***** ***** ***** ********* ** ** ** *** *** *** ** ** ** ** *** *** *** ** ** ** ****** *** *** *** ** **** ** ** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** ***** *** ***** ***** *** *** ******** ********* *** *** ***** *********** ***** ***** -Ark of Napishtim- ================================================================================ Demo Walkthrough By: GaIcian (Iqniz@aol.com) Created on: October 31st, 2004 ================================================================================ Note: As stated, this is a review for the trial version of Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim that came in the Konami demo disc. The disc is available for anyone who pre-orders Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater. Everything contained herein is 100% accurate TO THE DEMO. The actual game might (and most likely will) have changes, as the game is still under development. If you're reading this after the actual game has come out and this information is not accurate, please keep that in mind. ================================================================================ Contents: I. Play Controls II. Battle Guide II-1. Livart II-2. Blirante II-3. Ericcal III. Walkthrough III-1. Normal Game III-2. Boss A III-3. Boss B IV. Enemies V. Items VI. Impressions ================================================================================ I. Play Controls ================================================================================ D-Pad/Left Analog = Move (x) = Jump Square (::) = Attack Triangle (^) = Item Circle (o) = Magic L1/R1 = Switch sword L2 = Hold to walk slowly ================================================================================ II. Battle Guide ================================================================================ Back in the day, Adol couldn't even attack. You just ran headlong into your enemies and stayed slightly off center for the best result. It was a crude system, but it worked for some inexplicable reason. Now, not only can he attack, he has a highly advanced combo system that even Zelda can't compete with at this point. Adol uses three different swords, each with its own set of properties, both physical and elemental. Each of the three swords has a standard, three-motion combo while on the ground. The speed of these successive attacks varies with each of the swords. Combined with jumping, you can perform various base attacks with all three swords. Standard Attacks ---------------- Standard Combo (::), (::), (::) A basic combo. Spiral Uppercut Slash (::) while rising Shoryuken! This attack can hit twice if you're fighting an airborn enemy. Blade Press (::) while falling Similar to the same attack in Ys III. This attack hits several times as Adol impales his enemy while landing on it. Rising Attack (::) + (x) If you time this correctly, Adol will jump while doing the first slash/thrust of his standard combo. By doing this, you can continue the combo as you rise. Like in Ys V, Adol can use magic, only now the magic he uses is directly related to which sword he's currently using. To use magic, you must have a full magic bar. The magic bar is the red bar above Adol's blue health bar. It fills gradually as you fight and take damage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II-1. Livart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Livart is initially selected as Adol's sword, but you can change this any time you want by pressing R1 or L1. Personally, this is my favorite of the three swords so far. It has the fastest attacks, longest combos, fairly decent attack power, and a really good spell. Livart Specific Attacks ----------------------- Whirlwind Combo (::)x8 This combo rocks! But you have must have absolutely perfect timing to get in all 8 hits. After the first three motions of the standard combo, Adol will whirl about and winds will gust around him. For a single instant, he will turn blue. At the exact moment this happens, you must press (::) again. Adol will spin around again. Keep tapping (::) to do this two more times. Keep in mind that mashing or auto-fire does not work for this combo. Cyclone (o) with Livart active A raging cyclone whirls about Adol and damages any enemies close to him. This is best use in the middle of a large group, or an enemy directly above you. Note that you can continue to attack while inside of the cyclone. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II-2. Blirante -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another pretty good sword. You can't do any long combos with it, but it has quite a bit more attack power than the other two swords. This weapon reminds me a lot of Dante's Ifrit weapon from Devil May Cry. Blirante Specific Attacks ------------------------- Inferno Strike Hold (::) and release Adol can charge each of the three standard combo motions in any order. It takes about 3 seconds for the sword to become fully charged. Once it is, when you release (::), a pillar of flames will blast forward a few feet in front of Adol. Not only does this increase damage, but these charged blasts can hit multiple times. Wall of Fire (o) while Blirante is active Adol will leap slightly and slam the sword into the ground, launching a huge wave of fire forward. This spell does a lot of damage, but only hits enemies directly in front of you. This spell is probably best reserved for bosses. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II-3. Ericcal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This sword is pretty nasty. Each of the three attacks can do 2 hits if you're close enough to your enemy. Unfortunately, its unique attacks are the hardest to chain into your combos, and while its magic is cool, it isn't practical unless there are a lot of enemies in the area. Ericcal Specific Attacks ------------------------ Thunder Thrust Tap (::) rapidly Holy Splash Fount, Batman! Blitzkrieg (o) while Ericcal is active Adol will send a beam of electricity forward. If it hits an enemy, it will ricochet off of it and hit another enemy, and repeat until it's hit every enemy in the area. The enemy must be tightly grouped together, though. ================================================================================ III. Walkthrough ================================================================================ When you start the demo and select Ys: Ark of Napishtim, you'll be given a choice to select Normal Game, Boss A, or Boss B. Normal game is a good place to start and learn the basics. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III-1. Normal Game -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The demo starts right off with Adol in the middle of a 3-way fork in a forest. Directly in front of him is a boy (girl?) named Largo who tells him that he's lost track of a girl named Isha, and that she might be at the Fountain of Prayer. The Fountain of Prayer is to the east, but first, go west. There you'll find a girl named Olha, who will tell you you're going the wrong way, but she also gives you a Blue Potion. Now head east to the next screen. After weaving through the forest path, you'll come to your first enemy; a giant squirrel. I've never been hit by one of these things, so I don't know if they're dangerous or not. These make the perfect targets for sword practice. There are a few of them in this area, and if you kill them all you can leave and return and they will reappear. Switch swords and play around until you get a feel for the combo system. After a while, you'll come across some Mandragoras. These plants will spit poisonous fumes at you, damaging you indefinately, and sometimes poisoning you. If you get poisoned, use a Kamio Flower to heal yourself. Eventually, you'll come to a fork in the road with one path leading northeast and the other leading southeast. Take the northeast path and you'll meet Chief Ord. He'll tell you that the Fountain of Prayer is dangerous, and the "Wandering Calamity" lurks there. He will also raise Adol to level 5, which should make you a formidable warrior for the rest of this demo. Head back to the fork and go south until you see a very large tree on the west side of the path just as it turns south. Tucked behind this tree is a very narrow path that leads to a Mandragora, and beyond, Hard Leather armor for Adol. Equip it and head back to the main path. This is where things get fun. This large clearing is full of squirrels, Mandragoras, and giant beetles. This is the prime place to practice your sword skills. If the beetles become too much of a pest, you can use your Spiral Uppercut Slash to knock them out of the air and onto their backs, where they wont be able to get up for a few seconds. As you head west to the next area, the music will stop. You'll soon come to a save stone, which will heal you and remove poison. As you head north, you'll see Isha standing in the court of the Fountain of Prayer, and a huge creature will suddenly spring forth. ***Boss Fight: Demigalva - 200HP*** This battle is really easy. Demigalva will greet you by spitting a wave of flames at you. Head to the left or right side of the court to avoid this, and then head straight at the boss as the flames subside. The only vulnerable part of Demigalva's body is its soft underbelly, especially the gem in its stomach. The best tactic here is to use Blirante, and use magic. If you can't, you can just use the Blirante's charge attacks to do some crippling damage to the boss. Be sure to avoid its swinging arm attack by jumping, and you should make short work of this creature. After the boss fight, Demigalva falls defeated. Isha checks on Adol's condition and thanks him, but not long after, Demigalva comes back to life, and the demo ends. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III-2. Boss A -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***Boss Fight: Zonplast - 800HP*** This battle is slightly tougher than the Normal Game demo. You can only use Livart during this fight as well. Zonplast constantly hovers above you, so get to work by making good use of Adol's Spiral Uppercut Slash. When Zonplast raises one of its crab-like hands, head away from it because its about to punch the ground below you. After a few hits, Zonplast will head to the edge of the circular arena, and flap its wings, launching hails of pollen at you. If you head to the opposite side of the ring, the attack wont reach you. After doing enough damage, Zonplast will begin laying eggs in the arena. Quickly use your combo attacks to knock them out of the ring. If you take too long, the eggs will hatch and you'll have to deal with its babies. When Zonplast has about 200 HP left, it'll begin filling the ring with eggs. At this point you might as well ignore the eggs and shoryuken it to death. You should be able to kill it before the eggs hatch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III-3. Boss B -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***Boss Fight: Orujan - 1200*** This boss is in an entirely different league than the previous two. This is going to take all your gaming skill. You can't reach Orujan's face, which is the most vulnerable part of its body, because there's a wide chasm in between you and it. The only other parts of it that can take damage are its hands, and engaging them is unwise because they can make short work of you, and you can barely reach them with your highest jumps. So how do you defeat this boss? At regular intervals, Orujan will summon its minions from holes above its head. These will dash at you shortly after they appear, and if they hit you or the ground near you, they will explode and knock you across the screen, possibly juggling you into an even more dangerous situation. Switch to Livart, and when the minions fly at you, use the longest combo you can muster, and you will knock most of them back at the boss's head. Even this doesn't do much damage, so you're in for a long fight either way. All the while, Orujan will be using various attacks out of its large lineup on you. The most common is the hand swipe. Orujan will swipe one of its massive hands across one side of the cliff. You can either jump over the swipe, or simply stand in the middle of the cliff, where neither arm can reach you. Another of its attacks is a deadly, berzerk smash, where Orujan will flail its arms about, smashing both hands into the ground over and over. If you're on one side of the cliff, you'll have to dodge back and forth until he's done, or, once again, you can just stand in the middle of the cliff. However, you don't get too used to the middle of that cliff. Orujan will regularly open its mouth and fire a massive beam of energy at you, that will critically damage you, and can hit many times if you're trapped inside of it. Finally, Orujan has one last attack where it'll pound its hands into the ground, causing an earthquake, and making rocks fall from the cieling. Considering all these tactics Orujan can use, you'll have to change your position on the cliff frequently. ================================================================================ IV. Enemies ================================================================================ Enemy HP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Squirrel 50 Mandragora 54 Giant Beetle 60 Demigalva 200 Zonplast 800 Zonspawn 70 Orujan 1200 Note: HP totals, with the exception of bosses, are all estimates. ================================================================================ V. Items ================================================================================ Item Effect Description -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Livart STR+20 Blue Emelas single-edge sword. Has power of wind spirit. Blirante STR+23 Red Emelas double-edge sword. Has power of fire spirit. Ericcil STR+18 Gold Emelas rapier. Has power of lightning spirit. Round Shield DEF+12 Round steel shield. Somewhat heavy, but higher DEF. Hard Leather DEF+8 Tanned beast skin. Made with Rehda craftsmanship. Blue Potion Recover 300 HP A clear blue potion. Made from a flower growing underground. Kamio Flower Cures 'Poison' A flower with a mint-like fragrance. Used as an offering in ceremonies. ================================================================================ VI. Impressions ================================================================================ A lot of people where skeptical about Konami handling this game. I'm not sure why. Konami is one of the most dependible game companies out there, and they almost always produce a high-quality game. So they changed the sprites to 3D models? Well, they look great. So they changed the music? The music in this demo is amazing. And let's remind ourselves that Konami produced the one soundtrack that could possibly compete with Ys Book I & II's; the godly Dracula X: Rondo of Blood soundtrack. These people apparently know what they're doing, because from what I can tell from this demo, this game stays true to the Ys formula, and it's probably going to be an awesome game. Although, if Sons of Liberty has taught us one thing, it's that demos can be really deceiving.. We'll just have to wait and see..