Ys: The Ark of Napishtim – PSP – Review

Adol Christin. For some that name
brings just as many memories as Link, Cloud or other legendary characters from
role-playing games. Adol has always been the main character in the Ys series
which has it’s roots dating back to the 8-bit (NES, Sega Master System) era.
Even though Adol might be a new name to the majority of PSP owners, that doesn’t
diminish Adol’s impact in gaming. Ys Book I & II for the Turbo Grafx CD system
was a great game that shouldn’t be overlooked by the true hard-core RPG fan.
Living up to past greatness is a difficult task and the latest edition of Ys is
still overshadowed by Adol’s past adventures.

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim for the PSP
is actually based on the PS2 version that was released in 2005. I need to
comment now that I never played the PS2 version so my comments about the PSP
version will be comparison free. For those that have played the PS2 version the
PSP version contain modes exclusive to the PSP; a mini game mode, media player
and a character database. If you played the PS2 version then your reasons to
purchase the PSP version (I assume) would be that you enjoyed the PS2 version
and want the new, exclusive, modes not found in the console version. Then you
can skip the rest of the review because you already know everything else about
the game. Go on, Adol, the Red awaits you and your PSP.

Ok, the rest of you that are still
here, we can begin the proper review. The Ys series has always been an
action-RPG game with some unique experiments in combat. For example, the first
Ys game had fighting monsters by simply walking up to the monster in order to
attack. There wasn’t a button to press to attack, you just walked into a
monster.  But it wasn’t as easy as it sounds because if you weren’t properly
leveled up then the combat would have you starting over in a split second. It
was all about gaining experience points, leveling up and then moving to
different areas of the game with stronger monsters.

The Ark of Napishtim has grown only
a little with this formula by adding an attack button. You control Adol with
either the analog nub or the direction buttons and attack with your sword by
pressing the square button. Adol has even added a jump move to his arsenal which
can be performed by pressing the "X" button. But to bring Adol even further into
the modern era of gaming you can perform special attacks such as attacking in
the air and performing an downward strike after jumping. Other special moves
include the ability to perform consecutive attacks, upward strikes and dash
attacks. Some of you are probably wondering just what the big deal about these
attacks are considering these have been common place in some action RPGs for
several years. Well it’s really not a big deal but it’s what we have with this
episode of Ys. The combat has grown tremendously since the first game but the
implementation of the combat makes this game feel even farther out of tune with
modern games.

The game plays out via an over the
top view and the combat is in real time. The action during combat feels
disjointed and out of sync, with Adol’s attacks often being out of place.  For
example, while attacking one monster either Adol or the monster will continue to
move while attacking which often results in additional monsters attacking. But
with Adol moving while attacking I would frequently miss attacks because Adol
would move past the monster. Or if I pressed the attack button three times in a
row to execute a special attack I would miss the monster completely because Adol
would move past the monster. Except for boss battles I never felt in complete
control during combat because of Adol’s movements and the constant barrage of
monsters. You will always be fighting off hordes of monsters every time you move
between areas. The same monsters will respawn for each location/area you
explore.

The constant swarm of monsters is
actually a necessity in Ys simply because the game is a level freak. If you’re
not strong enough for a particular area you find while wandering around (thanks
for a useless, hard-to-read map) the monsters will quickly dispatch you, almost,
instantly. But you will always find this out the hard way, which is after you
die because you will barely have enough time to react and run for cover. In
order to properly play a Ys game you have to spend time leveling your
character. If you don’t take the time to raise your experience points by
spending hours upon hours in combat then the game will be constant lesson in
frustration. I would call this the old-school RPG lesson plan. If you don’t
listen to what the teacher is telling you then you get whacked on the knuckles
with the ruler and put in the corner. If you played a Ys game previously then
this is old news but for those that haven’t, you have been warned.

A few more items to mention
regarding the combat are the swords and additional items. Adol will earn three
different swords in the game that have their own unique abilities. But you will
be able to increase the strength of your sword by collecting an item called "emel."
When you increase the strength of your swords you also unlock special attacks
that can be performed for each sword. The game includes a standard inventory
system that allows you to use various items you collect during the game. Special
items are always included in your inventory as well. The game allows you to
select one item tool item that you can use at anytime during the game without
accessing the inventory system.

The storyline of the game is a
standard RPG story that will keep you entertained long enough to finish the game
with a few surprises. Adol washes up on a beach and is rescued by two elvish
looking girls. Adol is soon out on his adventure to find out the mysteries of
the Great Vortex and the island he is stranded upon. The game includes
references from previous Ys games that will be difficult to understand
considering that not every Ys game was released in America.

The graphics of the game are good
for a PSP title with vibrant colors and great-looking anime-style characters.
The characters are 3D models in the game but have a 2D anime style avatar that
pops up during conversations. Usually the avatars will display just the
characters head but during important conversations the entire body of the
character will be viewable. There were a couple of issues with the graphics. One
being no option to change the camera angle or to move the camera. The camera
angle is always stuck on a static view that follows Adol. Another issue was a
slight blinking in certain parts of the screen while Adol was moving through a
town. The blinking would usually happen to just one item on screen while I was
moving Adol around. Once again I did not play the PS2 version so I cannot
comment on any graphical differences between the two versions.

Now this review wouldn’t be complete
without me mentioning "Now Loading…" Be prepared to see those two words more
than anything else in the game itself. No matter how small or large an area I
explored the game was constantly having to load the next screen. The load times
would take usually 30 seconds to a minute, which is about normal on the PSP
(unfortunately). But when you take into consideration that I might only spend a
few seconds in rooms I’ve already explored, then I spent more time looking at
the Now Loading screen than I did playing the game. The game would even pause
for a few seconds in the inventory screen when I would select items. I could
hear the PSP reading data off of the UMD at all times which put a strain on the
battery life. The game was ready for a recharge after about two and half hours
of gameplay.

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is a solid
if underachieving game for the PSP system. If you’re looking for an old-school
style RPG and you don’t mind long load times then you will probably enjoy Ys. Or
if you’ve played any of the Ys games before and wanting to play the role of Adol
Christin again, then look no further than your PSP. But with the advancement of
the RPG game it’s hard to take a step back no matter how charming our memories
might be of a long forgotten loved one.

Gameplay: 6.5
The quirky hack-and-slash combat feels incomplete at times. Having to
constantly level up to move to the next area might be too frustrating for new
gamers.

Graphics: 7.3
This isn’t the best looking game on the PSP but the game does have some
vibrant colors and great looking anime-inspired characters  and avatars.
The monster character models don’t match the same detail as Adol and the
non-playable characters. The animation of the characters gets very choppy at
times especially during combat.

Sound: 7.0
The game includes a mix of good orchestral tracks to set the tone of the
game. The sound effects of the combat are adequate but standard fare heard in
countless other games. Thankfully no voice acting was included in the game
because I’m sure the load times would have increased even more.

Difficulty: Medium
The game is only as hard as you make it out to be. If you spend hours
leveling up Adol then you might find the game a piece of cake. But if you want
to actually play the game, then the challenge will be knowing when to take the
time to level up (hint..don’t wait until you reach a new area).

Concept: 6.3
This version of Ys is very similar to the old versions released years ago.
Even with the addition of the new combat system there really isn’t much
different in how the game plays compared to the older games in the series. The
exclusive PSP features are a nice bonus but nothing that makes the game stand
out.

Overall: 6.8
Some series age great as time goes on by innovating with new ideas or
tweaking just the right elements to make an old idea seem fresh. Ys: The Ark of
Napishtim falls short in innovating or creating something fresh from an old
idea. But if you love Adol and the Ys series then you already know what to
expect. I should add that if it wasn’t for the questionable load times then the
game would have been more enjoyable. Maybe we could get a DS version that
eliminates the load times? Konami, Falcom, anyone?