Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim Reviews

Adol routinely leaves girls behind once they have fallen for him.

Great Game even though the some of the mechanics are janky & outdated but the story is good and simple to get for anyone who's not into JRPG & want get into those types of game this series would be a good since its short.

This and Trails in The Sky FC are quite possibly the most important game’s in Falcom’s modern history. Everything in their current identity can be rooted back to this and for that alone it is a must-play for anyone wanting to learn more about the studio’s design lineage. The game itself is great, one of the best action-RPGs of the early aughts and as addicting in its core game loop as the titles which would go on to perfect its ideas. To this day one of the greatest Falcom soundtracks ever composed, the final boss theme genuinely left me floored. Here’s to many more years of this incredible series of games.

A lot of fun and only takes a little grinding to get to the appropriate levels!

Yet another great game. This saga keeps giving me good games... One of the shortest Ys. But still amazing. Amazing OST once again, combat simple but fun. The environments in this one are very impressive.

[u][b]Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim[/b][/u] is a fantastic 3D hack-and-slash action adventure RPG that features smooth, fast-paced, and exhilarating combat, an authentic sense of discovery of the locale, a wonderful soundtrack composed by the legendary [i]Falcom Sound Team jdk[/i] that is sure to pump you up, and thought-provoking lore and world-building, all of which kept me glued to the game for a few days in a row for multiple hours at a time. Overall, I highly recommend it because the combat is extremely fun and satisfying, the graphics are delightful and nostalgic of an older era of video games, the music is simply amazing, the lore and world-building contains a conventional but well-crafted and very interesting premise, it comes with some extra goodies in the game files and a massive collection of artwork and assets in the form of a free DLC, and this definitive version is arguably the best and the most accessible way to experience it. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]S U M M A R Y[/b][/quote] - The gameplay is awesome as the combat is fluid and fast-paced but the platforming suffers due to its loose controls and unintuitive inputs for its version of a long jump; - The replay value is low because the game is linear and has one ending so after you've played through the game once then you've seen all that it has to offer but a boss rush mode is unlocked after beating the game once which has leaderboards; - The graphics are fantastic as they use polygonal sprites which look polished and clean while the artwork, portraits, and backgrounds are wonderfully drawn; - The soundtrack is standard for Ys games which entails relaxing and ambient adventure songs to the classic energetic rock songs that are analogous with the series; - The story is simple but executed well and sees you exploring the mysterious land in the first two-thirds of the game before introducing the villain and the real conflict, although the lore and world-building are what keep you engaged due to their fascinating and compelling premise which is slowly revealed as the game progresses; and - The game comes with extra goodies which are located in the "release" folder in the game files and includes full-motion videos for certain events in the game and a complete but clipped soundtrack where all of the songs are abruptly cut off at the end. If you're interested, you can find my review of the [u][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/365010/Ys_VI__Material_C]Ys VI - Material Collection[/url][/u] DLC artbook in the comments. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]A C H I E V E M E N T S[/b][/quote] The game has 16 achievements, most of which will be acquired throughout a casual playthrough while the most difficult ones will require a second and/or third playthrough if you want to make things as easy as possible. The game isn't very long so even three playthroughs should only take 20-25 hours to complete but if you want get all achievements in one playthrough then you will have to do quite a bit more grinding compared to completing the hardest one, [i]Because It's There[/i], on the easiest difficulty. [hr][/hr] [quote][b]R E V I E W[/b][/quote] [h3]Gameplay[/h3] The gameplay is typical for 3D hack-and-slash games of the mid 2000s and is thrilling and fun, for the most part: while the combat is fluid, fast-paced, and exciting as you seamlessly cleave through swaths of enemies with a variety of swords and attacks at your disposal, the platforming is frustrating and poorly designed because the controls aren't very precise or tight which are absolutely required to make a solid and enjoyable platforming experience. Although the combat mitigates this by causing your attacks to automatically track the nearest enemy in the direction you are facing so you don't have to worry about being accurate, the platforming is thankfully only required for a number of optional items (and three achievements) in one dungeon so it isn't necessary to complete the game. The main tool that the game gives you for scaling large gaps is a long jump (called the "Dash Jump") whose required inputs are completely unintuitive, and awkward to learn as a result, but isn't nearly as difficult to execute as many reviewers and discussion posts would lead you to believe. When I first started playing the game, I spent about 20-30 minutes experimenting with this mechanic and was able to consistently pull it off with relative ease by the end of the practice session -- you just need to be willing to put in the time to learn it. In fact, I spent the rest of the game using it to move around because it's faster than running and could easily do upwards of 10 in a row before dropping an input. The leveling system is plain but extremely gratifying as I found that becoming slightly stronger with each new level or piece of equipment evoked a very tangible feeling that kept me engrossed for hours on end and even made grinding fun. In fact, I found the combat and small, incremental gains of leveling up so enjoyable and stimulating that I never used the fast-travel feature and walked wherever I could which resulted in plenty of unintended grinding and backtracking and probably inflated my playtime by a few hours. [h3]Graphics[/h3] The graphics are nostalgic and reminiscent of the early 2000s since the character and monster models use pixel art sprites that make the game feel both retro and charming in this day and age; however, it doesn't translate very well to higher resolutions due to the inherent fuzziness that comes with stretching a lower-resolution asset. The artwork and portraits are superbly drawn and the main characters have a variety of full-body poses and stances which help breathe life into them and convey more emotion than text alone does. The few landscape backgrounds that you get to see are also beautifully drawn and evoke a sense of wonder and awe which makes the world seem almost larger than life. [h3]Sound[/h3] The soundtrack is composed by the legendary [i]Falcom Sound Team jdk[/i] who spared no effort in providing a range of songs from slower and more relaxing adventure songs to the classic Ys rock songs which are upbeat, energetic, and incredible to listen to even outside of the game. The sound effects are also very poignant as every attack and enemy death sounds (and feels) impactful. [h3]Story[/h3] The crux of the story isn't presented until about two-thirds of the way through the game, which is also when the villain is introduced, and the journey up to that point instead has you slowly discover the world and its lore as you traverse its mysterious land. This makes the game feel more like an adventure of discovery and exploration of an unknown and vast land which I found to be quite novel and refreshing in this genre since there were no stakes at first and I could just enjoy the setting, characters, and interactions without being burdened with the thought of saving the world as you so often are in this genre. The world-building is revealed in small chunks that pique your interest in a compelling and intriguing manner and there is an abundance of lore to further dive into despite the game being self-contained from the rest of the Ys universe. In fact, these facets were a key part of the driving force behind keeping me hooked and playing the game for hours on end without taking breaks as I wanted to discover what the next location held and unraveling the mystery behind the entire setting, especially as I got further into the game. [h3]Conclusion[/h3] Overall, I highly recommend it because it is simply a very engaging, captivating, and gratifying experience with a tremendously high production value that held my attention for numerous days in a row for multiple hours at a time -- I honestly couldn't put the controller down and didn't do anything else for an entire weekend. Although it's far from perfect and is only good for one playthrough, it is nevertheless very enjoyable, has no glaring weaknesses, and is well worth its base price.