- Battle against over 50 hideous monsters and huge bosses.
- Meet a host of characters, heroes, enemies and friends complete with full voice-overs.
- Explore beautifully rendered environments including exotic caves, tranquil forests, and.
- mysterious dungeons.
- Beautiful CG and animated cut-scenes advance the story of the adventure.
Product Description
-------------------
Washed ashore on an uncharted island, Adol Christin
begins a new journey in Ys: The Ark of Napishtim. Lush
environments, fully rendered characters, and animated 3D
backdrops combine to create the setting for Adol's latest
adventure. In the world of Canaan, our red-headed hero must fight
deadly monsters and menacing bosses with a variety of
combinations, special attacks, and magical spells creating a
uniquely deep and compelling gameplay experience. Along the way,
players can power-up three magical s to gain special
abilities and attacks and unlock hidden secrets that showcase the
previous legacies of Ys. As an added bonus for PS2 users, there's
even an all-new original soundtrack that composed specifically
for this version of the game.
From the Manufacturer
---------------------
Washed ashore on an uncharted island, Adol Christin
begins a new journey in Ys: The Ark of Napishtim. Lush
environments, beautifully rendered characters, and animated 3D
backdrops combine to create the setting for Adol's newest
adventure. In the world of Canaan, our red-headed hero must fight
deadly monsters and menacing bosses with a variety of
combinations, special attacks, and magical spells, creating a
uniquely deep and compelling gameplay experience.
Features:
* Power-up three magical s to gain special abilities and
attacks
* Combines real-time, fast-paced action and strategic boss
battles
* Full voice-over for all NPC characters Adol meets on his
adventure
* Unlock secrets including new game modes, cut-scenes, and
endings
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Review
------
Popping the new adventures of Adol Christin into your PS2 is like
going to a bar and ordering up a sidecar – what you're really
doing is calling back a bygone era, for good or ill. The problems
with searching through the past (for drinks or games) are many –
maybe the bartender won't know how to whip up such a classic
libation correctly and, maybe even worse, you won't like it as
much as you remember.
Clearly, a team who knows the roots of this genre has made Ys:
The Ark of Napishtim – the classic elements are expertly and
accurately done. There's a lone boyish hero thrust into an
unfamiliar place. The world is infused with long-standing feuds
and societies based on both magic and industry. Even the classic
town drunks are present along with the gruff tribal leader who
begrudgingly accepts the lead character, despite his foreign
upbringing. The weaponry is imbued with elemental powers and the
enemies are over-the-top and downright wacky.
Yet playing the game begs the question, "Is all of this a good
thing?" Do we want to go this far back, and is the experience
rewarding? Overall, I'd say yes. There's something undeniably
simple and comforting about such a pure experience. It's true
that games (and gamers) have become much more sophisticated, but
that doesn't utterly deny the allure of classic gaming.
In Ark of Napishtim, some things are updated judiciously – the
art direction and general visual style is very modern and takes
advantage of the hardware. Enemies swarm onscreen while featuring
detailed and varied designs. Yet, within this obvious nod to
advanced hardware, some trademarks of old-school ideals rear
their heads, and I really wish they wouldn't. Adol is silent and
awkward text messages let players know that he has "explained the
situation to
." It's cumbersome and distracting – the
other voice work in the game is nice, and the hero should have
received similar .
All in all, it's not that the latest Ys adventure is bad – the
game suffers only by clinging a bit too tightly to its roots.
Old-school appeal is there, but with the caveat that certain
methods of character advancement, storytelling, and exploration
have evolved for a reason, and Ys hasn't taken the train to
Current Town with the rest of the hack n' slash crew.
Concept:
Like a golden swig of nostalgia
Graphics:
Update a SNES-styled adventure with a richer color palette and
finer details
Sound:
Weird, although I can't say that they're bad, hair-metal ballads
Playability:
Hack n' slash through and through, there's not a lot by way of
combat complexity
Entertainment:
Despite the overriding "been there, done that" feeling that
players will have, Ys is comforting and mindlessly amusing
Replay:
Moderate
Rated: 7.5 out of 10
Editor: Lisa Mason
Issue: March 2005
2nd Opinion:
Joe opens his second opinion with a clever comment which
transitions nicely into his explanation of what bothers him about
the whole "silent hero" routine found in this Ys title – the crux
of which is the awkward way in which even the simplest concepts
must be relayed through cumbersome narration. He then takes issue
with the game's heavily scripted progression before admitting
that, despite the formulaic action, Ys is pretty fun in a
comforting and familiar way. As he wraps up, Joe makes a
barb-laden quip that cuts Dave Coulier to the quick, who quietly
weeps in his lonely dressing room.
Rated: 7.25 out of 10
Editor:
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