PS2 The Ark of Napishtim review:4 stars (A brilliant return to the world of Y's) - This RPG title comprises of 10 massive stages that are broken down into several chapters. The game's visuals are displayed in isometric perspective, which keeps in line with it's cartoon-style them and has allowed the developers to focus on creating beautiful worlds with its graphic engine. Essentially it is platform title that looks and plays like the original Zelda series.

The control layout is simple yet effective and the primary buttons are the square and X buttons. The square buttons is Adol's attack maneuver, while X button is used for jumping. There are many goodies to be found throughout the game that help Adol complete his missions. Adol is able to upgrade his sword for a more powerful attack and obtain new shields and armour. This helps Adol in defeating some of the gigantic bosses that he may come across who progressively become stronger the further you progress in the game.. There are also additional accessories and tools to be found. All these options are accessed from the settings menu while in game and once Adol has found other swords
he is able to alternate between them by pressing the R1 button consecutively. The swords can also incorporate a powerful force attack that is performed by pressing the circle button. These attacks can eliminate multiple enemies at one time and include some remarkable special graphic effects. Once a force attack has been preformed, it will use quite a bit of energy that needs to be restored and it may take a couple of moments before you can perform the attack again. In addition the jump button can be used in combination with the main slash attack for upward and downward thrusting strikes. Throughout the game Adol has access to 3 different types of swords, each with powerful after attacks. Using the shoulder buttons to switch between them at any time, you have the fire sword (leaves flaming opponents), the Thunder sword (lighting after attack) and the Wind Sword (creates little whirlwinds) and all are extremely cool weapons that are very fun to use. There is no map onscreen to direct Adol but there is a health meter in the bottom right corner that can be easily refilled throughout the game.

The environments are rich and full of life. Details in the surrounding fauna look great and the hard surfaced environments are also well detailed. But it's the shadows and real time lighting that make the YS stand out. During the many cut scenes, the characters take up half the screen and are designed like the traditional anime characters, very fearsome looking and often quite grotesque. All the characters have voiceovers and they have also added onscreen dialogue.

Overall YS: The Arc of Napishtim is a fun challenging RPG that will appeal to almost everyone. This title reminds me of all the old school classic RPG's that once consumed our lives and couldn't get enough of.5 stars (Ys Victorious Return) - Finally, after years of waiting, the Ys series has come back to the US. Before I jump into the gameplay, let me state that if you like the anime, youll love the game...plain and simple. As far as gameplay goes, the control is flawless. While there is some backtracking, for the most part this game is straight forward, story driven, hack and slash action. While leveling up (mainly the swords) can be a real chore, the hack and slash battles are so much fun that its easy to ignore the time it takes to level up. The games music is excellent and I can honestly say that this is the first game in quite some time that Id like to own the soundtrack for. Each song is well orchestrated and fits smoothly into its portion of the game. The story, while not the best story ever told, is interesting enough to keep you playing all the way through. The character development is phenomenal, with numerous characters growing more and more important to the story as the game progresses. As far as graphics go, they fit this game perfectly. Sure they are not the jaw dropping graphics of some of the other Action games and Rpgs of the big name consoles (ex. Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy X, DMC3, Tales of Symphonia), but they grow on you rather quickly. Overall, this game is defintely a must own. However, due to this series not having a huge following here in the states, it is sure to get EXTREMELY RARE. My EB only had 3 copies and thats all they plan on getting! Buy it now before its too late!
PS2 The Ark of Napishtim Features:
Strategy (Strategic)
Video Games
PS2 (PSX2)
Sony Playstation (Play station) 2
Playstation2 (Play station2)
Action
Adventure
Role Playing Games (rpg, rpgs)
PlayStation 2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Strategy/RPG

PS2 The Ark of Napishtim is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 39.88USD.