• Battle against over 50 hideous monsters and huge bosses.
• Meet a host of characters, heroes, enemies and friends complete with full voice-overs.
• Explore beautifully rendered environments including exotic caves, tranquil forests, and.
• mysterious dungeons.
• Beautiful CG and animated cut-scenes advance the story of the adventure.

Product Description ------------------- Washed ashore on an uncharted island, Adol Christin begins a new journey in Ys: The Ark of Napishtim. Lush environments, fully rendered characters, and animated 3D backdrops combine to create the setting for Adol's latest adventure. In the world of Canaan, our red-headed hero must fight deadly monsters and menacing bosses with a variety of combinations, special attacks, and magical spells creating a uniquely deep and compelling gameplay experience. Along the way, players can power-up three magical s to gain special abilities and attacks and unlock hidden secrets that showcase the previous legacies of Ys. As an added bonus for PS2 users, there's even an all-new original soundtrack that composed specifically for this version of the game. From the Manufacturer --------------------- Washed ashore on an uncharted island, Adol Christin begins a new journey in Ys: The Ark of Napishtim. Lush environments, beautifully rendered characters, and animated 3D backdrops combine to create the setting for Adol's newest adventure. In the world of Canaan, our red-headed hero must fight deadly monsters and menacing bosses with a variety of combinations, special attacks, and magical spells, creating a uniquely deep and compelling gameplay experience. Features: * Power-up three magical s to gain special abilities and attacks * Combines real-time, fast-paced action and strategic boss battles * Full voice-over for all NPC characters Adol meets on his adventure * Unlock secrets including new game modes, cut-scenes, and endings P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review ------ Popping the new adventures of Adol Christin into your PS2 is like going to a bar and ordering up a sidecar – what you're really doing is calling back a bygone era, for good or ill. The problems with searching through the past (for drinks or games) are many – maybe the bartender won't know how to whip up such a classic libation correctly and, maybe even worse, you won't like it as much as you remember. Clearly, a team who knows the roots of this genre has made Ys: The Ark of Napishtim ­– the classic elements are expertly and accurately done. There's a lone boyish hero thrust into an unfamiliar place. The world is infused with long-standing feuds and societies based on both magic and industry. Even the classic town drunks are present along with the gruff tribal leader who begrudgingly accepts the lead character, despite his foreign upbringing. The weaponry is imbued with elemental powers and the enemies are over-the-top and downright wacky. Yet playing the game begs the question, "Is all of this a good thing?" Do we want to go this far back, and is the experience rewarding? Overall, I'd say yes. There's something undeniably simple and comforting about such a pure experience. It's true that games (and gamers) have become much more sophisticated, but that doesn't utterly deny the allure of classic gaming. In Ark of Napishtim, some things are updated judiciously – the art direction and general visual style is very modern and takes advantage of the hardware. Enemies swarm onscreen while featuring detailed and varied designs. Yet, within this obvious nod to advanced hardware, some trademarks of old-school ideals rear their heads, and I really wish they wouldn't. Adol is silent and awkward text messages let players know that he has "explained the situation to ." It's cumbersome and distracting – the other voice work in the game is nice, and the hero should have received similar . All in all, it's not that the latest Ys adventure is bad – the game suffers only by clinging a bit too tightly to its roots. Old-school appeal is there, but with the caveat that certain methods of character advancement, storytelling, and exploration have evolved for a reason, and Ys hasn't taken the train to Current Town with the rest of the hack n' slash crew. Concept: Like a golden swig of nostalgia Graphics: Update a SNES-styled adventure with a richer color palette and finer details Sound: Weird, although I can't say that they're bad, hair-metal ballads Playability: Hack n' slash through and through, there's not a lot by way of combat complexity Entertainment: Despite the overriding "been there, done that" feeling that players will have, Ys is comforting and mindlessly amusing Replay: Moderate Rated: 7.5 out of 10 Editor: Lisa Mason Issue: March 2005 2nd Opinion: Joe opens his second opinion with a clever comment which transitions nicely into his explanation of what bothers him about the whole "silent hero" routine found in this Ys title – the crux of which is the awkward way in which even the simplest concepts must be relayed through cumbersome narration. He then takes issue with the game's heavily scripted progression before admitting that, despite the formulaic action, Ys is pretty fun in a comforting and familiar way. As he wraps up, Joe makes a barb-laden quip that cuts Dave Coulier to the quick, who quietly weeps in his lonely dressing room. Rated: 7.25 out of 10 Editor: Subscribe to Game Informer ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AN45D/ ) -- .com See more ( javascript:void(0) )