LogFAQs > #895916691

4. Vyse (Skies of Arcadia)

http://www.renders-graphiques.fr/image/upload/normal/vyse-skies-of-arcadia.png

"Impossible is just a word to let people feel good about themselves when they quit."

I'll openly admit Vyse is a legacy character. I seriously doubt I would care about him if I played SoA for the first time today.

I also don't care. To me, Vyse will forever represent the spirit of adventure. All Vyse wants to do is everything he possibly can, and most importantly, he wants to do it with style. Vyse is arrogant and confident but backs up his attitude with boundless bravery and determination. He accomplishes never-before-done things on a regular basis - not even really because he's more competent than everyone else, but mostly because he's oftenttimes the first one with balls big enough to even try it. And when he does fail, he dusts himself off and gets back to it, because doing anything else would be betraying the very core of his character.

Vyse is practically a shonen anime protagonist within a video game. Skies of Arcadia can be boiled down to a lot of "That's impossible!" followed by Vyse going "Oh really?" and then jumping headfirst into danger as a crowd by people giving reaction shots can be seen in the background. I wouldn't have it any other way. Skies of Arcadia is an extremely lighthearted, uplifting game, and its cast of characters - Vyse obviously included - is the biggest reason why. They're simple, but not boring or flat; they just refuse to let themselves to fail when there's even a sliver of a chance left remaining for them to succeed. They're a such a positive force on that world that it's hard not to smile when playing as them. Vyse and crew leave every place they find in a better situation than when they first found it, which is...the exact opposite of what every explorer through actual human history did, but ignore that. Point is, playing as Vyse is fun. Lots of fun.

And besides all that, Vyse is a freaking sky pirate. He's got cutlasses and sails through the air to find navy ships to relieve of their valuables. You take a wrong turn somewhere and oh look! You found a long-lost momument only talked about in myth and legend. Despite sky pirates being an incredibly cool concept, no games before or after Skies of Arcadia have managed to the execute the theme as well as SoA did. The world it created is one that's timeless, and Vyse is the perfect guy to help take you exploring through it.

What? This writeup's not two posts long? You'll get a longer one whenever SEGA re-releases Skies of Arcadia in HD. Preferably on Steam.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.