 Genre: RPG Players: 1 |
| This port of the hack and slash PS2 RPG is unfortunately plagued with some annoying problems. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim tells the tale of Adol Christin who has washed up on the shore of Canaan when his ship encountered the Great Vortex. The Rehda tribe (a race with pointy ears and tails) distrust humans and reluctantly nurse Adol back to health. And the adventure begins. The paper thin plot is not a problem, as it’s quite a fun hack and slash game. Adol has a simple amount of moves with an upgradeable sword and some magic moves for good measure. Entering new areas results in enemies much more powerful and you will level up quickly if you survive. There’s a lot of back tracking involved and often you will revisit the same areas which starts to become tedious. The biggest problem with the game is the loading times. Whenever entering a house, changing areas or even before boss battles, a loading screen will show up and you’ll have to wait for up to 15 seconds before you can continue. For a game that requires a lot of back tracking it only adds more insult to the injury. You will need to be patient to play the game through till the end. Graphics are a mix of 2D sprites and 3D backgrounds but it all still looks simple, though some of the bosses look quite nice. Voice acting has been removed from the game which is very disappointing and you’re left to just the text. Music on the other hand is quite good and suits the game well. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is a good RPG that’s really let down by a lackluster port. If you’ve got the patience to sit through the loading times, you’ll find an entertaining action RPG.   |
| PSP-Spot Score (out of ten) Graphics: 7.9 Sound: 7.8 Controls: 8.0 Gameplay: 7.8 Overall: 7.4 Buy it at Play-Asia.com - Your One-Stop-Shop for Asian Entertainment |