Ys: Memories of Celceta Coming to PS Vita on November 26th

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Ys: Memories of Celceta Coming to PS Vita on November 26th

It’s Thanksgiving weekend. Your whole family is in a tryptophan-induced coma from eating too much turkey. But you? You ate nothing but pumpkin pie, so you’re still wide awake.

Fortunately, you’ve got your trusty Vita on hand, along with a copy of the Ys: Memories of Celceta Silver Anniversary Edition, which launches on November 26th. So while your in-laws all dream of sugarplums and dandelions, you’ll be off exploring the Great Forest and saving the world from evil yet again.

The latest installment in Nihon Falcom’s 25 year-old RPG franchise, Ys: Memories of Celceta, is a complete reimagining of the series’ legendary fourth installment. To make a long story short(ish), Ys IV is a game that’s been published in Japan three times previously — and all were completely different games that were developed independently by different companies.

Despite each one introducing and greatly expounding upon some of the franchise’s most pivotal lore, Falcom never actually created their own version of the game… until now.

And in keeping with tradition, this is no mere remake. The story is brand new, and the land of Celceta has been expanded from the usual handful of maps to an overworld so massive, you could easily fit the combined worlds of every other Ys title to date inside it… several times over, at that.

Ys: Memories of Celceta, 04Ys: Memories of Celceta, 02

If you’ve never played an Ys game before, though, there’s absolutely no need to fear. Virtually every Ys experience is a standalone one to begin with, and this game really drives the point home by beginning its narrative with Adol losing all his memories. Thwarting the trope, however, his missing moments have taken physical form as glowing orbs scattered throughout the Great Forest, each of which can be regained with a mere touch. These range from important details about his recent excursions, to cherished memories of his childhood (A series first!), mixed in with perhaps even a stray memory or two from someone else altogether…

Solving the mystery of who he is and what happened to him in the Great Forest previously is only one piece of the puzzle. There’s political intrigue lurking around every turn, signs of a lost, centuries-old civilization beginning to surface throughout the land, and serious accusations mounting against our poor protagonist by people he simply can’t remember. Add to this a massive yet highly varied land to map out in meticulous detail, and Ys: Memories of Celceta easily becomes Adol’s largest and longest journey of all time.

Fortunately, he doesn’t have to go it alone, as the party system from Ys Seven makes its triumphant return with numerous tweaks to help keep things fresh. Switch among your three party members with the touch of a button, or use the Vita’s rear touch pad to strategize your party’s AI behavior. Learn newer, more devastating skills by taking down massive creatures through real-time, action-based combat. This is all aided by an equipment crafting system so versatile that even the weakest weapon or piece of armor in the game becomes a valuable component for something greater down the line.

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Ys: Memories of Celceta, 03Ys: Memories of Celceta, 01

The game itself can be yours for $39.99 this November 26th (at retail and on PlayStation Store) — though if you can track down a copy of the limited Silver Anniversary Edition, $59.99 will net you not only the game itself, but also a 120+ page book full of maps, strategies, and art, along with a 3-CD compilation of music (both original and arranged) from throughout the Ys series’ storied history. Plus, a detailed cloth map of the lands of Celceta, and a logo-emblazoned compass.

So make sure you’ve got a nice, juicy turkey ready to go this Thanksgiving, and when everyone else is asleep, fire up your copy of Ys: Memories of Celceta and get lost within the Great Forest. It may be a little dangerous, but believe me, the rewards are well worth the risk. You’ll be thankful you made the journey!

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  • Buying a vita his thanksgiving week, and looks like this is the first game. I’ll be getting for it. :)
    Be my first Ys game as well

  • Thank you XSEED for your continued support for the VITA. This will be my first Ys game, and after hearing so much about the series, I truly can’t wait to give it a shot.

  • Wow this almost looks better than YS : Seven on PSP!

  • Awesome, i am a big fan of Ys series since the very first Ys game. The music, the story, the gameplay is just so gooooooood that it never stop to amaze me. This game gonna be a hit, so glad that i’ve decided to buy a Vita *cheer
    Thank you very much, XSeed!!!

  • Can finally log in…damn maintenance.

    Just wanted to say thanks for the blurb about “new players” – I never played a Ys game (I know, I know, don’t shoot me), so I really appreciated the note about that because that is always the concern for any sequels. Good to know!

    • There’s pretty much never any need to worry about that with Ys games. They’re kind of like episodes of a TV drama: there may be an overarching plot or two that runs through the background, but each episode is still meant to tell a standalone story first and foremost, so people can jump in wherever they’d like and not miss anything. (And Ys IV was actually the first game to introduce a lot of the overarching plot threads found in later Ys titles, so Celceta — based on Ys IV — makes an especially good jumping-in point!)

  • I am so glad to see the PS Vita getting a lot of support that’s all the system ever needed was the right support.

  • Still playing YS III on my SNES, they’re all awesome games.

  • Sad there’s no Dogi though.

    • Yeah, it does feel weird to have Adol adventuring without his trusty blue-haired companion, but there’s a new character named Duren who fills in for Dogi rather nicely.

      And you never know, Dogi might just make a cameo appearance or two…

  • Def getting this loved 7 and Oath.
    I wish you guys lowered the price on Trails in the Sky… maybe Black Friday?? XD

  • I turned to a ys fan after playing Ark on the ps2. Iv bought all the psp collectors editions day 1 from then on. I cant wait to get my hands on this one as well.

  • I don’t think I could possibly be any more excited for this game, or for extra stuff that comes with the Silver Anniversary Edition. I got into the series a few years ago with Seven, and quickly bought and played all the rest–and just as quickly became a huge fan of the series. I listen to the soundtracks from the other PSP LEs all the time, and they’re cherished favorites. I’ve been following coverage on Celceta for years now, long before it was ever announced in the US, and even bought a Vita last year on a Black Friday deal SOLELY in the hopes that Xseed would bring the game over here (sadly, my Vita hasn’t gotten much love yet, and who knows if it ever will, but an Ys in the vein of Seven MORE than justified my purchase). And even then, I held off on preordering in the hopes of a LE of some kind. As soon as you guys announced the Silver Anniversary Edition, I preordered it, and this has to be one of my most anticipated games of the year. Tom, thanks so much to you and everyone else at Xseed for the amazing work you do. Thanks to you guys, so many of the games I’ve wanted to play the most (Fragile Dreams, The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower, and everything Ys) have made their way to North America. Keep up the awesome work!

    • High praise! Thanks very much for your continued support. I hope we’re able to keep the ball rolling and continue releasing games that pull you in.

  • ugh… It’s the Collector’s Edition dilemma. I like to get my Vita games digitally, but I really want the Silver Anniversary Edition!

  • Tom, you win the award for “Most Reply” lol.

  • XSEED are definitely injecting good energy into the Vita, look at the replies! I’ll definitely be picking it up. Any Near functionality in the game?

  • No dual audio right?

  • This is so freakin’ awesome! Hope you don’t take it the wrong way, but to me, XSeed is the new Working Designs. You keep bringing us awesome games with amazing collector’s packages. With that said, I don’t see how you would take it the wrong way. :D

  • Can’t wait for this to reach EU shores!

  • Had this game pre-ordered for months, then my buddy at Gamestop messaged me over PSN when the Silver Anniversary Edition hit their system. Went in the next day and upgraded my pre-order. Can’t wait for this to come out. I’ve actually played Ys: Books I+II on the DS and Chronicles on the PSP, Ark of Napishtim on PS2 and PSP, Oath in Felghana and 7 on PSP (LE versions of every one when available), and bought the digital version of 7 after I got my Vita… so Ys 5 is technically the only one I haven’t played :(. Can’t wait to add another Ys LE to my game collection, though!
    I was smart/lucky and started saving up money the beginning of the year, so I have all my PS4 stuff paid off AND my Vita stuff!
    Thanks so much for getting this out to us in English. And just in time for Thanksgiving is awesome.

    PS> Trails 2 digital! Yes! If it works on Vita as you hope, I’ll definitely pick that up as well. Trails in the Sky was another title I bought the retail LE and then the digital version for my Vita! Love you guys and keep up the great work!

    • What about Ys Origin? People always seem to forget that one! Must be the lack of any real numeric spot in the series canon — though technically, it is pretty much Ys 0.

      Either way, glad to hear you’re enjoying the series so much, and I’m quite certain that trend will continue with Celceta! With Falcom, you always know you’re in for a treat, and this game definitely does not disappoint.

  • @KainDrake: Haha, I’ve been thinking that very thing lately! I actually still have a bunch of PSOne CE sets of Working Designs’ releases, including both Lunars and Arc the Lad Collection. XSEED definitely fills that void left when WD went away, and brings us amazing niche games that the big publishers don’t seem to think are worth their time. So happy that they’re supporting the Vita so strongly. :)

  • The wait is finally, FINALLY almost over! XSEED, Thank you guys so much and bless you all!

    This game is one of the reasons I got a Vita (at launch!) and it was rough not hearing the news on this game for so long!

    Also, thanks so much for Legend of Heroes! We need to get the word out on these two amazing games this Holiday!!!

  • Sweet! I will def be getting this ( I am glad that Amazon Japan will carry the American version! I can’t play the Japanese, too much kanji ! ><.The joys of living in Japan :).

    • Awww, I miss living in Japan. I had a lot of fun over there back in the early 2000s! Got to witness the PS2 boom unfold. It was awesome.

  • Hey guys thank you a ton of localizing and bringing out this great title. Is there any confirmation on EU release date?

    • No confirmation on the date just yet — NIS America has only announced that it will be released sometime in 2014, as far as I’m aware.

  • This will be my Ys, just wanna know if will i miss out many things because of not playing earlier entries of Ys series?

    • Not at all. The Ys series is very episodic — with one notable exception (Ys Origin, a prequel to the rest of the series that takes place 700 years before Ys 1), every game focuses on one specific adventure from the chronicles of famed red-haired swordsman Adol Christin.

      In general, each title opens with Adol washing ashore in some new land and discovering there’s an evil presence there, and finishes with him vanquishing that evil presence and setting off for his next adventure somewhere else. There are a few overarching story and character elements (Adol’s long-time companion Dogi breaking him out of a tight spot, a race of winged beings that keep popping up everywhere, the meddlesome Romun army causing problems, etc.), but they’re all very subtle and can be equally enjoyed in any order you choose — playing a sequel before its predecessor will still be just as rewarding an experience as playing the predecessor first.

      I like to compare the series to an episodic TV drama like Star Trek, where there are always overarching plot elements, but the show format is designed so that you can start watching anywhere and never feel lost.

  • first Ys*

  • I’ve never played a Ys game in my life. This one looks very interesting, so interesting I pre-ordered the silver edition. Can’t wait to get this! Thanks for bringing this over XSEED. I’ve been very disappointed with the VKnights series though. VK 4 should be more fluid in combat, and deeper in story/progression. Combat similar to how FF15 looks would be awesome. But made for the Vita. Oh man, the sales numbers on that would be superb.

  • this game looks promising! More Good JRPGs for vita pls!

  • I am from Saudi Arabia l am watitng for this game since the psv releas.think you for making game like this. I hope i see your other games in english

  • Never played an Ys game before, but I might be getting this. Looks really cool.

    Will there be a physical release in Europe as well?

    • NIS America will be releasing the game in Europe, and I believe they’re doing a physical release — though probably nothing quite as extravagant as our Silver Anniversary Edition!

  • To clarify, is this the series which inspired the Falcom Maker character/s from the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise?

    If so, I wonder if they would ever consider offering either the Mk2 or V versions of her as a DLC character for one of their own games, the way that the NISA Maker has surfaced as a downloadable extra in the Disgaea series.

    • This is one of the series, yes. These days, Falcom is most well-known for the Ys and Kiseki franchises (the first game of the latter being “Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki,” which we released here on PSP as The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky), and I believe the Neptunia character was created as a sort of blending of Ys series protagonist, Adol Christin, and the first Kiseki series protagonist, Estelle Bright.

      Falcom typically doesn’t do much DLC, but they have been offering DLC costumes for their latest Kiseki game in Japan, Eiyuu Densetsu: Sen no Kiseki, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a Neptunia Falcom costume showed up in there sooner or later (or if one already has!).

  • I am so excited for this. I’m always excited to see not only a good game coming out, but a good game coming out on Vita!

  • already pre ordered the Silver Edition a month or two ago :D

    thanks for the work Xseed!

  • Can’t wait until I get this game on the Vita.

  • my ps vita can’t wait, this will be awesome

  • my ps vita can’t wait, this will be awesome thanks

  • Ever since I played Ys 7 on psp, I had to make myself get the rest of Ys series on multiple platforms. ESPECIALLY PC. Really do appreciate all your hard work on releasing Falcom’s games. Let me show you how much I appreciate you guys.

    Ys games purchased:

    PSP LE: Ys:OiF, Ys7, Ys 1&2 Chronicles and Ys Origins and PC counterparts. Pre ordered LE of Ys:Memories of Celceta.

    TitS: Chapter 1 LE PSP. waiting patiently for PC release and Second chapter :3

    Please pass on the gratitude to the rest of the team as well as Nihon Falcom.

  • Played Ys Origin on Steam last year and fell in love with the series. Can’t wait for this!

  • Got my Silver Edition preordered and all paid off. :D

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