Storyline
Thousands of years before the events of Skies of Arcadia, six civilizations coexisted on floating continents in the titular skies of Arcadia, a world with no apparent surface that is orbited by six moons of different colors. The civilizations, one of which existed for each moon, developed technologically to the point where each created a Gigas, a colossal living weapon of mass destruction, as well as the Moon Crystals that could be used to control them. Using the Gigas, the civilizations warred with one another, which caused enormous environmental harm and threatened the extinction of all six civilizations. The most advanced of the civilizations, the Silver Civilization, used their Gigas to summon the Rains of Destruction, which pulled meteors from the orbiting moons and crashed them down onto the planet's surface. The catastrophic destruction stopped the rampage of the Gigas, as well as nearly destroying the other five civilizations, thus ending the war. A seal was placed on the Silver Gigas to prevent the Rains from being used again, and the Moon Crystals were hidden away.
In present time, the militant and tyrannical Valuan Empire, led by Empress Teodora, seeks the Moon Crystals in order to awaken the Gigas and take over the world. Valua's will is enforced through the Valuan Armada, a fleet of iron-clad warships led by senior admiral Galcian and vice admiral Ramirez under the authority of the Empress. They are primarily opposed by the Blue Rogues, a faction of Air Pirates who make it a point to harass the Armada as much as possible. Fina, a young girl from the Silver Civilization, is sent to find the Moon Crystals before the Valuans and bring them to a safe place. She is quickly captured by an admiral of the Armada, then rescued by a group of Blue Rogues, among them fellow protagonists Vyse and Aika. Although the shy and withdrawn Fina is initially reluctant to trust Vyse and Aika, she opens up to them after she is recaptured by the Armada, but again rescued. Vyse and Aika agree to join Fina on her mission to gather the Moon Crystals.
Accompanied by an initially uninterested old fisherman and ship's captain named Drachma, the trio recover the Red Moon Crystal from a temple in the desert nation of Nasr, and shortly afterward, find the Green Moon Crystal high above Ixa'taka, a continent of lush forests. In both lands, the Blue Rogues foil various Valuan operations. Vyse is separated from Aika and Fina when Drachma's ship, the Little Jack, is severely damaged in a Valuan attack. The three soon reunite, along with a fellow Blue Rogue named Gilder, but are then captured by vice admiral Ramirez and brought to the Valuans' impenetratable prison fortress. By enlisting the aid of the Valuan prince Enrique, who has lost patience with his government's tyranny, and stealing a powerful Valuan warship named the Delphinus, the Blue Rogues are able to escape.
Using the Delphinus's advanced technology to reach previously inaccessible areas of the world, Vyse and crew recover the Blue Moon Crystal from the eastern Oriental land of Yafutoma, as well as the Purple Moon Crystal from the southern glacial content of Glacia. After obtaining the Yellow Moon Crystal from the Valuan continent, Vyse and crew retrieve Fina's personal ship, which was lost upon her initial capture by the Valuans, and which she needs to bring the Moon Crystals to the Silver Civilization, which still exists in an immense shrine that orbits Arcadia. However, Ramirez's fleet assaults the Blue Rogues and he personally steals all of their Moon Crystals. Vyse, Aika, Fina, and Gilder travel to the Great Silver Shrine in orbit to confer with the elders; they are followed by Galcian and Ramirez, who assassinate the leader of the Silvite elders and from his body extract the final Moon Crystal.
Galcian and Ramirez use the six Moon Crystals to raise the lost Silver continent of Soltis and break the seal on the Silver Gigas. They then use the Rains of Destruction to annihilate the Valuan capital, killing Empress Teodora and seizing control of the Valuan Armada in a bid to dominate the world. Vyse rallies a fleet of Blue Rogues, as well as Yafutoman warships and various ships from other regions of the world, to battle the Valuan Armada. In the ensuing struggle, the crew of the Delphinus disables Galcian's capital ship, an armored floating fortress. Vyse and his friends board the ship and defeat Galcian; however, Ramirez has retreated into Soltis and, enraged at Galcian's death, prepares to use the Rains of Destruction to wipe out the Blue Rogue fleet. Before he can do so, he is stopped by the Silvites, who sacrifice their lives to take down the protective shield around Soltis. Vyse and his friends enter Soltis and defeat Ramirez, who then merges with the Silver Gigas. Returning to the Delphinus, Vyse and his crew defeat the Gigas, and then battle Ramirez once more on the Delphinus's deck, a fight which ultimately results in his death and the defeat of the Valuan Armada.
Cutscenes reveal that Enrique, the prince of Valua, marries his love interest, a princess of Yafutoma, and becomes emperor of Valua. With a promise of benevolent rule, he and his wife oversee the reconstruction of the Valuan capital. Vyse and Aika formally inaugurate Fina as a Blue Rogue, and together the three friends sail their own ship into the sunset. As the post-game credits roll, an epilogue briefly details the fates and further adventures of each member of the Delphinus's crew.
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