Ys: Memories of Celceta Review Summary

Fast fluid combat with an excellent soundtrack and engaging exploration, but a rushed ending, shallow story, and underwhelming final boss hold it back.

Fast and fluid combat: Players consistently praise the combat system for being fast, responsive, and snappy, emphasizing its fluidity and consistent fun factor across multiple reviews.

Quality-of-life improvements over Ys: Many reviews highlight significant improvements over previous titles, particularly Ys Seven and Ys VIII, including better controls, skill systems, and simplified crafting.

Distinct and interesting characters: The cast of playable characters is praised for being charismatic, diverse, and well-implemented, with each having unique skills and play styles.

Excellent soundtrack: The game's music receives high praise, with players describing it as exceptional, beautiful, and featuring standout tracks that enhance the overall experience.

Engaging exploration and map: Exploration is highlighted as a strong point, with rewarding map completion mechanics, a sense of adventure, and enjoyable world design.

Ending is rushed: Multiple players complain that the game's ending feels abrupt, lacks an epilogue, and provides no closure. The rushed pacing in the final act undermines the overall story experience.

Disappointing Ys entry: Several players consider this one of the weakest Ys games overall, pointing to poor first impressions, a thin story, and too much dialogue at the expense of combat. Compared to series highlights like Ys: Dawn of Ys, it falls short.

Lacking story depth: A common criticism is that the story feels bland, weak, and flat. Players find the narrative lacking in substance and engagement, making it a weak point of the game.

Final boss underwhelming: The final boss is described as weak in difficulty and design, with a short, anticlimactic fight that fails to provide a satisfying conclusion. This adds to the disappointment around the ending.

Mixed visuals and graphics: Visuals are described as a mixed bag and rough around the edges, and the graphics feel dated despite the game's recent release. No camera control also adds frustration.

Action RPG with party combat: The game is an action RPG featuring a party-based combat system where you control three active members with fast, real-time action. Players can switch between characters to utilize their unique skills and abilities.

Fast and snappy combat: Combat is consistently described as fast-paced and snappy, with real-time action including skills, EX moves, and timing-based dodge and guard mechanics. This core element is central to the game's appeal.

Crafting and equipment enhancement: Players can gather materials to craft, refine, and enhance weapons and armor. The crafting system covers weapon forging and upgrading with gathered resources.

Similar to Ys Seven and Eight: The game is frequently compared to Ys Seven and Ys VIII, sharing a similar combat system, party structure, and overall gameplay loop. It is noted to be harder than Ys VIII.

Side quests and exploration: The game features sidequests, hidden quests, and exploration off the main path. This encourages players to explore a large map with a percentage completion tracker.

Smooth framerate and performance: Players consistently note very smooth framerates, unlimited FPS, and no stuttering. Overall performance is praised across various hardware.

Steam Deck runs well: Multiple players report successfully completing the game exclusively on Steam Deck. Performance is described as good, compatible, and smooth with no issues.

HDR and graphics issues: HDR is sometimes mistaken for bloom and should be disabled. Some settings like shadow do not work as described, requiring workarounds.

120FPS and high settings: Some users report excellent visual quality at 120FPS with maximum settings, indicating strong optimization for high-end systems.

PC port crashes frequently: A minority of users report constant crashes, freezes during cutscenes or dialogue, and random game closures on PC.

Play other Ys games instead: Several reviewers suggest that players should try other Ys titles, such as Ys VIII or Ys IX, instead of this one. They consider those games to be better experiences.

Recommend for action RPG fans: The game is particularly recommended for fans of action RPGs and fast-paced combat. It appeals to players who enjoy real-time action and character progression.

Good entry for Ys series: This game is highly recommended as an entry point for the Ys series, particularly for newcomers. It offers a solid foundation and enjoyable vibes that fans of the series will appreciate.

Worth buying on sale: Players strongly recommend purchasing this game when it is on sale, as it provides good value for money. It is considered a worthwhile purchase at a discounted price.

Positive overall recommendation: Many reviews give a strong overall recommendation, praising the game as a worthwhile purchase for fans of action RPGs and Japanese role-playing games.

Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00.

Game completion: 28.0h.

Story completion: 20.0h.

Players report early friction from tutorial popups and slow progression, but the game becomes more engaging after the initial tutorial phase when party exploration and memory collection begin.

Friction: Tutorial popups overload; Slow progression early; Need patience; Early flaws.

Unlock drivers: After tutorial events; Party system clicks; Exploration opens up; Mapping mechanic.

Veteran Ys Fan: Compares mechanics to previous entries, may be critical of changes, enjoys story and series continuity. Motivation: To experience Adol's legend from a new angle and appreciate how the series evolved. Stance: buy.

Newcomer Friendly Casual Player: Plays on easier difficulty, values streamlined gameplay, may not engage deeply with grinding or complex systems. Motivation: To enjoy a light action RPG experience without needing series background. Stance: buy.

Completionist Explorer: Methodically explores every area, uses guides, grinds for full completion, often returns to previous areas with new abilities. Motivation: To achieve 100% map completion and find all secrets and achievements. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: Ys: Memories of Celceta runs well on Steam Deck despite its 'Unsupported' status. Users report smooth gameplay with minor caveats: a quirky launcher that requires the controller to be active before launch, and a missing ending cutscene. Most players find it perfectly playable and enjoyable on Deck.

Linux and Proton: Ys: Memories of Celceta runs well on Steam Deck using Proton GE, with only a single minor issue where an ending cutscene does not play. No other Linux-specific compatibility problems were reported. The game is considered playable on Linux through Proton with minimal friction.