Ys: The Oath in Felghana |
Walkthrough |
Maia: "This is just another dream of mine..." This story is a retelling. The original story was told in Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. |
In my time, I've wandered everywhere.
Around this world, Hope would always be there.~ Excerpt from "Felghana Archives"
Ys: The Oath in Felghana (イース -フェルガナの誓い- ) is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom and released for Microsoft Windows in 2005. The game is a remake of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys, originally released in 1989.
A remaster for Nintendo Switch under the name Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana (イース・メモワール -フェルガナの誓い- ) was released on April 27, 2023. This version includes redrawn portraits and turbo mode.[4] This same version was later re-released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on May 23, 2024.
Synopsis[]
Setting[]
Felghana is an isolated nation in northern Europe, bordered on all sides by the sea or the mountains. Its residents have typically lived a humble existence centered around the mining and export of a rare mineral called "raval"—at least, until Count McGuire came along. A noble from the Romun Empire, McGuire was forced upon Felghana as its feudal lord 20 years before Adol and Dogi arrive, and has been ruthlessly flaunting his power ever since. Felghana is known for its rich and mystical lore, with tales often told of a now-defunct animistic religion, and an ancient hero locked in supernatural combat against a wicked god.
Prologue[]
The adventuresome duo of Adol and Dogi decide to travel to Dogi's homeland of Felghana to investigate rumors of strange weather and afflictions that have caused a significant drop in crop production. There are also rumors of oppressive behavior from the local lord.
On their way to Felghana, the two seek the advice of a group of nomads who are known for their accurate fortune-telling. The fortune teller warns them of a terrible disaster that will befall them if they proceed to Felghana, but Adol refuses to be deterred. With renewed resolve, the two set sail for Felghana. As they approach their destination, Adol senses that something sinister awaits them in Felghana. Despite his misgivings, the two continue their journey, unaware of the danger that awaits them.
Story[]
Ys: The Oath in Felghana, similar to Ys III, follows the duo of Adol and Dogi when they make an unannounced visit to Dogi's homeland of Felghana. It quickly becomes apparent that things have changed dramatically since Dogi departed on a journey of self-discovery eight years earlier. Hordes of violent monsters roam the outskirts of town, there's an unsettling rumor of a long-dormant volcano suddenly becoming active again, and the lord of the land has become more and more tyrannical with every passing day, most recently depriving the land's citizens of their right to mine for the precious ore known as "raval"—a staple of the economy for generations. As Adol and Dogi begin their search for the source of Felghana's recent tribulations, they find each clue leads them more and more towards the disturbing conclusion that these events are all somehow linked. The closer they get to the truth, the higher the stakes, as the consequences of their actions affect not just Felghana, but possibly the entire world.
The basic plot has been slightly modified from the original, and expanded through additional scenes.
Characters[]
- Main article: Ys: The Oath in Felghana/Characters
- Adol Christin: A young man uniquely identifiable by his fiery red hair and deep, dark eyes. Travels the world with his best friend Dogi, always seeking the thrill of new lands, new possibilities and endless trouble. Set sail for Felghana after hearing rumors of monsters and unrest therein, in hopes that perhaps he—as always—might be able to set things right.
- Dogi: Adol's best friend, partner and confidant. Prior to traveling the world with Adol, Dogi was employed as a career thief in the land of Esteria, but was always more of a Robin Hood than a Moriarty. Honorable, kind and strong as an ox, Dogi is known by his peers as the "Wall-Crusher" due to his propensity for finding and decimating any and all barriers in his path. Spent his adolescence menacing the humble villagers of Felghana's trading town, Redmont, but left on a journey of self-discovery eight years before our tale begins.
- Elena Stoddart: Chester's little sister. Despite her cute and dainty appearance, Elena has always been something of a tomboy: rough, wild and uncontrollable. Frequently slips out of town when she's not supposed to, and is widely renowned for her absolute unwillingness to accept life's little injustices at face value. Her strong resolve also means she's a hard worker, which—combined with her general kindheartedness—has made her into something of an idol amongst the townsfolk.
- Chester Stoddart: Dogi's childhood friend. Orphaned at a tender young age, Chester and his sister Elena took up residence in the home of Redmont's mayor, Edgar, where they were raised as part of his family. One year before this tale begins—around the time monsters first started appearing in Felghana—Chester started becoming more and more distant and self-absorbed until eventually, he went missing from the town altogether. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay follows the new system introduced in Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, with several improvements. Many things were streamlined to keep the focus on the action as opposed to equipment and item management. For example, healing items and stat bonuses are no longer carried as items or accessories; instead, these bonuses are dropped from defeated enemies and are used upon pick up, along with an experience bonus for attack combos. These bonuses are maintained through constant combat.
Development[]
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys, released in 1989, marked a significant departure from the previous two Ys games in terms of gameplay mechanics. It was a side-scrolling platformer RPG with rapid-fire sword attacks. Although Ys III was popular at the time of its release, the game's strange jump physics, virtually no invincibility after getting hit, shorter playtime, and weaker story contributed to its mixed reception by fans.
In response to fan feedback, Falcom remade the game in 2005 for PC, releasing it as Ys: The Oath in Felghana. The remake was not just a graphical update but an entirely new game, featuring updates to every aspect of the game's story, gameplay, graphics, sound, and general atmosphere. The game contains traces of Ys III to appeal to those who enjoyed the original but with significant improvements to make it more appealing to a new audience. The soundtrack was rearranged by Yukihiro Jindo.
In 2010, Falcom released a PSP port of Ys: The Oath in Felghana, featuring voice acting for every story-advancing cutscene and side quest, alternate soundtracks from the PC-88 and X68000 versions, a new "Double Boost" ability, and a new prologue to set the stage for the adventure. These additions helped to enhance and streamline the game for the PSP's userbase. The voice acting and the alternate soundtracks were added to the PC version in 2020.[5]
The PSP version would be remastered for Nintendo Switch and released as Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana in 2023.
Version Differences[]
PSP version[]
Ys: The Oath in Felghana was ported to PlayStation Portable in 2010, the port featured some new content and changes:
- All character portraits are now presented in a larger size, whereas the PC version generally displays smaller versions of the portraits and occasionally switches over to the larger ones.
- Full voice acting was added to all story cutscenes and some NPC interactions. The English voice acting was eventually patched into the Steam and GOG versions.[5]
- You can switch to the PC-8801 and X68000 versions of Ys III's soundtrack at any time from the menu screen. This feature was eventually patched into the Steam and GOG versions.[5]
- Texture quality has been reduced and the framerate is locked to 30 FPS, presumably due to system limitations.
- Blood splatter has been reduced during gameplay.
- A hit combo counter was added.
- Double Boost (Wブースト ) was added and is obtained with the double jump. Once Adol's Boost Gauge reaches 100%, it will start filling up in red again, and when it is completely filled, you can activate Double Boost. When activated, Double Boost releases a burst of energy that damages nearby foes, provides a greater boost to Adol's abilities than the regular Boost mode, and slowly restores health based on his hit combo.
- A museum has been added to the title screen featuring a prologue novella explaining why Adol and Dogi traveled to Felghana, along with a gallery and movie sections that unlock as you progress through the game.
- A New Game+ mode is accessible after a clear data file is loaded. A variety of bonuses are available for use, each requiring a set amount of "points" which are awarded based on the game's difficulty cleared and the corresponding cleared save file. For example, clearing the game on Normal difficulty and creating a cleared save file on the same difficulty will give you 15 bonus points to spend. Certain bonuses may be essential for higher difficulties, as Inferno mode explicitly cautions that the game may be impossible to beat without them.
- A checkpoint system that saves your progress every time you transition to a new screen was added, allowing you to restart from the last checkpoint if you die, instead of being sent back to the last save point.
- If Adol dies to a boss three times, an option will be given to retry with a lower difficulty level. The boss keeps the same maximum HP as the higher difficulty, but their attacks will be weakened to match the lower difficulty. Completing the game and using this feature still grants credit for the higher difficulty.
- Adol's adventure diary has been added, which records his progress and can be viewed at any time from the menu screen.
- No-Fall Mode, which warps Adol back to the start of the current screen if he falls down a pit, can now be enabled in any difficulty mode. In the PC version, it can only be enabled in the Very Easy or Easy modes.
Memoire version[]
This version, titled Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, is an HD remaster based on the PSP version of the game, released on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5, and includes additional features such as:[2]
- All 2D character portraits have been redrawn in a new art style referred to as the "Refine version", but the original portraits are still available as an option.
- New art is unlocked for Elena by beating the Time Attack in each difficulty.
- Visuals such as textures and character illustrations are now presented in a higher quality, in addition to the game running at 60 FPS.
- Adol is now voiced during gameplay.
- If narration is turned off in the sound options, Adol will talk in place of the narrator during cutscenes. However, he only speaks a few words at most.
- A "high-speed mode" has been added, which increases the speed of the game to 1.5x or 2x if a button is pressed.
- Cutscenes can be skipped.
Packaging[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the second Ys game to use the engine and gameplay style of Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim.
- A review from PC Gamer has become a meme in the Ys community after the reviewer gave the game a low score, citing his inability to find the Ruby to upgrade Adol's fire magic and frustration over the name of a joke achievement.[6]
External links[]
References
- ↑ 【PC】Ys: The Oath in Felghana Chinese Version
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Coming to Nintendo Switch Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana Traditional Chinese & Korean Versions to be released on May 25, 2023!, Clouded Leopard Entertainment (March 2, 2023)
- ↑ 製品情報 | イース・メモワール -フェルガナの誓い-
- ↑ Ys: The Oath in Felghana Memoire Launching for Switch 2023 Japan, Noisy Pixel (Orpheus Joshua, December 14, 2022)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ys: The Oath in Felghana - Now with English voices and alternate soundtracks! Steam News, (February 19, 2020)
- ↑ Ys: The Oath in Felghana Review, PC Gamer (Richard Cobbett, May 06, 2012)