PSP

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is an enjoyable RPG game that is hampered by issues that bring down the score. Some will get bored with the RPG combat elements because of their simplicity. Some will get frustrated by the balance issues. Others will be disappointed at the length. If you are looking for an old-school RPG, then you might want to give Ys: The Ark of Napishtim a rental. Otherwise, you’d best look at taking your money elsewhere.

Overall, Ys is old school, it's fun, and you should buy it. This is a no brainer for gamers over 25 who remember a better time, as well as the others who may not get what us geezers have been talking about all this time when we say, "Back in my day, my RPG titles were full of substance with wonderful hand drawn art." Ys is this style of game that doesn't rely on the fluff of 3D polygons.

Players willing to push through the load times will definitely have a good RPG experience, but won't find much beyond the battle and weapon-upgrade system that is novel here. Konami was thinking of replay value, since there are mini-games that can be earned and played separately from the main game. There is also a time-attack mode that allows you to replay boss battles, which is a cool idea.

Overall, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is an interesting hack-and-slash RPG for the PSP. However, the game suffers drastically due to some long and extremely annoying load times. However, if you’re desperate enough to add an action-RPG to your PSP collection, then Ys: The Ark of Napishtim might be a good choice. Still, I’d recommend choosing the PS2 version over the portable.

Some series age great as time goes on by innovating with new ideas or tweaking just the right elements to make an old idea seem fresh. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim falls short in innovating or creating something fresh from an old idea. But if you love Adol and the Ys series then you already know what to expect. I should add that if it wasn't for the questionable load times then the game would have been more enjoyable. Maybe we could get a DS version that eliminates the load times? Konami, Falcom, anyone?

What was an average nostalgic sword-slashing game on PS2 has become a choppy, awkwardly-paced hand-held adventure with a soundtrack player and a couple of new minigames tacked on to throw you off of the obviously evil scent.

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim still delivers on the action front on the PSP, but the removed features and decrease in performance means that this isn't the best version of the game you could play. If you absolutely must have Ys on your sleek Sony handheld, patience in moving around and dealing with the load times is a strict requirement--but at least you'll be able to take your frustrations out on the monsters.

In general Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is a competent game that isn't really flawed technologically aside from the loading issues, and is better than other US-released role players (Tales of Eternia is far better than any of them, but it's not officially available here even with a full English copy out in the UK), but the game isn't exactly brimming with excitement thanks to a cliché story and ultimately repetitive hack and slash action. It lacks the flair of a Final Fantasy, lacks the same sort of depth that you'd find in even Untold Legends and other hack & slash RPGs, and lacks the charm of a Dragon Quest – three deadly strikes against it. It's a decent time killer if you're really in need of an RPG fix on PSP (and have some patience) or Tales of Eternia isn't available in a local import shop (or a Fry's Electronics), but if this were PS2, it would be just as lost in the shuffle as the original was last year.

I'd honestly like to say that my experience with the portable version of Ys: The Ark of Napishtim was a positive one, but that is not the case. Though the controls, plot and soundtrack remain unharmed, the frequent and long load times, coupled with the incredibly odd presence of slowdown, cripple the title to the point of not being entertaining at all. It's still a decent game, don't get me wrong, but it's one that you'll need patience for, especially while you stare at that black screen with the words NOW LOADING staring back at you. It's a good game, but the load times really are a smack in the face.

In short, the loading times single-handedly wreck what should have been the best version of Ys VI - The Ark of Napishtim. For adventure-loving unfortunates who haven't yet experienced Falcom's masterpiece, this PSP port is not the proper introduction. Check it out on Windows or PS2 first.

Overall Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is an average game of a genre that so far is pretty scarce on the PSP. If you have been dying for more RPGs on the PSP and you plan on committing that amount of time, then you should be satisfied with Ys. It won't rock your world, but you will be satisfied. Everybody looking for a game to be played in spurts should look elsewhere. By the time your screen has loaded it will already be your bus stop.

I have to say I was looking forward to checking out the game on the PSP, but Konami did not do a good job with porting over Ys: The Ark of Napishtim. I thought the game would have been a perfect choice to port over to the handheld, but those who have played the console version would recommend to pass this up.

Porte étendard de l'A-RPG sur PC, Ys dépose son épée dans les contrées périlleuses de la PSP. Immédiatement immersif, diffusant un plaisir ludique conséquent, et disposant d'une maniabilité efficace, tout en étant loin d'être parfaite, le titre de Falcom souffre de son classicisme et de ses déséquilibres autant dans le fond que dans la forme. Trop limité dans son architecture et ses principes de jeu, il ne parvient pas à se hisser à la hauteur des "classiques" du genre. Pourtant, il est très difficile de le lâcher. Une impression étrange sûrement due au "fun" qui en découle, ou à quelque forme de magie. A noter malheureusement que cette version PSP accuse des chargements bien trop longs et nombreux, hachant dramatiquement l'exploration, ainsi que des arrêts de l'action effrayants à chaque passage de niveau. Et ce n'est pas les nouveaux mini-jeux qui feront oublier cela. Décidément, les adaptations sur la console de Sony ne sont pas souvent à la fête.

The PSP version includes a few new bonus features, such as the time attack mode and other unlockables like a media center to listen to the soundtrack, videos, and other interesting, if superfluous extras. Unfortunately, the biggest flaw in the game is easily the loading time. The individual map sections are so small that you’ll constantly be seeing the loading screen, and it really kills the pacing. To make matters worse, there’s a lot of backtracking in the game. Still, if you have the patience to wait, Y’s is a fun portable adventure. It looks good, is fun to play, and has a lot to like… Once it actually loads, anyway.

What else is there to say about Ys The Ark of Napishtim? Not much, it's a pretty basic slash and bash game with some ok graphics and decent sound. That's about it, and frankly, it's yet another PSP title that only the most ardent fans of old-school RPG's could enjoy.

Like too much of the PSP's library, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is another console port from the PS2. The combat is engaging, the controls can be mapped however you like, and the load times could be worse. But the minigame additions to this version aren't nearly enough to justify a PSP port -- and while playing through the same area five or six times to get to the next level can be button-mashing fulfillment on a console, it's not any fun in commuter-sized chunks. There aren't any surprises here for old-time RPGers or series fans, but "predictable" shouldn't be the bar to hold PSP games up to. Let's hope that other upcoming PSP RPG ports do a better job.

So, if you are really, desperately itching for a Japanese-style action-RPG (not a hack-and-slash like Untold Legends), Ys may do something for you, but the experience isn't long enough to normally justify and those moments of sweet bliss where you're plowing through enemies or taking down a boss are too often interrupted by the flaws of the game. The PSP could use some great role-players, but this just isn't good enough to fill in the gap.

This week was the first time I’ve ever picked up an RPG on either the DS or the PSP. Sadly, on both accounts I’ve been completely disappointed. Instead of just leaving The Ark of Napishtim as it was or creating an all-new title, Konami decided to bring it over to the PSP. In doing so, they’ve reduced a decent game to probably the most tedious and annoying game I’ve ever played.

These little annoyances build and build to the point that you begin to wonder if playing the game is worth the hassle. I'll tell you this: if you have a PS2, it's most definitely not. Track down the console version of the game and enjoy. If all you have is a PSP, then you still might want to give Napishtim a try, because it is a good game. Just be warned that you'll be sitting through a lot of black screens before you get to the good parts. And even then, they might run a little slow.

Ark of Napishtim is not a regrettable botch of a port – well, in a way it is – but it simply isn't the game that it was cracked up to be. There isn't anything special about it that Alundra, Shining Soul II, and a great number of other games haven't done before it. Why Falcom gets so much credit in this decade I'll never know; they haven't learned how to move past what they started so many years ago. Perhaps a PSP port of Wanderers From Ys is in order? Ark doesn't seem to have enough going for it to warrant its presence on three platforms.

Ys is still a solid action RPG on the PSP, but the inclusion of frequent and excessive load times really dampens the experience. For a game that has backtracking and area-to-area exploration as one of its hallmarks, finding a way to minimize the amount of time people would have to spend looking at a black “Now Loading” screen should have been paramount. The game still provides a whimsical adventure, but it’s one that’s far inferior to what its console brother had me accustomed.

Kids who have not played too many RPGs will enjoy the nice graphics, enjoyable combat and simple fun the game has to offer. But kids used to load times for the GBA or DS will quickly become frustrated with the constant loading in this game, as I discovered with my 8 and 9 year old sons. They had no problem dying repeatedly or even with the lack of purpose, but the lack of direction and omnipresent loading screens killed their interest very quickly. If you have a high tolerance for load times and find the combat system sufficiently enjoyable then Ys: The Ark of Napishtim will be an enjoyable experience for you. The game is not a terrible one - just an average one made worse by system limitations and design decisions.

Clearly, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim has its faults as a game, and in the end doesn't make for a must own game. The load time between areas on the world map, towns/villages, and in dungeons is bad enough to kill any kind of fun you would get from this game. And while many other PSP games have unbearable load times, the game play is worth it. That's not the case with Ys: The Ark of Napishtim, as the game is fun, but far from great. In the end, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim should make for a decent rental.

Even with these nifty little extras, it just doesn’t make up for the excruciating load times which will have you quickly turning off your PSP in frustration. If you can look past the long load times or are a Y’s purist and need to have your fix while on the road, then you might want to consider picking this up, but otherwise you might be better off looking elsewhere for an RPG on the go.