Ys: The Ark of Napishtim Review (no fat)

Game Description

The 6th installment in the Y's series, Y's: The Ark of Napishtim, is about the continuing story of Adol Christin. He is the main character of the Y's series, and is 23 years old in the latest. Adol, most noted for his bright red hair, was washed ashore on an island chain after falling off a ship and being sucked into a vortex. Hoping to return home, he must unlock the mystery of the Ark of Napishtim and find out why the vortex keeps anyone from leaving this secluded island chain. Along the way, you will encounter many different people who will offer guidance and assistance as you seek answers.

Y's: The Ark of Napishtim Gameplay

Y's: The Ark of Napishtim is an action RPG, which means there is no separate battle screen and enemies are running around trying to attack you. To defend yourself from the hordes, you will acquire 3 special swords along your journey. You have a limited number of weapons, armor, shields, and items that your character can carry. As it is geared towards immediate action, even boss fights are sword duels that require physical strength and skill. Often, you will come across enemies that are much stronger than you. When this happens, you will need to go back and fight weaker enemies to level up your character. This is an expected occurrence in the game so be prepared to spend time on leveling up Adol.

While you encounter several characters along your quest, your party never expands beyond Adol. Everyone else you meet is more a source of information and help than an actual ally. You fight battles on your own. Before starting the story, you are given a choice of 3 modes to play: Normal, Hard and Nightmare. Your enemy’s strength, and how quickly you level up, depend upon the mode you select. Boss fights can be extremely difficult if you forget to set your tool and you do not pay close attention to its opening sequence. During the beginning sequence, a boss will often show you a weakness that you can exploit, such as jumping over their hands to strike at its chest.

Y's: The Ark of Napishtim Battle System

With an action RPG there is no turn-based activity. You can see the enemies on the screen, and more importantly, they can and will see you. There are times where you can be surrounded by enemies and you will need to hit the attack button as fast as you can to save yourself. To survive in the game, you need to remember the importance of tools. In Y's, tools are your healing item and have a special place on your menu, as well as a special button on your controller. It is very important to set your tool to a healing item that you have in stock. During boss fights, you cannot open your menu so if you do not have a tool set, you will not be able to heal yourself.

Magic is possible in the game but it is tied to your sword and not your character. You will be granted 3 special “emeles” swords in the game, which you can level up and gain magical abilities. To use magic, you must fight enemies to charge up your meter. Once your meter is full, you can unleash attack and then you must fill up the meter again.

Y's: The Ark of Napishtim Special Features

On the home menu, you are automatically given the option for “Time Attack”. This becomes active once you defeat your first boss. The “Time Attack” option is a test to see how fast you can defeat past bosses that you have faced. During gameplay, you can unlock 3 other menus: Trial, Character DataBase and Media Player. To unlock these, you will need to bring 3 characters a special item that can be found during your journey. The “Trial” option is where you can replay mini-games that you have unlocked throughout your quest. Character Data Base is where you can read notes about the main characters that you have come across and Media player is where you can listen to select music that Adol has come across on his journey.

Y's: The Ark of Napishtim Technicalities

The visuals in the game are probably one of its best features. The characters are fully 3D and they are all unique. You are not going to keep running across the same NPC with different names. The background images, such as trees and waterfalls, at times seems like you are looking at a painting, but it is so well done that it makes the game seem more detailed.

The music is another bright spot and you might find yourself tapping your foot to the beat as you wander around the towns. The sound effects, such as rock bombs exploding, are very impressive. In this version of Y's, none of the characters have sound bites and Adol, who is even more extreme, doesn’t even have dialogue. He just reacts to things that people say.

Y's: The Ark of Napishtim – Summing Up

The Ark of Napishtim is another excellent installment in the Y's series. It is very rare for a series to continue on with the same character, the Final Fantasy series have several main characters and is over hundreds of years. The gameplay is fun if you are looking for a more action oriented RPG. It’s not as mindless as a hack-and-slash game but it still gives you direct control over the character. His success or failure is based on your movements, not on random chance.

There is one notable problem with Y's and its not the game, but how the PSP handles it. Every time you change screens, the game pauses for several seconds to load. This doesn’t just happen once or twice, but every single time that you change screens from one level to the next. This can be very tedious at times, especially if all you are doing is backtracking to level up.

If you can stand the loading time, Y's: The Ark of Napishtim is a fun game with great replay value. You have 3 modes to choose from and 3 additional menu features that add depth to the game. This title isn’t for someone who is looking for a quick game though. It will probably take you well over 25hrs, and even longer if playing on Nightmare, as you are required to do some leveling up. The Ark of Napishtim is a deep, interesting game to get yourself lost into.

Y's: The Ark of Napishtim

The game currently retails for $29.99US.