Game 23: Skies of Arcadia Legends

Skies of Arcadia Legends is a role-playing game developed by Overworks and released on the Gamecube. It is an enhanced port published by Sega in early 2003. The original game, simply Skies of Arcadia, was released on the Dreamcast in 2000. The game was pretty well received on the Dreamcast and has even ranked on some all time top 100 video game lists. The port to the Gamecube was an interesting decision considering the system was not known for RPGs, but Sega probably figured gamers would be eager to grab up a game when it stands nearly alone in the genre. They were also probably right (hey, even I own a copy).

Anyways, Skies of Arcadia follows a group of sky pirates who steal from the rich and give to the poor. The main pirate is Vyse, a young man who apparently wields a glass sword as some sort of useless forearm shield. He's joined by "up to 22 crew members" according to the back of the box, most of whom appear to be skinny, voluptuous women or tough looking pirate geezers. Not a bad combination there. The game also features ship-to-ship battles along with the typical RPG fights, so let's see how much Skies of Arcadia sets itself apart from those landlubbers in its first hour.

(minutes are in bold)
00 - I select New Game and the timer starts. A cutscene starts with a view of the moon and the wind howling around us. A flying airship passes through the sky with a young woman in white on board. The ship is being chased by a much larger, intimidating airship! We cut to a man in a white cape named Alfonso who says (text, no voice acting) that he finally found her.
01 - Alfonso orders his crew to fire on the other ship and capture the woman. Her ship starts going down in a slew of smoke as it is hit By the way, ordering your men to take out a ship on the run usually means they're bad guys.

02 - The woman is knocked out, she kind of looks like Princess Zelda. Some text informs me that the woman has been taken aboard. All of a sudden the bad guy's ship is rocked by an explosion.

03 - Alfonso looks stunned! "Who would dare attack a vessel in the Imperial Armada?" Imperial always means bad guys, suspicion confirmed.

04 - It's Air Pirates! A similar sized ship throws grappling hooks onto the Imperial Ship and the pirates hop aboard. A kid named Vyse is to the rescue, but he's surrounded by armored Imperial Guards.
05 - A girl that looks exactly like Pippi Longstocking joins Vyse on deck, her name is Aika. They're members of the Blue Rogues and proud of it. Time for a battle! Battle options consist of the usual: Attack, Guard, Item, Run, and Magic. There's also two things called S-Move and Focus. Side note: what's up with all the red-headed characters lately looking exactly like some real-life counterpart. Just last week we had a bully in Psychonauts who looked like an even uglier Carrot Top as a child.

06 - I attempt to do an S-Move but it's grayed out. I just attack with Vyse and Aika instead. They totally destroy the guards with some nasty swipes of their weapons. Vyse was hit but barely hurt.

07 - A man named Dyne shoots another guard, Vyse yells "Dad!" A little family drama occurs and then Vyse and Aika run off in search of treasure. I'm now in full control, there's a mini-map in the lower map. Mini-maps are a good things.

08 - After jogging a bit down below, Alfonso calls to me. He blabs on a bit but makes the mistake of showing off the girl.
09 - Vyse is stunned he kidnapped someone, but before he can react, Alfonso sends four green soldiers at us!

10 - Aikia is using some kind of boomerang, but when she's in close range she just whacks them with it. Similar to the battle animations in Chrono Trigger. I win the battle easily enough and they both level up and gain some stats. Aika also ranks up and learns Sacri. No idea what that may be. Probably some sort of heal.

11 - Being a treasure hunter, I'm also on the lookout for chests, I find one with a Sacri Crystal 2 in it.

12 - Ugh, a random battle. This time the baddies get to hit me a few times first, but Vyse counters one of them and kills them. Poor sap. These guys are being killed by a boomerang... My characters also have 400-500 hit points and are getting hit for about 40. I'm basically invincible at this point.
13 - Alfonso is stunned we beat his soldiers. A baby could have beaten them.

14 - I find a switch that turns off the alarm, maybe that will stop the random battles? I also find a save point in the shape of an anchor, looks neat.

15 - I find a door and run outside, the pirate music has stopped and I'm climbing a ladder down the side of the craft! Pretty scary, but I'm an air pirate!

16 - The bastard Alfonso chucks one of his own men off the ship to frame him as a traitor. What a loser.
17 - Good thing Vyse is right behind him to deliver justice! Oh oh, Alfonso raises his arm and an armored bull charges into the room. Looks like it's boss time.

18 - I decide to focus with Vyse... The bull counters an attack from Aika with some thunder fury!

19 - I guessed correctly that Sacri is a healing spell, I need it as this bull is hitting harder than the typical guard. Vyse misses from point blank, lame.
20 - S-Move time! The bar on top of the screen says 8/8 so it's available, no idea how it got full but I'm not complaining! Vyse does some mean slashes and does a bit of damage, pretty nice.

21 - Meanwhile, Aika is getting beat up bad as the bull is focusing on her. I manage to heal in time, turns out the heal uses 2 points from that bar on top, and Vyse and Aika share the bar. Odd.

22 - The bull dies in a fiery explosion, yay! Level up for both. But more importantly the longer battle has given me a clue on how the battle system really works.
23 - Alfonso escapes on a personal craft, quite the coward. Our heroes turn back to the girl in white and the scene cuts away.

25 - The girl named Fina wakes up in a bed, Aika and Vyse introduce themselves and the Blue Rogues. I get the option to have Vyse say that Fina is weird name and Aika gets pissed at me. Well, it is kind of strange.

26 - In the following conversation, Vyse explains that there are two types of pirates, the Blue Rogues (the good guys of course) and the Black Pirates (the mean and dastardly pirates). Vyse basically says that the Blue Rogues rob from the rich and give to the poor. How original. Vyse and Aika are called out of the room by Dyne and I'm back in control.
28 - I explore the bottom level of the ship and then head up to the bridge.

29 - Dyne chews me out for being late and calling him "Dad" instead of "Captain." Bah.

30 - I speak with Briggs the Vice Captain, he tells me we're heading for Pirate Isle (obviously) and that it's southeast from here. Looks like I get to steer the ship!
31 - Steering is a little different than just wandering around on foot. The L and R buttons control altitude. Well, that's the only difference. Time to head out!

32 - What the frak? A random battle? Vyse and Aika appear on deck and are fighting three "Maroccas." No idea. I barely do any damage at all to them, this could become obnoxious quickly. I use Vyse's magic, Pyri, to do massive damage to these hitchhikers. That's the ticket.

34 - Our team levels up again and I'm back in control of the ship. I should note that there's islands floating in the sky and there appears to be giant waterfalls lining the sky to serve as walls. Weird. I arrive at Pirate Isle and a cutscene begins.

36 - Fina and Vyse chat on deck as they approach the village and we get a look at the inhabitants. They all look happy. A large piece of the island opens up to reveal a passage for the ship to enter. Sweet setup.
37 - We're inside the island now and the pirates are checking out their booty haul. Dyne yells down to Vyse and orders him and Fina to his office immediately.

38 - I'm back in control and save my game. Aika and Fina are no where to be seen even though they're supposedly with me. I always liked the caterpillar method of showing your party members running behind you, too bad.

40 - I find a door to the outside, but it's locked. Dyne doesn't want Fina wandering about in the sun I guess. I wish I could roll or jump or something as I'm running around. It's kind of boring. A double jump would be extra special.

41 - I enter Dyne's office with the ladies. Dad starts interrogating Fina as he doesn't recognize her clothing. I'm given the option to defend Fina but I choose not to. A happy sound is played, looks like I made the right decision this time!
42 - Aika defends her instead and is put in place be the boss. This is a heated conversation but without voice acting it's lacking in emotion. Sometimes there's a random "uh huh" or "hey" but that's about it. There's also no music right now... awkward.

43 - Fina won't tell where she's from and Dyne understands and decides to trust her. Now we have to give her a tour of topside. I head back to the door and out into the fresh air.

44 - Aika needs to head home to "freshen up," maybe she's got the hots for Fina.
45 - The environments really do not look that great. They're built like they're on the Nintendo 64, all blocky and polygonal, but the textures are a little higher quality, though bland. Also the island is just wide open with just a short fence lining it, anyone could fall down to who knows where at any time!

47 - I explore the town along with Fina, there's no load times and entering buildings is seamless, that's nice at least. Nothing of real interest though.

50 - I spend about a minute climbing a ladder. And much like the Bridge to Nowhere, it serves no purpose, time to climb back down...
52 - I enter a house and meet my mom. Quite the polygonal hottie. Okay, not really. Aika enters and says we should watch the sunset from Lookout Island. I really hope that's not up the ladder.

54 - Oh my Lord, it is.

55 - Our trio chill out high in the sky (it should be noted that Pirate Isle is already very high relatively to the unknown surface of the planet). They talk about what's "beyond the sky." A not-so-deep conversation ensues.
56 - All of a sudden a blue meteor streaks across the sky! It's a Moon Stone! For a second there I thought it was the bad guys coming to blow up the island village in true RPG fashion. The stone magically lands on Shrine Island, an island a bit off of Pirate Isle. Aika and Vyse hatch a plan to get the stone tomorrow.

57 - Mom calls for us and the game transports me down the ladder! Thank you game!

58 - A lullaby plays, signifying the end of a long day as the morning sun bursts through Vyse's window. Aika's texty voice breaks the silence though and it's time to head out.

59 - Dyne gives me a purple moon stone as my haul from the ship yesterday, it can power up my weapons and give them the power of ice!

60 - Doesn't look like Fina is accompanying us, good. She'd just get in the way anyway with her princess-like gracefulness. We head for a small island where a ship is waiting for us, and Aika and Vyse head out on another adventure as the first hour comes to a close.

Now for some scores out of 10.
Story: 6
This was really the only satisfying category for me, and it was really only redeemed because there are pirates. Pirates and treasure hunters are like instant gold for me, and this is the third game I've reviewed to feature them (see The Curse of Monkey Island and Kirby Super Star). Those games scored well, but seriously, Skies of Arcadia is shaping up to be a extremely cookie cutter adventure. I think it did a good job though establishing the good guys (the Blue Rogue pirates), the bad guys (the Imperials), and even the potential other bad guys (the Black Pirates). There's also Fina who is seemingly from another world, which adds a sense of mystery to an otherwise basic first hour.
Graphics and Sound: 5
I can cut the game a little slack for being an enhanced port, but the Dreamcast was no slouch (see SoulCalibur) in terms of graphics. It's not really about how many polygons you have, it's how you use them. Skies of Arcadia does not use them very well, unfortunately. The environments are bland bland bland, the characters look okay, and the animations are mediocre at best. This is a very average looking Gamecube game. On the other hand, I enjoyed the music quite a bit, but the sound effects were cheesy and the lack of voice acting is seemingly inexcusable, but you have to remember that Skies of Arcadia originally came out in 2000, before voice acting in epic RPGs became the norm.
Gameplay: 4
This is a 3D game but you might as well lay down the square 2D tiles for Vyse to walk on as that's how it feels when running around outside battle. Inside battle is not that much better, it's extremely basic combat with little variation in the first hour. I was able to pull off one super move but the battles just didn't seem exciting. I can't help compare this to my first hour review of Final Fantasy VII, there's just nothing special about either of them in terms of gameplay, but Final Fantasy VII is just a little more polished and the active time battles give it an advantage. Also don't make me climb a super tall ladder and not reward me at all for my patience.
Fun Factor: 4
Random battles are not fun. I used to defend random battles, I'm not sure why, but that was back in the day where there were not many alternatives. Now almost every RPG gets around random battles somehow so playing older ones are just painful. Especially random battles when I'm sailing an airship, I'm sorry but that doesn't make any sense. Some bad guys might hop on, but why does the guy behind the wheel have to clean them up? The whole airship sailing is fun, but walking around inside the ships and on land is awkward. I spent 30 seconds just trying to get Vyse to face a ladder in his bedroom. The game hinted at some cool potential in customizing and upgrading weapons which is typically interesting.
Minutes to Action: 5
Overall: 5
Skies of Arcadia Legends' first hour is mediocre. That's what a score of five means from me: average, bland. Neither rubbish nor special. Pirates are cool, crappy gameplay is not. I was just not impressed with the game but I feel that the RPG genre is kind of stacked against when just reviewing the first hour. The story can't be fleshed out, the characters can't be thoroughly introduced, and the battle mechanics can't be fully explored. However, the general gameplay can be appreciated, and Skies of Arcadia does not deliver. I simply do not want to play this game for 20 or 80 hours, whatever it may be. It is clunky and derivative and I can't honestly recommend it unless all you own is a Gamecube and you're desperate for your RPG sky pirate fix. Hey, there's gotta be someone out there, right?

Art by Fifi Xu - used with Permission.

Game 17: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Eternal Darkness was released on the GameCube in 2002 and was actually the system's first M-rated game and I believe the first M-rated title published by Nintendo. I'm actually not very good with horror games (or anything horror in general) so it's a surprise to me that I'm even reviewing this game, but it's Halloween this week, so you are all in for a timely treat. I think I own two scary games, and Eternal Darkness is one of them (the other is Resident Evil REmake, also on the GameCube, and you will never see a review on here of that game, it's just too dang scary!).

Anyways, onto the actual game! Eternal Darkness features a unique sanity system unlike anything ever seen before. So addition to your health and magic meters, you have a sanity meter that measures just how stable you are. You lose sanity when you get hurt, or when you see something particularly freaky (which happens a lot). Losing sanity is nothing to laugh at either, because when it gets low, even more crazy stuff happens! I won't detail these "sanity effects" right now because some of them are pretty cool, but let's see what Eternal Darkness throws at us in our first hour together.

(minutes are in bold)
00 - I select Start Game and the hour begins! Monks are doing their Gregorian chant. A narrator begins the story, his name is Dr. Roivas, and he's dead. This story is about humanity, and how it is on the brink of extinction. The game's words, not mine.

01 - The guardians grow restless. The backgrounds are odd pictures of fur and flesh. We get a look at Dr. Roivas' grand-daughter, Alex. Holy crap, I'm already controller her and holding a shotgun! Zombies start coming at me!

02 - I'm taking out the zombies with my boomstick, their body parts are highlighted, it seems I can target different parts of their undead bodies. After a few moments, I run out of ammo in a really bad spot, but all of a sudden the zombies disappear and we see a ghostly old man...

03 - The granddaughter Alex Roivas wakes up and gets a call at 3:33 in the morning. Something happened to her grandfather. The scene cuts to her arriving at her grandfather's manor and being brought to the body. Alex screams as she sees the body of her dead, mutilated grandfather under a bloody sheet.04 - She confirms that it is her grandfather while freaking out. They can't check dental records because there is no head! The detectives are stumped, and Alex is pissed.

05 - Two weeks later... the game tells me Alex is frustrated with the incompetence of the police and is going to discover the truth herself. I'm in the mansion, all by myself it appears.

06 - The game is very dark, is it always night time in this game? Probably, hence Eternal Darkness... duh.

07 - I'm walking around the house examining things. Nothing too interesting yet. And still no explanation what that zombie shotgun scene was at the beginning, must have been a very bad dream, or an early sanity effect!

09 - Just left some telescope room where I was messing with the mirrors, nothing seemed to be happening though.

10 - I find the brightness adjustment on the options screen, now I can see the beautiful details! Well, not beautiful but it looks pretty good.
11 - Found some books written by Poe and Lovecraft. There sure is a lot of stuff to examine, just nothing of too much interest yet.

12 - I find a dresser key in a clock stuck at 3:33... creepy.

14 - I think I've exhausted my search of the first floor, heading up the stairs now to the second. I try my second floor key (that I started with) on the door. The key broke! Now I have a broken key and a locked door. Lame.

16 - I find a grandfather clock NOT set to 3:33, so I do the obvious and fix it! A secret passage has opened!

17 - Now this is a sweet grandfather manor room! Looks like the grandfather had a secret study lined with old books and weapons. Sweet! There's a glowing book on the desk.
18 - But first I grab a gladius sword and equip it! Now I'm ready to read the book (always have a sword on hand while reading glowing books)!

19 - A cutscene starts of a series of scenes from different places, probably places I'll be in the next few hours. Alex begins reading the book.

20 - The book opens to a page that says "The Chosen One". Ancient Persia, 26 B.C. There's some soldiers talking now in a foreign language. The language semi-smoothly switches over to English mid-sentence.
21 - The leader says we must retrieve an artifact, we're out in the open day right now, maybe this is an outdoor excursion! Pious Augustus is the man's name, and he's being led off by a mysterious voice.

22 - Suddenly some pillars engulf him in light and transport him somewhere... I'm in an ancient temple controlling Pious now. Controls are the same as when playing as Alex, and he seems to have the same sword that I just picked up...

23 - I climb down a ladder into the depths and a zombie skeleton wakes up and starts approaching me! I can use the R button to target different limbs and slowly chop him away! Sweet! I also do a finishing move as he's laying on the ground and he disappears.

25 - Two skeletons try to flank me but I take them out. Combat is basically just me hitting the A button a bunch while holding R.
26 - It's unclear if I have health or if I have to figure out my character's state from his movement, he seems to be stuttering a bit as he walks.

27 - Well this answers that question! I get hit and a popup tells me about my red health bar. When it reaches zero the character will die! Oh no!

28 - Seems like I have to "finish them" to actually kill off the zombies (I discover later you don't have to). I continue exploring and pick up different colored granite blocks along the way.

29 - Cool thing just happened, a torch just "popped" and Pious's head looked up at it. Neat effect.

32 - I find the room where all the granite stones should be places, so I start sticking them in the wall. After I do that a grate removes itself from a doorway like in a Zelda game.

33 - I just destroyed a statue of myself to move on. Foreshadowing?
35 - Just fought off some skeletons in a narrow hallway. This was tough because my sword kept scraping the side of the walls (realism like that is cool). Also I found out if you take out the skeleton's heads they won't be able to see you and just wander around.

36 - Something I should mention is that Pious does control differently than Alex. With all his armor he's heavier and much more clunky to move around. If this was how everyone was controlled I'd be annoyed but it fits his character.

37 - I enter another teleport and am in a room with three figures on pedestals. Looks like I have to make some kind of choice...

38 - Red, green, or blue? Well, the game really gives me no explanation on what I'm doing, so I'll choose green, my favorite color. A cutscene starts as he grabs it, and the figure shoots a laser at Pious, making green light shine out of his eye! Crazy! Oh crap, Pious has been transformed into a very evil looking skeleton warrior!
39 - Chapter Complete! The narrator begins again, and then the game returns to Alex. She receives the Tome of Eternal Darkness.

40 - Right behind Alex on the wall is a page out of the book, the next chapter probably. First things first though, I want to check out a door I saw with a sword slit in it.

41 - The blade pushes back when I tried to put it in, well, time to read the next chapter I suppose. "The Binding of the Corpse God."

42 - A different narrator again, this time we're in Cambodia, 1150 A.D. There's a woman named Ellia reading a book, probably the Tome, on the floor of what looks like another temple. She has purple hair? Odd.

43 - A cutscene within a cutscene of evil Pious giving his soul to the darkness in front of a giant Jabba the Hutt eyeball thing. Looks like Pious is actually destroying it somehow. I'm confused.
44 - The girl talks about discovering something fantastic in the temple, you're about to get your wish, woman. Now this chick runs fast! This feels much more natural than controlling Pious.

45 - I step on a switch and some blades come out of the wall ala Prince of Persia. More switches on the floor, but I can avoid them as they kind of stand out.

47 - A door closes behind me and a zombie stands up! The game tells me that when you're spotted by creatures, you lose sanity which is the green bar! Sanity affects perception and eventually health! Nasty! Performing a finishing move recovers sanity though, makes sense.
48 - My sanity bar seems shorter than my health bar... maybe it's just me, or maybe it had something to do with that decision I had to make with Pious.

51 - I finish off a few more zombies and regain the sanity they took from me. Maybe I should intentionally lose some sanity?

53 - I find a blowgun laying on a pedestal so I take it, but then I fall into a trapdoor! The fall breaks my sword but now I have a range weapon!

54 - Someone is in trouble, they're being stalked by a zombie! Ellia to the rescue! I take out the zombies but I'm getting hurt. The girl is staggering around slowly. I use an evil looking necklace I found to heal me. A dark voice growls as I get healed.

56 - The guard I saved is able to repair my sword, thanks! I'd rather use a sword than a blowgun...
58 - I enter a room and a red and green zombie are fighting each other... I'll let them battle it out.

59 - WOAH! My first sanity effect! My sanity is so low from not finishing zombies off, the screen is staggering, and then suddenly the screen went blank like someone turned the TV off! A second later it turned back on but that was creepy! There are tons of voices moaning now and the screen is not stable!

60 - I find the room where Pious destroyed the eye monster, but it's still alive! And killing natives! Pious walks up and calls the monster Mantorok. He's ignoring Ellia, but then Mantorok zaps her with a purple laser. It is now Ellia's destiny to fight the Eternal Darkness. She is given a heart of Mantorok and her eyes glow purple. Times up, just as I regain control of her...

Now for some scores out of 10.

Story: 9
Dark, foreboding, and interesting. Eternal Darkness's first hour is laying the groundwork of a very cool plot. The idea of controlling Alex Roivas as a central hub character and then branching out to control long lost dead people (her ancestors?) that are integral to the story is a great way to keep the gameplay varied and the story interesting. Throw in lots of darkness, zombies, and macabre and you have one of the most innovative stories from last generation. Like I said in the introduction, I don't have a lot of experience with the horror genre, so maybe the game isn't that original, but it appeals to me.
Graphics and Sound: 8
The graphics are pretty good for the game, with decently detailed environments and very good looking characters. The faces lack the extreme detail of this generation but for being five years old I think Silicon Knights did a great job with Eternal Darkness. I think the music and sound really stand out though as highlights as there's a great variety of creepy tunes and bass-rumbling voices. The narration is also very good - a polar opposite of Okami's total lack of voice acting during its excessive story telling.
Gameplay: 7
The game falters a bit here, it is kind of an awkward game to play. It always feels like I'm hitting the wrong button when investigating (B) and attacking (A), but I'm probably just not used to the GameCube controller (there was a nasty layer of sticky dust on top of mine when I dug it out). Targeting different body parts is a cool effect, but it doesn't feel very natural, I think it would have been better with maybe buttons for high, mid, and low attacks. The camera follows the character well but you have no control over it, probably to up the creepiness level. But when you compare the gameplay to other survival horror games, Eternal Darkness really shines. My friend sums it up pretty well: "it doesn't play like I'm trying to control a klutzy slow kid with huge comprehension issues like RE games".
Fun Factor: 7
The game is a horror game, but it's really only scary when controlling Alex in her grandfather's manor. I'm not sure if this was for pacing or gameplay reasons, but when you're playing as Pious or Ellia, the game is easy and simply not even a little bit frightening. And this is coming from someone who got nightmares from Poltergeist! When you're playing as Alex the game just feels creepy and hard, even though there's no bad guys within the first hour for Alex to fight off, it's all psychological. This is kind of disappointing and though I don't consider getting scared as fun, I have to dock a few points. Fighting off zombies isn't frightening and more about finding a good position in a room and tapping the A button a bunch. This game had more potential in these aspects.
Minutes to Action: 1
Overall: 8
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem's first hour is a great combination of action and story. The game starts with about a five minute opening but right in the middle of that you get a short, but intense action sequence. After that the game moves a little slower but it's the perfect pace for a psychological horror. I really like the concept of Alex Roivas not only investigating her grandfather's death but also investigating his life by basically going back in time and experiencing the origins of the Tome of Eternal Darkness. The gameplay is not as strong as I was expecting but before Resident Evil 4, the genre was not really a powerhouse in terms of "this just feels right." Silicon Knights is finally going to release their first original game since Eternal Darkness, Too Human, in a few months so people looking for a little history in the developer should check this game out. Also anyone interested in the genre or fans of H. P. Lovecraft will undoubtedly enjoy Eternal Darkness.

Art by Emily Weber - used with permission.

Game 3: Beyond Good and Evil

Beyond Good and Evil: the most overrated underrated game of all time? So many people say this game is underrated, I have to wonder if that's really true. But that's not the point of this post, the point is to rate The First Hour of Beyond Good and Evil. Warning: absolutely no overrating or underrating ahead. I'm beyond that.

(minutes are in bold)
00 - I once again start up a new game and the timer starts. One hour of underrated gameplay ahead I hear. Instead of opening up with a sweeping view of a city or some creepy voice over, we see a newscaster reporting on the latest happenings of the land. He informs us that there's a war going on! This is a pretty original idea for an opening scene as we get filled in on what's going on with a snarky journalist.

01 - The camera pans over to what appears to be the main character and her fox/goat friend doing Tai-chi on a cliff. But it doesn't take long for an explosion to rock the sky and bombs or meteorites start falling from above. The girl starts running and the game does that freeze-frame shot of her with camera clicks in the background. I always liked that cheesy stuff. Turns out her name is Jade, by the way.

02 - Jade runs to what appears to be a shield generator for the lighthouse. Does she really live in a lighthouse? I guess you don't see that too often. The button she presses mocks her for being out of money to pay the electric company so the shield can't restore itself!

03 - Some meteorites land by the lighthouse and a bunch of little animal kids fall in the holes. Why weren't they in the lighthouse like our disaster plan said?! Anyways, some alien capsules rise out of the earth and I get into my first fight! Action in just three minutes!

04 - So the game feels a lot like the latest Zelda games, which is definitely a good thing. I easily jog Jade around the battlefield and tap A to whack the machines. Jade also throws some martial arts in with her bowstaff for good measure and fighting is actually fun.

05 - I defeat all the machines pretty handily but near the end the battle started crawling along. I'm not able to tell if it's being artistic and slowing me down intentionally or if the frame rate was actually that bad. The game is beautiful looking but it's not doing any complicated lighting or particle effects.

06 - I fall down a hole somehow and get yelled at by some tentacle monster. I'm really not sure if he's speaking English or not (a trend in this first hour). A large pig jumps down and saves me and I get to fight this "boss". The pigs name is Pey'j (luckily there's voice overs or I wouldn't have known what to do with that apostrophe).

07 - As I whack and defeat the tentacle creature, the pig just stands around yelling about super attacks and such. Do your own super attack!

08 - I win an orb that is the size of my head and pocket it Guybrush Threepwood style. My talking belt says I can sell it on the black market. At least I think that's what he said, his Spanish accent was incredibly heavey!

09 - I go back up to the surface to find a bunch of soldiers and a news crew, I like this sort of storytelling where you really feel like you're in the world.

10 - Suddenly Jade faints! This is the necessary plot decision to move me into the house. I wake up surrounded by more animal children and a GIANT white dog. Scary looking!

11 - Spanish belt man pops out again (he's a hologram). This time I have no idea what he's saying, I can't even tell if he's speaking English. Should have turned those subtitles on I guess.

12 - Pey'j hands Jade her camera and we take our first picture of a horned ladybug. The more pictures I take, the more money I get to pay back our electric bill. And when I submit eight pictures of distinct animals, I get a digital zoom!

14 - I pick up some "Starkos Energy". Is it a piece of cheese? I also notice that jogging around in this game is a lot slower than Zelda. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, it feels a little more realistic.

15 - I take another picture of some horned fox (why are some animals wild and some children living in my lighthouse?) and am able to pay back my electricity bill. Our lighthouse's shield regenerates and I guess we're safe from pterodactyls.

17 - I head downstairs to Pey'j's (that's awkward) workshop and am able to save my game. I also receive my first mission! I have to go to Black Isle Mine.

18 - Piggy says it's a trap! But since I'm the boss, I say we go there. I guess we need the money too. Beyond Good and Evil really makes it a point that we're poor.

21 - My first "puzzle"! I push a generator five feet into some sparks. Woo! The game feels more like Zelda every minute, but with a much more unique flavor.

22 - Looks like I get to drive a hovercraft. It looks pretty crappy but after driving air ships my whole life, I'm ready for something new.

23 - WOOOO! I'm cruising around the bay on my hovercraft, and I can shoot! Always a must on vehicles in video games. There's also a great compass feature that unobtrusively pokes me in the right direction. It doesn't take long though until my hovercraft dies and I get towed to the shop... There goes my fun.

24 - Mamago (a Jamaican rhinoceros?) explains his shop to me, boring. I don't have time for this in just one hour of underrated play!

26 - I buy a new engine with the orb I picked up before. Turns out with only 30 more orbs I can buy a space engine! Sweet! 34 minutes to collect them!

27 - My souped up hovercraft leaves the shop, only to run into a scripted boss battle! The bad guys attack again, this time with a giant water snake. Now, many games with vehicles try to pull off vehicle battles and a lot of them are really bad. This was actually really fun though, if easy. Cruising around the bay shooting at the lizard as he swam around. I'm not sure if I got hurt, but I only have two hearts of life anyway.

29 - I beat the snake and get another orb! 29 to go until my trip into space!

30 - I got an email! Cool! This kind of interaction is interesting.

31 - I try to head down towards the Black Isle but keep getting picked up by The Man. I don't think I'm going this way. In my frustration I destroy a civilian ship! Whoopee! Too bad I get fined, err. Grand Theft Auto guys don't get fined when they blow up cars. I only get fined 250 credits which I find out later is the price of a piece of cheese.

32 - I head into the city for a spectacular sight: there's hovercrafts and flying cars all around! Nice! Too bad I don't have time to enjoy the sights - instead I cruise through towards the Black Isle.

34 - I arrive at Black Isle without problems and get off my hovercraft. I meet an interesting handle-bar mustached man who tells me my mission is to take a picture of an elusive animal: Pterolimax. Sounds like my motor oil.

37 - The game really starts showing off its textures, it really is a beautiful game.

39 - Since I'm with Pey'j the pig, we get to do a lot of partner puzzles. This is another thing that can be either fun or obnoxious, but Beyond Good and Evil keeps them simple enough that I don't get annoyed. Mostly just telling Pey'j to step on a switch or lift his fat body off the ground.

40 - Pey'j shows off his jet boots, which run off methane and are run by contracting your abdominal muscles. Hilarious!

42 - I see a map and take a picture of it where it's then stored in memory. Great idea to the old concept.

43 - I get a new combo attack! Pey'j somehow causes time to slow down with his ground pound as I take aim at an enemy. Then that enemy flies across screen into something. I shoot some bad guys into barrels of TNT. They really shouldn't leave that stuff around.

44 - I take a picture of my eighth animal and receive a digital zoom. Seems like there's more rewards for more pictures, this is the kind of stuff that gets me coming back to games again and again.

46 - Pey'j yells "Sweet Jesus!" I have to laugh as I believe that's the first time I've ever heard that in a video game.

48 - Pey'j finds a giant wrench so now we can tear down chain linked fences. Man, the pig gets a sweet weapon and I get a larger zoom? Lame.

50 - Jade and me kind of get lost in the cave for a minute... I'm running past battles to keep the game moving.

52 - Shimmy! I've discussed my hate for shimmying before, but Jade moves pretty quick so I'm not bothered too much... but still enough to mention it.

53 - More decently fun partner puzzles.

54 - Pey'j gets mauled by some giant flying insect, I have to laugh at him.

55 - Whoops, I stepped on some baby slugs, I have a feeling something large is going to appear soon.

56 - Using my partner combo attack, I'm able to knock enemies off cliffs!

57 - I finally find the creatures I'm looking for, two little cute round things. I publish the picture to the internet I guess.

58 - Unsurprisingly (but still looks cool), the two creatures turn out to be the eyeballs of a much larger creature. He's another snake like creature and he goes in and out of holes while trying to drop acid on me. I manage to get a picture of him that's worth 3000 credits! That should cover the permanent burns on my body.

60 - At the last moment (by my own stringent time limit), I deliver the killing blow to the Pterolimax! Jade and Pey'j share a big hug (I really hope that's all there is to this relationship) and I receive another orb! Only 28 to go for my space engine, but I'm out of time!

Here's my ratings for the first hour of Beyond Good and Evil, out of 10.

Story: 8
I really enjoyed how the story was presented through newscasts, emails, and almost zero cutscenes. This kept the game moving at a quick pace while starting to flesh out what seems to be an interesting and mysterious conspiracy laden plot.
Graphics: 9
The textures and animations were great. Jade looks good and isn't over-sexualized like the current trend of female protagonists. The frame rate suffers sometimes though but overall the game looks great.
Gameplay: 8
If you're going to borrow from games, why not borrow from the best. Beyond Good and Evil plays like the recent Zelda games at a slower pace similar to Prince of Persia. This is a pretty good combination and the game benefits greatly from it. Sometimes it is a little too slow as Jade's dives through the air seem to battle the laws of gravity. The photography aspect of the game isn't original, but it is fun and rewarding. Many games just give you a camera and there's really no point in using it.
Fun Factor: 9
A very fun, pretty fast paced first hour. This isn't God of War 2, but there's a lot more to do than constant battling. Having a partner in battle is nearly worthless, but it opens up new avenues for puzzles, which are executed decently. Beyond Good and Evil is just a fun game to play though and really has a great first hour.
Minutes to Action: 3
Overall First Hour: 8
This is a fresh adventure game in a genre that seems bogged down with unoriginality and sequels. The first hour of Beyond Good and Evil presents a whole slew of things to do and opens up a world I can't wait to explore. The game is much more open than both God of War 2 and EarthBound and much more varied in things to do. I'm not sure if this game is underrated but the first hour at least, is well worth playing. Beyond Good and Evil is available on a variety of platforms (PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, and PC) so it's likely you have the means to play this game. If you see it, pick it up as it's well worth the trip, at least the first hour is.