Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana bullet point preview

(Re)Making an oath.

Slowly, but surely, Switch owners have been able to get their hands on quite a few of Nihon Falcom’s Ys games. This includes releases ranging from EGGCONSOLE Ys II PC-8801mkIISR to Ys X: Nordics. Next up is Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, which releases on January 7th. We’ve had our hands on the game for a couple of weeks now, and we offer this preview to help you get ready for Adol Christin’s latest (repeat) adventure.

• Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is a remaster of a remake of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys, originally released in 1990. The remake hit Windows in 2005, with a PSP version arriving in 2010.
• Don’t worry about this being the third in the series, however. The Ys games all tell of the isolated adventures of Adol Christin, none of which need to be played in succession. Indeed, the timeline jumps all over place even if you play them in chronological order.
• Some characters will be familiar to series fans, including Dogi. In fact, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is set in Dogi’s hometown which has become overrun with monsters. Why? Well, that’s what adventuring is for.

• Being a top-down action RPG, the majority of the remaster’s enhancements are based on the visuals. The environments retain their PSP charm, but with enhanced detail. The environments are actually quite lush, albeit with some muddy texturing here and there.
• The character illustrations have been refined, too, creating a clean look that fits in well with the overall visual presentation (and modern expectations). If you prefer the original style, however, you can swap those in. You can do the same with the music, too. Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana offers three ways to enjoy the soundtrack—the original, PC-8801, and X68000 versions—all of which have been remastered and fit the game really well.
• The big news, however, is that Adol Christin has a voice now! Normally the typical silent hero, Adol gets some lines and even provides the opening narration.
• As for gameplay, expect plenty of exploring. Typical of Ys games regardless of the era, wandering dungeons (sometimes aimlessly) and battling respawning monsters makes up the bulk of the experience. You’re often rewarded for your persistence, however, by numerous hidden treasure chests and bonus items.
• Multiple difficulty levels are offered, so you can ease into things if you’re not used to this style of action RPG. Perfectly timed jumps and attacks are the key to victory—whether it be against numerous grunts or just a single, powerful boss—so don’t be ashamed of keeping things easy until you get into the game’s flow.

• That said, combat is not difficult to master. Your attacks vary based on when you use them: while running, during a jump, coming down from a jump, etc. I found it’s easier to memorize the timing of attacks than to memorize button combinations. Also, the basic attacks fit quite well with the game’s overall presentation. The whole package is just cozy and familiar.
• You do get to customize combat with elemental bracelets that provide additional abilities: fireballs, wind attacks, enhanced defense, etc. Acquiring these bracelets keeps gameplay fresh, and mastering their abilities is quite rewarding.
• Of course, considering the game’s main story can be completed in 10 to 15 hours, with sidequests not adding too much more to that, you’re not given much time to lose interest, anyway.

Our full Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana review will be published in early January. Ahead of that, the game is available for digital preorder in the Nintendo eShop. A robust Physical Day 1 Edition with plenty of extra goodies is also available.

For more information on that package and the game in general, visit www.worldofys.com/felghana.php.