Ys: The Ark of Napishtim

"Going back to old school with the Playstation 2."

The Ys series makes its debut to the Playstation 2 console. It does its job keeping up with the previous games, and includes the main character from the previous ones; Adol Christin.

Graphics: 10/10
This game uses the graphics it needs, and no more than that. When the character attacks, or switches weapons, the character is in no way having 'choppy' graphics. It all links together in a stylish, great looking manner. The different dungeons and such look great, and have a distinct difference from dungeon to dungeon. There is also a lot of character art shown in the game. It's well drawn, and almost sexy...not almost. It is.

Gameplay: 10/10
It has a little spice of its own. It plays like an action/adventure game, and does a good job of it. Adol has his choice of three strong weapons to use. A rapier with the element of lightning, a double edged sword with the element of fire, and a single edged sword with the element of wind. Even better, similar to Devil May Cry 3's active weapon switch system, this game has it too. By pressing the r1/l1 buttons, you can switch out a weapon for another weapon. There's even an active item use. This keeps the game at a fast pace, especially when going up against unique and tough monsters.

Sound: 9/10
The soundtrack of the game is simply amazing. The music has a special innovative impression to it that makes the game unique, and adds to the mood. If a dungeon has a some mysterious sense to it, the music adds a lot more to it.The voice acting in this game was cheesy at first, but it soon changed from cheesy to awesome. The tone of the voices did not stay the same either. If a character was scared, depressed, or angry, the tone of the voice told it all. The only complaint I have about the voicing is that sometimes the music was louder than the voices, and you could not hear them properly. Other than that, it was great.

Controls:9/10
The controls are basic, and excellent. Attacking is classed into two buttons; the square, and the circle button. The Square button does a basic attack, and the circle button does a charged up attack. X is to jump, and triangle is an active item use. There's only one complaint with the movesets, though. The "Dash jump" which requires you to tap the directional button, then press the square and the x button at the same time. Good thing is, this move is mostly required to get rare items in the game, but is not bad to learn if you take some time to practice.

Replayability:10/10
After beating this game on normal mode, there's tons to do. Boss rush mode, and playing on harder difficulties. There's even a "Cheat" mode to add to the fun, just in case you want to spice things up for the new difficulty.

Overall:9/10
Very nice game. I couldn't imagine a better Ys game for the Playstation 2. If you liked Super Nintendo hits such as Illusion of Gaia, Secret of Mana, or any of the Final Fantasy series, you'll love this game quickly.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/31/05