There, it finally happened. Now every main Ys game (apart from the still not remade V) is available on PC for your enjoyment. This latest release is a new canon re-imagining of the fourth entry in the main series, that previously was comprised of two similar, but different games telling a similar story. Oh, the events of the game are also set as a chronological second adventure and happen before the third game (Oath in Felghana) but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the game is fun. Even if not the best in the series.
This is the second game to follow the new gameplay formula introduced in Ys SEVEN, so instead of just playing as Adol (adventurer and the main character of the series), you play as a party of 3 characters, able to switch on the fly. And each of the characters deals a special type of damage, with different enemy types being more susceptible to certain types of damage. As with every game in the series, it is an incredibly fast paced real time action RPG with rather heavy emphasis on exploration and some puzzle solving. Though, one thing, that is actually still unique just to this game, is the fact that you can swim. That’s right – not walk under water or on the water, but actually swim. You can even fight underwater and one part of a boss battle uses these swimming controls. Which suck, so I’m not surprised why they were never really used in other Ys games.
Oh and just like in Ys SEVEN you can’t jump. Just dodge. Which indeed means that small difference in height can be an impassable block. Can’t control the camera as well, with it being mostly isometric. Which is the usual thing for the Ys games, so why bring this up? Well, you see, while Celceta was released on PC just now (at least internationally), it’s a game from 2012. Lacrimosa of DANA, which was released on PC earlier this year, is a 2016 game. And what Nihon Falcom has done to the series in just 4 years is staggering. Celceta feels like a pretty SEVEN, the mechanics, the looks, the feel, the story made better. Which was a common template for their releases based on Ark of Napishtim mechanics. Ys VIII feels like what the series have been leading up to, not just “previous game made better”, but “entire series perfected”. And playing Celceta after VIII just feels slightly disappointing.
I mean, I still could’ve stop playing, because they indeed made everything introduced in SEVEN work really well. Controls feel better, Flash Guard and Flash Evade are a joy to pull off and you can bind controls in a way that actually makes sense. Though it is obvious from the UI design that a lot of decisions were made specifically for the touch-enabled PS Vita, it still feels perfectly fine with a gamepad. The damage type concept feels great, where in SEVEN it often became annoying. Gathering resources is fun and probably even less grindey than it is in VIII. Exploring the map is fun. Interface is clean. Story starts in a bit of a frustrating tutorial-ish way, and hits a bit too many staples of the series, but is actually fun. Not as engaging as VIII, but with some nice characters and cool scenes. Hell, this game might have one of the most interesting ending act sequences of events I’ve seen in the series.
But it’s just not there yet, not where it will become with VIII. Map completion percentage, for example, is ridiculous and wants you to hug every playable area wall on the open world. Though, it seems that if you just complete the game (past the point where the percentage matters unless you then go to NG+ and you can), but the dialogue for getting the completion is there for the normal pre-ending part. The concept for the special skills per character is annoying, since to use one you have to switch to said character and if they’re not in the party you go to menu, switch character in, do this one-time skill use, go to menu and switch your usual party back in. Special skill uses pop up at rather random locations and depending on with whom you prefer to play (and for whom you bought the best equipment) those areas just become a drag due to the constant switching. Oh and the character voice over barks, especially for some bosses, are overdone. No one wants you to burn to the ground all the time, but it’s still grating. Also, some sounds (and ambience in some locations) seems to be mixed badly and can be loud or inappropriate. And speaking of sound, the music in this entry is, while as usual for Falcom not bad, just isn’t as great as it could be, with some locations having really boring tunes.
Again – I did love playing the game. It is one of the Ys games to definitely check out if you haven’t played the series or if you are interested in them, but casually. But if you’re looking for the absolute best of the series, I’d rather suggest checking Origin, Oath in Felghana and, of course, the absolutely fantastic VIII. If I had to continue the list, Celceta would probably be next. I enjoyed my time with it a lot. It’s just a bit of a shame that I’ve experienced VIII before playing this game.