Y's: The Ark of Napishtim for PlayStation 2 Reviews by Gamers

I really like Ys: The Ark of Napishtim. But the reason I do is difficult to articulate without first admitting that there's really nothing that groundbreaking about it. And while you may think me crazy for saying so, it's that lack of a standout element that ultimately makes the game so intriguing for me -- the fact that it's so unassuming, so straightforward, and so accessible, that the only important thing it has left to be is fun. And fun is exactly what it is.

In other words, The Ark of Napishtim reminds me of a time when RPGs weren't about super-complicated battle systems or depressed and brooding anti-heroes. Instead, they were about getting caught up in a fantastic adventure that not only told an interesting story, but also managed to kick down the door and grab you by the gnomes without ever letting go. Fans of games like Shining in the Darkness, Shadowrun, Paladin's Quest, and Lufia know exactly what it is I'm talking about -- and if those were the kinds of RPGs that used to make your weekends the best part of your month, then do I have a game for you...

Now in case you haven't heard of Ys before, I'm really not surprised. Because despite the fact that it's been around since 1987, the often overlooked series has been forever caught beneath the shadow of more mainstream titles like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. Even so, the franchise has not gone unnoticed among hardcore genre fans and game developers (particularly in the 16 and 32-bit eras when the classic Ys gameplay mechanics were reapplied more times than I can count). The sad truth of it all, however, is that if you ask an old-school dungeon crawler what the series has meant to the genre, he'll probably talk to you about it for a couple of hours. Ask an RPG newbie the exact same question, and he'll probably ask how to pronounce the title.

But regardless of what your familiarity with the Ys franchise is (which, by the way, is pronounced like "fleece" only without the Florida), this latest installment is a great place to hop onboard. Following the continuing adventures of the legendary red-haired traveler Adol Christin, The Ark of Napishtim picks up a couple of years after the events of Ys V. On the run from the Romun Navy, Adol boards an escape ship that belongs to an old acquaintance only to be pulled into a Bermuda Triangle-type anomaly known as "The Great Vortex." He wakes up a few days later in a place known as the Canaan Islands (a hidden chain of communities made up of other sea victims inside the vortex), and under the care of a reclusive race of elves is soon on his way towards solving a mystery involving a strange Red Fairy and an item of mystical origins.

As you may have surmised from the above description, The story isn't exactly Shakespeare and it's definitely one of the game's biggest weaknesses. The number of twists and turns that Adol takes as he works towards retrieving the fabled "Mirror of Zemeth" could honestly be counted on the single ring finger of a one-armed Muppet. Even so, Napishtim's NPC portrayals are nothing short of excellent, as nearly every character in the game has dozens of different lines to flesh out their personas and backstory. It's this compensation of personality and individuality that help make the narrative feel bigger and more important than it really is, and all in all, it's a pretty rewarding little trick.

But honestly, the storyline is what you'll experience the least in Ark of Napishtim, as the real meat of the game is the constant (but addicting) combat. Uncomplicated by every definition of the word, warfare is best compared to titles like Alundra or Legend of Oasis. With attacks relegated to a single button, hacking and slashing is what this game is all about -- but unlike something like Return to Arms or Shining Tears, your attack variations are a lot more extensive than you'd first suspect.

This variety is accomplished thanks to the inclusion of a jump button that allows players to perform air strikes in both upward and downward motions. There's also an ability that enables users the option to swap between three different swords on the fly with the shoulder buttons. All together this means that while your Wind Sword may be able to do basic combos, it can also create little mini-whirlwinds for additional damage. Similarly, the Flame Sword requires you to hold the button down to charge a multi-hit flame strike and the Thunder Sword lets you add a penetrating after-touch to the standard combo attack. These three types of assaults can then be made even more powerful with upgrades that can be added in special Emelas Studios that work like blacksmiths. Needless to say, it's a pretty fun little system and one that won't require hours of practice to understand.

Interestingly enough, the PlayStation 2 version of Ys: The Ark of Napishtim has been the subject of some controversy over the last year or so. And it's not because of any weird alterations to the battle system or a revamping of the storyline. But rather, because of a few changes that Konami has made to the game since first announcing its port from the PC to PS2. In fact, the biggest point of contention for its followers was Konami's decision to remove the original Windows-version music and replace it with a brand new orchestrated score. But because fans have been so incredibly vocal about this removal worldwide, Konami went ahead and changed its mind by re-inserting the first score as though nothing had ever left. It was a wise decision too, because the music in Napishtim is so good, it warrants buying the soundtrack separately.

But keeping the original score didn't mean that Konami stopped adding its other planned additions -- and there are plenty of them to speak of here. A brand new CG movie, for example, has been added to the very beginning of the game to explain how Adol was washed out to sea in the first place. Furthermore, all previously animated cutscenes have now been replaced with similarly-themed CG cinemas to better fit in with the introductory movie while every last character has been given a full voice-over. Brand new levels and characters designed specifically for the PlayStation 2 version have been included as well, and the orchestrated music that was originally supposed to replace the first soundtrack has now been layered over the extra content so as not to go to waste. Throw in a hidden game mode, a few special cheats, multiple difficulty settings, and the option to listen to the original Japanese speech (obtainable with a cheat) and you have yourself quite a little package.

So what don't I like about this game? It's a fair question for sure, and one that I'd like to answer with "nothing." But unfortunately there are a couple of standout problems that keep The Ark of Napishtim from being any better than 2005's other RPG sequels, Suikoden IV and Xenosaga Episode II. The first and most obvious of which is the incredibly short playing time. As you may remember from my comments regarding the characterization of NPCs on the previous page, it's all handled pretty terrifically. But sadly, most of this aspect is discovered through your own doing -- because if you don't intentionally seek out conversations with the random people populating the Canaan Islands, you'd never have a reason to speak with roughly 90% of them at any time. Sticking to the storyline and doing what's asked of you can end the entire game in less than a dozen hours. Furthermore, other than a few nasty boss fights, progressing through the game isn't very difficult at all -- even on hard mode. The enemies aren't aggressive or difficult enough to make it challenging for the RPG elite (which is the audience that this caters to).

The English voice-acting is also pretty bad. I'd estimate that Canaan is the only kingdom in RPG history to sport an entire nation full of people with speech impediments. I'm being completely serious here. Lisps, crunching sounds, bad accents, and nasally whines seem to be the only kinds of voices that were recorded for The Ark of Napishtim, which adds a definite feeling of low-quality to the experience. Switching over to the Japanese voice-overs makes all this play out a little smoother, but unless you're into that sort of a thing Ys' story sequences can be quite the little chore.

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