Ys: The Ark of Napishtim

"The king is back."

In 1991, a door was tragically shut on US gamers. A small cult of fans who pledged their devotion to a gaming saga known as Ys (pronounced "EESS", not "WISE", not "EASE", not "Y-S", "EESS". Got it?) would play their last hand at their beloved series, Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. Not only was Ys III the last game to be released here, it was also somewhat disappointing to the hardcore fans who adored Ys Book I & II, which made shockwaves through the gaming community and is still rightfully heralded as one of the greatest games of all time. The editors at EGM even mentioned in their recent review of Ys VI that Ys Book I & II was one of only a handful of games ever to garner a perfect 10 score. Ys III left us yearning for more. A decent action game in its own right, but a weak, detached, unfamiliar installment to the series.

Two years later, Falcom released two different versions of Ys IV. The canon Ys IV: Dawn of Ys on Turbo CD, which returned to its roots by reincarnating all of the elements which made Book I & II so lovable, and the sad Super Famicom port released by Tonkin House, Ys IV: Mask of the Sun. The games were as different as Dracula X on Turbo CD and Dracula X on SNES. Unfortunately, due to the lack of interest Falcom's games had received in the US, Falcom didn't bother releasing either version of Ys IV here. The same would be true for Ys V: Kefin, The Lost City of Sand, which would see two releases on Super Famicom in 1995 and 1996. The Ys series faded out of all US knowledge and became an obscure relic. Ys remakes continued to flood Japanese and even Korean markets, and in 2003, Falcom released Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim on Japanese PC. It quickly became the highest grossing PC game of all time in Japan, and 2nd highest grossing PC game of all time in Korea under Rhapsody of Zephyr.

Then, early in 2004, Konami dropped a bomb on the cult gaming community. They purchased the publishing rights to the Ys series and prepared to make a PS2 translation of the sixth installment to the series, touching up its visual aspects with CG cinemas and polygonal models. Not only that, but this game would be coming to the US. Although Konami was taking a big chance, they soon received a lot of ridicule for tampering with the game. False rumors that Konami was switching out JDK's classic rock tracks for orchestral music and that they were totally murdering the game spread like wildfire. But Konami has proved their integrity, not only releasing an excellent, improved port of Ys VI, but doing the entire series justice by maintaining its old school feel.

Graphics
The PS2 port of Ys VI has had a graphical overhaul. The backgrounds have remained the same, but the raggedy, pixilated sprites from the PC version have now been replaced with smooth, highly detailed polygonal models that work and interact a lot better with the 3D backgrounds. While the game might look somewhat unimpressive to those coming off their Metal Gear Solid 3 and Resident Evil 4 binges, one mustn't compare the game to others so detached from its genre. Ys is an overhead perspective action RPG. Its camera angles are very similar to those of Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath. When compared to other games of its genre, Ys VI rises far above the competition, blowing games like BD, CoN, and Fallout out of the water with its breathtaking backgrounds and beautifully animated characters. Not to mention an anime theme, which is a nice breath of fresh air compared to games with horrible, fish-lipped, huge-breasted, Conan the Barbarian-styled designs from the aforementioned games above.

The special effects are also a thing to be praised. The explosions, slash marks, beams, fireballs, and all of the other pyrotechnics in the game aren't just impressive, but beautiful, in that old school way. There are always vibrant colors flooding into the battles, making melees with dozens of enemies at once extremely intense. Fused with the fast pace of the combat and the flashy color show of special effects, dungeon exploring is quite exhilarating. While Ys VI isn't the best looking game out right now, it is certainly the best looking game in its genre, once again proving that Japanese people still do things a little bit better than we do.

Outside of the game proper are two different sets of cinematic sequences. You can choose to either have the updated CG cinemas carry you along in story-driven moments, or beautiful anime cinemas from the PC version. The CG cinemas are decent, but just don't feel quite right. Ys is, after all, the game which first showed us the glory of semi-animated sequences in a video game. The anime cinemas are the way to go if you truly want to experience what Ys is about. The anime cinemas are some of the most spectacular in any game to date, rising far above even Tales of Symphonia. It's nice to see anime sequences in video games now adays. CG cinemas are washing out all of the beautiful artwork I loved seeing in the 32-bit era. And Ys delivers that wonderful style like no other game can.

Design
The world and characters of Ys maintain the same feel that drew us into the first magical game in 1989. It's a wonderful thing to see the plate-mail wearing, vibrant-haired, colorful heroes and heroines you usually only see in Working Designs games these days. In an age of growing blandness and realism, Ys VI takes us back to a time when adventure was the game, and fantasy was the theme. Every character in the game has their own look and matching artwork for the dialogue sequences. Even the NPCs. Not one single character model in the entire game is used twice. During dialogue sequences, each characters' facial portrait is displayed near their text. During crucial events, full versions of the artwork are erected on the screen, all of which having different variations to reflect what they're feeling in that moment. Few games are presented this way anymore, and I'm grateful to Falcom for not conforming to the CG market and presenting us these beautiful artworks.

The environments of the Canaan Island chain are equally inspiring of the old school feeling that the character designs and artwork bring. The stages and towns are highly detailed. The moment you step into the Quetera Forest, you'll be taken aback as you gather all the sights of crystalline water flowing beneath the roots of the moss-covered trees. An ominous feeling of foreboding will overcome you when you step into the Ruins of Amnesia. The ancient runes carved in its tiles perhaps speaking words of warning of the doom that lies ahead, as the guardian statues peer out at you from the shadows, whispering stories of a long lost civilization. The same feelings that inspired us when we first stepped into the Tower of Darm or the Ruins of Moondoria, or when we made that long, ominous walk to Dark Fact's chamber. While some my say that Ys VI's designs are unoriginal, one must remember that it was Ys Book I & II that invented a lot of those designs who's popularity made them unoriginal. Ys VI merely attempts to re-inspire the feelings us Ys fans had when we played the first games, and it does so beautifully.

Sound
In 2001, Falcom released Ys Eternal I-II: Complete, a remake of Ys Eternal I-II, which itself was a remake of Ys Book I & II on Turbo CD. Ys Eternal I-II: Complete was the first game in the series that featured realistic sound effects. The old Turbo CD games took advantage of the system's redbook audio for the music and dialogue sequences, but still relied on its 8-bit FM sound card for the sound effects. Ys Eternal I-II: Complete presented amazing ambiance we Ys fans hadn't heard before, with gut wrenching sounds of flesh being sliced through as Adol ran his foes down, and other equally impressive effects that sounded like they were recorded in the real world. Ys VI continues to improve upon these realistic effects. The slashing sound effects are extremely brutal, and the footsteps and other natural sounds are extremely organic, further drawing you into the Ys world.

On the other hand, there's the voice acting. While the Japanese voices are enjoyable for their strange, character-based accents, the English dub will make your ears bleed. When playing Ys VI, it's strongly recommended that you use codes to set the dialogue to Japanese, or you might find yourself speeding through dialogue sequences just to make the hurting stop. Despite this, I still have to give Ys VI a perfect sound score. Most games these days have terrible dubs anyway, but force you to listen to them. Ys VI gives you the option to listen to the game in Japanese with English subtitles, so no one has any excuse to complain. This is a little detail a lot of other publishers need to pick up on.

Music
One of the things that made Ys Book I & II the "greatest game ever" to almost everyone who got their hands on it was the incredible hard rock soundtrack performed by Falcom's legendary sound team, JDK, which game music legend Yuzo Koshiro (Sega's Koji Kondo) was once a member of. JDK returned for Ys III and Ys IV, providing almost equally incredible soundtracks while not merely being rehashes. They managed to place an individual style with each installment of the series. Unfortunately, since Ys V was only released on SFC, a cart-driven system, there wasn't really any way JDK could make music for it. Instead, standard mock-orchestral themes were used for the game, which seriously detached it from the "Ys feeling". The JDK soundtracks were a staple of the series. When you loaded an Ys game and heard the music, you'd say, "Hey! It's Ys!" immediately. For a lack of this, Ys V is not exactly the most popular installment in the series.

Falcom sound team JDK also did not return for the first Ys remake on PC, and the later PS2 remake. Fear of this repeating for Ys VI gripped me until I heard the soundtrack from the PC game. It had been 10 years since JDK had made an Ys soundtrack, and as soon as I heard the music in Ys VI I still managed to say, "Hey! It's Ys!" However, sometime in mid-2004, Konami released several videos of Ys VI in action, with orchestral tracks playing in the background. Rumors immediately spread that Konami had replaced JDK's soundtrack, and people were angry. It is quite common for demo videos to use music that will dramatize the action in a game. I don't recall seeing too many videos that used actual game music, and rest assured, JDKs original soundtrack is still intact in this incarnation of Ys VI. It will suck you Ys fans right back into that rockin' world who's halls were filled with legendary riffs like Seal of Time and A Fiery Kiss from Eldeil that put some of Van Halen's greatest works to shame. While not quite on par with the older games, the feeling is still there, and few soundtracks of today can compare. This is the stuff dreams are made of.

Story
Ys VI starts off right where saga left off. Adol and Dogi are continuing their adventures whilst constantly being pursued by the Romun Empire, when they meet up with Ladoc, a pirate, and father of Terra (a familiar face to Ys veterans). Before the reunion can take place, Romun soldiers under the command of Agares storm the area searching for the red-haired hero. Adol and company are forced to escape to the sea with captain Ladoc. The next phase of their adventure will take them to the Vortex of Canaan, an abyss of storms and whirlpools that no living thing has ever returned from. During their trip, the group is attacked by a fleet of Romun ships. Adol is swept into the Vortex and washes up on a beach in the Canaan Island chain, which rests inside the Vortex. Adol is brought back to health by Olha and Isha, members of a elf-like tribe called the Rheda.

Through his relationship with Olha, Isha and their uncle, Chief Ord, Adol learns of events currently happening in this strange world, and a growing feud between the Rheda and Eresians (humans) who have washed up there during previous ventures into the Vortex. But as usual, Adol is thrusted right in the middle of a much darker plot, and so Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim kicks off. Ys VI has a fairly straightforward plot. Ys has never been a game to play for its story no more than Zelda, its slightly older brother. Ys is all about raw, unfiltered gameplay and exploration. While Ys VI is a bit more story-heavy than previous installments to make it feel more aligned with the trend of complex stories in games, none of its twists or revelations will make your head spin if you've played games like Metal Gear Solid and Xenogears. The story is merely there to provide intellectual amusement in the midst of all the chaos. It is interesting without being complex, and simple without being boring.

Gameplay
This is where Ys VI really shines through. One of the fascinating things about the Ys series is all the different modes of gameplay that have been applied to the series. In Ys I, II, and IV, Adol ran headlong into his enemies. The object was to stay slightly off center and cut them down in swathes. In Ys III, the gameplay was changed entirely, from overhead perspective to side-scrolling, and Adol was able to attack manually and even jump. Ys V returned to the overhead perspective, but retained the more controlled aspects of Ys III. This allowed Ys to have the same expansive world from the previous games, and still be able to retain the platforming elements that redeemed Ys III. Ys VI expands on Ys V's engine. While it may look like Baldur's Gate, it plays more like Dynasty Warriors.

Ys is an old school, hack-and-slash, overhead perspective action RPG. Like in Baldur's Gate or Diablo, you run around killing things, picking up what they drop, and leveling up, whilst exploring dungeons and uncovering the mysteries of the world. Ys VI is a lot more intense that any other game in its genre. The pace is extremely fast, and some softer gamers might have a hard time coping with it. Though you are given a lot of freedom to explore, treading too far in the wrong direction might get you killed. If you're not at just the right level, you wont be able to harm enemies in certain areas, and such enemies will tear you apart in no time. Avoiding permanent damage because of this requires careful save data management.

You can no longer save wherever you want to. Ys has now incorporated the RPG staple of save points. Should you die, however, you wont necessarily be sent back to the nearest save point. Most dungeons have checkpoints where you will be revived if you die without having to return to where you last saved, and if you die while fighting a boss, you'll return to the boss fight once you're revived. This prevents a lot of tedious repeating of everything you did after your last save.

The main theme of Ys VI are three elemental swords. These three swords function in totally different ways, and are also keys to unlock doors that lead further into the game's depths. While the three swords have a similar base set of attacks, they can be leveled up by finding Emel, an indigenous metal found only in Canaan (sounds similar to Cleria, doesn't it? *hint hint*). Emel is dropped by all enemies, and once you've collected enough, you can take your haul to the Emelas Studio and level up the swords, making them stronger, giving them longer combos, and increasing the power of their magic. As the swords grow, they become more unique, so it's hard to become bored with the combat engine because you can change it entirely at the tap of a button.

One of the highlights in Ys VI are the boss fights. Extremely impressive, epic, and packed to the brim with chaos beyond your wildest dreams, some battles will leave you exhausted and overwhelmed with intensity. If you just can't get enough of the boss fights, there's a Boss Rush mode, which is sort've like Survival Mode, and various other extras you can unlock by either beating the game or entering certain codes. This provides plenty of replay value, and the action packed gameplay will certainly keep you from putting Ys VI away after you've beaten it.

Overall
What more can I say? Ys VI is a must have if you've ever laid your fingers on an Ys game previously. It's a solid buy if you've never even heard of the series before, and most haven't. If you're an old school gamer and are tired of waiting half a decade between every overpriced Working Designs release, by all means, Ys VI is for you. If you just want something to kill time until the next big thing hits, there are few better ways to kill your time than with Ys VI. If you want sappy love stories or mindboggling brain****s, play Final Fantasy or Xenosaga. Me? I'll take Ys VI any day.

Scoring
Graphics 8/10
Design 10/10
Sound 5/5
Music 15/15
Story 12/15
Control 5/5
Gameplay 40/40
Total 95/100, 10/10 GameFAQs scale

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/05, Updated 03/05/05