Ys III Remake Dead? Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim PS2 Playtest

[jlued686]

Not sure where to post this one, but I just read this on 1up.com

"Leading one to wonder whether some curse accompanies revivals of the Ys series, publisher Taito today announced that Ys III: Wanderers from Ys for the PlayStation 2 has been indefinitely delayed. Originally due for release in Japan this month, and later delayed into December, the PS2 version of Falcom's side-scrolling action-RPG is now off the boards entirely for reasons as yet unannounced.
Now-deceased publisher DigiCube met with similar troubles when it brought revised versions of the first two Ys titles to the PS2 last year -- multiple delays struck that release as well. We'll see if Konami can manage to buck the trend with its PS2 version of Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim -- expect more updates soon."


IGN posted a hands-on preview of Ys VI for PS2:
wayback.ps2.ign.com/articles/Ys VI Playtest

Ys VI Playtest
Falcom and Konami bring Ys back to consoles. Movies and impressions from the new demo.
_{By Anoop Gantayat}

November 22, 2004—The Ys (pronounced "ease") series is making a grand return to consoles (and portables) early next year thanks to a publishing deal between Konami and series developer Falcom. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim, the sixth entry in the classic series that, years ago, served as one of the first real shows of the potential of the CD-ROM format, will make its way to the PS2 and PSP as an updated port of Falcom's 2003 PC version. We got a chance to try out a new demo of the game and are here with direct feed movies and impressions.

First, a little background information. Ys tells the story of the adventures of red-haired hero Adol Christian. In the first two games, which were bundled as the memorable CD-ROM Ys Book Iⅈ for the Turbo Grafx CD, Adol saves the land of Ys from peril, meeting up with goddesses, priests and descendents of priests (some of whom were voiced by actors who performed in Transformers) along the way.
Since his first adventure, Adol has had many more, some outside of Ys and some within. Ys VI takes the hero away from Ys and to the seas, on a pirate ship in search of a treasure which lay in the proximity of a great vortex called Cannan. As Adol and crew approach Cannan, they are attacked by the naval forces of the militant country of Roman, and Adol, having fallen overboard, is sucked into Cannan. Leda Village, which lay within Cannan, serves as the starting point for his new adventure.

The demo of Ys VI that we played is included in the latest issue of Japan's Dengeki PS2 magazine. It seems to be similar to the E3 demo, featuring a quick level that taxes your sword-play abilities as Adol. The level finishes up with a boss encounter. Also available are two time-attack boss fights.

Different from older entries in the series, Falcom made the move to 3D with this title. The action stage that we played kept the camera fixed overhead, reminiscent of the older games. The two time attack boss stages turn the camera in so players move in and out of the screen, with the camera zooming in and out to keep up. As this game was originally a low-spec PC title, you shouldn't expect the best of the best from the visuals. They do manage to get the job done, though, with some of the bosses having impressive lighting and transparency effects. Most importantly, the new 3D Adol looks similar to his hand-drawn counterpart.

Also changed (and improved, we're sure most would agree) for Ys VI is the control that players are given over Adol. In the original Ys game, you simply made Adol bump into enemies in order to attack, and depending on the angle of attack and the strength of your sword, you were either successful or you took damage. Ys II introduced magic, allowing you to fire heat seeking fireballs at enemies, but there was still no actual sword play involved.

That's changed for Ys VI. You can now make Adol jump, useful for leaping over lava pits in the demo stage. You also have full control over Adol's sword via a single attack button. By pressing the button rapidly, you can make Adol perform quick combos, slashing away at the enemies furiously. By attacking while in mid-jump, you can make Adol perform upward and downward thrusts, both of which do greater damage. You can also perform a dash attack and a dash jump.

Adol also has access to magic. Tapping the shoulder buttons lets you switch between three swords based on one of fire, wind and thunder elementals. In addition to changing the affect of Adol's standard attack, you can also save up magic power to perform a magic attack. The demo gives Adol all three swords from the start, but in the final version of the game, you'll have to earn the three as you play.

Ys Book Iⅈ and its successor, Ys III: Wanderers from Ys were the only two Ys games to make their way to America, so for Ys fans, seeing the added gameplay from direct action-style controls should be surprising on on its own. The action seems to be simple, but fast and fun. There are a few issues with the demo, involving control and basic stage design, that make play a bit frustrating, but if these are cleaned up, Ys VI could be a fun hack-and-slash gameplay experience.

The original two titles, particularly in their CD-ROM debut, were known for more than gameplay, of course. An involving storyline, memorable music, likeable characters, voices and impressive cinema scenes all come to mind when thinking of Ys. The music featured in the demo is as catchy as the classic themes from the series, making us want to hear more (shame on Falcom for changing the chime that plays when finding an item, though). As for the story, characters and cinemas, we'll have to wait until the final version to judge those.

[dpaint4]

I didn't know that.  It's the Curse of YS.  I imported my copy of Ark of Napishtim straight from Falcom, and with a free and easy-to-find patch, it runs perfectly on my English Windows XP machine.  

I had already given up on Konami when I found out that they were replacing all the sprites. Their English voice-overs are so completely and notoriously awful every time they've every tried it... I figured importing was the only way to go.

Too bad about Taito's remake.  I thought it was looking good.

[PCEngineFX]

I didn't know that.  It's the Curse of YS.  I imported my copy of Ark of Napishtim straight from Falcom, and with a free and easy-to-find patch, it runs perfectly on my English Windows XP machine.

Runs, but not translated into English right?

[jlued686]

IGN posted a hands-on preview of Ys VI for PS2:
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/567/567981p1.html

I played this one at E3 last year and it's looking to be a cool hack n' slash.  I can't wait for more Ys in English...finally!

[PCEngineFX]

IGN posted a hands-on preview of Ys VI for PS2:
wayback.ps2.ign.com/articles/Ys VI Playtest

I played this one at E3 last year and it's looking to be a cool hack n' slash.  I can't wait for more Ys in English...finally!







From 1up.com:



"PSP Ys VI Japanese Release Date

Next January, a bit after the launch fervor subsides. 



By David Smith 

 

Ys: The Ark of Napishtim for PSP, Konami's handheld revision of the Falcom-developed PC action-RPG, will see release in Japan on January 20, Japanese retailers report today.

The PSP version of the sixth Ys game will feature the same quest and gameplay as Konami's PlayStation 2 version. In addition to the main quest mode, which comes in Normal or Hard flavors, players can also unlock an extra-tough Nightmare difficulty level and a time attack mode featuring all the game's bosses in rapid succession.



Ark of Napishtim is slated to hit the PS2 in North America next spring, while the PSP version is tentatively scheduled to launch with the PSP on this continent (whenever that happens). We'll have more details once the Japanese version arrives. "

Ahhh....looks great!  Ys VI is one main reason why I'm waiting to get a PSP.

[lordkaosu]

A US version of Ys 4 or only import?

[jlued686]

Six.  Not four.

[lordkaosu]

Six.  Not four.

lol, of course 

[jlued686]

From 1up.com:

"PSP Ys VI Japanese Release Date
Next January, a bit after the launch fervor subsides.  

By David Smith  
 
Ys: The Ark of Napishtim for PSP, Konami's handheld revision of the Falcom-developed PC action-RPG, will see release in Japan on January 20, Japanese retailers report today.
The PSP version of the sixth Ys game will feature the same quest and gameplay as Konami's PlayStation 2 version. In addition to the main quest mode, which comes in Normal or Hard flavors, players can also unlock an extra-tough Nightmare difficulty level and a time attack mode featuring all the game's bosses in rapid succession.

Ark of Napishtim is slated to hit the PS2 in North America next spring, while the PSP version is tentatively scheduled to launch with the PSP on this continent (whenever that happens). We'll have more details once the Japanese version arrives. "