Ys: The Ark of Napishtim Review
Posted by Altered Confusion on September 30, 2008
Ys: The Ark of Naphishtim is another addition into the Ys series. You will find yourself on an island where your puny weapon will not last long, but don’t fear you’re going to find a replacement that will allow you to create havoc on the island, and perhaps save all the people at the same time.
PS2 Version:
The graphics are your standarad affair for the PlayStation 2, but I can tell you that the animations look smooth and as usual the creature models stand out to me. The different levels are done in such a way that you feel like you are truly traversing this huge island.
PSP Version:
The port looks as good as the PS2 version. There’s no recognizable changes in appearance from one to another.
PS2 Version:
The controls are simple, and its a good thing because there will be times where you’ll be button mashing to get through an enemy, or trying desperately to hold on against a boss.
PSP Version:
The controls because of the simplicity makes an almost flawless transition through the porting. You’re not going to scratching your head over the control scheme.
Both Versions:
The game is in real time which makes for an interesting flow of battles depending on if you are trying to get through an area, there’s a lot of backtracking, and attracting all the monsters, or if you plan correctly you can have an easy time. The only thing is watch out for the status effects that can be caused by some creatures.
PSP Version:
Sadly there is a problem when you go from one screen to the next on the PSP version, expect a lot of time screaming as each screen is slow in loading. This isn’t that big of a deal until you have to start the heavy backtracking that comes later in the game.
As you can see I have both versions of the game and I have to say that the PS2 out-powers the PSP one, not because of the size of the screen that I get to play it on, but because of the fluidity that seems absent when trying to move around in the game on the PSP version. This game is something a little different, and if you can find it, I recommend picking it up on the PS2, but if you can find the PSP version know that you’re going to suffer the loading, but when you’re actually playing the difficulty on pulling off some of the attacks is slightly easier.
I give the PS2 version a solid 8.4 out of 10.
I give the PSP version a slightly shaky 7.8 out of 10.
