Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim
Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim
Game
Game2012
Ys Origin
Developer Nihon Falcom
Ys Origin is a 2006 action role-playing game developed and published by Nihon Falcom. It was originally released for Microsoft Windows in Japan on December 21, 2006. The game is a prequel to Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished and Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter, taking place approximately 700 years before those games during the final period of the ancient kingdom of Ys. It is the first major installment in the… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
315 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 1, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
89
LovedLoved
148 positive · 18 negative
95% range 84–93%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 148 | 18 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 69 | 7 | 64 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 9 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
2,071 of 2,202 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
89% recommend · 150 yes, 18 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 168 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (3,411 of 3,667 positive).
Players praise the gameplay, story, and soundtrack, calling it a fun and fast-paced action RPG. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the game's repetitive single-tower setting and mandatory multiple playthroughs as drawbacks. [4][5][6] A few players criticize specific character playstyles and boss design, while others find the game dated or dull. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
I'll be the odd one out here. I remember dropping this game years ago because I found it painfully dull. Recently decided to run the Ys series (1-7 + Stategy) and I loved them so I wanted to return to this one that Ys fans seem to love. It still absolutely sucks. The biggest problem for me is that the dungeon dungeon is dull. Unlike alot of the Ys games where you explore a region of the world with wilderness …
- [1]
Very enjoyable gameplay and story with GREAT soundtrack. Works great on Steam Deck without any tinkering.
- [4]
TLDR: Three distinct playstyles add variety, but a repetitive single-tower world and locking the canon story behind a full extra playthrough make this the most skippable Ys entry so far. PROS: ➕Good port ➕Three different characters, each with their own story and gameplay mechanics NEUTRALS: 🔹Achievements are mostly locked behind three(!) playthroughs CONS: ➖Poor game world - samey environments as the entire game …
- [11]
I think nostalgia is a defining factor to why I love this game. But while it did serve as the hook and the basis to why this game is dear to me, the gameplay and music did by no means disappoint. Ys Origin gives off this medieval Zelda vibe to it, and the isometric 2.5D perspective and chibi characters is representative of that old-school JRPG aesthetic, filled with cool magic and ugly monsters alike. Having …
- [2]
I went into this game expecting a fun action combat gameplay experience. I came out with more than just that. This game brought out some emotions I thought I wouldn’t have going into the fairly dated Ys games, and I loved it. I have been replaying the Ys games in canonical order based off the Digital Emelas site, as I played most of the games without too much thought on the lore behind it when I was younger, …
Summarised from 34 of the 284 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
89% of the 168 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Ys Origin. The complaint that keeps coming up: repetitive environments inside a single tower. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game received "generally favorable reviews" across all platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic. Richard Cobbett from PC Gamer rated Ys Origin a 71 out of 100 and called it "a cute, quirky anime dungeon crawl that will cheerfully kick your arse until your nose starts bleeding". Dale North from Destructoid awarded it an 8.5 out of 10 and commented that "$20 gets you a thoroughly enjoyable PC RPG that both looks and sounds great, despite its age. You'll get about 10 hours of entertaining gameplay, really strong narrative (for a Ys game [sic]), and a great localization to go with it".
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 315 · most liked firstToday I remember the past by remembering a past comic about a game that remembers the past of another older game. Ys: Origin was neat, but I still resent it terribly because "bumpkin brutalizes every single demon" is apparently not canon.
neutral · AI labelView post →looking for a Next Fest demo to stream? Try my game Angeline Era, whose Next Fest demo is out early!! ⚔️ wild Bumpslash Action 🗺️ mysterious exploration.. 🐟 strange bosses 🎮 Great for fans of Ys Origin, Tunic, 2D Zeldas, action like Mega Man! store.steampowered.com/app/2393920/...
neutral · AI labelView post →life's been in the way of shareable work but here's the last thing i was jamming on: recreating Ys Origin in unreal so i can use it as a mechanical base for making my own game on top of it. would really love to come back to this #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday #unrealengine5
neutral · AI labelView post →Today @ 4PM CDT The Ys Origin Deathstream! That's right, it's about time we figured out what the deal is with that there Ys game. I assume this gives us a really great backstory for Adol and Dogi, why else would you subtitle it 'Origin'? www.twitch.tv/gigaboots
neutral · AI labelView post →Finally finished all three campaigns of Ys Origin tonight. Lovely little game that someone makes each campaign feel different and worthwhile thanks to the different character abilities and their stories. It'll be a while until I try Ys 3 but this is becoming such a comfort series for me.
positive · AI labelView post →"You should play Ys Origin - it's cute and it's fun" The game they're talking about:
neutral · AI labelView post →I was so, so sure that Ys Origin was the last "real" Ys and the game that came immediately after it was "too changed" and "unfaithful". I was wrong. kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2022/07/15/t...
positive · AI labelView post →I think this works! Some aren't my favs in their series(my top 5 CVs are SotN, DoS, 4, 3 and Rondo, but the first game certainly impacted me). VS is my fav of all time. Ys Origin might be my fav Ys, but Book 1/2 on PCE FLOORED me in terms of music/presentation. Zaxxon was my 1st home computer game
positive · AI labelView post →starting a replay of Ys Origin on Nightmare (well I guess it's not *entirely* a replay because it's my first time doing the Toal story) and man. Man. this game is just the heat. fuckin' fantastic and snappy action RPG.
positive · AI labelView post →man Ys Origin is a fuckin' ripper and a half. what a game.
positive · AI labelView post →I'd so love one for Yunica Tovah that includes her puffy oven mitts 💖 It's been a few years, so I need to replay Ys Origin this year
neutral · AI labelView post →was looking up shots from Ys Origin for texture references and man i love the way this game looks when it turns it up to 11
positive · AI labelView post →Gf playing Yakuza 0 (I got her into the series!) while I play Ys Origin
neutral · AI labelView post →Very enjoyable gameplay and story with GREAT soundtrack. Works great on Steam Deck without any tinkering.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i think im gonna bite the bullet and restart Ys Origin on normal difficulty.. i've been wanting to play thru that game for so long now but have been putting it off cuz i started it on hard mode, and hard mode in that game meANS HAAAARD 😭 i think i only beat like 3 bosses so it should be too bad..
neutral · AI labelView post →Did you know? On the official Ys Origin product page there's an easter egg relating to a different Ys game. Eagle-eyed fans may spot it. worldofys.com
neutral · AI labelView post →You will love our next indie game if you enjoyed: - Ys Origin - Atelier Sophie - Witch Hat Atelier - Hifuu Club
neutral · AI labelView post →Ys Origin: 10/10 This combat and boss design is sex and it has Toal Fact (literally me) so this game rocks 👍👍👍
positive · AI labelView post →Booted up Ys Origin on a whim and when I checked the playtime it was suddenly four hours later. 🤯 Surprised by the amount of verticality and focus on movement this has for such an "old" game. The environments are beautiful and the boss/combat designs have been fun so far!
positive · AI labelView post →please DO NOT play Hugo on your first playthrough, his gameplay is so ass it would ruin your first impression of this amazing game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →92. Ys Origin Great game, and great prequel. Me having played 1 and 2 beforehand definitely enhanced the experience but this is still a fun game I'd also recommend as a starting point. Yunica, Hugo and Toal are all great.
positive · AI labelView post →Talking about games I'm playing again cuz why not My main game is Ys 3 Memoire and holy crap I am SO BAD at this game lmao every boss takes like 10+ retries for me and I'm only playing on Normal... I don't remember struggling this hard ofor Ys Origin but here I am getting obliterated 😅
neutral · AI labelView post →I'll be the odd one out here. I remember dropping this game years ago because I found it painfully dull. Recently decided to run the Ys series (1-7 + Stategy) and I loved them so I wanted to return to this one that Ys fans seem to love. It still absolutely sucks. The biggest problem for me is that the dungeon dungeon is dull. Unlike alot of the Ys games where you explore a region of the world with wilderness sections, towns, mountains, volcanos, forests, etc... you explore Darm Tower. This…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ys Origin: This game makes me feel like I'm working on a group project and I'm the only one doing the work. These Knights fucking suck.
negative · AI labelView post →I'm planning to create a 2.5D game similar to Ys Origin. I'm currently deciding which game engine to use. Unreal Engine, Unity, Godot, or MonoGame for this kind of gamedev. Since I have a background in programming, particularly in C#, I'm leaning toward engines that support it well.
neutral · AI labelView post →❤️ Live now with Ys Origin! We're only about a hour into the game, and I'm so excited to see where today takes us! The Ys journey has been a blast so far. ❀° www.twitch.tv/chrysuscoris °❀ #twitch #partnerpush #JRPG #gaming #retro
positive · AI labelView post →Four games that were my favorite game during various points in my life!🎮 -- Mega Man 2 -- Final Fantasy IV -- Ys Origin -- Celeste
positive · AI labelView post →People have been saying it: Ys Origin is a video game that exists and you can play it!
neutral · AI labelView post →I went through LRG for Ys Origin, the only game I've ever bought from them, only to get it a year late and have the artbook ruined cause it was glued to the fucking box. They offered me 5 bucks for it. I think Sky might be the one CE gap in my collection. I don't trust those fuckers.
negative · AI labelView post →🔴Ys Origin FINALE: I am beating this game tonight. This is not going to be Ysy. Hope I don't fall into any !lava - !discord www.twitch.tv/morrithegrem... #VTuber
neutral · AI labelView post →started Ys Origin recently and it immediately had one of the top Video Game Trees i've seen
positive · AI labelView post →Spell your username with video game titles: Ys Origin E.V.O.: Search for Eden R-Type Mass Effect Ultima VII: The Black Gate Metal Warriors #blutoid
neutral · AI labelView post →spell your username with video game titles Apex Legends Undertale Boyfriend Dungeon Resident Evil Epistory Ys Origin Transistor We Love Katamari Outer Worlds
neutral · AI labelView post →Yunica’s path for Ys Origin is beaten. That final boss for her was so much easier than the final one from The Oath in Felghana. Or maybe it was just more fair? Cause TOiF final boss was kinda bullshit at times. Lol The centipede and one that heals by starfish bosses can fuck right off though. 🎮
neutral · AI labelView post →Ys VIII is bigger than Ys Origin ~ 7 combined, isn't it, lol. #Ys8 #YsVIII Man, I love this fucking game.
positive · AI labelView post →Spell your username with video game titles! Horizon Zero Dawn Alan Wake Left 4 Dead Cyberpunk 2077 Ys Origin Okami NieR: Automata Elden Ring Yakuza 0 Eternal Sonata Signalis
neutral · AI labelView post →Game: Ys Origin A prequel to the Ys series and extremely delightful. With 3 characters with distinct stories and gameplay styles you can get a lot of time out of this game, or only a little. Falcom's music is as good as ever and I enjoy the characters a lot as well.
positive · AI labelView post →YS Origin is complete! I did not see that extra boss coming! What a great game, I'm glad I made the journey through all of it. Now to go through Ys Book I & II and the other games on PCE! Thank you falcom for making this wonderful (although flawed) game.
positive · AI labelView post →Day 1: You put games plural, so I’ll drop three. My favorite Falcom game of all time is Ys Origin, fantastic dungeon crawler with an amazing story/characters/music and gameplay that feels like crack with how addicting it is. Nordics is my fav Adol Ys game, so fun! Zero is my fav Trails game!
positive · AI labelView post →13. Ys: The Oath in Felghana I very much admire the dungeon crawler-y Ys Origin, which is in some respects a better game than this one. I'm also hugely fond of Ark of Napishtim and the old bump combat games. But I think if I had to pick the out and out best Ys title, it would be this one.
positive · AI labelView post →I went into this game expecting a fun action combat gameplay experience. I came out with more than just that. This game brought out some emotions I thought I wouldn’t have going into the fairly dated Ys games, and I loved it. I have been replaying the Ys games in canonical order based off the Digital Emelas site, as I played most of the games without too much thought on the lore behind it when I was younger, especially the older Ys III games which are apparently not canon anymore. This…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana Despite starting Ys Origin and Memories of Celceta over a decade ago, this marks my first time finishing an Ys game. Nothing against the other ones; I genuinely enjoyed them. Life just got in the way. But this was a wonderful ride.
positive · AI labelView post →Hi all! Played 4ish hours of Ys Origin. It’s so rad. I forgot how rad that game is lol read quite a bit more of War & Peace. I’m very very near the end of book 2, and the halfway mark really. Still loving it! It’s had its first little lull but I’m still very invested in the characters/plot etc.
positive · AI labelView post →I cam into Ys Origin expecting a fun game, but it ended up being far more fun than I thought. Ys Origin is a prequel to Ys 1 and Ys 2, but you can play this without playing the prior two games just fine as the story is self contained and takes place hundreds of years before the other two. Gameplay wise, Ys Origin is a 2.5d action RPG that is fast paced and feels like a hack and slash. The game design, combat, short puzzles, bosses, and story all keep the game very entertaining to play.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey everyone it's time to present the playthrough that will be replacing Ys Origin now that we finished that game and we're talking about Cuphead! Our first episode is already getting heated, check it out here youtu.be/l3SYLqZB7Qc #indiegame #cuphead #letsplay #videogames
neutral · AI labelView post →TLDR: Three distinct playstyles add variety, but a repetitive single-tower world and locking the canon story behind a full extra playthrough make this the most skippable Ys entry so far. PROS: ➕Good port ➕Three different characters, each with their own story and gameplay mechanics NEUTRALS: 🔹Achievements are mostly locked behind three(!) playthroughs CONS: ➖Poor game world - samey environments as the entire game takes place within a single tower ➖The cannon story is locked behind 1…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You know it's a good game when even grinding is fun
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is easily my favorite of the three early 3D Ys games. The combat is fine tuned, the pacing is exquisite and all the characters are fun to play. It's three playthroughs through the same tower, but thanks to the different aspects of the story and the short runtime per playthrough this game felt much shorter to complete than Felghana did for me (and I put more than twice as much time into Origin). As much as I like Adol as a protagonist, this game absolutely benefits from his absense and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →YS ORIGIN. My favourite Ys out of the ones I've played (not done VIII, IX or X yet). What sounds like a game with a simple structure -- it's one big dungeon! -- turns out to be rather more interesting, particularly if you play through with all three characters. Killer music, too. 117/365 #365games
positive · AI labelView post →Thanks for hanging out, y'all! I finished Ys: The Oath in Felghana. Absolutely amazing game. I enjoyed every minute of it! Expect more Ys content in the near future. Next game: Ys: Origin! Hopefully in the next few days.
neutral · AI labelView post →What a blast! Game play is a lot of fun and its a welcoming pace and evolution from Ys 1 amd 2. I read to recommend playing after those and I can see why, you have so much lore you get to understand while enjoying the fast pace game. I'm playing on the ROG Ally. Defs a great game for hand held :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →74. Ys Origin REALLY good video game. Got me a bit emotional near the end of Toal's route. He's, like, the coolest, by the way.
positive · AI labelView post →🎃 VIEWERS' CHOICE! 🎃 Reach the Ko-fi goal & I’ll do an 8-HOUR STREAM of the game YOU choose! 🎮💚 ❤️ 🐭 Mouse P.I. For Hire 💙 👹 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth 💜 ⚔️ Ys Origin 💚 🌌 Final Fantasy VII Vote with a heart! 👇 #mutualaidrequest #indiegames #retrogames #420friendly #lurkerfriendly
neutral · AI labelView post →Still a great game, definitely not my last Ys game too... I have Ys Origin already, not sure when I'll play that, but eventually... Or another Ys game, idk yet... For now, another action RPG is next for me 🫡
positive · AI labelView post →First Ys game I've played, it's fantastic. It's a ton of fun and has aged fairly well.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My bad Falcom I didn't know yall were like that
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ys Origin! Well boss wise it’s kinda hard. But game design wise it’s much simpler over all. And shorter. And not open world. 😮💨
neutral · AI labelView post →I think nostalgia is a defining factor to why I love this game. But while it did serve as the hook and the basis to why this game is dear to me, the gameplay and music did by no means disappoint. Ys Origin gives off this medieval Zelda vibe to it, and the isometric 2.5D perspective and chibi characters is representative of that old-school JRPG aesthetic, filled with cool magic and ugly monsters alike. Having released in 2006 on Windows XP gives it that extra charm that I love. 8/10 wish I found…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm live on Twitch! Tonight for RPG Friday, I'm continuing a previous playthrough of Ys: Origin! This is the first Ys game I've ever spent more than an hour with and I'm liking it a lot! Stop by to hang out if you can! =D Link in comments!
positive · AI labelView post →I honestly hate to be a boomer but I already felt this way about the original game. The way this era looks has a rustic feeling that really hits my brain. All their games could have stayed looking like YS: Origin for all I care.
positive · AI labelView post →
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