Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (2003) (VG)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Directors:

Kuma Kent
Feng Yi
(more)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

3 swords, 1 Hero, A Legendary Adventure!

Plot Keywords:

Empire | Hero | Island | Swords

Cast

Kathleen Barr	...	Olha / Sia / Jue / Marve / Sophia (voice)
Janice Beaudoin	...	Sera / Anice (voice)
Stillwind Borenstein	...	Romun Soldier #4 (voice) (as Stillwind)
Patrick Burke	...	Romun Soldier #1 (voice)
Martin Cassels	...	Agu (voice)
Trevor Devall	...	Dogi / Admiral Agares / Geis / Largo / Lloyd (voice)
Brian Dobson	...	Ord / Ladoc / Ernst / Baslam / Calman / Thoud / Jedo (voice)
Paul Dobson	...	August / Gazel / Quval (voice)
Greg Ellis	...	Romun Soldier #3 (voice)
Ellen Kennedy	...	Sola / Maple / Alma / Rakthe / Milca (voice)
Terry Klassen	...	Isaac / Silva / Kevin / Xaxon / Guen (voice)
Scott McNeil	...	Raba / Ryug / Cloa / Toksa / Mikhail / Emilio / Napishtim / Mannan (voice)
Rev. Dr. Bradley D. Meyer	...	Romun Soldier #5 (voice) (as Brad Meyer)
Kirby Morrow	...	Ur / Lolo / Camara / Seblo (voice)
Kathy Morse	...	Leav / Attli (voice)
France Perras	...	Terra / Crevia / Wemura / Rose / Nies (voice)
John Polidora	...	Romun Soldier #7 (voice)
Ty Robinson	...	Romun Soldier #9 (voice)
Laara Sadiq	...	Isha / Noi / Xisa / Tise / Nahrva (voice)
Michael Saucedo	...	Romun Soldier #2 (voice) (as Mike Saucedo)
Jaren Tolman	...	Romun Soldier #6 (voice)
Daniel Tyrrell	...	Romun Soldier #8 (voice) (as Daniel Tyrell)
John Whipple	...	Romun Soldier #10 (voice)

Directed by
Kuma Kent
Feng Yi
Zhu Xingmai		(interior scenes)

Produced by
Simon Lai	....	assistant producer
Charles Murakami	....	assistant producer
Yoshinori Sasaki	....	producer (as Moai Sasaki)

Original Music by
James Guymon

Production Management
Naoko Muldowney	....	production manager

Art Department
Zhang Ge	....	main designer
Qiu Hao	....	designer
Xu Jie	....	movie designer
Na Jing	....	designer
Zhang Lei	....	designer
Tang Liji	....	movie designer
Cheng Lurong	....	designer
Yin Ming	....	movie designer
Zhu Shao Hua	....	movie designer
Gao Shaoqiang	....	main designer
Fu Shuhong	....	designer
Wang Tao	....	designer
Chen Wei Rui	....	movie designer
Xu Wei	....	designer
Zhang Wen Chong	....	movie designer
Gu Wenqun	....	designer
Wu Xin Sheng	....	movie designer
Wang Youyi	....	designer
Zheng Yunle	....	designer
Fan Yuqing	....	designer
Linzhi Zhang	....	designer
Huang Zhanyun	....	main designer

Sound Department
Stillwind Borenstein	....	sound designer
Jun Funahashi	....	audio manager
Chen Jian	....	sound programmer
Wu Kaihong	....	sound designer
Qian Kai	....	sound programmer
Rev. Dr. Bradley D. Meyer	....	sound designer
Jaren Tolman	....	lead sound designer
Xiaofeng Xiang	....	sound designer

Music Department
Jaren Tolman	....	executive music producer
Jaren Tolman	....	music executive supervisor

Other crew
Scott Allen	....	package designer
Kurt Busch	....	vice president of production
Monique Catley	....	associate director of creative services
Zhou Cheng Xing	....	programmer
Andrew Fitch	....	script editor
Catherine Fowler	....	senior vice president of sales and marketing
Marc Franklin	....	associate public relations director
Tommy Gotsubo	....	president: Konami Digital Entertainment America
Li Jun	....	main programmer
Ma Jun	....	programmer
Yasuhiro Kido	....	staff: Hudson Soft
Kazumi Kitaue	....	chairman and ceo: Konami Digital Entertainment
Yukihiro Kobayashi	....	staff: Hudson Soft
Shinichi Kudo	....	staff: Hudson Soft
Dennis Lee	....	product manager
Cao Lei	....	programmer
Shen Leping	....	coordinator
Cherrie McKinnon	....	director of marketing communications
Wu Min	....	coordinator
Geoffrey Mulligan	....	chief operating officer
Kenichiro Nakaoka	....	staff: Hudson Soft
Rick Naylor	....	senior director of marketing
Ken Ogasawara	....	localization producer
Hidehito Okamoto	....	staff: Hudson Soft
Hiroshi Onoguchi	....	staff: Hudson Soft
John Saito	....	script editor
Brad Schlachter	....	associate marketing director
Linda Stackpoole	....	vice president of operations
Ni Wei	....	programmer
Yi Wei	....	programmer
Long Yuan	....	main programmer
Li Yueqiang	....	programmer
Dong Yunfeng	....	programmer
Zhang Zheng	....	programmer
Xu Zheying	....	programmer
Xia Zheyong	....	programmer

Production Companies

• Nihon Falcom Corporation

Distributors

• Konami Corporation (2005) (Japan) (all media) (PlayStation 2 version)
• Konami Corporation (2006) (Japan) (all media) (PSP version)
• Konami Digital Entertainment America (2005) (USA) (all media) (PlayStation 2 version)
• Konami Digital Entertainment America (2006) (USA) (all media) (PSP version)
• Nihon Falcom Corporation (2003) (Japan) (all media) (PC version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:T

Company:

Nihon Falcom Corporation

Fun if a little bit outdated..

This is the first Y's PS2 adventure game, and the first one I have ever played. A guy with red hair who apparently is a bit of a notorious adventurer gets knocked off a boat during a battle at sea and is washed up on a island. Unable to escape because of the surrounding whirlpool, he soon makes friends with the inhabitants, which include strange beings with tails and big ears plus human refugees who were shipwrecked there before him. Another quest awaits the guy when he discovers that there is a strange force trying to escape an ancient seal to rule the world. He enlists the help of a priestess, her psychic little sister and a mysterious hatchet wielding man, but will he make it? That all depends on YOU.

Putting this on is like returning to the mid 90's. Everything about it screams SUPER Nintendo, and apart from some fancy FMVs, recorded voiceovers and the orchestral soundtrack, it could just have easily have been made in the 16-bit era. That doesn't mean to say it is a bad game, it is easy to pick up and play.. with an simple to follow plot and a very uncomplicated control mechanism. It's just that you expect a bit more out of the next generation consoles, and my overriding reaction when it was completed after 15 hours gametime was "Is that it?" Without much in the way of secret areas and bonuses to find either, the longevity is probably limited too. Y's will have to do better next time if the series is to hold my interest. 6/10