it’s own flavor which was to t my liking.
Also with all those battles I enjoyed just running around leveling up all my different Moonstones with different characters.
I only wish that Skies of Arcadia had had Grandia 2’s battle system for ground-based combat. Now that would’ve ruled.