Archie Dait returns with her Ys: Memories of Celceta review on the PS Vita.
“The storyline is quite simple, and will appeal to large audiences.”
Ever woken up with absolutely no recollection of who you are and what you’ve done? I imagine the majority of you who thought YEP have experience as being a student! So spare a thought for the protagonist of Ys: Memories of Celceta, Adol, who we find trudging through the city of Casnan having lost his memories.
I have to say, before I started this game I had high expectations all round for this JRPG exclusive. I always look forward to Vita exclusives because I want to see how the games utilize the unique features. That’s not to say I would like every single game to have touch capabilities or use motion, but I would like to see good design and high quality graphics which the Vita is more than capable of handling. With Ys, I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed with the graphics and even the choice of colours in the design. Adol’s signature red hair looked more pink to me, which wouldn’t be a problem if it was meant to be pink and I know doesn’t affect the game play, but it’s still something which I thought could have been enhanced for the Vita. However, what the design did get right was the feeling of a modern JRPG, in that the characters were more than a few out-of-proportion pixels moving across uniform-tiled ground. With this game the characters, creatures and environment are detailed and full of life which is great for a portable game of this size!
The gameplay again has its ups and downs. On the plus size the controls are easy to understand, the idea of learning new skills as you go along keeps it fresh and the whole thing is pretty fluid. My only real problem is that after a while, the hack-and-slash battles start to get repetitive, despite characters being able to exploit different weaknesses over others, all monsters can easily be defeated by attacking and dodging. Granted, it is a little bit different when it comes to boss battles when you do need to think about which character is best suited to join your party of three.
When I think of JRPGs, I think: lots of interesting text, cool cutscenes and of course epic storyline. This game does have those elements, but with a different tone to most other JRPGs I have played. The storyline is quite simple, and will appeal to large audiences. I would even say it could be a good introduction to the genre for those who have never played one before alongside the Final Fantasy series. I found the story was easy to get into, and intriguing enough to keep playing continuously!
Overall thoughts:
Overall it’s been a good portable game which I hope to see more people play. There is so much to explore with this game, and the characters are all very interesting as well as the story. I think the Vita could really do with more games like this, as there’s nothing better than getting stuck into a long game while on the go (where you can save anytime you want!) I would also love to see a female protagonist in the future, I think that could draw in more female players! Although it feels at times like it is watered down slightly, this is still a massively enjoyable game.