Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana review: Short, but sweet

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Originating from the early era of PC gaming, Ys – a renowned Japanese RPG series – has undergone numerous ports and remakes throughout its history. Among these adaptations, Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys stands out as peculiar. Instead of maintaining its top-down Zelda-like structure with automatic combat (often referred to as the “Bump” system), it transitioned into a side-scrolling adventure reminiscent of Zelda 2.

Fast forward several years, Ys 3 was reborn as Oath in Felghana for PC and PSP, embracing the 2.5D action game style popular in the Ys series during that time. Now, Oath in Felghana returns under a new name “Ys Memoire”, offering players who have recently enjoyed Ys games an opportunity to experience it on PlayStation 4 and 5, or Nintendo Switch.

The third, but now fourth technically, adventure

Ys games often deviate from a linear timeline, but until recently, Ys 3 stood out as the third game in all aspects. Thankfully, understanding the events of the first two games or Ys X isn’t essential to follow the storyline in Oath in Felghana. The protagonist, Adol Christin, is a fiery-haired adventurer with a knack for wrecking ships and meddling in local politics for amusement. Accompanying him is his friend Dogi, who sports blue hair and immense muscles, which he uses to shatter rocks and various objects. In Oath’s narrative, the duo travels to Dogi’s hometown, which is currently grappling with a corrupt Count who threatens the town’s mining industry. It transpires that there’s an ancient history involving a legendary hero and cosmic dread hidden behind several enigmatic statues, and forces are working to break the seal. Unable to resist getting involved, Adol finds himself in the midst of many battles against monsters and numerous opportunities to double-jump.

In simpler terms, the Ys games from an earlier period focus more on action and music, with less emphasis on story. The Ys title for PSP falls into a category between Zelda and Dynasty Warriors, as it features numerous battles that are quick but lack depth, guiding the player through various dungeons filled with puzzles and concealed treasures. Each dungeon concludes with a challenging boss fight, testing both reflexes and pattern recognition. The game is designed to make avoiding damage difficult, yet the fast-paced gameplay and an easy retry option make it relatively straightforward to complete, taking approximately 12 hours to finish.

What’s new? Not much, honestly

If you’ve already experienced Oath in Felghana on PC or PSP, there isn’t much fresh content to marvel at here. The main character Adol, who has been a silent protagonist for long, was given a voice in Ys X and now has some basic voice lines in this game. You can also choose a new set of “Improved” character portraits, and certain difficulty settings have been adjusted. Overall, it’s essentially the same game that came out on PSP, but with slightly improved performance. The Switch version looks and plays wonderfully, making it seem like an ideal platform for games similar to this.

For beginners, Oath might not seem particularly groundbreaking, especially if you’re accustomed to the current Ys series, which began with Ys 8. However, it remains a beloved title for those who have been following the series for decades. This is reminiscent of Falcom from the 2000s, a developer known for creating games that appeared somewhat outdated even when they were new. Despite this vintage aesthetic, the visuals possess a unique charm, and the gameplay remains fast-paced and distinctive even today.

However, the classic Ys formula can be frustrating at times. For instance, solving dungeon puzzles often requires locating an item hidden in a difficult-to-spot location, such as a blind leap of faith in a volcanic dungeon to find boots that allow you to run on lava. The boss fights may also feel quite unbalanced, with you needing to inflict significantly more damage than you can absorb, and gimmick attacks that could potentially be one-shot kills unless you grind excessively might drive you up the wall.

But as you get the hang of it and learn when the game wants you to proceed cautiously and when it wants you to wield your sword like a mad goblin warrior, the deaths that seem cheap will gradually become less frequent.

Exploring the lore of Ys is an enjoyable activity for several reasons, particularly since Falcom keeps expanding and gaining more influence in the role-playing game (RPG) community. With the series having spanned numerous decades and various gaming platforms, each title offers a unique experience – be it gameplay style or graphics. You can categorize them into distinct periods, and Oath in Felghana is a significant representative of its era. Previously available on Steam, Ys Memoire stands as the most polished version, although it lacks some additional embellishments.

On January 7, 2025, you’ll be able to play “Ys Memoire: Oath of Felghana” on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. The publisher has given us a Nintendo Switch code for a review.

Starting January 7, 2025, you can enjoy “Ys Memoire: Oath of Felghana” on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. We received a Nintendo Switch code from the publisher for this review.

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2025-01-07 03:27