For once we have a game that hasn't spent long in my backlog. In fact I picked it up shortly after finishing Ys III and finding a gap in my collection. It then sat on the list of games to play due to the series for about as long as possible, leaving me eager to get back into battle along side our red-headed hero. Once again I was not disappointed. Come on inside.
Story: My, has Adol stepped deep into it this time. Half-dead from exhaustion and with no memories to call his own, he stumbled into Casnan on a rainy day and collapsed right there in the center. Thankfully the innkeeper took pity on him and brought him inside where he could rest and recover. Still, with no memories, what was there for him to do?
Although he didn't find himself alone for long... an information dealer by the name of Duren grabbed him almost as soon as he was downstairs in the tavern. Claiming to be his friend, he immediately attempted to talk his ear off for the details Adol has seen and done! Appearantly he had last been seen wandering into the forest of Celceta: a place where few (if any) ever come back from and here he was, back in the flesh. Of course Adol not having any memories at all did not thrill the man, but the two of them need to know what happened: one to get back their memories of who they are and what happened to them, and the other because any information they bring back is worth it's weight in gold. And with the governor of the town herself offering a cash reward for any adventurer brave enough to map these strange lands out, there is really no decision to make. So gear up, Adol! It's time to explore the forest again and remember who you are!
With this basic beginning you will begin a journey through the unknown wilderness and beyond as you follow Adol's forgotten footsteps through the ancient lands of legend. And this being an Ys game, it doesn't take to long to find out trouble has dogged him every step of the way, waiting to catch up with your party at several previously unknown villages you will find, setting up a comfortable story-beat that will keep the pace for the first half of the game, although this is more time about introducing the characters then anything else before the real story can take place.
Still the pacing is great and the story itself is pretty good as well, including a touch of depth to go with the air of discovery the whole game will allude to. True it's not the most complex story you will ever play, but it is solid and I am satisfied with what is here.
7/10
Graphics: Like just about every game in this franchise I've played so far, Ys 4 is a port from a portable platform. But where as the last four titles were all released on PSP, this time, the portable platform of choice was the PS Vita, allowing the devs to push more hardware then before. Like every game prior, your camera is basically fixed, your view will be pre-determined, and the world will be lovingly rendered making the most of everything the devs had. You can expect to see everything from vast gorgeous landscapes in the distance to insect hives from the inside out and several towns that each strike their own feel and vision. True, this does mean the limits of game's portable origins are on full display, but it only shows just what they could do this time.
The real update this time are the people including Adol himself. Where other games in the franchise so far have used sprites for everyone and everything you run into (outside of bosses, anyway), this game is truly fully rendered with everyone have full models to back them up. Add to this the fact that the camera can zoom in and out to taste and you have a dated, but very good looking game indeed!
However, this time I do have a very solid complaint, as censorship has reared it's ugly head. And while I can not confirm how much or if it covers blood and gore (which I am not sure it would considering the franchise was never heavy on that to begin with), I can tell you at least one of the outfits was censored: and I know because it was sloppy and obvious. Now I do not usually care about how much or little skin a character might show, but personally this does bother me as it makes it clear the dev made one thing and for one reason or another (and with the reputation game studios bringing Japanese games in have, I would place my bets here), they didn't get to show us their vision. But to then be half-assed and not finish your own job to the point that it's obvious what you did is just insulting!
In this particular example, you will fairly early in the game meet a sorceress who, without spoilers, will be one of the antagonists of this game, and right away something is off about her. While her model looks like it's in a night gown, it clearly has additional covering not in her profile when she is speaking. At first I thought maybe I was mistaken and the anime-style of the art just didn't reflect well in the in-game figure, but then they let her introduce herself properly and her drawn picture reveals more then enough to know it was not a mistake... the in-game model was censored heavily and they forgot to make the profiles match. I'm inclined to believe it was only her due everyone else actually matching in this way, but I do not know. All I know is to bring the game here, they clearly had to change her look so as to not offend someone who would feel bad they can't look like that.
Overall I can not say the game looks bad. In fact for a game that started life on the PS Vita it looks very good. However it still looks dated because of those limits and I am knocking a point for bringing into question how much was altered "just for us" rather then let the devs have their original release.
6/10
Sound: The audio department of this game faired much better then the visual ones. Sadly there is still very little in the way of voice acting, so all the extra space alloted by the cart-based medium of the PS Vita did not get used for this. And as always the sounds more work then stand out: slashes and clangs of your weapons sound good, as do all the blasts of magic and anything else you might hear in the world.
No once again the sound in an Ys game stands out because the music is absolutely awesome and runs the gamut for calm to chipper and happy with ease when you are in downtime. But I once again have to hand it to the team for making an excellent score mixing metal and classic into some of the best music to beat the hell out of a boss or three to. You will find all the music here at the very least descent and when it decides it's time to rock and break some skulls, you will find it at it's absolute finest! Enjoy this.
8/10
Gameplay: Like the other games in the franchise, Ys 4 is a hack and slash RPG game and you will control Adol through his adventure of (re)discovery in the mystical forest that stole his memories. The action is fast and furious as your primary way of fighting involves slashing, dodging, and when you fill a meter, an ultimate attack. And yet the game is not that simple since this time you will quickly realize Adol is not traveling alone. Rather you will have up to two allies with you at any given time with a total pool of up to six you can swap in and out of the part at will. And you will want to do that since everyone, (Adol included) specializes in a specific weapon which will have it's own range, speed, and strength balancing them out. In addition you are not restricted to just playing as Adol. While the AI will control the two characters you are not (although you can give a general party command to either be aggressive or avoid damage), you can switch which one you are controlling without so much as breaking up the action.
Feel free to explore and find what works best for you, but be aware there will be times you absolutely need each and every ally. The reason for this are a talent system where certain obstacles absolutely demand that you control certain characters to get past them. Duren, for example is a master lock-pick and there are treasures you will need to use his expertise to open, many of which are needed to progress in the game.
But there is more depth to be had here for each character also learns new skills as you play and it will be up to you to equip each character with the ones that suit them best. Topping off this combination system is fast, and furious action that is every bit as tactical as the series is known for. After all like other games of the series, you take damage from attacks only rather then running into enemies allowing you to get nice and close and for the game to be more precise in exactly what enemies do. As a result you are required you to pay more attention to the tells of your enemies to be most effective. It's a great system that only improved with this remake of the 4th entry!
8/10
Bugs: I can honestly say this game ran perfectly from start to finish.
Overall: While not the original game 4 in the franchise, this is a title that has taken everything the series has done and learned from it to create the best release I've played in the series yet. Ys II has officially been dethroned.
Score:
System Requirements:
- Intel Core i3
- 4 GB RAM
- AMD Radeon HD 6570
- Windows 7
- 101 MB hard drive space
System Specs:
- Ryzen 5 5600G running at 3.9 Ghz
- 16 GB RAM
- Windows 11
- PDP DX Wired Controller (Crimson)
Source: gog.com
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