And yet it floats.

Sol Ciel, from Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia [PS2].

I like floating islands; they're nice and romantic for the most part. If the JRPG is all about high-flying adventure with a rag-tag bunch of loveable cartoons, I can't think of a whole lot of better settings. It's unfortunate, then, that it's so commonly wasted.

Logic tells us that whoever or whatever takes residence on a piece of land that happens to be drifting in the sky has a powerful reason. Either they want to keep everyone else out or desperately want to keep something in. The first option doesn't appeal to me much; "lost tribes" in JRPG's often consist of hermetic, three hundred-year old douchebags in robes who hide the secret to the world's salvation but won't share it with you, because they keep their scepters rammed up their sphincters when they're not using them.

On the other hand, the idea of travelling to some forgotten prison or mausoleum that sits solemn in the upper stratosphere is worthy of pants-creaming. Scenario: You have to retrieve the sacred heirloom of the ancient royal family, who, as undead ghouls, riot within their stately palace-tomb. Another: You have to put down an unfathomable evil, shackled within a God-forsaken fortress and magically lifted to the skies so no foolhardy adventurer would ever try. Imagine the dread.

But for the most part, floating islands seem tacked-on, like afterthoughts. It's like the scenario writer and the concept artist just finished designing all the endless deserts and twinkling crystal castles and sleepy villages, but now they feel the world they've concieved isn't fantasy enough. Okay, make it float!

Eden, from Atelier Iris II: The Azoth of Destiny [PS2].

I guess all these people went to sleep one night, woke up, looked around, and thought "Oh, we're sky people now I guess that's nice".

Maybe I wouldn't be so displeased with this trend if a little originality was injected into the process. Most floating islands float due to a.) a reason that is not immediately obvious but certainly magical, or b.) a reason that is immediately obvious and certainly magical. (Read: giant chunks of crystal sticking out of its underside. I've had it with crystals.)

Perhaps they need to stop being so utopian and start being a little menacing. What about applying the island-turtle concept? The difference would be that, while the unassuming party may not be aware that they've set up camp on a gargantuan sea-monster's back, the denizens of the sky would have to be fully aware that they're riding on a gentle gas giant, wrapped in clouds and thin air. Whoever is willing to live somewhere like that is cool with me.

Thanks to Creative Uncut for pictures.