Ys VI has been available on PC since 2003 where it met with significant success, and on PlayStation 2 since 2005. Notwithstanding any nostalgic considerations, we will try to judge Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim based on what it has to offer the current public, and not the troop of fanatics already won over to the cause of Sir Adol Christin, the gentle autistic knight who only knows how to communicate by indirect speech. Like a Koei with the games of Nippon Ichi, it is Konami who takes on the role of the prophet publisher this time. The one who brings local specialties in his bag to countries eager for new sensations. Well let's not exaggerate, this is not the first time that an Action RPG has been released on the old continent, but the arrival of a Ys, a saga mainly reserved for its country of origin, remains a pleasant surprise. It is therefore Konami that does us the favor of a good quality localization, and in French in the text please.
Is it nice?
While ostentatiously sustenance (it's not dirty) at the inn, "Red Hair" Adol and his hulking comrade Dogi are invited by two mysterious people to board a pirate ship for a sea shipment. Head to the Great Vortex. Obviously an incident occurs and Adol finds himself swept away in the aquatic maelstrom which will deposit him on the shore of an isolated archipelago. He will discover not only the existence of an unknown race but also the presence of fellow humans, when he had just found a hot girl he had saved in his previous adventure. It's too bad ! For once, let's start by talking about the musical part. After all, isn't the main theme one of the first things you touch after turning on the console? Melodious, sometimes crystalline and pure, sometimes cavernous and powerful, Falcom's compositions accompany us divinely in all circumstances with the added bonus of a little retro character that can only evoke good things. On the other hand, the observation is less homogeneous from a visual point of view. Uninviting, the shy isometric 3D only too rarely reveals environments worthy of the name. Although this is the first episode of the saga to abandon the bitmap, it would be dishonest to justify this hardly folichon observation under the guise of an old school tradition given that the software welcomes us with a long and beautiful cinematic sequence of synthesis of all that is most modern. Ys VI and his Ark of Napisthim (another name for the very biblical Noah) is actually a production that doesn't quite know which foot to dance on.
The Canaan archipelago, an essential place for your wanderings, has only two villages. Scale model adventure? Still, each character has its own artwork with a common design but of excellent quality. Isha and Olha, the young priestesses who get their hands on you, to name but a few, are simply adorable. We will also discover later a handful of avatars that stand out and will be distinguished by a certain charisma. Few meetings therefore, but a gallery of colorful portraits whose concerns evolve piano and whose many lines of dialogue give them a real presence. What makes the micro-universe of Ys VI minimal endearing.
Aiz?
Strictly speaking, if it were necessary to denounce the conceptual precariousness of Ys VI, that would be in his progression pattern. A village session here, a little bit of dungeons there. We repeat that five or six times and, hey, it's the end of the game. The feeling? Definitely mixed. At the risk, therefore, of attracting the holy wrath of aficionados, Ys VI nothing of an exceptional product, if not a certain old-fashioned charm which persists in captivating us, but which risks having no particular impact on the younger generation. And not just because of the realization. Ys VI at all of the game without great scale. Its limited gameplay, however, allows you to play without taking the lead. What do we have on the menus? Very comprehensive equipment, including three upgradeable blades that allow you to vary the blows a bit, and trigger three distinct types of magic, based respectively on wind, water and lightning. Adol handles perfectly and responds to the pixel, with the exception of the dash jump whose questionable handling leaves something to be desired. For the rest, our crimson hero can jump, but being able to use his shield as protection would have been as obvious as beneficial.
We also deplore a management of the difficulty weird. With Ys VI, it's all or nothing. Are you a tiny level below the required threshold for the area? Fight as many times as you want, only snide "0" damage points will escape from the intact shells of the bestiary. A very strict balance that forces the player to level up during each new dungeon and leaves little room for free progression and personal growth. However, we will be satisfied with the fact that Adol responds to the finger and the eye, a welcome reactivity to face surly enemies and gigantic bosses.
Say "isse"!
We were entitled to expect from this PSP version the opportunity to enhance certain parameters of the original game, however Konami and Falcom have clearly decided otherwise. Not only Ys VI PSP has not been enriched since the PlayStation 2 version of 2005, but worse, the appearance of access times with each change of screens, combined with sessions of crucifixion of the frame rate in the menus, reveal a non- simply outrageous optimization by the dev team. The dubbing also fell by the wayside. Only a few details will tip the balance in favor of the PSP version, such as the appearance of mini games allowing you to quickly collect Gold and Emel to forge your blades. In addition, it must be admitted that this type of old school game is consumed very pleasantly on a portable console. The fact remains that the lack of care given to the PSP version of Ys VI really hurts given that it arrives more than a year after its PlayStation 2 counterpart.
