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.