Last year, we caught our first glimpse of Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire, an upcoming JRPG from PQube and Octeto Studios which wears its Skies of Arcadia inspiration proudly on its sleeve. Well, it popped up again at yesterday's Guerilla Collective. This time with a brand-new gameplay trailer.
The fresh footage gives a pretty good idea of what this one will have in store for us when it lands on Switch later this year (a more precise date still hasn't been revealed). We get to see the turn-based sky battles in action, catch a glimpse of the crew recruitment process and check out some of the ship customisation options.
Most of all, though, we are once again considering changing our name to match that of the Sky Oceans hero: Glenn Windwalker. What a beauty!
You can find out a little more about some of the game's features and get a look at some screenshots below.
TAKE TO THE OPEN SKIES & EXPLORE A STUNNING, VIBRANT WORLD...
Command your air fleet through the boundless expanse of Sky Oceans, traversing awe-inspiring locations as you undertake diverse missions and challenges. Discover concealed treasures and precious resources along the way, guiding your journey to new heights of adventure and exploration.
CLASH IN STYLISTIC, STRATEGIC TURN-BASED DOGFIGHTS!
Clash with adversaries in the open skies in thrilling dogfights, beautifully rendered with gorgeous, screen-popping UI elements. Tactically choose your attacks or take the option to evade incoming fire from your enemies! After extensive battles in the skies, it is important to maintain your team's safety. Upgrade your team's offensive and defensive power with extra weapons, reinforced equipment, and agility improvements to help you survive!
RECRUIT CREW MEMBERS & FORM UNBREAKABLE BONDS
Recruit your very own crew of swash-buckling Sky Pirates one by one. Each unique member comes with a diverse background, strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes...It is up to you to keep them happy for bonus efficiency in battles! As Captain, heartfelt conversations with your crew will shape their perceptions of you. Carefully managing your crew is essential!
While a full release date is still TBC, we do know that Sky Oceans will be soaring onto Switch at some point this year. In the absence of a Skies of Arcadia remaster (which we are still hoping for), this looks like a pretty good stand-in.
What do you make of Sky Oceans so far? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 21
Black Skylands sure is an awesome game. Wish they'd patch that Switch performance. The other SoA -like I'd recommend would be Vernal Edge. Like if Treasure made SoA.
Looking forward to this. Hopefully it performs well on Switch when it comes out in the fall.
@JimNorman This looks nice but what would be even better is a remake of Skies of Arcadia.
This looks solid, I'm going to carefully look forward to its release. Of course an actual Skies of Arcadia remaster would be most welcome still indeed.
I'd never heard of this before but it looks really great! What a pleasant surprise, especially given it's still being released this year. Definitely looking forward to it.
Still want a port/remaster/remake of SoA, but I’ll be keeping an eye on this.
I'll keep an eye on this, this looks so good.
Hope we'll eventually see a Skies of Arcadia rerelease since I unfortunately missed the original, but in the meantime I'll definitely take a game inspired by it and even more so if this one ends up being just as good as it looks (hopefully also on Switch)!
Wow, this looks better than I expected!
I would laso love to see a remake (not just a HD remaster) of Skies of Arcadia. Even when I played it (Gamecube) felt old in many ways, so it would require a lot of improvements. But it always feels good to be a pirate!
Love Skies of Arcadia and I wish this game all the best but that art style for the characters and ships is just not for me sorry.
@JohnnyMind Well if Sega is serious about what they've planned for the future, a remake just might happen.
Something looks off about it. Too much detail on the screen like a mobile game or something.
@DripDropCop146 Yep, really hope it's included in their plans for revivals!
@LikelySatan I've been so on the fence about buying Vernal Edge. You're probably the first person I've seen actually recommend it. I might just get it now!
@KimBread i love it.
"turn-based sky battles in action"
'Turn based' and 'in action' seems somewhat oxymoronic to me, so this will probably be a pass. It did remind me a bit of Rogue Galaxy. Nobody ever talks about that one. May not have been as big and expansive as SoA, which was my favorite Dreamcast game, but I think I liked it more b/c of the battle system and character development. Though the end was quiet a letdown, happened too fast and uneventfully.
But anyway, still nice to see things like this out there, taking a chance.
Eh, comes off more as "dollar store knockoff" than "inspired love letter." Characters look goofy and uninspired. And is it all dogfights? It's been a while since I've played Skies, but I'm pretty sure there was hand-to-hand combat as well.
How's the Pedigree of these two companies? I've heard Pqube but have yet to play any of their games and never heard of the second one. I'll still be keeping an eye out for this one, but fairly cautious as I am excited.
Looking good. Still want the original SoA, but I'm eyeing this at least.
Wow, that post-battle status screen really pops! I love it. It reminds me of Dreamcast-era character select screens.
That main character is very "We have Vyse at home" though, haha.
Read the headline too fast and almost thought there was a new Skies of Arcadia game coming. Heartbreaking, but I’ll keep an eye on this.
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