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REVIEWING
Ys DS (by psycoblaster)
Ys DS (by psycoblaster)
- Introduction
Ys DS is a remake of the original Ys The Vanished Omen / Eternal. There are over 15 different remake in total, but this one is the most recent of them all, with new 2D3D graphics. Only some of these versions, such Ys for the SMS has an official English translation. This game seems to be a remake of Ys Complete, which might also be the reason why Ys II was released with this game.
- Gameplay
There are 2 modes to play it - With buttons and with the touchscreen. Ys is known for its bumping type of attack, which is when your character automatically attacks by "bumping" into the enemy. With the button control scheme, this "bumping" is removed, but it is still there if you play with the touchscreen controls.
The DS version also includes a new dungeon, Bague Badet. The name of this dungeon was introduced in the older versions, but the dungeon itself was not included.
When you are using the button controls, you will notice how the attack range is very short. The enemy attacks by bumping into you, but you won't. With this short attack range and the way how you receive damage just by being too close to them, it gets harder to play as you go through the game.
The rest is pretty much like other RPGs. Saving people, finding items, monsters everywhere, a tower and a boss.
The touchscreen controls kind of try to mimic the mouse on the PC version. But there is also problems with the touchscreen controls.
Adol, the main character walks when you press an area on the touchscreen very close to Adol. You run when you are pressing an area on your touchscreen from about .5 cm away from him, which really makes it hard to walk. And even with the touch screen controls, Adol only runs in 8 directions. When you are trying to go read a sign post, then because of this 8 directional movement, you can accidentally miss and run passed it.
But once again, this is supposed to be a remake of a classic, so we can't blame the gameplay TOO much.
There is a time attack mode, single player and a multiplayer mode (with Wi-Fi support, up to 4 players.) I was not able to play the wifi mode, because I only played the game through an emulator
There are 4 types of difficulty for people who wants to challenge themselves.
8/10
- Graphics
This game uses 3D2D, where the environment is similar to D/P and the characters are 2D sprites that resembles the sprites in Ys Complete for the PC.
Because of this, many areas look nicer, but some 2D kinda look like they are floating. (you'll notice it too when playing the game)
The rest of the graphics/sprites come strait from the PC version.
You overlevel quickly, because all the monsters in the beginning are weak and give you decent EXP. So the beginning of the game will really be easy, but as you go, you'll see how it gets hard.
7/10
- Sound
Not much voice acting, and the BGM sounds kinda midi-ish. But the BGM also resembles the BGM from Ys Complete. Sound effects are kinda like the sound effects from older games.
6/10
- Replay value
Well, yes. A Ys fan can play this game over and over and will never get tired. The Ys series overall has a very good replay value. I'll say that Ys DS can be played over and over even until you want to do a speed run for it. But you can't because there is also Ys II DS to complete
9.5/10
- Overall
I'm sorry for writing such a short review, but it was hard to write a detailed review when it is a port/remake of an existing game. All I really did was basically state the pro's and con's of the DS version when compared to the others.
But just like the classics, it is very enjoyable and you really will like it. This game is not for a person that thinks graphics > quality, but more for a person that wants to enjoy a feel of a remade classic, where you will see the elements of such games.
8/10
Some screens:
As you can see from the above screens, many sprites look old-ish, but actually looks better while you really play the game.
There is currently a team of me, Noitora, Kryss, momo, and other members such as kjean working on a translation patch together. So for the ones that wish to play the game in English, just wait
