Delphinus

"Delphinus" redirects here. For the creature of the same name, see Delphinus (creature).

The Delphinus is one of the most powerful ships in Arcadia. According to Fina, it is named for "an ancient creature that lived in the seas" which she later depicted as some form of flying dolphin on her flag design. Delphinus is the Latin word for "dolphin" similar to the scientific latin name for any of the individual dolphin species which is delphinidae. It is, however, likely to have been named after the constellation of the same name. This would follow the convention applied to all Valuan flagships before it such as The Serpent and The Lynx, which are also named after constellations.

History[]

Vyse and crew took possession of the vessel in a rather spectacular act of piracy against the Empire of Valua, and from that moment on it became their primary vessel and home in the skies. Not so ironically Vyse's group promptly began using what was to be Valua's newest and most powerful ship against the empire at every opportunity, even to the extent of sinking and/or crippling a number of other Valuan Armada flagships. Most notably the Delphinus put a final end to Vyse's rivalry with the Chameleon and its commanding admiral De Loco when a fierce battle between the two flagships left the Chameleon damaged beyond its limits -- exploding quite forcefully.

For a short time during the Valuan invasion of Yafutoma, the Delphinus was reclaimed by the Valuans. Command of the vessel was handed by the Valuan Armada to Muraji who proceded to captain the vessel along with a crew complement of his personal Yafutoma Soldiers and a number of Red Guards. As Vyse and company had now become quite fond (and borderline territorial) of the ship, they acted at first opportunity to re-pirate it. After a sequence of events that began with Vyse's team leaping from the flagship of the Yafutoman fleet to land on (in Enrique's case -- faceplant on) the deck of the Delphinus, and ended with the team defeating Muraji on the bridge, the crew reclaimed their ship never to lose control of it again. The group would continue to use the ship to take on Galcian and, ultimately, Zelos.

It is implied that the air pirates returned the Delphinus to Prince Enrique after the latter returned to Valua at the game's conclusion. Vyse, Aika, and Fina sail away in a new wooden ship, bearing the same flag as the before.

Overview[]

Comparatively, the Delphinus is an order of magnitude more powerful than The Little Jack: It has nearly four times as much HP before any beneficial modifications are made. It has turret mounted cannons that one could comfortably lay bodily in (see 2' cannon item -- a 2 foot diameter shell) whereas the Little Jack had a mere 3 deck mounted rolling cannons per side. The Little Jack was primarily a fishing vessel heavily modified for ship-to-ship combat, whereas the Delphinus on the other hand was built with a militant purpose. It is a war machine by construction and is quite high on the list of the most impressive single vehicles ever envisoned. The Delphinus is the only vehicle to kill a gigas.

Origin[]

The Delphinus was being built with the intent to functioning as Flagship for the Prince of Valua, Enrique. This plan was unceremoniously discarded during the final phases of the ship's construction when Enrique instead gave it to Vyse and joined the Blue Rogues himself on his quest to find the Moon Crystals. Although still in drydock at the time, the vessel was essentially complete, as demonstrated by the fact that it blasted its way out of the Valuan Naval shipyard and primary military base, The Grand Fortress, single-handedly.

The Delphinus has the special distinction of being armed with Valua's newest piece of technology; the only fully-operational Moon Stone Cannon to have been manufactured at the time (The Chameleon utilized a prototype Moon Stone Cannon as a test weapon). The device was so expensive and complex to assemble that it was the only one manufactured at the time. Fortunately for Vyse and crew it is a weapon with few equals, capable of destroying all but the most powerful enemies with a single shot. Even the Silver Gigas will succumb to a handful of shots from this cannon.

Most disturbingly, despite its already impressive power and performance, the Delphinus is merely a prototype. It was Valua's intention to manufacture an entire fleet of Delphinus class ships (apparently sans the moonstone cannon on it's sisterships-to-be). The eventual goal was to use this very fleet to achieve Empress Teodora's goal of expanding the Valuan empire and ruling the world.

Improvements[]

Upon its unplanned maiden voyage from Valua under Vyse's command, the Delphinus was not actually finished. Although most of the remaining construction was not critical (and more than likely cosmetic) there were also a number of sub-systems that were not yet finished, and hence initially not operational. Most critically, the hull was not fully reinforced rendering the ship unable to pierce stone reefs, and the engines required the attention of a skilled mechanic to make the adjustments required to fly through sky rifts.

These modifications are done in game by Brabham at the fledgling Crescent Isle base after Vyse and company are able to amass and pay him 25,000 gold. Once upgraded, the Delphinus is given a new coat of paint; blue of the Blue Rogues instead of purple for the Royalty of Valua, and the standard on the back of the ship is altered to match Vyse's emblem.

Throughout their voyage, the crew comes across new schematics, technologies, and ship parts (either gifted or stolen) that Brabham can use to further upgrade the Delphinus. The crew also makes frequent stops at various ship parts merchants to pick up new and improved cannons, armor, and other modifications which can (apparently) be installed on whim.

Crew[]

While the Little Jack was a fishing boat built for a crew no more than 5 (as evidenced by Vyse being forced to sleep on a hammock in the engine room), the Delphinus is a battleship well above 1200 hundred feet long. Just by virtue of the complexity of the machine alone, a good deal more then 4 people are required to operate it. Because of this fact (which Gilder first points out) Vyse and company quickly engage in the task of gathering a true crew of sailors.

The team recruit crew members from around the world, with at least one member joining in almost every port. Every person that joins brings their own unique skillset, which is reflected in unique stat boosts received when they are on active duty. Some even grant special abilities, make special improvements, or allow the use of a "crew command" to aid the Delphinus in battles. To balance the game, each crew member's special command can only be used once per battle.

The Delphinus crew was gathered solely for Vyse's war against the Valuan Armada, and was disbanded after Ramirez's defeat. Many of the former crew members went to Valua to help Enrique with reconstruction. Only Kirala stayed with Vyse's crew, continuing to work on Crescent Isle.

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Trivia[]

The Delphinus is the third ship in the game if you include Gilder's ship, much more than that if you include the various skiffs, boats and minor ships such as the one Belleza lends you to get to the Temple of Pyrynn, The Albatross on which the game is started, and the skiff used to access Shrine Isle for the first time.
Its power rivals that of the Gigas since you kill three in the game.
There is a model of the Delphinus sitting in a corner of the meeting room at Crescent Isle.
The Delphinus makes an appearance in the background on the Skies of Arcadia themed stage "Rogue's Landing" in Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed during Lap 3.