Good news for Ys Online fans who didn't manage to get into the closed beta. Today on June 30th, the servers have officially opened up for all to play in open beta. No key will be needed to play, and players who participated in the closed beta will recieve a special gift for their help in testing the game. Finally, for players concerned about playing a game in open beta and then losing their characters when it goes live, the Key to Play team assures its community that there will be no character wipe after the open beta. So for those interested in this game, I suggest you go check it out today! Go over to the website to check out the game and sign up right here.

Does the word Adol and Dogi ring a bell in your head? Does anyone remember playing a particular game where they taped down their A button and left their hero standing on a small hill (in a mine!), perpetually swinging their sword and smashing little bats as they infinitely respawned from the left side of the screen?

No?

Ok, well, maybe my experiences are a little bit too personal for you all, but nonetheless, we here at ZAM.com have snagged ourselves an interview with Kelbonim, the English Manager for Ys Online - The Call of Solum! (Why do I want to keep saying Quantum of Solace?). One of the neatest things that I got from this interview is the 'card system,' that will help players manage all of the complicated systems in the game, and the fact that you no longer have to play the game like you're a lawn mower set on automatic, running heedlessly into monsters as your character just keeps. swinging. that. sword. Read the interview below!

With 10,000 keys already gone at the start of the second phase of the Ys Online closed beta, the team at KeyToPlay has released a new batch of 50,000 keys for more players to participate. In addition to more beta keys, players will be glad to hear of a revolutionary new anti-bot system called 'The Bomb,' that is being introduced with Ys Online. Players can purchase 'The Bomb' for 1 copper in game, and can subsequently throw 'The Bomb' at suspected botters to force them to type a captcha in order to keep playing. If the suspected botter fails the captcha, they will gain a debuff that prevents them from doing any actions for 30 minutes.

Finally, players can follow the Ys Online team on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ys_online! Follow them to get free items and prizes!

I remember playing all of the Ys games on my SNES... Well, apparently the 2nd Closed Beta has officially launched for Ys Online: the Call of Solum! Players can try to get into the closed beta on the Ys website, or the press release notes that keys may be distributed to videogame websites, so raffles and mini-competitions may be springing up near you. Be sure to check out YsOnline.com and keep yourself updated!

Ys Online: The Call of Solum has now opened registration for the 2nd round of its closed beta test. Due to start in April, the second round of testing will include a number of changes from the version previously seen, including new class specialisations, an increased level cap, new dungeons and a new PvP system.

More details on the game - as well as information on how to sign up for the beta - can be found on the game's official website.