JRPG Review: Ys: Memories of Celceta

[Andromeda]

Next to be reviewed is Ys: Memories of Celceta from Falcom out for the PS Vita. Ys is a long running RPG series from Falcom with some of the titles having a complicated history, Memories of Celceta being one of them. Memories of Celceta is considered to be Ys IV, which already has two other titles, but neither were developed by Falcom. Ys IV: Mask of the Sun and Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys were created by other developers. Ys: Memories of Celceta is sort of a remake and sort of a correction done by Falcom as it does replaced both titles to be the canon in the story of main character, Adol Christin.

Ys: Memories of Celceta is an action RPG keeping all combat on the same map that the place the player navigates. All monsters are visible, so they can be engaged or ignored based on the player's choice. It does well to provide a good system for combat and plenty of variety that should work out to different player styles.

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The Ys series is something that I've known about for a while, but never had the chance to try out. So Celceta was my first Ys game. First impressions of the game left me feeling like there was some missed chances for the game. The characters were interesting enough and the story played out well, but the combat was where I became disappointed. Very quickly, you're given two party members, which can be switched between on the fly at any point in time. Each character plays very differently and there are three attack types, slash, piercing and smash. Even with slashing there is Adol with a sword and his shorter reach and a later character with a spear/polearm that has a long reach, both are slashing types. So there is enough difference that if you like slashing, but want to be further away it works out. However, the other two party members in the active party do nothing to help in combat. They are thankfully also ignored for any damage from enemies, but they don't help. It is only the one the player controls. Their only purpose is standing around waiting for items to drop so that they can, like vultures, grab it up, sure it's helpful not needing to do it, but if they are out on the field give them a combat AI so that they fight with you. It felt like they should have been helping rather than watching Adol or whoever getting flattened by bosses. Or just not have them shown at all.

That would be my biggest complaint about the game, which all said isn't the end of the world. It is still an enjoyable experience.

The story begins with the series character Adol Christin showing up in town having no memories of what happened to him while he went out into the forest. Information broker/friend, Duren sees Adol collapsed in town and helps him out. He tries to find out what happened to Adol when he entered the forest, which people generally stay away from as no one returns from it. Adol can't remember himself or what happened, but wants answers. So Adol and Duren end up accepting a mapping job of the forest with Adol using it as another reason to search for his lost memories.

As the early story plays out, they enjoy reusing the same setup of Adol doesn't remember what happened, but each village they enter is angry at him for screwing up their lives. With the blame dumped on him, Adol is frequently out to clear his name to the point that Duren sees the pattern and just starts assuming something has happened in later villages they reach. Which actually plays out for some good humor, even if it is often very convenient. The story takes some interesting turns and even has some good twists and reveals later on. It does end up boiling down to the standard save the world from someone bent on ruining it or controlling it. But it is still well told and the characters are enjoyable.

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The core of the game is combat and there is a little else the game has to offer. There are side quests, but they are nothing special. There are no mini-games or other distractions for the game. It is simply fighting and the connected cutscenes. The combat is simple but solid. There is an attack, block and dodge button. Then there are four skills slots that can be used along with a special attack that can be used when the meter is fully charged. Each character comes with a lengthy list of skills to place in the slots and they open up the versatility of the characters, giving range to melee fighters and even buffs. It all depends on what suits the play style of the individual. The flexibility and options is good for the combat where there is only one attack button.

However, dodging and blocking do allow for some skill, where the right timing will cause the enemy to slow down, allowing for a free window to exploit with unloading attacks. Some skills can even be chained well together to take advantage of aerial hits or transitions that naturally flow into the next attack without losing time. The more it is played the more depth that can come out of it. And blocking is very important later if you're unable to dodge, as there is often bosses that will have wide attacks that will deal too much damage otherwise.

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Customization is solely focused on equipment, but doesn't really allow any of the characters be anymore unique than they already are. Every weapon and armor has 8 stat slots that can be improved. The max for the stat is 9. They work to be the very standard, heal damage on attack, passive regen, resistance to enfeebles and adding enfeebles to attacks. But it does allow you to adjust your equipment to the style you want, but upgrading weapons will become progressively more expensive with each upgrade. The better the weapon the more costly as well. And money is not an easy to come by resource until late in the game, but still requires grinding and killing a lot of monsters. By the end without doing any upgrades and storing up all of my materials, I was able to grind the 300,000 I need to upgrade 3 of the characters fully. It did not make them broken characters though, and end game bosses resist all enfeebles anyway, making the weapons only really advantageous against normal enemies. The armor is the best upgrade due to the passive regen and resistances.

I'll mention it briefly, but exploration is supposed to be one of the main parts of the game. The more of the map explored, the more the player is rewarded, as Adol's job is to map the forest. However, much of the map is gated in such a way that true discovery and exploration is not well rewarded. There are chests in dead ends like all RPGs, but there are very few secret locations to discover. The player is guided to the next location and the minor detours check off a little more percentage of the map completion. But when the game is over even without detours, most of the map will have been traveled. So the idea of exploration is diminished as most of it is required rather than optional and there to truly let the player run free. It doesn't have to be open world for exploration to work, just add more areas that are optional and reward the player for going off the path.

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Visually, the game can look more like a PSP title at times with the character models. It is still a visually pleasing game for the Vita, but it doesn't really feel like it is pushing anything in any one area. The environments, monsters and characters are all consistent and even though. So though pops out strangely.

The last thing as always, the quirkiness and uniqueness factor, which for Celceta there is none to be found. There characters all look interesting and one of the children has a bit a personality quirk with Duren mostly, but there is nothing in the game to really make it stand out from every other JRPG out there. The rest of the game carries it well, so it is not a bad thing to not have anything unique about it, but it is a little surprising that there was nothing.

Reason to Play:

Ys: Memories of Celceta is a solid action RPG and a good JRPG for the Vita. The story is solid and the characters keep things fun. Though the combat is the core of the game and there is enough depth and variation in the characters to keep you swapping them out and waiting to try different things. It is the most satisfying part of the game. So it'll be the reason most stay around. And naturally, if you're an Ys fan this game is for you as well, since it is the newly established canon replacing the older games.

This was my first game for the Ys series and while it did not leave a big impression on me, the combat was enjoyable. This is a very solid action RPG for the Vita and it joins the growing ranks of JRPGs on the system. It is a good handheld experience that is easy to pick up and go and then set down without missing a beat. I played it largely in 30 minute chunks during lunch breaks, making it the perfect sort of game for easy consumption and rewarding gameplay.

Story 7/10 - It is the normal save the world type, but the characters are all well developed and there are some good reveals that make it turn out a lot better than you might have expected.
Combat System - 9/10 - There is a plenty of depth to be found in such a simple system with six different characters that each play a little different, just wish they actually helped out in combat as a party rather than being a purely solo experience.
Customization 7/10 - It is simple, but it is effective. However, there is nothing there that makes the characters anymore unique than they already are.
Graphics - 7/10 - It is bright and vibrate, but it does sometimes look more like a PSP game than a Vita game.
Characters - 8/10 - Most of the characters have a solid arc that brings them from their introduction to a satisfying conclusion where you feel like they have grown.
Uniqueness/Quirkness - 0/10 - There is none to be found.

Overall - 7/10 (Not an average)

[SuperSabin]

Great article Andro, of course I would be attracted to this review since i'm obviously a fan. I do agree with you on the combat of the game, when I saw the gameplay trailer, I was a little eh on the combat. The party system is a new thing for Falcom which they started doing with Ys seven. You would enjoy the combat much more in the older titles. Assuming you own a Vita, I believe you have access to the other Ys games that were on PSP like 1&2, Oath in Felghana (Ys III), and seven. IIRC the Vita is backwards compatible to downloadable PSP games. Otherwise, I really liked your coverage on the game and I am definitely interested in playing it. I own a copy at the moment, my issue is that I just need a good priced Vita.

[Andromeda]

Yeah, I've been meaning to getting around playing some of the other Ys games. The convenience of the Vita is that I have access to quite a few games. I usually wait for the sales, but the Ys games are probably going to be next on my list to buy when the chance is available to me. But it was enjoyable enough I considered trying for the platinum on it, but I'm getting a backlog of Vita games now. So I want to work through beating them at least before I start thinking about that.

[SuperSabin]

As for order, I'll recommend it by the following: Start with Oath in Felghana, then play I&II Chronicles, and then seven (which has the battle engine Memories of Celceta used).I'll give a detailed explanation about the games and battle systems for the other Ys games anyone who is interested.

Ys Origin
This game is the prequel to the main Ys series dating 700 years before the events I & II and the only canon Ys game not to feature Adol in the main story, he is an unlockable extra though. The gameplay is in full 3D perspective like its predecessors, Ys VI, and Oath in Felghana (mentioned later)

Ys I & II: Chronicles
Ys I is the start of Adol's adventure in the series, spanned many ports and some remakes. It uses a battle system known as the bump system which is the old school way to attack your enemies. Basically you are required to ram into them at all sides except the front (otherwise you take damage), If you do become strong enough you'll be able to defeat most enemies even from the front. Ys II is the other half of the storyline from Ys I and uses the same system as Ys I but also introduces a magic system where you obtain and use different spells. Think of these two games as 1 game because both games are pretty short and are considered Ys Part 1 and Ys part 2 respectively.

Ys III/The Oath in Felghana
Ys III/The Oath in Felghana marks the adventure of Adol and Dogi (Adol's partner) taking place after Ys IV. It is the first game to feature hack and slash gameplay. The 3D remake, Oath in Felghana, uses a newer engine than the original Ys III. OiF's engine is a modified version of Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim which features a battle system very similar to Zelda.

Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim
The sixth entry of the franchise. It introduces the full 3D gameplay that was later used in Oath in Felghana and then in Ys Origin (which is a steam only title in the US unless you import the PC CD/DVD rom and download an english patch). If you play this title on a PSP, be aware that this port is very buggy with slow loading times. You can also find this title on PS2, or as a PC import.

Ys seven
Ys seven picks up where AoN left off, Adol and Dogi explore the island of Altago and the game utilizes the very battle system that is also used in Ys IV: Memories of Celceta, it features a party system, enemy, special attacks, and even optional sidequests and boss fights. Ys seven takes full advantage of the PSP with it's features.

and that's the run down of the other available Ys games.