Ys V: Kefin, The Lost City of Sand for SFC

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Ys V: Kefin, The Lost City of Sand

Zelda clone #62

Genre: adventure - overhead

Publisher: Nihon Falcom

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 4

Gameplay Notes:

Falcom finally ditched the awful bump-based combat from the previous games, but the combat here is still a bit awkward. The chief problem is that, while you can move in eight directions, you can only attack in four. This, combined with a sword that only hits directly in front of you, makes combat a struggle to line yourself up just right. You eventually gain magic projectiles, but this only introduces further problems because you must hold down on R to keep your magic meter full. This will give you carpal tunnel after a few minutes. Much better than a lot of games in the genre, but with only a couple of tweaks this game could've been amazing.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Pretty standard stuff for games at the top end of this genre, however it's easy to miss required items, plus the mostly-linear areas don't give you a lot of visual clues about where to go. I recommend a walkthrough.

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

Again, pretty standard stuff. You're a "chosen one" silent protagonist who's arrival has been foretold for generations, blah blah blah. Still, the NPCs have unique personalities and plotlines. I got about three hours in and didn't really connect with anything, but it's decent enough.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Lovely backgrounds and ok sprites. A lot of nice touches, including transparencies and foreground elements. The color pallete is a bit drab, however. It looks a bit like a Genesis game. It's not far off from the best games in the genre, like Zelda or Terranigma, but it lacks something. It's nice, but boring.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

A lot of nice songs, although nothing you'll be humming afterward. There's a "battle area" song that plays way too much, though. Again, it's good, but not amazing.

Overall Score: 75

Review ID: 1959