Against publisher XSEED Games‘ wishes, their X account prematurely sent out a post saved for the final day of Anime Expo 2024- revealing that Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is headed to the West. Released for the Nintendo Switch in Japan last year, it is a remaster of 2005’s Ys: The Oath in Felghana, which is itself a remake of 1989’s Ys III: Wanderers from Ys.
While not comparable to an official announcement, the post, which has since been deleted, is more or less a confirmation of the localization’s existence. Moreover, the post also mentioned a playable demo of the game at Anime Expo 2024, hinting that its localization is well underway, or at least to the extent that a demo could be made out of it.
The Japanese release for Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana included HD visuals, several sound settings, and a high-speed/turbo mode, among other features. It also came with brand-new voice acting for Adol, courtesy of Yuki Kaji, the voice behind Attack on Titan’s Eren Yeager and My Hero Academia’s Shoto Todoroki. Whether an English dub will be present in the localization is unclear, but more information on that front should bring itself forward with time- possibly within the next week, as Anime Expo runs its course.
Nihon Falcom’s Ys series chronicles the saga of the red-haired swordsman Adol Christin, an adventurer with a fondness for travel and new lands. Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, like the game it remakes, takes place after Ys I and II, but also after Ys IV. However, despite the Ys games having a chronological order and a connecting narrative, new fans can jump into the series with any entry they wish to. The Switch is already home to Ys Origin, the first game in the timeline, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, with a Western release of Ys X: Nordics locked in for Autumn 2024.
And Falcom’s impressive, genre-defining library has more than just Ys on its shelves. Its other flagship series, The Legend of Heroes, has, with time, started to imprint itself onto the West just like Ys. Though Switch owners in the West have been snubbed of certain titles from the developer, namely The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel I and II, they’ve also been blessed with several others that more than make up for it. As a matter of fact, next week will see The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak release for Switch in English, and it may not be too long till its sequel follows suit. Between Ys and Trails, Falcom fans can rest easy- there are enough JRPGs coming their way to keep them entertained for a while, and even more already in the works.
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