Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain
Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain is an action-adventure video game. It was developed by Stardust Games and released for the Ion CD in 1992. It uses elements of multiple video game genres, including RPG, platformer, and beat 'em up.
A flagship game for the Ion CD, Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain was critically acclaimed on release. Reviewers praised its diverse gameplay, cinematic cutscenes, and music. It is considered one the best Ion CD games, and has been influential on Gylian video gaming.
Gameplay
Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain is primarily an action-adventure game, using elements from multiple video game genres. These include the exploration, NPC interaction, and leveling up of RPGs, beat 'em up-styled combat, and platforming sections. Much of the game uses a side-scrolling perspective, while the sailing sequences use a third-person perspective, rear view format.
The HUD is visible from the menu, showing the characters' health bars, experience levels, and inventory. Before random encounters, players are given the option whether to fight or evade. Rubis can fight hand-to-hand, attack with a sword and whip, or shoot with a rifle. As she levels up, she gains more powerful combo attacks. Collecting enough special items grants access to bonus stages after completing a level.
The game is fully voice-acted, featuring both animated cutscenes and brief in-game conversations accompanied by character portraits.
Plot
The game takes place in a steampunk setting during the Alscian era, but with the exact year unspecified. Rubis Cœur is a famed sky pirate, commanding a ship that can sail both on water and in the air, and an eccentric crew of five. At the start of the game, she is assisting the Border Guard during a skirmish in the Border War, and saves the detachment from a large ambush. After beating back the ambush, she steals the Xevdenite commander's amulet as a souvenir.
Rubis is drawn into a larger conflict involving multiple factions attempting to discover an artifact known as the Sphere of Power, which can give its owner supernatural powers. She is unaware of this aspect, and mainly goes after it out of a combination of pride, eagerness to humiliate opponents, and expectations of material reward.
At the end of the game, Rubis successfully thwarts her rivals and reaches the Sphere of Power first. Ignorant of its supernatural aspects, she breaks it in half, which destroys its powers but also lets her take the crystals inside of it. She sells the crystals to a jeweler, splits the profit equally with her crew, and then they all go on vacation.
Development
Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain originated as a collective Stardust Games project. When Gyldiv began development of the Ion CD in 1991 and solicited ideas for system sellers to accompany its release. Stardust Games submitted a project proposal involving sky pirates, which was so well-received the team was invited to a meeting with Alexão Simões and Sasti Şaréy, the Directors of the Management Board. The meeting became an impromptu brainstorming session that produced many of the ideas that appeared in the final game.
Encouraged by the mandate to showcase the Ion CD's capabilities, Stardust Games took an ambitious approach. The game came to include animated cutscenes produced by the Gylian National Film Institute, opening and ending credits, voice acting, and a CD-ROM soundtrack. The greater storage capacity of the Ion CD allowed for a larger story and experimentation with different game genres and level styles.
The writing team credited The Secret of Monkey Island as an influence on the game's humour, and gave Elaine Marley a cameo appearance in one town as an acknowledgement. While the game uses many RPG staples, it replaces the genre's turn-based combat with a real-time beat 'em up approach, combo attacks taking the role of magic attacks common to fantasy RPGs. One of the climactic battles where Rubis jumps and rope-swings her way from airship to airship was inspired by the Akashian game Time Gal, and the team attempted to translate it from interactive movie to a platformer.
Having failed to decide on a specific year as a setting, Stardust Games opted for a humorous mashup of Alscian times; one level shows the protagonists foiling an attempt to sabotage the Race Around the World. Rubis' "classical pirate" appearance humorously contrasts with the modern setting, and a few characters remark on it or ask her about it. Her unknowingly destroying the Sphere of Power at the end pokes fun at fantasy stories where a great evil or dangerous object is sealed away instead of destroyed, which the team found frustrating and nonsensical.
During playtesting, one player remarked that although the ships were said in-game to use airship technology to fly, their speed and agility in the air was closer to fighter aircraft. One team member responded, "Yes, we know. If they were slow, it wouldn't be as fun."
Rubis was designed by the team to combine Brigitte Nyman's cheeky naughtiness, Ranyi Sesyk's charisma, and Remi Ďana's self-confident fighting skills. She was devised as a "relaxing" character in the sense that no matter the odds or situation, she remains nonchalant, witty, and boastful throughout. They implemented a dynamic that let players choose to seduce NPCs if they wanted, and scenes of her raiding and plundering mainly for double entendre jokes about "booty".
The voice cast includes several notable names such as Marianne Nyman as one of the crew members, Remi Ďana as one of Rubis' friendly rivals, and Ludmila Canaşvili as a countess. Annie Renard was cast as Rubis due to her interpretation of the character — "halfway between Lisette Rémy and Rauna Næsve", according to a team member.
Most of the game is in French, which lends humour to the parts where Rubis lapses into West Country English for her "pirate speech".
Soundtrack
| Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 5 October 1992 |
| Recorded | June – August 1992 |
| Studio | Village Recorder, Tomes, Gylias |
| Genre | |
| Length | 56:56 |
| Label | Chance Records |
| Producer | Asuka and the Mighty Invincibles |
The soundtrack for the game was recorded by Asuka and the Mighty Invincibles.
The team considered hiring Asuka and the Mighty Invincibles a successful stroke during production. Asuka recalled that their only instruction was: "This will be the first game where people hear CD-quality music while playing. Knock 'em out."
They recorded the soundtrack at their Village Recorder studio in the summer of 1992, postponing a tour in support of Electrified to finish the soundtrack first. Asuka and her bandmates would first watch test footage from the game, in-progress cutscenes, or take requests from Stardust Games, and then begin recording. During the sessions, Maya Ibuki used a combination of acoustic and electronic drum kits, particularly sounds from the Alesis HR-16 and Yamaha RX-5 drum machines.
The music was designed to be looped in the game. For the CD version, the band mastered the songs to play twice through before fading out or ending, and made minor changes — adding intros and endings to a few songs, extending some with jamming, and reversing the intro of "On the Trail!". The order of the tracks on CD is also slightly different from the game.
The soundtrack is mainly in an electronic rock and dance-rock style, combining synthesizer work and programmed rhythms with live instrumentation and hard rock riffs. Jennifer Andrews described it as "very guitar-driven", and said "I got to do some fun Surfing with the Alien, Passion and Warfare guitar antics on it — stuff I'd done more on my solo album [Above Below and Beyond]." The theme song, "Rubis Cœur", features full lyrics and two versions: a faster rock version for the opening animation, and a slower version with acoustic guitar for the ending credits. The rest of the tracks are given humorous titles imitating anime episode titles.
Most of the soundtrack is instrumental, with some songs featuring wordless vocals. "Island Party!" is a samba-influenced pop song, with an acoustic guitar solo and a horn section. "Anyone for Plunder?" uses the same beat, with kalimba and Mubatan vocal chants. "On the Trail!" is based around Hikari's synth riff, with Misato on fretless bass. "Gotta Dash!" combines a heavy metal palm-muted guitar riff, pulsing synthesizers, a beat based on "Whip It", and high-pitched background vocals. The bridge includes samples of studio chatter, echoed and manipulated to be incomprehensible. "That All You Got?" is a moderately fast electronic rock track with palm muted guitars and dramatic synth work.
"Under-what-er Rhymes?" is hip hop-influenced, with a new jack swing beat under Maya's live drumming, reggae keyboard stabs, a funky guitar hook, and scat singing. Misato's slap bass is doubled by synth bass. "Takeoff Is Hard" features heavily reverbed guitar chords and feedback, repetitive synth work, and Nova Express-influenced drumming. "'Cos a Rubis Party Don't Stop!" is a funk track with an intricate drum groove, reggae-influnced breakdown, and flashy guitar solo.
"Take This, Fucker!" is a battle theme, with a 6/4 time signature, heavy metal guitars, and looped vocal-like synthesizers. The bridges add ska-influenced rhythm guitar and wordless vocals, plus a keyboard solo in the middle. "Wait, How Much Repairs?" features sixteenth note palm muted guitars, wah-wah riffs, and a disco-influenced beat over spacey keyboard work. "Omae wa mo kusodeiru!" (Miranian for You're already fucked!) is a funk rock track with a celebratory atmosphere, highlighted by Jennifer's chicken-scratch guitar and Hikari's Prince and The Revolution-styled synth stabs, detouring into a ska bridge.
"Industrial Factory – Mind the Lungs!" is a funk rock track, with a loop of industrial noises playing throughout underneath the band. Its bridge reprises the palm-muted riff from "Gotta Dash!". "Arrival in Style!" features an ascending bass riff, chicken-scratch rhythm guitar, synthpop keyboards, and a heavy metal guitar solo that makes heavy use of the whammy bar. "Gravity: My Arch-Enemy!", which plays during Rubis' airship-leaping sequence, revolves around a stiff drum machine and three-note keyboard ostinato, with chaotic percussion work and intermittent guitar feedback included to suggest the sensation of airsickness or risk of missing a jump. The song works up to a dramatic conclusion in the last bars.
The final battle theme, "Why Is This Final Fight So Hardcore?!", features a heavy metal guitar riff doubled on fretless bass, played over a processed loop, reversed piano and sampled guitar squeals, and Asuka and Maya playing bongos on- and off-beat. Three additional tracks are included after the ending theme: jingles for the continue screen and Rubis obtaining power-ups, and the special stage theme, which is heavily keyboard-based.
Tracklist
| No. | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Rubis Cœur (Opening Theme)" | 3:10 |
| 2 | "Island Party!" | 2:40 |
| 3 | "Anyone for Plunder?" | 3:54 |
| 4 | "On the Trail!" | 3:04 |
| 5 | "Gotta Dash!" | 3:52 |
| 6 | "That All You Got?" | 2:48 |
| 7 | "Under-what-er Rhymes?" | 3:18 |
| 8 | "Takeoff Is Hard!" | 3:36 |
| 9 | "'Cos a Rubis Party Don't Stop!" | 3:05 |
| 10 | "Take This, Fucker!" | 3:22 |
| 11 | "Wait, How Much Repairs?" | 2:35 |
| 12 | "Omae wa mo kusodeiru!" | 3:12 |
| 13 | "Industrial Factory – Mind the Lungs!" | 3:39 |
| 14 | "Arrival in Style!" | 2:23 |
| 15 | "Gravity: My Arch-Enemy!" | 3:19 |
| 16 | "Why Is This Final Fight So Hardcore?!" | 2:17 |
| 17 | "Ruby Cœur (Ending Theme)" | 3:39 |
| 18 | "Continue?" | 0:22 |
| 19 | "Power-Up!" | 0:22 |
| 20 | "Special Stage Theme" | 2:19 |
| Total | 56:56 | |
Personnel
- Asuka and the Mighty Invincibles
- Asuka — lead vocals ("Rubis Cœur"), vocals, sampler, Fairlight CMI, percussion, programming
- Hikari Horaki — vocals, keyboards, keytar, sampler, programming
- Jennifer Andrews — vocals, guitar, guitar synthesizer, tape loops
- Misato Katsuragi — vocals, bass, synth bass
- Maya Ibuki — vocals, drums, percussion, programming
- Additional personnel
- Iásas Municipal Orchestra — horns ("Island Party!")
Reception
Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain received critical acclaim on release. As one of the titles bundled with the Ion CD, it was considered an exceptional demonstration of its capabilities. It was one of the most commercially successful Gylian video games, with total distribution figures of more than 2 million.
GameCentral praised the game for using the Ion CD's capabilities to its fullest, writing positively of its gameplay, animation, voice acting, and soundtrack. Level described it as "juggling genres and gameplay styles with an adeptness and ease rarely seen". The Mişeyáke Metro Mail similarly highlighted the smooth animation, "beautiful cutscenes", and exciting hand-to-hand combat. Radix commented that in contrast to the lofty goals of Rubis' opponents, it's ultimately her more prosaic ambition of making money that prevails, and by breaking the Sphere she unknowingly saves the world from a greater evil.
The game's soundtrack also received positive reviews from leading music magazines like Musical Update, Sound Observer, and Planet Rock — the latter remarking on the irony that a steampunk game had a soundtrack more fitting a science fiction one. These and positive reviews in non-specialised media made it a landmark in the Ion-era transformation of video games into a national pastime, together with other games like Ultraviolence and International Superstar Football.
It was later uploaded to Proton Games.
Legacy
Rubis Cœur: Sky Captain remains an iconic game of the Ion CD and is considered groundbreaking in the history of Gylian video gaming. It established Stardust Games' reputation for ambitious, "cinematic" games, which later led them to a long partnership with Dreamwave Games. GameCentral wrote in 2012 that the game "raised the bar permanently for Gylian gaming" through its skilful blend of multiple genres and accomplished animation and soundtrack, influencing numerous other games in its wake.
The high-profile recruitment of Asuka and the Mighty Invincibles to record the soundtrack also set a precedent: it contributed to a norm of Gylian soundtracks being made by established or soon-to-be-successful musicians with a similar modern and eclectic sound.
Rubis became an iconic "wicked" character in Gylian pop culture, being referenced, parodied, or making cameo appearances in a variety of media. The character's popularity made Annie Renard an in-demand voice actress, and also led her to joke in an interview that her obituaries would simply say, "She voiced Rubis Cœur."
Although interest in the continued adventures of Rubis Cœur was high, Stardust Games never produced a sequel or any other media involving the character. One writing team member explained in 2005 that they never managed to come up with an idea they felt would make a worthy successor to the game. However, Stardust Games did give unofficial approval and encouragement to several fan projects, including a Gylimanga that speculated on Rubis' adventures in the Free Territories.