I've forgotten most of Ys IV in the four years since I last played it. What a shameful act that was.
The gameplay alone might make Memories of Celceta the best Ys game. I understand if you're s purist of sorts and want the solo Adol experience, but the additional five characters, who feel just unique enough, add a depth not seen in the classic titles. Everyone feels different, but their skills reveal just how much. Ozma is slow, forceful, and powerful and has a surprisingly long range. Karna has speed and range. Frieda is slow, but her range is wide. Adol was a reliable hand, Calilka was a fun and confusing mix of everything, and Duren was perfectly fine. And, following the footsteps of Ys VII, the attack types (slash, bludgeon, and pierce) return and require a well rounded party. And unlike VII, Adol can't fill every role at the end. It's interesting that every character uses unique element attacks, but those elements never mean anything. I'd have expanded them, but I won't hold it against MoC. And the system the devs put in place makes MP consumption a non issue. If you're out of it, just attack normally. You'll get it all back in a moment! And it has the most important thing I love in a game: exploration!
The game starts out with that being the primary goal. We're tasked with walking around a forest, much of which we'll get to double back on when the Metroidvania aspects kick in. Not only is exploring a fun, vital part of the game, but it's actually mandatory. And there's so much stuff to find! Superbosses, ultimate weapon crafting materials, side quest locations: it's all great. It's just so fun!
It's amplified by the exciting music. Ys always does field/overworld themes in ways no other franchise does, and that continuity is here. It's not notes of wanderlust but of excitement and adventure. Every location gets its own song, which is both good and bad. A few areas, Table Mountain and the Battlefield, are short, and you only pass through them once. You don't take them in as much as the Forest of Dawn, which you hear too much. Nearly forty percent of the overworld is the first forest, and the theme, which is great, feels a bit overused. It kinda becomes generic white noise after a while. It kills the idea of a banger for me.
Another reason MoC may be the best Ys game is because Adol has a personality. Before, he was practically mute. A narrator spoke for him in Felghana. But you get a choice of lines in Celceta, and they're actually fun. He can be sarcastic or to the point. How he interacts with his friends, especially at the end, is a fun experience. They don't mean much in the grand scheme of it all, but it's still a vast improvement over the silent protagonist of the past.
But as for Celceta, let's see what our new and improved Adol has to say:
"The sea foliage of Celceta is one of the most unique areas I've ever explored in all my years. Located in the northern portion of the Ipsani peninsula, north of the city of Casnan, lies a rich forest filled with diverse life forms and history.
The Forest of Dawn is a forest that once turned back all who dared to enter. And that's if you were lucky. If the giant rock throwing apes didn't get you, the lizardfolk or the floating fish would. It was split into several sections, and the steam was the hardest to navigate. The poison spewing worms were a constant threat, which made the colorful plants nearby seem welcoming. They were not welcoming. Nor were the crystalline insects next to the steam.
To the south of the forest was a large crater. I never knew what caused the hole, but I'm sure the flies and bears made it hard for any would-be researcher to find the answer. And between them was the Ancient Labyrinth, an even thicker forest from which only five people have ever gone through. But your reward for navigating to this place was the giant tree that could be seen from Casnan.
Comodo is home to fierce hunters, wonderful crafters, and my favorite harpist. Built on the branches of the great tree, these people live boring but peaceful and halcyon lives. It seems nice, but I'd go mad. I hope my friends there are well.
Following the stream from the forest brings people to the Misty Peak. I don't know if there's an actual mountain here, but the dense fog makes navigating even harder than the Labyrinth. There were so many paths and monsters that I wonder if swimming the strong stream is better. Not for me, though. The actual river in the forest hides the village of Selray. Selray is home to fishermen and the caretakers of the sacred beasts known as spardas. I hear they ceased the animal husbandry due to questionable historical events, but nothing would stop these guys from fishing. And now that the river has calmed down, they may not need their beasts of burden. With their ultra-super-amazing blacksmith, I'm sure they've subdued the lizardfolk.
The river slowed down because of events on the otherside of it. The former Primal Lands were the homeland of the ancient kingdom from whence the current area takes its name from. The town of Highland is home to people proud of their heritage as survivors of a great war. They've thrown down their weapons and become a technology powerhouse. And the impressive tower behind it lies empty now, but it was once a religious temple of sorts for the people.
And if you get past Highland and the steppes, you'll come to a terrifying swamp. It's home to all manner of poison spitting monstrosities that I suggest you avoid. Nothing is friendly; avoid at all costs.
But beyond that is the Temple of the Sun at Elduke, the former capital of Celceta. I have no idea what it could have looked like 800 years ago, but the ruins are the most awe inspiring location I've seen. I only hope it survived the volcano eruption.
There is so much to see and experience in Celceta, but most of it is incredibly deadly. The insects, spiders, bears, apes, plants, worms, lizardfolk, beastmen, and immortal science experiments are not to be trifled with. Of all my adventures, the monsters in Celceta are amongst the most deadly. But the human denizens are the total opposite. They welcome kind and charismatic visitors, but testing their patience will prove how frontiersmen work.
The Govoner-General of Casnan tasked me to find gold for the Romun Empire. I failed to find their gold, but I discovered far better experiences."
-Adol Criston
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Plot: more than worthwhile. Gameplay was probably Memories of Celceta's primary focus. Making a full scale exploration game in a series about an adventurer is so rad. But the characters are fun, the bosses are good enough, and the story twists are fun! 8/10
Gameplay: the best. Skills, special moves, and multiple unique characters! It's rare I want a game to be longer, but I want to keep playing. I love how it works and makes MP loss a non issue. 10/10
Music: missing something. The tracks are all great and unique. Ys does something different than any other RPG I've played, and MoC is no different. But it's missing that killer track. Maybe there was too much Forest of Dawn?
On second thought, I think the issue is there is a lot of stuff going on with sound effects. Everyone's talking because of skills, attack grunts, and item pickup sounds. It drowns out those violins I've come to enjoy so much. Couple that with the multiple movements every song gets, and the good parts often don't even get heard due to fast travel mumbo jumbo. Ys IV's OST is just as good as Felghana's. 10/10
Art: it's a Vita game. This is the first game I've ever played that originally came from the PlayStation handheld. Looking at it can look a bit rough, but this was still a handheld. I was also playing on the lowest detail because my rig sucks. Despite that, I found it beautiful. It fits in perfectly, even by "modern" standards. And there's so much to see, and it wants you to look. 10/10
Charm: it's just fun! Replayability, idle nonsense, cool scenes while wandering, amazing NPCs who are expanded on in fun side quests, and a world that feels alive! As I said, I went the game to be longer, even if it's a perfect length. 10/10
With no negatives, Ys IV: Memories of Celceta gets a score of 48/50. Just when I thought Felghana was the goat, Celceta shows up to be the boat. I can't believe I gave it such a low score in my preliminary review. It makes me want to skip my next non Ys game, but I really shouldn't. But I might... How many times did I type "fun" in this?
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