Adol, saving the world again for the third time.
Ys: The Oath in Felghana is a Video Game Remake of the third game of the Ys franchise by Falcom, Ys III: Wanderers from Ys, released on the PC in 2005, then ported to the PlayStation Portable in 2010 by publisher XSEED Games, with a worldwide release on the Steam platform available in 2012. A remastered, high-definition version for the Nintendo Switch called Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana was released on April 27, 2023 for Japan. A port of Memoire for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 is set for a May 23, 2024 release in Japan.
Set three years after their adventures in Esteria during Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen and the titular Ys in Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter, series protagonist Adol Christin continues in search of adventure with his traveling companion Dogi on the continent of Euresia. When they come across a gypsy caravan, Dogi decides to have his fortune told, only for the fortune teller to give an ominous vision regarding Dogi's homeland of Felghana, warning them to stay away from there. Being the adventurers they are, the duo decides to pay a visit to Dogi's hometown of "Redmont", ruled by the greedy Count McGuire. Upon arriving, they save Dogi's Childhood Friend, Elena Stoddart, from monsters and soon learn of McGuire's mistreatment of the citizens and a plan to revive an ancient evil.
While the original Ys III was a side-scrolling Platform Game akin to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the remake replaces it with the 3D Action RPG game-play seen in Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, while expanding the original story and dungeons.
Ys: The Oath in Felghana show examples of:
- Abandoned Mine: Tigray Quarry, the first dungeon in the game. The miners have been using it to try and make a living despite Count McGuire ordering it closed, and it's become infested with monsters by the time you get there, hence the abandonment.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In Ys III, Elena and Chester had bright blond hair and blue eyes with maybe a hint of purple in the art. In the remake, they're now flaxen-haired, notably fairer in complexion than any other Redmont residents, with prominent violet eyes, which are also unique to them. This might be a bit of Foreshadowing on the artists' part to hint at the fact they're originally from Genos Island.
- Adaptation Expansion: The remake gives more screentime to certain characters, like Dularn and Garland, and also Rewrites certain plot points, as this article
shows. - Aerith and Bob: Characters other than the antagonists (aside from Count McGuire since it's a real surname) tend to have normal names such as the sibling duo of Elena and Chester, Mayor Edgar, and a miner named Bob.
- Alien Blood: Dularn's blood is revealed to be dark blue when you defeat her.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: During the climax of the game in the remake, the town of Redmont is invaded by an army of undead.
- Amplifier Artifact: Adol can find three types of jewels (Emerald, Ruby and Topaz) to boost the bracelets' magic.
- Anti-Frustration Features:
- The Wing Talisman, which teleports players to any visited Save Point in Oath, negates any sort of forced Backtracking, which the original Ys III didn't have.
- The PC version includes a "Quick Save" option on any area with really tricky platforming. Using it will create a recovery point, and activating the quick save will teleport Adol right back to the quick save spot. This is quite useful for not having to climb all the way back up after one missed fall.
- Much like The Ark of Napishtim, this game's PC port also has a "No Fall" option, where falling down a pit puts you back at the beginning of the room where you fell instead of leading you somewhere else.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Count McGuire wants enough power for himself to take over all of Europe. Subverted, as he does care about his family and is merely an Unwitting Pawn to Garland.
- Ascended Extra: Dularn and Garland; in Ys III, neither were considered as characters (for instance, Dularn got only one line of dialogue, though that depends on the version of Ys III). In Oath, both have vastly expanded roles, specifically as Sister Nell/Dularn and Bishop Nikolas Garland. Nell's both a presence in Redmont, but also stalks Adol as "Dularn" throughout the game, while Garland does a great job fooling everyone before showing his true colors.
- Big Bad: Galbalan, an Eldritch Abomination sealed off by Genos, who corrupted Garland, which in turn manipulated Chester Goddart and McGuire into reviving it.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Count McGuire, who is introduced as the primary threat of the plot, but is revealed to be a Non-Action Guy who Ain't Too Proud to Beg and later pulls a Heel–Face Turn.
- Big Good: Genos, the legendary warrior who defeated and sealed Galbalan years before the events of the game. He also tells Adol where to find the missing statues and gives him with the Double Jump and "Double-Boost" abilities.
- The Blacksmith: Adonis, though he's apparently pretty picky about who gets his attention. Visiting him allows Adol to spend Raval Ore to increase the effectiveness of his weapons and armor.
- Bloodless Carnage: Like Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, the PlayStation Portable port removes all instances of blood (except in character portraits) because of the ratings. The PC version has the blood, though.
- Boss Rush: "Time Attack Mode" can be unlocked in The Oath in Felghana once the game is beaten.
- Christianity is Catholic: Felghana's monotheistic religion is centered around a benevolent deity referred to as "God" rather than a Crystal Dragon Jesus, which seems very much like the Real Life equivalent of Catholicism, since it features priests, nuns, bishops, etc.
- Clockworks Area: The Clock Tower of Valestein Castle in the remake is filled with rotating gears. Adol has to do some rather tricky platforming across the turning gears to reach the top.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Unlike Adol, the monsters of Valestein Castle are unaffected by the Booby Traps in the environment (except falling to the floor below).
- Cosplay: In the Switch version, the congratulations card in the game’s Boss Rush has Elena cosplaying various Ys characters. They are (from Very Easy to Inferno) Dana and Laxia from Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, Aprilis and White Cat from Ys IX: Monstrum Nox and Adol and Carja from Ys X: Nordics (which was in development at the time of the Switch version’s release).
- Disc-One Final Dungeon: Valestein Castle - Adol invades the castle to recover the stolen statues and save the hostages. After he confronts Chester and McGuire, Bishop Nikolas reveals himself to be manipulating them, taking Elena hostage and fleeing to Genos Island.
- Doomed Hometown: Years before Ys III, Genos Island, hometown of Elena and Chester, was completely devastated by a unknown cause, rumored to have been a plague. Turns out it was attacked by Dularn and an undead army, on the Count's orders.
- Dismantled MacGuffin: The four statues necessary to revive Galbalan.
- Double Jump: One of the special skills Adol learns at Tigray Quarry, which is necessary to access the Elderm Mountains.
- Escort Mission: Two Sidequests in the remake feature this - one involving the Count's Kristoff, the other with Elena.
- Evil All Along: Sister Nell and Bishop Nikolas are actually Dularn and Garland, respectively. They engaged in a Scam Religion to spy on the town of Redmont.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Galbalan does not like people who seek to use its power for their own gain. Its only averted because Garland is killed by Adol before Galbalan can do so.
- Evil Mentor: Bishop Nikolas Garland is this to Chester and McGuire, guiding them to finding the statues so Galbalan can be revived. Although he doesn't reveal this until close to the end of the story.
- Evil Sorceror: Dularn, a hooded assassin who antagonizes Adol for a good portion of The Oath in Felghana. Bishop Nikolas also qualifies following The Reveal.
- First Town: Redmont, which is also the only town in the game. It still has the typical elements of a First Town, though; a blacksmith, an item shop, and generally friendly villagers of all shapes and sizes.
- Flesh-Eating Zombie: Most of the residents of Valestein Castle turn into zombies due to a spell Chester uses in the castle to exact his Revenge on Count McGuire, all caused by supernatural means.
- For Doom the Bell Tolls: The bells can be heard at the Clock Tower, symbolizing the revival of Galbalan is near.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Despite the fact that it would make far more sense for ore to be more common in the actively worked section of the mine rather than the played out and closed up section, the opposite is in fact true, due to the fact that the former is the first dungeon while the latter is the third.
- Girl of the Week: Like most of the other young ladies that Adol encounters, Elena falls head over heels in love with him. Dogi even lampshades that "she's got that Childhood Friend thing going on", but that she'll probably ending up falling for Adol instead. As it turns out, he's right.
- Good Shepherd: Father Jean Pierre, Sister Nell and Bishop Nikolas, though only the former plays it straight.
- Haunted Castle: Valestein Castle becomes this after Chester unleashes the curse of the four statues, turning all the guards and servants into zombies.
- The Heavy: Bishop Nikolas, who is indirectly responsible for the massacre on Genos Island and fostered Chester's hatred for McGuire. Nikolas also teaches Chester how to use the power of the statues against the Count.
- Hermit Guru: Berhardt, Dogi's mentor, who lives alone in the Elderm Mountains.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Dogi is stabbed by Chester at the mountains after Chester decides that he's come to far to turn back now. Adol has to forgo chasing Chester to save his friend instead.
- Internal Reformist: After Galbalan is defeated, the count's wife, Elizabetha, vows to get her husband to atone for the crimes he committed.
- Killer Rabbit: The secret boss Black Pikkard is a small black pig, and it's one of the hardest fights in the game.
- Laser Hallway: The arena for the Final Boss uses this setup once the boss receives a certain amount of damage. To make things worse, it will also use its big arms, flamethrowers and its own laser cannons.
- Magical Accessory: The three bracelets granting Adol Elemental Powers in the remake - the Ignis Bracelet, the Ventus Bracelet and the Terra Bracelet.
- Mechanical Monster: The Killer Robot bosses at Valestein Castle; one of them, Zirduros, uses Homing Projectiles and Frickin' Laser Beams, even causing a Macross Missile Massacre.
- Ms. Fanservice: Cynthia, the well-endowed shopkeeper in Redmont general goods store, is dressed in very sultry clothing for her job, and her voice actress speaks with a very soothing tone.
- Morality Pet: Elena to Chester; as brother and sister, Chester joined Count McGuire to help Elena back home, though he's been gone for some time. Chester actually wants Revenge for destroying their hometown and manages to Kick the Morality Pet by ignoring her pleas for him to turn his back on evil, but he does come around when he realizes how much vengeance has consumed him.
- NPC Roadblock: Andre, the gate-keeper of Valestein Castle, won't let you pass until the plot says you can.
- Permanently Missable Content: Some Sidequests have invisible time limits that can be left incomplete before players return to the "Raval Mines".
- Rare Candy: The "Katol Elixir" permanently raises Adol's maximum Hit Points.
- Samus Is a Girl: Dularn, the mysterious sorcerer working for McGuire, is actually Sister Nell; her ambiguous character design due to being covered in bandages and rags makes The Reveal unexpected.
- Scam Religion: Nikolas Garland admits that the religion that he preaches, the Romun Empire's "Hieroglyph Church", was created to scare children after revealing himself to be bad.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Galbalan was sealed by Genos and his power was split between the four statues.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: The Elderm Mountains, where Dogi's mentor lives. Adol needs a special pair of boots to bypass the Frictionless Ice.
- Smug Snake: Chester - in addition to turning his blade on the townsfolk who took him in and raised him, his obsession with Revenge overrides any capacity he has for logic. Arrogantly trying to arrange for McGuire to be Hoist by His Own Petard plays right into the hands of the real Big Bad and caused the innocent inhabitants of the castle to be transformed into monsters. Even his sweet little sister Elena outright says that by involving innocent people in his selfish quest for vengeance, he's no better than McGuire.
- Sword of Plot Advancement: Chester's "Brave Sword", doubling as the Infinity +1 Sword, is necessary to break Garland's barrier spell on Genos Island.
- Temple of Doom: "Illburns Ruins", which leads to the Lethal Lava Land; the "Dark Shrine", The Very Definitely Final Dungeon on Genos Island, also counts.
- Tragic Keepsake: Elena's "Silver Pendant", given to her by Chester when he left Redmont.
- Unobtainium: "Raval Ore" can be dropped by enemies or found in treasure chests, which is used to strengthen Adol's gear at Redmont's blacksmith.
- Unwitting Pawn: Adol gathers all four statues containing the essence of Galbalan, which inevitably leads to him handing those statues over to Chester, who then uses them to unseal Galbalan. Unfortunately, all parties are this to The Chessmaster, Nicholas Garland.
- Wallet of Holding: Lampshaded - some Non Player Characters wonder where Adol manages to store the large amounts of Raval Ore (in one case, the amount is explicitly mentioned as being more than what is normally taken from the local mine in a month).
- You Are Too Late: After losing the statues, Adol sets off to Valestein Castle to recover them. Also he manages to find them, Chester has already used its powers to turn nearly everyone in the castle into mindless monsters. The remaining energy is transferred completely to Galbalan's impending release.
