Sega has filed trademarks for Skies of Arcadia and Eternal Arcadia in Japan — and plenty of Dreamcast and GameCube fans are going wild worldwide.
The trademarks — one for the game's English name, and the other for its Japanese name — were made on 16th January, and then made public on 24th January (thanks, Gematsu).
As with all trademark renewals and refreshes, this may not mean anything and is simply a case of an IP holder putting a stake in the ground. But in Sega's case, it's in the midst of reviving a number of its classic franchises, with a new Crazy Taxi, Shinobi, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage all on the horizon, among other franchises.
Skies of Arcadia first launched on the Dreamcast in 2000 and is often considered one of the best games on the system. It got an expanded rerelease on GameCube titled Skies of Arcadia Legends in 2002 (2003 in the West) which added new quests and discoveries, and that remains the only port of the sky pirate turn-based RPG.
Back in 2020, one of the game's original developers, Kenji Hiruta, said that a rerelease or sequel depends on Sega. Could this be the spark that sets the ship sailing? A few weeks ago, Sega also filed a trademark for Ecco The Dolphin, so maybe we're getting a new slate of revived Sega franchises.
Sega has never really forgotten its history, and Skies of Arcadia has made numerous appearances in different Sega games. Vyse, Aika, and Fina all appeared in the strategy RPG Valkyria Chronicles, and Vyse was also a playable racer in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. The game's characters also popped up in the Archie crossover comic Worlds Unite, and Skies of Arcadia can also be spotted in the Sega logo at the start of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
We'd love for this trademark to mean something — and we'd love to see Skies of Arcadia make a return on Switch 2 — but for now, we're trying our very best to stay grounded. Deep breath, everyone...
Do you think we'll see a rerelease of Skies of Arcadia? Let us know in the comments.
[source chizai-watch.com, via chizai-watch.com, gematsu.com]
Comments 41
As of now, I'm still beating myself over the head for not playing either the Dreamcast & Gamecube versions.
Please fix the awful audio quality the GC version had and I'll be happy
Probably nothing more than, "yes, we still own this."
Not getting my hopes up but it would be nice to see Sega release this for modern systems. I also wish they would localize the PS2 remakes of Phantasy Star 1 and 2 one day.
I don't know about anybody else, but it sure has me excited. One of my all-time favorites!
Can't wait for the t-shirts and pins we'll be getting instead of an actual video game
As a Golden Sun fan who has continually seen the Golden Sun trademark get renewed with no new game in sight…I’ll believe it when I see it.
I would wholeheartedly welcome this game to a modern console. Hopefully this patent renewal amounts to something.
Eternal Arcadia intrigued me back when it came out in Japan, but I wasn't in an RPG-buying mood at the time. (I was giving all my time to Phantasy Star Online Eps. 1&2 on GameCube, probably.)
To right that wrong, lately I imported a used copy but haven't yet hooked up my old GC to try it out.
I want to play the original version on a CRT television instead.
Yeah I can’t get my hopes up. But it would certainly be something I would buy if it did come out. Switch 2 launch game? Dare I dream???
Nothing's impossible...
But trademark renewals rarely pan out to actual game releases.
If this does come out, though, ya'll better buy it!
Would love to see Skies of Arcadia coming back to finally play it myself so fingers crossed this is a hint towards that!
Sega had some bangers on the dreamcast that I am really hoping this is part of that initiative to start publishing more games again (remembering that commercial at the game awards in 2023).
Don’t know if I’d buy a port but if they could remake it and drop the random encounters down to about half on land and one third on the boat I’d pick it up.
I own this physical on Dreamcast.
I never liked the later ports, because they had a different color scheme.
Crazy Taxi only have correct color palette on Dreamcast and Arcade too. All ports have wrong colors.
This would be epic if true. Lots of love for this one out there.
@mikegamer This. I've tried in the past to play the GameCube version since it does have extra content and I think a lower random encounter rate (my only big criticism of the Dreamcast version). But that audio totally kills it. A two GD-ROM game crammed onto a single mini DVD. Too bad.
I am excited confirmed.
I am ready for Segurrection
Gosh I remember sinking 100+ hours (forgive it’s been 25 years but it felt like 100+ hours) into Skies on Dreamcast and being obsessed with the game. Looking back I’m kicking myself for not picking up the GameCube version, seeing the prices it’s going for these days. I’d be very happy playing a remake with some quality of life improvements or a sequel.
@Magician Lol. Sometimes they just do, don't they! Nintendo keep doing it with Eternal Darkness as far as I am aware.
I always thought a prequel would be the way to go. Either a completely new set of heroes from the past dealing with an earlier problem while seeking out new continents, treasure, and myths, etc. Or perhaps Vyse's papa and mama have a story to tell. I'm sure they had once fled for their own lives against the Valuan empire during some gnarly adventure involving all kinds of air piratey derring-do!
That's one of my dream remasters. I hope it happens. Not holding my breath, but it would be a happy surprise!
Hoping it means something. Loved this game!
Trying not to get hype just to set myself up. It doesn't help with Sega talking up its IPs lately. It could all just be trademarking activity and nothing more, but we can hope.
Imagine how beautiful this world would look on OLED 🤩
It already had a really color-rich art direction back on the Dreamcast
@FX29 Fan Translations have been made of PSG1 and PSG2. The latter is sadly not fully complete but its playable.
Amazing game. Would love a new modern Skies of Arcadia entry, especially on Switch. Could even see the story potentially done as a prequel featuring Dyne, Vyse’s father perhaps. Please appease us Sega.
@Kazman2007 The Sun will rise again! 2/4/2025
Yes, this is the hill I will die on.
@Zadaris I've been hurt too many times before. Even if I saw a new trailer during the direct, I still wouldn't be convinced until I'm actually playing it.
@Kazman2007 There was a massive gap between Other M and Metroid Dread so there's always the chance for a potential resurgence. In the meantime I'll play the original and Lost Age to death on NSO just to convince Nintendo that we're here.
I really hope so! I played this the very first day it came out….tons of good memories with it! Still have my DC also!
It's going to be the 25th anniversary of Skies of Arcadia, I hope this trademark is related to that and hope Sega had plan for either a remastered, re-release, or sequel soon. Anything Skies of Arcadia related is a good thing.
I’ve been waiting and hoping and waiting and hoping and waiting and hoping we’d see this game again, it’s stayed with me for the past 25 years. I hope this really leads to this game coming back
I'd buy a port and / or sequel on day 1, LOVE the game
@Pally356
Funny enough I have played the fan translation of 1. It's not perfect but gets the job done like you said.
OOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Loved this game. All we need now is Balan Wonderworld 2 and I can die a happy woman.
I skipped past the author name but knew midway down, "This has to be an @AlanaHagues article."
@Thomystic I have a brand
@no_donatello The audio quality just sounds bad ><
I don't think Skies of Arcadia should get a remaster....it should get a full-blown remake. Ships that fly in a sky ocean? Imagine that alone in modern graphics.
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