Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (PlayStation 2)

Reviewed by Vince from Wellington, NZ on February 15th, 2006

If you are an RPG fan and miss the old days of cute and colourful anime cartoon gaming then Ys is a must-have!

The first thing that really captivated me was the lush scenery. Every scene is beautifully detailed. There are even points in the game that I’m sure they’ve added for viewers to stop and enjoy the picturesque detail.

The story is immense and you’re left wondering what’s going to happen next. I took an instant liking to a number of the character’s in the game and I love the fact that every character has (and for the most part well spoken) voice-over’s apart from the main character (but that’s not new to the world of RPG’s – many games I’ve played have had the main character just run around fighting while the storyline evolved around them). I have never played any of the other Ys games but that doesn’t matter as the story is completely separate from the others.

Battle is fun! You come across a vast number of equip-able items that improve your statistics apart from the main armour (which you get to see the main character wearing – another thing I dislike about many RPG’s is the fact you get great new armour and when equipped it doesn’t change anything about the character’s appearance). The battle style is one of my favourites – very ‘old-school’ but a classic! You get to jump, slash, dash, and swap swords… all at your own leisure. No waiting while the monster makes its move – its all real time! In some cases you’ve got to be quick!

The music is composed well and helps to bring the game to life. It’s engaging and not irritatingly repetitive.

I highly recommend this to be added to your collection! You’ll want to play it over and over again!

Reviewed by Bruce from Auckland, NZ on October 26th, 2005

Having played some of the originals, I was a bit worried.
This is number VI in the series. Mega drive of IV was a bit boring and didn't think much of V
But Ark is a very enjoyablle game to play.
Old style of gameplay which is brought into this day and age
Music is very relaxing and fun to listen too. Controls are good.
Plenty of hidden items which can be challenging to get.
Unfortunelty the lead character is a Mute. He doesn't seem to have a voice
Sometimes diffcult, but enjoyable.
Hopefully get the remakes of the originals in NZ with the updated gameplay