Ys: The Oath in Felghana

Originally posted on Facebook on 2 March 2023 

Ys: The Oath in Felghana.

Originally this was a Japan-only 2005 Windows game. It wasn't translated into English until 2010, when it was released worldwide on PSP.

The Windows version would then be rereleased on Steam (in English too) a couple of years later.

Apparently there's also going to be a brand new Nintendo Switch version in 2023 - but so far it's only confirmed for Japan, I think?

I decided to play the PSP version. Specifically, I played the download version that they released in the PS Vita digital store. 

Unfortunately not all of the PSP Ys games are available on the Vita store (the PSP version of Ark of Napishtim is not there for example), but thankfully Oath in Felghana is on there. ...So I got it!

I didn't actually play it on a PS Vita - I'm instead using a PSTV. So it's nice and big on the TV screen, and I can use a PS4 controller!

Tbh I'm glad I'm not playing it on a real PSP, so I don't have to rely on the PSP's tiny little analogue nubbin thing. (and the actual physical PSP game is kind of expensive secondhand...)

So this is the first Ys game to not be numbered. I mentioned it previously when I was talking about Ys III: Wanderers from Ys - but Oath in Felghana is actually a "remake" (of sorts) of Ys III. It's the same plot, same setting, same cast of characters, same general progression - but everything has been entirely redone and greatly expanded. There are more characters, more events in town, more cutscenes, more parts to the story, more plot twists, and overall it's just "Ys III, but MORE". And that's great stuff considering how tiny and inconsequential Ys III was.

Basically, they wanted the story of Ys III to exist in a form other than an awkward little sidescroller. They wanted the Ys III story to have a proper actual Ys-like Ys game associated with it. And that's exactly what Oath in Felghana is.

This is why Oath cannot be called "Ys VII", even though it released soon after VI did. They didn't want to call it "Ys III" either since that might be confusing, so they left it with no number. Which is fair enough.

Anyway.

This game is fun! 😃

So the general gameplay and Adol's swordfighting style in this game is very similar to how it was in Ys VI. Adol can still upwards-slash and downwards-stab. The basic sword combo has increased from 3 hits to 6 hits. And instead of three different swords, we have three different spells we can swap between. The three spells feel very distinctly useful - we have a long-range fireball, a spinning whirlwind slash, and a forward stone lunge that also grants brief invulnerability. Adol can also charge a boost gauge - when it's full you can press Triangle to enter a boost mode, where your attacks are much faster and stronger, and you take half damage. 

I found this combat system to be more refined than the Ys VI version beforehand - it feels a lot smoother, and I found myself using magic constantly throughout the game since MP now recharges quickly. My favourite magic was the whirlwind slash, as enemies love to surround you in large groups, so hitting them all with a big spin-attack is very satisfying. And mastering the invulnerability timing of the stone lunge is also fun, and is occasionally necessary to dodge the later bosses' attacks.

The general level design has a rather distinct style compared to other Ys games.

While Oath in Felghana is no longer a sidescrolling game, you can feel that the developers were interested in exploring the "idea" of what "sidescrolling-style" 3D level design could be like. What I mean is, while you always have 3D control of Adol, the environments have a lot of narrow paths, long corridors, and platforms to jump across - and they are generally explored in a linear fashion. 

There's also a lot more verticality than in the other Ys games - lots of climbing up and falling down, in contrast to the generally flatter and broader environments of Ys VI. Feels almost Castlevania-ish at times due to this. You even get a double-jump ability!

There aren't really any big mazes to explore in this game, but that's fine because the linear levels are fun to play through regardless.

It feels like they didn't want this game to lose Ys III's unique aspects, but at the same time, they wanted to keep the action gameplay consistent with the rest of the Ys series. It's not suddenly a sidescroller out of nowhere like Ys III was - it's still a top-down action RPG - but with a distinct linear and more vertically-oriented flavour compared to the others. I appreciate that they didn't want to completely disregard the original design intentions - they managed to incorporate it into a proper Ys style very nicely.

Oath in Felghana no longer allows you to carry healing items at all. Instead, enemies will quite frequently drop healing herbs, which restore HP immediately upon touching them. So in order to heal, you need to just play better - kill the next foe without taking damage, and maybe you'll get some health back. It's certainly a more streamlined way of doing things, and it does mean that you do need to be careful, as you don't have a stockpile to rely on. It also means that your healing options during boss fights are extremely limited - so you're just gonna have to get good at the bosses.

Enemies are also always dropping these little stat-boost potions too, which are also activated upon pickup. The idea is to encourage you to always be aiming for the next monster, killing them all one after another, since the stat buffs from these potions don't last for very long. It's an interesting way to encourage a fast-paced gameplay style.

Regarding the bosses, there's no more of that jank I felt from Ys VI. The bosses in Oath are just plain good. They're all well-designed. They're fun, their attacks are varied, and they feel fair, yet challenging. And they're indeed pretty hard! I'd say the bosses are a highlight of the game.

When you begin the game, there are actually five different difficulty options. Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Nightmare. I decided to play on Normal.

What I found was a pretty easy Ys game all things considered. The only spots I was having trouble with were some of the tricky bosses, but only while I was still learning their patterns. It never took more than a few attempts to triumph.

When you die to a boss multiple times, the game actually offers to turn down the difficulty for you, which is funny. I never did this, but the option is appreciated for those who may have started the game on too hard a setting without knowing what to expect.

Not once did I ever run into an enemy I couldn't damage, and not once did I ever have to grind for EXP in order to progress. This may be the very first Ys game where you DON'T have to grind AT ALL during the whole adventure, which is very interesting. To be honest, I never really paid much attention to my level in this game - level ups happened when they happened, and I was never underpowered. 

Maybe my experiences would be more akin to the previous games if I had chosen a harder setting. But I won't know for sure until I try for myself in a future playthrough.

The game has introduced a lot more extra features that all contribute to making the game feel more and more like a fully-fledged RPG series. Boss rush mode returns, and we now have an in-game story recap journal, an enemy bestiary to fill out, a gallery of unlockable artwork, and a rather extensive New Game Plus system that lets you "buy" added bonuses with points you earn from beating the game at various difficulty levels. You also get an unlockable "Inferno" difficulty that is tuned to be almost impossible to beat without using some New Game Plus bonus features. Wow! Suddenly Ys games are becoming a lot more replayable! ...I intend to try playing with some of these bonus goodies at some point in the future, but for now I want to continue on my journey through the whole Ys series. Once I run out of unplayed Ys games, I'll definitely need to give these bonus modes a go!

Overall I'm very happy with this Ys game. The games are definitely getting more and more refined, and it's always satisfying to complete everything. 

What's next, then? Well, the next game is still not gonna be Ys Seven - I need to play Ys Origin first. However around this time, there were also a bunch of Ys remakes being released, so I may be interested in checking some of those out beforehand. I'm rather interested in the remake version of Ys I&II - which is the only modern Ys release to still feature the classic "bump combat" system. ...So, I might play that one next, or I might just go ahead and play Ys Origin. I don't know yet.