Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana is a game 35 years in the making. The original PC version was released in 2005 as a remake of 1990s Ys 3. This remake went unreleased outside Japan until 2010, when it was localized for the PSP and gained minor fame. However, by 2025, Falcom saw fit to remaster this classic and release it in the West.
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All Ys Games Listed In Chronological Order
The Ys series remains a popular, but well-kept secret in the JRPG game world. Here’s how every game fits into the series’ timeline.
Many Ys fans would dub The Oath In Felghana the series’ finest outing. But it is a short game, clocking in at less than a dozen hours. If you’re looking to extract more value from it after you’re done with the story, we’ve got you covered.
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Find All The Secrets
Gold And Raval Await
It’s very unlikely, due to the game’s challenging nature, that you’ll find all the treasures on the first go around. Keep a save file at the final dungeon and go back to see if you didn’t miss some hidden treasure chests.
While gold in the game is technically infinite, due to the endlessly spawning enemies who drop coin, raval is limited. This is a soft mineral used to upgrade your weapons and armor and is usually found in treasure chests. Look for sharp falls and ostentatious death traps: often, they hide treasure.
7
Max Out Your Gear
A New Game Plus Feature
Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana has a New Game Plus feature that wasn’t in the original PC version. However, it makes you choose the bonuses you want to carry over to a new playthrough.
You can choose to inherit your armor from the previous run and expand its level cap to nine. See if you can find enough raval ore to reach that cap and turn Adol into a walking fortress. If you want to play on the higher difficulties, this is necessary.
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Time Attack
Boss Rush
Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana likes to show off its boss battles, and for good reason. Much like in Cuphead, the dungeons are just an excuse: the boss battles are the main highlight. Once you beat the game, you unlock a Time Attack mode, which lets you fight bosses one after the other.
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Only higher difficulties are selectable for the Boss Rush, so you should be prepared for a harsh challenge if you intend to take on this feature. That said, if you were good enough to beat the game, you’re good enough for Time Attack.
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Fill Out The Character Log
Be A Social Butterfly
Despite its simplistic plot that feels secondary to the gameplay, Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana has a host of missable NPCs. It’s quite likely that you missed several of them when you first played the game. If you want to get the achievement for filling out your character log, you need to fix that.
Luckily, adding an NPC to your character log is as easy as talking to them in any scenario. Word of warning: one of the most commonly missed NPCs is a guy called Bob, who randomly shows up next to Elena near the final dungeon. Don’t forget to say hi to Bob.
4
Run Out The Clock
A Surprising Subversion
Like most JRPGs, Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana keeps track of your hours spent in the game and in each campaign. For some very odd reason, the PlayStation achievement for this version is the exact opposite of the Steam one.
In the PC port of The Oath In Felghana, you will get an achievement for beating the game in under five hours. In the PS5 remaster, you get an achievement for having over 20 hours of playtime. It does seem like a strange choice, given that it doesn’t reward skill, but achievement requirements are often arbitrary.
3
Go Retro
Experiment With Old Sound And Art
With its 35-year history, Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana has a wealth of content based around its age. You can choose, for example, to listen to retro versions of the soundtrack arranged for the PC-88 or X68000.
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These synthetic arrangements are impressive and further highlight how well-composed the soundtrack is. You can also choose to switch to the older character portraits based on the PSP version of the game. The differences are minor, but they offer a bit of novelty for your next run.
2
Inferno Mode
You’ll Need New Game Plus For This
The ultimate challenge in this already very difficult game is Inferno Mode. We’ll be blunt here: you can’t clear Inferno Mode on a fresh run. What you should do is start a New Game Plus after several runs, choose to inherit your max-level gear, and only then start playing on Inferno.
Given how demanding this mode is, you might end up unlocking all the achievements for this game while trying to clear it. Kill 500 enemies? You’ll need to kill ten times that while just grinding. Hit 20 hours of playtime? You’ll have way more than that. Inferno Mode is serious business.
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Explore Other Ys Titles
One Of The Longest-Running JRPG Series
Historically, Ys has been denied the fame that came to its contemporaries Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy so easily. It was only with the PSP releases that the Ys games gained any repute in the West at all. However, in recent years, the series has truly blossomed in popularity thanks to strong word-of-mouth.
If this was your first Ys game, you’re in luck: there are many more to explore. If you’re a series veteran, you can try playing through the different remakes and original versions in chronological order.
- Released
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January 7, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Nihon Falcom
- Publisher(s)
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Nihon Falcom, XSEED Games
- ESRB
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Teen // Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
- How Long To Beat
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11 hours
- PS5 Release Date
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January 7, 2025
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
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January 7, 2025
- Number of Players
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1
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
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19.5 hours
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong