Ys Memories of Celceta Review (PS Vita)

'Ys Memories of Celceta' is an unforgettable experience

Written by Drei Medina

It's a damn good game.

As my first dip into the world of Ys, I have to say that Memories of Celceta easily makes me want to take the plunge as I consider it to be one of the most impressive games on the Vita roster so far.

Ys Memories of Celceta is a classic RPG for the Vita which mixes role-playing elements with real time action instead of the usual turn-based combat system.

The game revolves around the story of wandering red-haired adventurer Adol Christin who mysteriously lost his memories.

To find out clues how this occured, Adol ventures into the Great forest of Celceta with a sly information dealer named Duren who will make you chuckle with his wisecrack quipping.

For first time players, I would suggest immediately diving into Nightmare mode since the other difficulty levels pose little to no challenge at all.

Nightmare mode initially seems intimidating especially with the unnerving first boss fight but the game gets a reasonable adjustment in difficulty afterwards.

As for the game's graphics they're not top-notch and are lacking sharpness but overall it's good enough to get comfortable with.

Flawless gameplay

The gameplay of Ys Memories of Celceta involves hours upon hours of satisfying hack n' slash action with up to three active party members.

You select a main character to control while the other two (if already available) party members are managed by AI.

Like other RPGs, the game follows a plot introduction, grinding sequence and boss fight cycle. Side quests are available to break the cycle's monotomy and proves to further enrich the overall gaming experience.

But what makes the game lots of fun are the little things it asks you to do such as treasure chest hunting and the map completion task which provides for a rewarding playthrough.

Aside from this, the game's fun factor comes from various skills that have amusing effects. Active characters can also be swapped freely with the press of a single button.

Meanwhile, the combat system is well-balanced and boasts an excellent PVE structure where the monsters scale properly against the player's level resulting in an interesting battle interaction.

The pumping background music also helps in keeping you hyped especially during combat sequences ensuring that there's no boring moment during the game.

In addition, the Flash system is a really cool feature. The slow motion effects take the cake and give an advantage to players who will attempt to master this system.

One thing to take note of is pots are a tad expensive which means it's a limited resource but this makes finishing the game a whole lot worthwhile due to the challenge.

Admittedly, I really can't find anything to nitpick with the game so I'll just repeat myself here: It's a damn good game.

The verdict: 10/10 [Outstanding]

Ys Memories of Celceta is arguably the cream of the crop when it comes to RPG titles in the current Vita roster and offers a solid story, good graphics and flawless gameplay with no hang-ups or boring moments whatsoever.

The game is challenging (if started in Nightmare mode) with all its elements converging together to present players with a lot of fun and surprises that deliver an unforgettable experience.

Pros:
+ Solid story
+ Flawless gameplay
+ No boring moment

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