The Ys series of action RPG's is one of the oldest and most cherished series in video game history. Thankfully, the transition to 3D seems to have been done flawlessly. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is a game with all the newer bells and whistles that a current generation title has, but captures the simple elegance of the classic series to create a gaming experience that removes most of the headache and just leaves you unable to put it down.

Graphically the game is attractive, if a bit simple. You won’t find any sweeping epic visual choreography on par with a Final Fantasy or even The Legend of Zelda. However, its style and vibrant pallet captures the game's unique charm which is, ultimately, its greatest strength. The game also features some pre-rendered movies which are very impressive in quality. Battle effects are also flashy and work well to invigorate the rather simple mechanics with an energy the game would have otherwise lacked.

Similarly, the game’s musical score, while not a sweeping epic, is singularly charming in its execution and fits the game wonderfully. The game also features voice acting for every line of dialogue in the game. It would have been terribly easy for a game like this to feature some rather nauseating, Saturday morning cartoon-style voices. Thankfully, that is not the case and The Ark of Napishtim offers some very good performances.

The story of The Ark of Napishtim is a relatively simple setup. Adol Christin, the hero of the series, is on a pirate ship and is fleeing from Romun Empire warships when they get caught in an anomaly known as the Vortex of Canaan. There, they get trapped behind the Vortex on a series of islands. To find a way off the islands, Adol must explore their ancient runes and befriend both the native tribe of the Rehda and a city of Eresians, like himself, formed from those who have been trapped by the Vortex over the years.

In a world of full of 40 page manuals, advancement charts, and skill grids, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim offers a simple, but engaging, experience that is quite refreshing. It is, at its heart, an action RPG. Think The Legend of Zelda, but with more emphasis on action and less on exploration. The majority of the game involves you, as Adol, fighting solo through various areas teeming with monsters. All of the RPG staples are here – you level up and buy/find various new pieces of equipment. You will also collect a mineral known as Emel to power up the three elemental swords you’ll find throughout the game: wind, fire, and thunder. As you would expect, each offers its own unique strengths and weaknesses, and each has its own special type of magic.

As with most games that are something of a throwback to the older generation, The Ark of Napishtim can sometimes throw a steep difficulty curve at you. If you’re not careful, you’ll suddenly find yourself surrounded by enemies that you can’t hurt, and who will knock you out in one hit. Many of the bosses can also get very tricky, doing massive damage and only being hurt by one very specific type of attack. Additionally, while you can go into your menu and use healing items at your whim during normal gameplay, during a boss fight you are only allowed to use whatever items are equipped to your item slot. As is usually the case with games like this, you can always level up a bit more to have an easier time.

Battle in Ys: The Ark of Napishtim is pretty straightforward. You have various different types of attacks, such as the basic three hit combo, an upwards slash, and a downwards thrust. Your three different swords also change the way you fight quite a bit. The wind sword is fast and capable of the longest combo, but has very short reach. The fire sword is slow but powerful, and is useful for enemies you don’t want to get too close to. The thunder sword... well, it’s just kind of a brute force thrusting attack.

The game also features some platform jumping, though this aspect of the game can get a little frustrating. There is also the extremely tricky dash jump if you want to get across those longer pits. The manual and game don’t do a great job of explaining how to do it really well, but once you figure it out, the platforming aspect of the game becomes much easier.

If you have been a fan of the Ys series these last years, you will probably enjoy Ys: The Ark of Napishtim, and I highly recommend it. Likewise if you need a break from the increasingly complex games that come out nowadays, the simple but fun gameplay might be just what you need.