Falcom Does it Again with Ys: Memories of Celceta - Preview
by Karl Koebke , posted on 15 June 2013 / 4,015 Views
I've only recently been introduced to Falcom RPGs but they're quickly growing on me. The Ys series in particular has some of the best feel for an Action RPG. They are fast paced and have just the right amount of reward for skill over mindlessly hacking way. So when an Ys game was announced for PSVita I waited impatiently to hear about when it would be coming to the West. Thankfully Xseed has heard our prayers (specifically mine) and it'll be coming in Fall 2013.
Ys: Memories of Celceta follows our same main character Adol after losing his memories. A nearby forest seems to hold the answer to what happened and since the government wants Adol to chart the mysterious forest all things align. So it's an RPG where exploration is first and foremost the goal of the storyline. I'm loving it already. I was also told that although you'll be exploring a forest the entire time there's still quite a bit of environmental variety and even quite a few towns you can discover within the forest. In fact, it's the biggest overworld in an Ys game yet.
Combat in Ys: Memories of Celceta is as fast paced and fun as ever. You have three characters in your active party which you can switch between at the push of a button. Dodging at just the right time gives you a Flash Dodge bonus which slows down time for your enemies while blocking similarly makes your next few hits guaranteed criticals. Holding R turns the face buttons into skills which use up SP that you get by attacking enemies. If you finish off the monster with a skill you get a bonus in experience and drops. It all feels so right; Falcom truly are the masters of the Action RPG.
During exploration you'll find obstacles that your party members' abilities will help you get past and this is when the touch screen comes into play. The front touch screen is used well for navigating the map while the back touch screen can tell your allies to attack or defend by pinching or spreading your fingers apart. There are also a couple of puzzles throughout the game that involve the touch screen.
I'm a big JRPG nerd, so playing Ys: Memories of Celceta and hearing about it is up there with talking to NISA and playing Dragon Fantasy Book II as the most fun I had at E3 2013. Everything I heard about Ys: Memories of Celceta has further cemented my excitement and I'll be keeping the day marked on my calender as soon as I hear word of an official release date. For now I'll just look forward to “Fall 2013” and hope that means sooner rather than later.
