The PlayStation Vita is now a device that many RPGs can call home. The newest addition to this figurative house, if you will, is Ys: Memories of Celceta. If I were to put the game in a sentence, it is a face-paced, great storied, action filled beauty. The characters aren’t generic whatsoever and are probably comparable to personalities you may find in the real world. I have never played a Ys series game before in my life, and I wish I had. I got into gaming in a more serious fashion in August of 2011; however, had I played one of the Ys series games before then that date would be much earlier.
The Ys series doesn’t feature on a more traditional turn based combat system, but highlights a pretty heavy action system, which compliments the game nicely. Getting nervous from battling monsters in real time rather than strategizing what you will do for your next turn provides a nice rush. Ys: Memories of Celceta didn’t hit that traditional 60 hour mark; however, it took a perfect amount of time for the story.
I completed the game twice, both times being between 20 and 30 hours. Don’t look at the time stamp and walk away from the game. Ys: Memories of Celceta is dense with content, especially for a handheld game. You have your traditional looting and crafting during your main expedition, but then you have your side quests to do on the… side. The last game that I played that was published by XSEED was Ragnarok Odyssey. The game was fun, but it lacked content and story. This second time around, XSEED did a great job publishing Ys: Memories of Celceta.
A good aspect to the game that also made things difficult at the same time was the massive world. In the game you are mapping an uncharted forest, which makes it very easy to get lost. You are introduced to a travel system which is available early in your adventure, but it only offers transportation from one main area to another. As time goes on faster access is available.
Character customization is beyond great in the game. You have 6 playable characters at you disposal and they all offer one of the three main combat types which are blade, pierce, and blunt and their weakness. These combat types offer a strategic edge to your adventure, switching each character where you will get the most out of them.
Lastly, Ys: Memories of Celceta compliments the Vita interface, and without being gimmicky. You can tap the map, items, or information to quickly access them. Different stances for your teammates can be set using different touch jestures. Overall, Ys: Memories of Celceta is an amazing title to add to the suffering Vita library. It is a great reason to pick up a PlayStation Vita if you are an RPG fan. It is a fun game packed with content, and I don’t know what else I could ask from it.
Dual Pixels awards Ys: Memories of Celceta a 4/5.
