Ys: Memories of Celceta is actually the third game to be called Ys IV, though it is the first to be developed by developer Nihon Falcom itself. Previously, Falcom licensed out development of Ys IV to Hudson Soft and Tonkin House, though neither game made it to the West. Now, 20 years later, Falcom is revisiting Celceta with a complete reworking for the PlayStation Vita.

What it is: Memories of Celceta, published in North America by XSEED, follows series protagonist Adol through the forests of Celceta as he struggles to recover his memory. Traveling with him are Carna and Dogi, each of whom have different skills and fighting styles that will come in handy throughout the game.

Why we’re excited: As with all Ys games, fighting is focused on quick, skillful combat. When in combat, you’ll control one character and the AI will control the others, but you can switch between them at will, allowing you to change fighting styles on the fly. Each of them have their own special attacks that can be unleashed to do massive damage to the enemy. All three feel powerful and responsive when fighting, though my favorite was actually Carna and her fast ranged attacks.

Those looking for a big game will be excited to know that the world of Celceta is huge. We got to explore a large area during our time with the game, yet XSEED’s Tom Lipschultz said it was only a fraction of the total world.

What we’re wondering: The action is intense and fast-paced, as we would expect, but we wonder what the story has in store for us. The demo we played was still untranslated from Japanese, so we have absolutely no idea what was happening during dialogue and cutscenes. As long as the story is up to the usual standards of the Ys series, though, Celceta should prove to be one of the Vita’s best titles yet.

Ys: Memories of Celceta is slated for a release sometime this fall.