Developer: Nihon Falcom, Marvelous
Publisher: Nihon Falcom, Marvelous, Xseed Games, Nippon Ichi Software
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS Vita
Tested on: PS4
YS: Memories of Celceta (PS4) – Review
The great thing about Sony is that it offers compatibility over its range of consoles. For that reason, you might see many games that were first handheld exclusive being ported over to console or the other way around. The same goes for YS: Memories of Celceta, this was initially a PS Vita game and now users can enjoy it on their PlayStation 4. The whole game has been overhauled to perfectly fit on the home console and will bring joy to its users. Step into the footsteps of young adventurer Adol and lead him to become the famous person that he is known for.
Story
The game tells the story about the legendary adventurer Adol Christin. His exploits are widely known and debated by historians who believe that the Age of Discovery came about as a result of Adol’s travelogues. Adol pictures the world and set imaginations ablaze of those who dream to become like him. At first, it seemed strange how a little boy that was born in a poor village could become an adventurer, yet you will experience his legend from the start.
A game like YS: Memories of Celceta builds on an amazingly powerful storyline. These kinds of titles can be pretty heavy to take in if you aren’t familiar with the typical JRPGs. Fortunately, the game will lightly feed you the story along the way. The story flows fluently and picks up when you want to, as you might expect, there are many side quests that also add into the background of locations but won’t distract you from your main mission.
Graphics
The game was originally released on the PS Vita, now it has been reworked for PlayStation 4. It has a certain charm to it that the graphics aren’t perfect. The upscaling and smoothening have been done perfectly and it runs great on the PlayStation 4. Because it is a former PS Vita game you won’t find many details, yet there are many effects during combat that will make the game look like a true hack ‘n’ slash title.
To piece the story together, you will be presented by some beautifully made anime cutscenes. This is typical for Japanese titles and characters are often portrayed by drawn portraits during interactions.
Sound
Typical for RPG titles are the single voiced lines to give some extra touch to the characters. During an interaction, they might say a voice line or remain completely silent. There is a certain charm to this as you can concentrate on the written text while matching voices with certain characters. When it comes to music, you are treated very well in this game. The melodies in the game will sweep you up and make you live in the moment. During combat scenarios, there will be fast and energetic music playing
Gameplay
YS: Memories of Celceta is an action RPG game that combines a strong story with fast hack ‘n’ slash combat. The game tells the story of Adol Christin and you will follow in his footsteps along the way. It all starts with Adol suffering from serious memory loss. His old pal Duren meets up with him and drags him out of the Inn. The town is under attack by monsters and the mayor needs every hand to save some trapped civilians. This is where the tutorial starts and it guides the player through every step along the way. It will teach the player every aspect of this RPG, from managing your party to equipping new skills and gear. This is where you get the first feel for the combat and this goes really smooth. You can compare the action with hack ‘n’ slash games as it is simple, only uses a few buttons or button combinations in order to have a great advantage over the opponent. The controls are simple, the game is easy to learn and you won’t forget controls if you leave it for a while.
After your first successful mission, you will be sent on a real adventure. This is where the legendary stories start and you are left to roam the city as you please. Here you will find quests to do as these will teach you how to interact with people and how to earn some needed gold. Items and gear are really expensive and while trading in normal junk might not be too worthwhile, combining this to create higher tier loot will make your bank happy.
The world is huge to explore, even the first few quests will take some walking before you get to your destination. What is really handy is the ability to teleport between certain shrines as these will grant you easy access to locations to make your progression go a bit faster. One noticeable thing is that the game likes to guide you, there are many tutorials in place, yet it doesn’t feel that the game constantly holds your hand. This also is the same for voice lines, during conversations you can pick between two answers, yet the outcomes remain exactly the same for both choices.
Conclusion
YS: Memories of Celceta is a title that has been nicely ported over to the PlayStation 4. The smooth graphics will let the missing details pass, as the game clearly has its remains from the PS Vita, yet it is of a certain quality that meets console standards. The music is great and the short voice lines do add some charm to the long conversations. The gameplay is fast, feels great and is ideal for people who love RPG elements but dislike the slow combat in the classic games. As it plays like an adventure hack ‘n’ slash game with easy controls, it allows for many people to grab this title and enjoy it for themselves.
Related Items
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] exploits became widely known, we could only wonder where our favorite character would end up. As YS: Memories of Celceta was a portable game polished for its PlayStation 4 release, it is amazing how YS IX: Monstrum Nox […]