Platform: PlayStation 2

Genre: Action / RPG

Number of Players: 1

Over a decade ago when 16-bit systems roamed the earth, the Super Nintendo saw many variations of role-playing games. For some, it would be their introduction to Final Fantasy, others would be enthralled with Breath of Fire, and a select few would become infatuated with Shadowrun. The SNES system saw many RPG’s during it’s time, and one that many have forgotten about or may be unfamiliar with was an action/RPG known as Wanderers from Y’s, a game that would combine the standard experience and leveling up with straight ahead, sword swinging action. Those of us that enjoyed the game though that perhaps it was long gone, never to see a return visit to North America, but after years of waiting and hoping, Y’s returns with The Ark of Napishtim.

Y’s is one of the few role-playing games that continues on with the story involving the main characters seen in the series from the very beginning. Adol, our hero, and his friend Dogi are still of on their adventures, but no matter where they might be, regardless of how safe it may seem, the Romun Empire is always a step or two behind them. After encountering soldiers in a bar, the two flee to the high seas for safety, but that won’t last for long. Their vessel is attacked by pirates and Adol finds himself throw overboard into a series of deadly whirlpools that no one has survived.

Adol washes up on the beach of the Canaan Islands and is saved by two young sisters, Olha and Isha, but this isn’t a friendly island. The people of the island, the Rheda, dislike outsiders, especially with many ill-fated encounters with other Eresians, like Adol, who also live on the island and have suffered the same fate. While the village chief Ord initially doesn’t trust Adol, the young adventurer proves himself and soon he’s off on another journey to not only find a way home, but also to hunt down sinister forces that are lurking in the shadows on Canaan Island.

The SNES Wanderer’s from Y’s III was a wonderfully addictive game, and even after such a length of time out of the eyes of gamers, the series hasn’t missed a thing. As I started playing, I was reminded of all of the good times that I had playing it on the SNES, and this is just like the good old days, though The Ark of Napishtim  (or AoN) has the benefit of modern technology at it’s disposal. This isn’t your average turn based RPG, so those that only are taken in by the Final Fantasy series or something like Xenosaga aren’t going to find that style of gameplay here. As mentioned Y’s has always been about action with elements of role-playing, and AoN delivers that in full force.

Those that have played games such as the PlayStation’s Dark Cloud series or Nintendo’s Zelda games are one step ahead of the rest. This is the style that Y’s works in, minus the full three-dimensional elements. It’s a simple matter of hack and slash, but it isn’t the mindless button masher that something like Baldur’s Gate is. There is some methodology that needs to be considered here, and you aren’t going to be in stages where there is simply one enemy of worry about. The different areas in the game are the home of many foes all out to make Adol’s visit a short one. You’ll need to concern yourself with status ailments such as poison and confusion, all while trying to gain experience, gold, and Emel.

This action element is counterbalanced by the role-playing aspect of AoN. You will have items to heal yourself or remove those unwanted status effects, and you can set up these items as a tool that can be used without the worry of having to jump into a sub-screen. This is a very useful aspect, and important as well since during most phases of the game you and go into your menu at any point with the exception of boss battles, so being prepared is always the key. During your adventure you will also find three different swords with elements of fire, wind, and lightning. The Emel you will collect is instrumental for these weapons as you will be trading it to level them up, increasing their destructive power and magical abilities. Adol himself may not be a spell caster, but your new swords will give you some magical firepower. As you drop foes one after the other, you will build up your magic meter and can unleash a destructive attack. What’s nice here though is that you don’t need to keep going into a menu to change your weapons, a simple tap of the shoulder buttons will do and while an enemy may be immune to one weapon, there are others that will damage it.  You will also find that you will begin to build quite a defensive arsenal, but switching back to a shield of suit of armor of lesser defense is not advised. Lastly, Adol will also begin to horde many accessories, some that are found, many of which are given to him, that will aid him on his quest.

Y’s also features a few side quests as well. At times you may have an NPC’s tell you of some monster lurking in the forest, a mini-boss so to speak, that you can defeat. There are also the trials of Alma, a sub quest that will have you hacking through monsters are trying to find your way from point A to point B with rewards at the end, but you will be limited on what you can choose (only one) so careful thought is advised here.

The game features voiceovers during not only cut scenes, but at any point that you speak with someone. This has been the standard for most RPG’s, and while it doesn’t work badly here, the only thing that I don’t care for is the voice acting. The good thing is that you can skip through it. The game is very detailed in each of the stages of the game, from the lush forests that surround the Rehdan Village to the dark and murky caves. There is a fantastic amount of detail given almost everywhere, making the game as much fun to simply look at as it is to play. The characters that you will encounter are drawn in an anime style, and you don’t need to be a fan of the genre to appreciate them. While I may be a huge fan of Japanese animation, I will say that even for those that have never seen any animation from Japan, the characters are presented in a very cute way, but not overly so as to ruin the feeling of the game. The only real issue that I have here however is that many of the characters and monsters are a little too small, but it’s forgivable. I’d rather see high detail and small characters than low resolution graphics with giant monsters leaping out from behind every rock and tree. The music is also fantastic, and this is one of those times where I wish that Konami would have either issued a promo CD filled with selections of music to members of the media, those that pre-booked the game, or both.

Even if you’ve never played Y’s before, there is no real problem grasping what’s going on. Adol may encounter people from his previous missions, but their former meeting is detailed slightly, and it’s not in such a way that you feel that you’ve missed a huge plot element in the game. The most important thing with The Ark of Napishtim though is that it is simply fun. There isn’t a huge, in-depth story, but what is there is something that can be grasped very easily and it isn’t overly-wrought with huge plot twists nor are you assaulted with four or five hours of cut scenes before you even begin to play. If you’ve never experienced the world of Y’s, it’s high time that you did, and if you’re from the old school of gaming and remember the series by the classic Y’s III game, The Ark of Napishtim is a return to those glory days and you may just find yourself wanting to dig that SNES out of the closet after all these years. There is another Y's slated for release very soon in Japan. I'd urge everyone to show their support by buying this game and letting Konami know that we'd like to see the franchise continue to be released in North America.

-mike-