Ys: The Ark of Napishtim

"Fantastic Action RPG"

Ys, probably one of the best Action-RPG series ever made finally returns in Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim. If you are unfamiliar with it, it's been around since 1988(?) and the first two originally came out for Famicom and MSX. Then they hit mainstream being released in the US for the first time, Falcom re released I&II for Turbo CD with better graphics, music and animations which because a hit classic and despite its constant misspelling (NO IT IS NOT CALLED Y'S, IT IS YS!! AND IT'S PRONOUNCED KIND OF LIKE EA-SE) it was the top RPG(s) of its time even won RPG of the Year, Best BGM&Sound of the Year in EGM Magazine (Reference in EGM'S 1991 Video Game Buyers Guide). Despite its popularity after it's somewhat disappointing yet fun 3rd game Ys never hit American shores again. Then after Ys V (1995) the series was thought to be finished or was it? Now it's been around 7 years and it finally makes its return on PC doing away with alot of the traditions in the former games (screen boarders, pushing enemies) and makes its first mark entering 3D. So how was it you ask? ......

Music 10/10
Ys has always been known for its beautiful music and this is definitely no exception. With beautiful themes, fast paced battle music it is definitely something that keeps you motivated throughout the game.

Graphics 10/10
Wow, everything is detailed wonderfully, from walking across the water, to attacking with your sword everything is visually stunning. Especially the last area with its rich dark colors.

Storyline
Being I have a lack of knowledge of Japanese I can't fairly judge this...

Controls 10/10 (For those using Sidewinders)
Perfect! Everything was easy to reach and with good placement. Although I imagine this game would be alot harder playing with the keyboard and mouse. If you are interested in playing this game be sure to pick up a gamepad. I personally use Sidewinders which you can get for around $5-$15 on amazon.

Gameplay 9/10
When Ys V did away with it's traditional push battle system Ys VI continued. So now you will be able to swing your sword around with a push of a button and utilize combos. One interesting thing they've added which i've never seen in Action-RPGs if any is the fact you only have three swords. Each sword represents a element and has different combos, uses and special attacks. They all can also be upgraded so they never become obsolete. One problem with this though is I felt they didn't use this feature as much as they should have. Imagine going through an elemental dungeon of places like an ice cave where it's mandatory to have that specific sword powered up in order to go through it, sadly you won't see such here and most likely you'll be left sticking with one sword most of the time. Even though there are some exceptions such as certain enemies will react different to certain weapons (rarely I might add) and one of the bosses do require you to constantly switch swords during battle (which is one case you do need them ALL at reasonable levels) and a few doors/jumps that require you to have those swords available, and lastly their special attacks (ones that become charged up over time) you can unleash to speed up battles when needed. Maybe i'm having too high expectations.
Despite all that everything about the game is pretty fun.

Replay Value 11/10
Even though the game is a bit short like most action rpgs (10-15 hours) it never becomes dull or tedious. The new battle system is really fun and i'll definitely be playing it again after I have just beaten it. Even if I didn't understand alot of which was going on everything really kept me going and I never felt totally lost (even without a walkthrough) nor did I feel like I never knew what to do. I definitely want to see fight some of those bosses that gave me a hard time when I started out (especially the one that makes the floors disappear!). I had fun beating it and look forward to beating it again and again.

Overall 10/10
I really would like to congratulate Falcom with it's change to 3D and not screwing it up (like many other franchises that have made the mistake). Everything was perfect and despite alot of the changes it still retained the Ys feel which is what really makes the transition great. Although this is unlikely to reach the states, it is definitely a game to check out for Ys fans and non Ys fans.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/03