When most people think of old school RPG’s, names like Final Fantasy, Dragon
Warrior, and even Shining Force come to mind. Very rarely will you hear anyone
even mutter the name Ys in a conversation involving classic games of the genre,
that is, unless you’re talking to me. For me it was all about good old Adol
Christin, and his extraordinary journeys that seemed to span almost every major
console during my childhood. With having systems like Apple, PC, NES, SNES,
Genesis, and even the uncommon Sega Master System to his list of credits, fans
knew it was only a matter of time before he invaded the PS2. Well thanks to
Konami, that time is now. Much to my delight, after a 2-year stint on the PC in
Japan, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim has finally invaded our shores and landed on the
PS2.
The story in Ark of Napishtim is of the been-there-done-that category. While not
contributing anything groundbreaking, Ys does stay somewhat true to its roots
and offers up a decent, if not reminiscent trip down memory lane. Adol, and his
group of friends, start out on the run from Romun navy, and are quickly forced
to board a getaway vessel in hopes of escaping. As you might expect, things take
a turn for the worse as the ship is sucked into a black hole-like enigma known
as “The Great Vortex, quickly crashes, and then spurts out Adol and friends on a
mysterious set of land know as the Canaan Islands. The first task, after being
dubbed the “new hope” for a struggling population, is to collect the lost pieces
of the renowned “Mirror of Zemeth”, which will lead you from one end of the
islands to the other before it’s all said and done.
Here you will find your typical collection of cast members including amnesiac
old folk, fairies, and more elves than a Peter Jackson flick, most of which have
nothing major to say regarding the main storyline. They do have a lot to say
however. Each of the NPC’s you confront in your quest across the Canaan islands
have multiple lines and conversations that will keep you busy for hours, if you
choose to let them. The only problem this creates is most of the dialogue ends
up being useless, and therefore never is implemented into the story. While this
isn’t detrimental to the actual plot of the game, it still takes away from the
immensity, and overall “mystery” of the story. Very seldom are you forced to
interrogate people or dig up information, a critical element of any good RPG, in
order to advance the storyline further. While this perplexity would bury most
games before they began, Ark uses a little old school charm to hold your
attention and manages to keep you interested for the remainder of the game, even
if it is only around 12 hours long.
“Graphical touches like the character pop-up windows
add some nice old-school charm.”
The game play in Ark isn’t exactly trend setting, but in actuality, the overall
experience benefits from it. Instead of forcing you to learn complicated combos,
jumbled magic systems, or an out of place battle system, Ys goes with the less
is more Alundra style action. Your combat essentially boils down to only two
buttons- one for attacks, and one for jumps. While this may sound slightly
lackluster, it’s actually a little more intricate and more rewarding in this
game than in others of the same mold.
The only real decision you’ll make while being on the offensive is deciding
which of the three swords at your disposal to use. While the choice between
fire, wind, or thunder isn’t exactly complex, you will have to choose which
element suites the appropriate enemy. Slashing away at a fire based adversary
will definetly set you back a few hit points, and will continue to do so until
you switch to the correct sword in order to defeat it. Throw in the ability to
upgrade each of your elements to a more superior form, and you’re left with a
light, but very clever battle system. Jumping also plays a major part in the
game. Your timing during boss battles, not to mention the tons of plat-forming
puzzles you’ll encounter in the massive mazes, becomes critical and perfecting
this will become vital in advancing the story.
I will have to admit, the level design in the
dungeons and mazes weren’t exactly created with forgiving your mistakes in mind.
It almost seems like poor little Adol needs a little boost while jumping,
considering all of the obstacles in his way are placed exactly at his maximum
leaping capacity away from you, which leads to more than one frustrating
situation. Nonetheless, the simple but affective game play does more than it’s
share to keep you playing. While it may not be very deep, this type of system
never takes it self too seriously, or much of your time, allowing you to enjoy
the rest of what Ark has to offer.
“Timing your jumps, and learning patterns, is crucial to winning boss battles.”
The absolute best
part of the entire game for me was the visuals. While that might sound somewhat
maundering at first glance, you won’t truly understand what I’m speaking of
until you see this game in action. Though you won’t be seeing Final Fantasy
style cut scenes, or the PS2 pushed to its graphical limits, you will see an
array of nicely styled spell effects, lush tropical environments, and some
decorously styled characters. Every forest, cave, ruin, and grassy field that
you explore is filled with beautifully detailed backgrounds, but with a dated
style, that pays homage to some of the previous titles in the series. The
characters, including Adol, seem a little small and squashed, but they all look
nicely put together. One advantage of choosing undersized characters is the
ability to make everything around them look bigger in scale, including the
environments, and even the weak but huge boss’s. Although Ark of Napishtim isn’t
as big as some of the previous Ys’ titles, the illusion that comes from the
smaller characters help make up for it. You can tell that plenty of time and
thought went into mixing the older, classic look of the series with the newer
style of visuals that we’ve grown accustomed to, and the result is a compelling
piece of work.
Sadly the sound in
Ark of Napishtim teeters on both sides of the scale: an extraordinary score is
unfortunately almost ruined by some of the most laughable voice acting to come
about in a while. The score from the original Japanese PC version of Ark was
initially supposed to go under the knife and end up being replaced with an
all-new orchestrated soundtrack. Luckily, fans of the series united and voiced
they’re opinion in favor of keeping the original music from the Japanese
version. Well the gamers were heard, and Konami opted to scrap the idea and
chose to leave the soundtrack untouched, which ended up paying off big time.
This is honestly one of the nicer pieces of score that I’ve heard in a while.
While it doesn’t blow me away as the music in “The Vanished Omen” did, it’s up
they’re as one of my favorite scores of the series. It’s just a major letdown
that the quality of the voices couldn’t match the music. Some of the
voice-overs, especially some of the elderly folk, made me cringe…seriously.
While the ability to switch from English to Japanese voices is a nice touch,
some people may not find that a suitable substitute. With voices being such a
huge part of any games makeup, I’d almost rather have no voices, instead of
lackluster ones, because I’m sure that my imagination could have done a more
superior job in this situation.
“Ark of Napishtim is filled to the brim with lush old school environments”
The fine people at
Falcom have really churned out a very addictive, and surprising remake to one of
the greatest series of all time. We as gamers are always hesitant when remakes
of our beloved classics come to light, believe me, I was. If you are a fan of
the Ys series, or even old school action-rpg’s, then please don’t think
hesitantly towards Ys: The Ark of Napishtim, because you won’t be disappointed.
While not doing anything perfect, but doing a lot of things right, Falcom has
managed to respectively bring the series back to life. I hope that Adol, and his
ongoing quests will make another return very soon.
Gameplay: 8.1
You won’t be
shocked by any means in this department. Fairly easily defeated bosses, simple
battle system, and frustrating platforming still can’t keep the gameplay from
being addictive. The ability to upgrade your weapons, along with elemental
specific enemies, keeps the action from growing stale. Though it won’t show you
anything new, the beauty lies in the fact that somehow it doesn’t need to in
order to provide an enjoyable experience.
Graphics:
8.0
The dated, but
very stylish visuals pay perfect homage to the series. The Chrono Cross like
environments makes a beautiful backdrop for huge boss’s, and sleek looking
characters. Even though it doesn’t compare to some of today’s polygonal
heavyweights like Final Fantasy, Ark holds it’s own in a very unique fashion
that blends perfectly to the rest of the game.
Sound: 7.8
Once again,
judging this area is quit the dilemma. A nearly impeccable score is interrupted
by some hideous voice over. While the Japanese voice option is a nice touch
(developers take note), it may not be for the everyday casual gamer. Props to
Falcom, and Konami, for allowing fans of the series to influence what changes
were made in the soundtrack department. If only a little more care had been put
into the voice acting, this department could have been the highlight of the
game.
Difficulty:
Medium
Vets, along with
newcomers, will more than likely blow through this game without many problems.
What difficulty it does throw your way, will be overshadowed by the short length
(about 12 hours), and will probably not force too many gamers to give up along
the way.
Concept: 8.0
I’m a sucker for
classic remakes, especially when they’re warranted. Ys has been, and always will
be, one of my favorite series. With not having a major release since the 16-bit
era, it was the perfect time to bring it back to life. Fans of action-rpg’s will
definitely find something redeeming here and will likely not be disappointed.
However, vets of the Ys series will probably end up drowning in nostalgia before
it’s over, and should end up with a remake that serves the series well.
Overall: 7.9
Anytime a major
series is re-released after a long time off, fans of the series are probably
going to be more excited than the average gamer. Excellent graphics, a simple
but addictive style of combat, and an excellent soundtrack, should be enough to
keep fans of the Ys franchise happy. The only other question that remains is
should the average Joe, or action-rpg fan, really take the time and effort to
explore a franchise that they’re not familiar with? Well the answer is yes. What
redeemable qualities Ark of Napishtim display, decisively outweighs the bad, and
ultimately warrants a fare chance by all gamers.
