We sat down with Octeto Studios, the developers behind the newly released classic JRPG-inspired game, Sky Ocean: Wings for Hire, to talk inspirations, aspirations, and dreams behind the title. For those seeing some Skies of Arcadia vibe from it, yes, we do too, and asked about it.
Answering the questions at Octeto Studios is CEO and Lead Designer, Julio César Marambio Ramírez,
How long is the campaign for Sky Oceans? Are there any side missions and activities to do?
Ramírez: The main campaign can take between 10-12 hours, and yes, there are side quests to help people with different requests, from safety concerns to the search for closure of personal issues.
The Skies of Arcadia’s influence is pretty clear. We assume the studios are massive fans of the classic JRPG, but what other games inspired Sky Oceans?
Ramírez: Indeed, Skies of Arcadia is such a great influence, but mainly in how it captures the sense of adventure. Other less obvious influences can be Chrono Trigger, especially regarding creating a wide range of characters with different features and backgrounds, as well as Wild Arms. On the other hand, our mechanical designs were inspired by Akira Toriyama’s vision, with aircrafts mixing cute proportions with weathering effects, visible seams and bolts, as if they were hand-crafted by the tribes.
One notable thing about turn-based combat is that it revolves around dogfighting. It’s sort of a clash of concepts, where turn-based is often seen as slow and strategic, and dog fighting fast and frantic, but it clearly works and really well based on the demo.Was that something the team wanted to nail down from the get-go, or did the game have different early combat, say more character and class-based?
Ramírez: Yes, the reactive turn-based dogfights were part of the core design intent and one of the biggest challenges to tackle. We were looking to provide a strategic yet approachable battle system that rewards situational analysis and encourages tactical response, as if every turn is a puzzle to solve in order to get the best outcome as possible. This reactive approach was inspired by the great combat design of ‘Into the Breach’, but we wanted to keep it fast and dynamic, and a little chaotic in its execution, just like an actual ‘dogfight’.Will there be boarding of ships with traditional character versus character combat? If not, what’s the reasoning behind it
Unfortunately not. It was one of those ideas we had to keep on the fridge for our next game. In terms of scope, we already had squad-based combat and airship battles, so balancing and interconnecting everything would have been really hard to do well.
On the other hand, our characters are pilots, but in the end they are down-to-earth regular people without super strong bodies or magic, so we tried to keep violence in the realm of aircraft-to-aircraft battles.
What’s the studio most proud of about Sky Oceans? What’s something they’re excited to see players see? No spoilers obviously!
Ramírez: We are really happy with the expansive potential of the world of Sky Oceans. Crafting the story and characters, as well as their visual identity has been very rewarding, especially after receiving such a great response from early players and testers.
Another aspect that turned out quite well was the reactive turn-based combat system. Although we would have liked to add more variety to it, the most challenging combats demand you to think your moves carefully and take calculated risks in order to beat your enemies.
It is probably too early to say, but is the studio planning or hoping this can turn into a series of titles rather than being a one-and-done thing? Or is it more of a, we made the story we wanted but left a little room for potential follow-ups if you wanted one?
Ramírez: It would be a dream to go back to the world of Sky Oceans in the near future.
There are definitely lots of seeds planted for a sequel, and we would love to further expand the IP, but ultimately it will depend on the commercial success of the project, so please support ‘Sky Oceans’, give the game a chance, and tell all your friends about it. Together, we can make it happen
While Sky Oceans is an old-school RPG at heart, it differs greatly from it by having the battles, customizations, and whatnot centered around your ships. Will there be “summon-like” abilities that players can do, even if it’s the ships fighting?
Ramírez: In ‘Sky Oceans’, aircrafts are powered by Aerius reactors, which provide energy to keep them in the air, and also to use ‘Aerius Arts’, which are equivalent to Spells in a character-based RPG. Each aircraft is unique in the sense that each pilot brings their own Aerius affinity and their own way to channel Aerius through different elements (Heat, Cold, Thunder, Wind, Light, Dark).
After a certain number of levels, each pilot will unlock new Aerius Arts to be purchased, and every 5 levels, they will receive a Skill Point (SP), which can be used to buy Aerius Arts that are already available.
Each pilot has access to two element-based Art branches. After unlocking these element-based branches, they will eventually unlock their Unique Arts (their ultimate moves).
So yeah, TLDR, aircrafts do cast spells!T
This might be an odd question to ask given Octeto is making the game now, but if SEGA approached the studio to help make a new Skies of Arcadia game, would the devs be warm to the idea?
Ramírez: We have such a great love for so many SEGA games. There’s something special about titles like ‘Skies of Arcadia’ or ‘Panzer Dragoon Saga’ that makes you want to bring back that kind of experience to the present and in a way spark the interest to play those old-school game in new generations.
It would be an honour if we ever hear from SEGA regarding ‘Skies of Arcadia’, ‘Panzer Dragoon Saga’, or another legendary IP…
You can only dream… but just like Vyse once said: “Impossible is just a word to let people feel good about themselves when they quit.”
Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire is available now for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
