YS: Ark of Napishtim

by Konami

Product Features

• 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 Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000641ZEU
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches ; 5.6 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,790 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #61 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Role-Playing
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com

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 treatment.

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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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 sword combinations, special attacks, and magical spells creating a uniquely deep and compelling gameplay experience. Along the way, players can power-up three magical swords 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.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ys Victorious Return, March 9, 2005

By 

Ben (Martinez, GA United States) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: YS: Ark of Napishtim (Video Game)

Finally, after years of waiting, the Ys series has come back to the US. Before I jump into the gameplay, let me state that if you like the anime, youll love the game...plain and simple. As far as gameplay goes, the control is flawless. While there is some backtracking, for the most part this game is straight forward, story driven, hack and slash action. While leveling up (mainly the swords) can be a real chore, the hack and slash battles are so much fun that its easy to ignore the time it takes to level up. The games music is excellent and I can honestly say that this is the first game in quite some time that Id like to own the soundtrack for. Each song is well orchestrated and fits smoothly into its portion of the game. The story, while not the best story ever told, is interesting enough to keep you playing all the way through. The character development is phenomenal, with numerous characters growing more and more important to the story as the game progresses. As far as graphics go, they fit this game perfectly. Sure they are not the jaw dropping graphics of some of the other Action games and Rpgs of the big name consoles (ex. Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy X, DMC3, Tales of Symphonia), but they grow on you rather quickly. Overall, this game is defintely a must own. However, due to this series not having a huge following here in the states, it is sure to get EXTREMELY RARE. My EB only had 3 copies and thats all they plan on getting! Buy it now before its too late!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great fun!!!!!, August 26, 2005

By 

Richard Baldwin "Gator Cub" (Gainesville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: YS: Ark of Napishtim (Video Game)

Although Y's didn't receive a lot of acclaim from the gaming community, I found it to be a very enjoyable experience. It's an action RPG that puts you in the shoes of Adol, a redheaded adventurer. You find yourself trapped on an island with no contact with your companions who you lose while in a sea fight with the empire of the time (the Romuns).

The RPG elements are great! You not only level up your character, but you also must level up your swords. You command three swords, which are a staple of the game. In other RPGs, you focus more on leveling up your character, but in Y's, you really want to work hard at getting your swords to the highest level possible. I found this to be challenging but very attainable feet.

The story isn't too bad, but you most likely would get more out of it if you had played the other Y's (this is a long running series in Japan). You get your standard love triangle as in other Japan RPGs and anime, but I really wish there were more development from Adol.

Pros
-Tons of fun! The game is just fun to pick up and play, and you'll find that the story seems small in scope at first, but you'll quickly find out that there is much more out there to do. The story opens up after a couple of hours of play.

-I really enjoyed the music of this game. The tunes really fit the situations in the game and they're not too repetitive.

-The bosses are pretty hard right off the bat. They get a little easier as you level up the three swords, but they are still pretty tough.

-Great story!

Cons
-The voice acting was pretty bad, but you can look past this easy or you can also turn it off in the options menu.

-The graphics were not up to PS2 quality, but again, it doesn't take away from this game's fun.

-Some of the platforming stuff in the game I thought was not necessary. There is a dash-jump that is very hard to do, but you only need to do it to get certain optional items.

This title should be a little cheaper now, and now it's actually coming out for PSP. I would highly recommend!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good RPG, June 29, 2005

By 

"pristinefury" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: YS: Ark of Napishtim (Video Game)

To me this game felt like a mix of Zelda and Final Fantasy. The cutscenes are very well done (too bad there are only a couple of them) and the music is actually very good. The graphics not the greatest, but I think that ads to the charm of it. The only fault that I could find with it is that it took less than twenty hours to finish. If you're looking for an old school RPG, than this is it.