Ys: The Oath in Felghana
A reimagined Ys III with 3D action and expanded story.
Ys: The Oath in Felghana, an action role-playing game from Nihon Falcom, hit Windows in Japan in 2005. It reworks Ys III: Wanderers from Ys heavily, keeping the same characters and the Felghana setting but swapping the original's side-scrolling action for the 3D combat system first seen in Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim. The story sends adventurer Adol Christin and his friend Dogi back to Dogi's homeland, where monsters have overrun the region, Mount Vesuvius has stirred to life, and Count McGuire is squeezing the town of Redmont dry.
Three years after the first two Ys games, Adol and Dogi head for Felghana after hearing something's wrong. On the road to Redmont, they save Elena Stoddart from monsters and learn about the spreading creatures, the active volcano, and the count's harsh demands. Dogi goes off to see an old teacher, while Adol agrees to look into the trouble. He checks the nearby mine and runs into Elena's brother Chester, who vanished from Redmont after working for McGuire. Chester won't explain himself and tells Adol to stay out of it.
Adol finds out McGuire is hunting for four ancient statues tied to Genos, a hero who once sealed the demon Galbalan under Felghana. Bishop Nicholas Garland pushes the search, planning to use the statues to bring Galbalan back. Chester has wormed his way into McGuire's group because he thinks the count destroyed his and Elena's home village. As Adol collects the statues, he realizes Garland has been playing both McGuire and Chester. Garland kidnaps Elena and uses the statues to break the seal. Chester tries to stop the ritual but fails. Adol goes into the sealed area beneath Valestein Castle and beats Galbalan. Chester gives his life to contain the leftover destructive energy, saving Felghana but leaving Elena alone. Once peace returns to Redmont, Adol and Dogi move on.
The game plays from an elevated third-person view. Players control Adol as he explores towns, fields, mines, ruins, mountains, and castles. Enemies appear in the environment and fights happen in real time. Instead of the side-scrolling platforming of Ys III, this uses a tweaked version of the 3D system from Ys VI. Adol can do a series of sword swings, jump, attack in the air, and use a downward thrust. Mixing movement and attacks lets him reach high platforms, cross gaps, and hit enemies from different angles.
Adol gets three elemental bracelets t
- Developer
- Nihon Falcom
- Release Year
- 2005
- Platform
- Windows (2005), PlayStation Portable (2010), Nintendo Switch (2023), PlayStation 4/5 (2024)
- Genre
- Action role-playing game
- Series
- Ys
- Notable Versions
- Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana (2023/2024)
Lore & Background
The Oath in Felghana is Falcom's second interpretation of the story originally depicted in Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. The 1989 game departed from the overhead contact-based combat of the first two entries and used side-scrolling action, jumping, and manual sword attacks. Falcom rebuilt the game using the action framework established in Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, reconstructing its maps, combat, progression, and boss encounters for an elevated three-dimensional perspective. The developers streamlined several systems from Ys VI, removing stockable healing items from combat and replacing them with temporary bonuses dropped by enemies. The game also replaces the three elemental swords of Ys VI with bracelets whose Ring Arts support both combat and environmental traversal.
The story follows Adol Christin and Dogi as they travel toward Felghana after hearing reports of trouble in Dogi's homeland. They rescue Elena Stoddart from monsters and learn that dangerous creatures have appeared, the dormant volcano Mount Vesuvius has become active, and Count McGuire has placed increasingly severe demands on the townspeople. Adol investigates the disturbances and encounters Elena's brother Chester, who has infiltrated McGuire's organization. The plot involves four ancient statues connected with the hero Genos, who sealed the demonic being Galbalan beneath Felghana. Bishop Nicholas Garland manipulates both McGuire and Chester, abducts Elena, and uses the statues to break the seal containing Galbalan. Adol enters the sealed structure beneath Valestein Castle and defeats Galbalan, while Chester sacrifices himself to contain the remaining destructive power.
Falcom first released the game for Windows in Japan in June 2005. A PlayStation Portable version followed in 2010 with full voice acting, additional difficulty options, and selectable arrangements of the music from earlier versions of Ys III. Xseed Games published the PSP version in North America and Europe and released an English Windows version in 2012. An enhanced remaster, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, was released for Nintendo Switch in Japan in 2023 and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2024, adding high-definition graphics, new character illustrations, newly recorded dialogue for Adol, a high-speed mode, accessibility options, and three selectable soundtrack arrangements. Xseed released all three versions internationally on January 7, 2025.
Reader's Guide
Ys: The Oath in Felghana is significant as a definitive reimagining of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys, replacing its side-scrolling platform action with a revised version of the three-dimensional system used in Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim. The game expands the scenario, redesigns environments and bosses, and introduces new dialogue and events while retaining the principal conflict involving Chester and Elena Stoddart, Count McGuire, and the ancient evil sealed beneath Felghana. Its gameplay emphasizes continuous action through temporary bonuses dropped by enemies, elemental bracelets that provide magical attacks and traversal abilities, and boss encounters that require pattern recognition and positioning. The game's multiple releases—Windows, PlayStation Portable, and the enhanced Ys Memoire remaster—demonstrate its enduring appeal. The PSP version added full voice acting, a double-boost system, and selectable soundtrack arrangements, while Ys Memoire introduced high-definition graphics, accessibility options, and a high-speed mode. Xseed Games' international releases helped bring the game to a wider audience. The Oath in Felghana stands as a key installment in the Ys series, showcasing Falcom's ability to refine and expand upon earlier entries while maintaining the core narrative and action-oriented gameplay that defines the franchise.
Did You Know?
- The game replaces the side-scrolling platform action of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys with a revised version of the three-dimensional system used in Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim.
- The PlayStation Portable version added full voice acting, a double-boost system, and an easier difficulty mode.
- Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana was released for Nintendo Switch in Japan in 2023 and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2024, with international release on January 7, 2025.
- Taito released a licensed adaptation of The Oath in Felghana for Japanese i-mode mobile phones on December 18, 2006.
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