Nihon Falcom’s catalog of RPGs on Nintendo Switch is exceptional, and we’re spoiled for choice at this point. Alongside a slew of Trails games, Falcom’s Ys series has received a number of releases tailored for the platform, including Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana. In 2026, Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is the latest in Falcom’s line of Switch-oriented Ys ports and remasters, and for those coming off of Ys X: Proud Nordics and Felghana, Celceta is an excellent RPG that’s really easy to get into and get hooked on. Serving as a renewed and improved port of Ys: Memories in Celceta, the game is a blend of the old and new of the Ys franchise that the groundwork for the incredible Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana and beyond, but it’s also a really unique entry that continues Adol’s long journey after Ys X.
After the events of Ys X, Adol Christin finally lands in the Celceta region as he had once planned, but the start of the story is quite unlike any other Ys game. Instead of arriving on a ship (or being shipwrecked), Adol is shown walking around the Celcetan city of Casnan, lethargic and in a daze. He can’t remember his name or anything about his past, so the game puts both the player and Adol in a situation where pieces need to be put together about why Adol is even in Celceta to begin with. Fortunately, Adol’s new and mysterious companion, Duren, is around to help him regain his bearings and set out for an adventure in the Great Forest of Celceta, which holds the secrets behind his current predicament.
Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta Gets Straight Down to Business
The game doesn’t waste time introducing the central city of Casnan and its inhabitants before Adol sets out for the Great Forest. After completing the tutorial in the Casnan Mines, Adol is tasked by Governor General Griselda to enter the forest with Duren and map out its vast expanses. While doing so, Adol hopes to re-awaken his memories and find out the truth of his circumstances. A few minutes into the endeavor, it quickly becomes clear that this forest is truly enormous with intricate areas, dangerous enemies, and peculiar secrets. In fact, Adol’s memories manifest into points across the map, adding to the mystical nature of this dangerous forest.
As you explore and make progress in the Great Forest, you’ll encounter the other characters that make up Adol’s party and experience their story arcs, earn valuable equipment and key items, and retrace some of Adol’s memories from before the start of the game. Adol’s memories aren’t just limited to the setting of Celceta, however. Many of Adol’s memories pertain to his upbringing in the mountains, giving fans some more insight into his life prior to embarking as an adventurer. In that sense, exploring every nook and cranny of Celceta is rewarding from a lore perspective as well as a loot one. This could also apply to every other Ys game with its rewarding exploration elements, in all honesty.
Story and memories aside, Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta concisely introduces the tried-and-true combat system that brings Ys to the dance. Combat and movement are fast paced, engaging, and straightforward, and you can switch between characters on the fly. Like Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana and other Ys games, Adol and the rest of the party have different attack types and up to four equippable skills at a time, along with an all-powerful EXTRA Skill. You’ll earn Skill Points, or SP, by attacking enemies, and using Skills will charge the EXTRA Gauge, which can be consumed to unleash an EXTRA Skill. To be more effective in combat, you’ll want to match the attack type of your character’s strikes with that of the enemy’s weakness. By doing so, you’ll get more Skill XP to make the party’s Skills stronger.
Along with the basic guarding and evading, there’s Flash Guards and Flash Moves, which are executed right as an enemy attacks. If timed correctly, you’ll execute a Flash Guard to nullify damage, increase SP and EXTRA gains, and gain the ability to land consecutive critical hits for a short duration. Flash Moves are perfectly timed evades that will grant you invincibility and slow down time for a short duration. Aside from these maneuvers, this the gist of the combat system, and its simplicity really works to its advantage. Gameplay is really fast and frantic at times, especially when multiple enemies begin to crowd on-screen. You’ll also gain artifacts as you progress the game, which can modify combat and exploration to meet certain needs.
A Memoire Remaster?
At first glance, Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta doesn’t seem as extensive of a remaster as Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, but there are some notable quality of life improvements. The menu UI and overall texture quality are sharper, and the game retains its locked 60 FPS support out of the box. Some of the controls were re-tuned to feel more like Ys VIII as well, including the two-button press EXTRA Skill activation. I thought the controls are excellent, still hold up well, and were easy to learn, especially coming off of more recent entries in the series. Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is really fun to play in handheld mode, and on Switch 2, the game is really at its best with Handheld Mode Boost turned on.
One of the more obvious changes with Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is the inclusion of a newly recorded and re-interpreted original soundtrack by Falcom Sound Team jdk. The new soundtrack sounds really great and crisp, and I thoroughly enjoyed its melodies just as much as Celceta’s original soundtrack. Like Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, you can change between the “Memoire” and “Original” soundtracks at any time by simply using the toggle in the in-game settings.
Aside from these additions, Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is nearly identical to its original counterpart, and that’s not a bad thing in this regard. Celceta is already a great game, and the adjustments that were made for the Switch version are a good bonus. However, if there are a few gripes I had to point out, it’s the lack of full voice-acting for the main story and the default audio settings being a little too loud. The voice-overs from the original game were maintained, but it only covers some lines of dialogue and blurbs instead of full-on dialogue like more recent games in the series. This isn’t a dealbreaker for me, but the lack of voice acting is quite noticeable.
Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is a Fantastic Ys Game for Beginners and Fans
Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta still shows some of the original game’s age in terms of overall visuals and game design, but the main story, gameplay, and characters are timeless. Adol’s journey is full of mystery and intrigue, and although a protagonist having amnesia is somewhat cliche for a RPG at this point, the way Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta executes its memory retrieval and exploration elements keeps you guessing what’s next in every area you visit.
Moreover, Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is a great entry point into the Ys series as it explores a lot of lore of Adol’s childhood and reinforces his inalienable drive as an adventurer. For Ys fans who somehow haven’t played Celceta yet, I certainly recommend Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta since it’s such an important game full of world-building and character development for Adol.
The Nintendo Switch version is excellent with virtually no bugs and issues, and it retains all of the content from the original Memories of Celceta too, such as Time Attack and Boss Rush. It’s a complete package, and it’s well worth the $29.99 for the digital version if you’re a fan of RPGs and want to finally experience what Ys is all about.
Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta launches on April 28 for Nintendo Switch in the west.
Disclaimer: XSEED Games has provided a Nintendo Switch copy of Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta for review purposes.
