REVIEW – The Switch feels like a nice, new home for “Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta” even though hardly anything changed

While it may be Falcom’s current longest-running series, the history of the Ys’ series is cloudy at best. Thought of by many to be a return to form for the series, “Ys IV” was actually made up of two games; there was Ys IV: Mask of the Sun for the Super Famicom and The Dawn of Ys for the PC Engine. Both games were sort of combined into one and remade into what later became Ys: Memories of Celceta, which came out on the Vita in 2013 followed by later releases on the PS4 and PC. Now, under the Ys Memoire label, the game is finally available on the Switch in the form of Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta.

While it may be Falcom’s current longest-running series, the history of the Ys‘ series is cloudy at best. Thought of by many to be a return to form for the series, “Ys IV” was actually made up of two games; there was Ys IV: Mask of the Sun for the Super Famicom and The Dawn of Ys for the PC Engine. Both games were sort of combined into one and remade into what later became Ys: Memories of Celceta, which came out on the Vita in 2013 followed by later releases on the PS4 and PC. Now, under the Ys Memoire label, the game is finally available on the Switch in the form of Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta.

I have no idea why the game changed its title despite literally being the same game with the same publisher. Last year’s Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana at least represented a way to play the game on a modern platform outside of the PC while also rehauling the game’s character art. Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta really is just a way to play it on the Switch, and it’s not a title that consistently tops people’s favorite Ys games. That said, if you’ve never played Celceta before, it has its moments, and its signature Falcom charm is sure to give action JRPG fans their fair share of enjoyment.

Revelations in Celceta, of course, puts players back in the adventuring shoes of Adol Christin. No shipwreck this time, though. It’s the other JRPG protagonist trope. The game begins when you see him gingerly walking across town and collapsing, and when he comes to, you find out he has amnesia. Everybody in town seems to know him and what he’s all about, but it takes various triggering moments for him to remember things. Luckily, the memory he recovered fastest is his prowess with a sword, and after he saves the townspeople from a mishap in the nearby caverns, he gets tasked with mapping the forest of Celceta.

Exploring and mapping Celceta is the bulk of what you’ll be doing as the game opens up considerably to present a non-linear overworld. That said, you still follow a mandatory sequence for the main story and dungeons, and while you do all that, you’ll also unlock parts of Adol’s memory. Sometimes you’ll find them in the open, there’ll be times where you’ll set up camp and remember some more, and there’ll be times throughout the plot where Adol discovers even more. I won’t go into too much detail into what actually occurs, but the fact of the matter is Adol has been exploring Celceta for weeks before falling victim to amnesia, and he learns a lot about secrets and history about the region that might’ve been better off unearthed.

Typical amnesia plot aside, it’s the action gameplay that once again takes front and center in Revelations in Celceta. As has always been the case, the hack-and-slash combat feels great, especially when combined with other abilities that you can use in battle by holding the R button. In typical Ys fare, these other abilities also level up the more you use them, encouraging their use and not being so stingy with them despite the fact that their usage is tied to a heat gauge.

The main way the action differs in Revelations of Celceta is with the fact that you have up to three characters in your party, including Adol, that you can cycle through and use by pressing the Y button. In addition to Adol, you’ll have the burly Duren right away, who’s all about brute force; there’s Karna who has throwing swords best used as a distance fighter; you’ll meet Ozma with his powerful spear; there’s the disciple in training Calilica who uses a mace, and the last person who’ll join your cause is the halberd-wielding Frieda from the village of Danan. While each of them feels distinct, I felt the most comfortable when using Adol in situations that didn’t force me to use another character.

During your exploration, you’ll come across various obstacles that only members of your party can help you through. Duren, for example, is your lockpick specialist, so if you find a locked chest, he’s the guy to open it. You’ll also come across hanging obstacles that, when cut down, can be used as bridges to get to otherwise inaccessible points. In those scenarios, Karna is your girl. Ozma can spear through cracked walls underwater. Every character you recruit has a unique action essential to progress, and while it’s nice to be able to tie certain abilities to certain characters, it often feels like a drag to make these changes, especially since there’s no way to specifically pick a character. You have to cycle through.

This is what makes this release frustrating. Again, hardly anything was done to the game, and it’s largely the same experience as it was on the Vita, which means you’re going to have every problem the other releases suffered from. Taking the example of cycling through characters for instance, it would’ve been nice to hold ZL and pick a specific character by tapping another button. It would also be so swell to be able to skip the micro-cutscene that plays when you use a unique ability like Karna’s throwing knives. But no, that would’ve required real work.

As for actual changes or additions unrelated to the button commands differing from the Vita and PS4 versions, saying they were minimal would be an understatement. The two main things to mention are the newly arranged soundtrack and the ability to choose between English and Japanese text and dialog. The Ys games have always had good soundtracks, and Celceta is no exception, but I’m not enough of an audiophile to tell anybody whether the original or the “enhanced” musical experience is any better. I have no preference. If anything, it’s nice that you can choose the modern or classic one at any time in the settings. The same goes for Japanese text and dialog. Either way, in typical Falcom fashion, not every line in the game is voiced, and to make matters worse, the voiced lines are at a significantly lower volume than the BGM.

If you’re playing on a Switch 2, you I’d go as far as saying you’re playing the ideal version of the game at 60 fps on Boost Mode–except for one unfortunate detail. Unless I just can’t find it, the game doesn’t have a high-speed mode, which is unfortunate, since so many Falcom re-releases on the Switch do. If you’re playing on a standard Switch, it targets 60 fps and feels fine, but everything looks and feels crisper on the Switch 2’s Boost Mode, and unless you’re playing on a handheld PC, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better way to play this 20-hour adventure.

At the end of the day, Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is as solid on Switch as it ever was, and if you’ve never played the game and you’re coming off Ys X: Nordics, Celceta is a great way to check out not only the story immediately after Ys X, but to experience one of the games that laid the groundwork for systems seen on other Ys games. Still, $60 is a little steep for this game when you can get the same experience for at least half the price on PS4 or PC.

That all aside, we have our fingers crossed that Ark of Napishtim becomes the next classic Ys game to get the Memoire treatment.