January 28^th, 2003 (12:00am) - One of the greatest RPGs of all time will be appearing on a GameCube near you. Skies of Arcadia Legends has been shipped to retailers nationwide and come Wednesday it will be available at a gaming store near you. Skies of Arcadia Legends for the Nintendo GameCube is an enhanced port of the Dreamcast killer app released long ago.

SAN FRANCISCO--Jan. 28, 2003--SEGA of America, Inc. today announced the release of the epic role-playing adventure "Skies of Arcadia Legends" exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. The second game in the already-classic franchise, "Skies of Arcadia Legends" delivers a thrilling "director’s cut" of the original "Skies of Arcadia" for the SEGA Dreamcast, which gaming enthusiast publication Electronic Gaming Monthly has hailed as "one of the best RPGs ever."

An incredibly deep role-playing adventure, "Skies of Arcadia Legends" offers more than forty hours of gameplay and spans six massive floating worlds, each with their own local customs, habitats and enemies. Along the way, gamers will interact with more than 300 characters, learn dozens of magic spells and customize more than 70 devastating weapons. "Skies of Arcadia Legends" also includes hours of new gameplay and backstory, a streamlined new battle system and enhanced graphics for the Nintendo GameCube.

A swashbuckling adventure set in the vast azure skies, "Skies of Arcadia Legends" casts gamers as Vyse, the heroic leader of a roaming band of Air Pirates on a perilous quest to recover the six sacred Moon Stones of Arcadia. Forged centuries ago by the mysterious Old Elders, the Moon Stones are the keys to controlling the Gigas, a race of seemingly invincible monsters that once almost destroyed the world. Now, the evil Valuan empire seeks to assemble the Moon Stones and awaken the Gigas once again in their quest for world domination. Vyse must assemble a crew of up to 22 for his flying pirate ship and scour the skies of Arcadia on his quest to save the world ... and of course, find a little treasure.

"’Skies of Arcadia Legends’ for the Nintendo GameCube is the must-have ’director’s cut’ of one of the best RPGs ever made," said Mike Fischer, vice president, marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "With its vibrant story, faster battle engine and hours of new content, ’Skies of Arcadia Legends’ is the adventure Nintendo GameCube RPG fans have been waiting for!"

"Skies of Arcadia Legends" was developed by Overworks, the same studio that created the original "Skies of Arcadia," which was released for the SEGA Dreamcast video game console in late 2000.

"Skies of Arcadia Legends " is rated "T" for Teen and will be available at retailers nationwide for an MSRP of $49.99.