Travel across the world of Skies of Arcadia is solely by airship. Currents, eddies, whirlwinds, and floating debris fields bar your progress across the sky. Discoveries are scattered all over the world and range from rock formations and floating waterfalls to forgotten statues and other points of interest. Battles, while straightforward, are innovative enough to stay interesting. Gamers can choose strategies and direct the flow of the story during these epic battles, giving you either an advantage or disadvantage during the next four rounds of play.
Characters learn spells from one of six elements ascribed to their weapons.
Defeating enemies nets points that go towards learning spells in the six elemental categories. Characters receive one point for every elemental color that a party member has equipped, but two points for the color they have equipped themselves. Yes it is, Fina. If all this sounds somewhat ordinary, it's because it's so difficult to pinpoint just why Skies of Arcadia is so good. Due to the polish and creativity applied to these pieces, however, the final product is nothing short of a masterpiece.