PS2 Underrated Gem- Ys: The Ark of Napishtim

Channel:

teh2Dgamer

Subscribers:

18,600

Published on July 28, 2012 10:57:13 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQAww9ea-5I

Game:

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (2003)

Duration: 12:17

5,255 views

40

This is a series of gameplay vids I'm doing highlighting overlooked games for the PS2.

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim Is the sixth game in the long running Ys (pronounced like Yeez) series. The Ys games are action RPGs, similar you may say to Zelda in some respects, but with more RPG elements than Zelda.

The series has been around since 1987, but only a few of the games have made it state-side. Most of them neve left Japan for the various systems they were on. I'm not sure how The Ark of Napishtim stacks up to other games in the series, having not played any of the others, but on it's own it's a very engrossing action RPG that has me hooked.

It doesn't have the same feel as Zelda, which is just fine. That means it puts it's own unique spin on the formula. Your character gains levels from defeating enemies, you can upgrade your swords, and buy new armor. It definitely has more of an RPG feel to it.

The game controls pretty well, graphically, it won't win any awards, but it still looks decent. The music is good as well, but not as memorable as other RPG music is to me, and the actors who do the voice-overs do a decent job. Every line of text in the game has a voice-over, which is a nice touch.

The biggest complaint than can be waged against this game it that it is too short. There are some extra modes you can play, and two difficulty settings, but at a game that most people say took them ten hours to beat on their first run, the replay value may only be for competitionists. If you are the type to finish a game, and move on, you'll be done with Ys: The Ark of Napishtim too fast. Another complaint I have is the fact that they will not let you access your menu in the middle of a boss fight. Healing items can be equipped for use with the triangle button, but if you forget to equip them, you can't get back into the menu during the fight. There are also some annoying platform jumping scenes throughout the game, and they can be extremely frustrating after falling down to a lower level, and starting over multiple times, but there aren't a whole lot of them overall.

Overall, the game is a great addition to a long running action RPG series. Even though it is short, and has a few flaws, it is still worth playing.

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is also available on the PC (Japan Only, with fan translations available), and the PSP. Some of the older games in the series are also available on the Wii Virtual Console if you're interested in going back and playing them.

To Learn more about the series as a whole, go here: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ys/ys.htm