Ys I and II

[Keranu]

No kidding, Dragon Spirit has some of the best chip tunes around!

[Colossus1574]

This has been one of the better discussions of the merits/flaws of Ys I & II. To build on the points Kaze and Nat were focusing on: although I can see both sides, my own position is closer to kaze's.

That said, even when I played Ys I & II back in the day (within a year of its release), I felt that the overhead graphics could have been more impressive.

You lucky duck, WITHIN A YEAR???!  I think I played the Japanese version which i borrowed off a friend about 2-3 years after release, then when after i got stuck a little into part2, i thought it was worthy enough to pick up the T16 version with english voice/text. It's still incredible how the voice acting put so many other games' voices to shame. And Y's also avoided one of my BIGGEST T16 pet peeves...BAD BOX ART! Instead of some potentially crappy looking Adol, we get beautiful imagery of the land of Y's! (NEC really had trouble localizing their games here...anime was just growing here and it seems like they couldn't decide how their artwork would look for the North American market/audience)

[kazekirifx]

And Ys also avoided one of my BIGGEST T16 pet peeves...BAD BOX ART! Instead of some potentially crappy looking Adol, we get beautiful imagery of the land of Ys! (NEC really had trouble localizing their games here...anime was just growing here and it seems like they couldn't decide how their artwork would look for the North American market/audience)

Yeah. I have to agree, this cover art was a perfect fit. One of those rare cases where the Turbo cover is better than the PCE one. I think the primary reason the artwork is high quality is because they used one of Falcom's original illustrations rather than making a new one. The same illustration was used in Japan on a soundtrack cover, among other places. It was lucky that Falcom had beautiful artwork that didn't feature their 'cute' illustrations of Adol, because obviously NEC wouldn't have used that outside Japan.

You lucky duck, WITHIN A YEAR???!

Yeah. I'm so jealous. I didn't play it till I got it with my Duo, and it was still quite impressive to me then. In 1989 I had still barely been introduced to NES classics like Mega Man and Contra... Actually, I probably would have still been a bit young for Ys in 1989, but it would have blown me away nonetheless.

[esteban]

I think I slightly like the Ys III soundtrack best, but I don't wanna have to choose one way or another. I love the music from all of 'em. I would say though that Ys IV isn't as awesome as the first three, but there are some greats on there that I used to listen to frequently! Maybe I haven't played enough games in my time, but I never again encountered a game or game series that offered such fantastic, memorable music than Ys! Never encountered anything as comparable or memorable...

I have to admit I haven't listened to the Ys IV soundtrack as much as the others. I'll have to re-visit Ys IV because I can't even recall what my favorite tracks would be.

esteban: You write rather well for your quick drive-by posts. Stuff like this: "(I adore how somber the bell tower is, when you finally reach the top, and the bleak, red-stained clouds howl past in fury as the bell chimes one final, fatal time)". Hahah! Having a lot of fun there!

The funny thing is that I was literally stepping off the train (I commute NYC-NJ) when I hit "submit" for that post... and as I walked to my car that afternoon, the crisp breeze reminded me of the bell tower scene from Ys. On that note, this is what the very same parking lot sky looked like earlier this year (on a similarly gusty day):



I am very predictable, I guess, when it comes to my preferences .
 

 

The other reason I posted was cause I saw Dragon Spirit mentioned! I forgot all about that little gem! It was one of my favorites, played it on my Express for a time! I remember it had great music for a chip game, too! I wouldn't blame esteban for worshiping it.

I will acknowledge that not all the tracks are godly, but Dragon Spirit certainly has a bunch of divine songs. The naysayers, I'm convinced, are the sort of folks who kick puppies and litter for sport.

No kidding, Dragon Spirit has some of the best chip tunes around!

Hany says, "You betcha!"

You lucky duck, WITHIN A YEAR???!

Yeah. I'm so jealous. I didn't play it till I got it with my Duo, and it was still quite impressive to me then. In 1989 I had still barely been introduced to NES classics like Mega Man and Contra... Actually, I probably would have still been a bit young for Ys in 1989, but it would have blown me away nonetheless.

I have two younger brothers, so we always pooled our money together buy stuff (my parents never bought us big-ticket items). A local mom-n-pop store was selling their TG-CD demo unit for $50 or $100 off the retail price...the TG-CD had generated a lot of curiosity in visitors to the store, but I don't think it increased sales of TG-CD hardware/software. They had Final Zone II demo-ing most of the time and my brothers and I thought the corpses (with blood!) floating in space must be the hallmark of an exceptional game. Little did we know (until later) how sub-par Final Zone II would be (the core game itself stinks; I actually like the music; cinema/story is OK).

Thankfully, Ys I & II did not disappoint.

[grahf]

I'd like to chime in on Ys IV, since I'm currently playing through it for the first time. I played through 1, 2 and 3 again over the last two years, and just moved on to the final chapter.  While I think Ys I and II have some of the best tracks in the PCE library, and Ys III is pretty great overall, I think Ys IV has the best soundtrack in the series. The tracks from IV aren't as good as I and II if listened to individually, but in the context of the game they are amazing. I think they match the pace and atmosphere much better than the previous games.

[Keranu]

I LOVE Ys IV's soundtrack, not quite as much as I & II, but it's a very worthy sequel. It's packed with ambiance, variety, and the classic rockin' Falcolm tunes, not to mention some really odd tracks (remember that trippy dungeon?). Ys III rules too, but it's my least liked of the bunch.

[esteban]

OK, I've been re-listening to Ys III and it certainly is a splendid collection of tunes. But Ys I & II still edges it out.

I haven't listened to Ys IV in a long time, so I'll have to reserve judgement.

[shubibiman]

Ys I&II is far from being the most beautifull A-RPG around, that's for sure. But it's never been what made the series so popular. Ys is a very straightforward game, even for an A-RPG. The fighting system, whether you like it or not, allows the game to play at a fast pace.
The story also has climaxes that one can not forget and the characters are not of the kind that you forget has soon as you turn off your system. And of course the musics. They sure aren't as good as the tunes in Ys III, which has by far the best soundtrack in the series, but those in Ys I&II perfectly fit the action.

And To Make The End Of Battle. Just to think of it I....I....I came ^^;

[Black Tiger]

In recent years, I've been listening to the Ys IV PCE & MD soundtracks much more than Ys I & II PCE. I don't think that you should have to rank them over one another, but Ys IV is definitely the strongest overall with quantity and quality. I was worn out to a certain extent from listening to the Ys I - III PCE soundtracks for a few years more than Ys IV, but as more time passes, the stronger Ys IV's music holds up to the other games.

I agree with most of nat's points about Ys I & II, except the graphics are actually above average by 16-bit RPG standards. Ys like many PCE games has a deceptive art style that many people see as being like Bomberman (which also is much more impressive than most seem to think). I think that people focus on the human sprites or something, even though they look better than those in most RPGs. If you look at screenshots from most areas in the game, it's actually pretty amazing, especially for the time. There are a few areas as nat mentioned that are bland and maybe getting stuck there for too long draws more attention to them than the nicer looking areas.

Even though I see most of the same faults in Ys I & II as nat does, it's still one of my favorite games and still wows me every time I play it. I loved Y's for SMS before I ever saw anything about the PCE version, but once I did, I became determined to get a Turbo-CD and play it (only cost me $1500+). I also was used to CD games and voice acting before I finally got a copy of Ys I & II. So none of the novelties had any impact on my experience.

[rag-time4]

If it sounds like I'm trying to rag on these games, I'm really not. I had plenty of fun playing through them, with a few minor exceptions, although it's true I found part I to be the more enjoyable of the first two. If we're looking at all four entries, I'd say I had the best time with III, for all the slack that people give it. Zeta once pointed out that I/II get hyped so much it'd be almost impossible NOT to be disappointed on some level. The opposite could be said of III, and maybe he's right, although I do have a tendency to like when developers take a series and do something a bit different with it (Super Mario Bros. 2, Zelda II, Ys III, etc). I do remember liking the music in III better than any of the others, also.

Either way, Ys I and II is something you probably should own if you have a TG-CD (or PCE). Shit, it's been six years, I should probably go back and play these things again and see if my initial impressions still hold up.

I totally and completely agree with Nat here. I thought the Solomon Shrine finale was a total chore. I also loved the various late 80s sequels that tried to do different things...

Ys III was over a bit too fast, but was more fun from start to finish than Ys I + II.

I totally disagree with anyone who says things like the music of Ys holds up rather well.... I look at it differently. The music of these games is mind blowing in that it presents the pinnacle of that game / anime music was back then and is incredibly nostalgic.

[Keranu]

Aww c'mon guys, Solomon Shrine was brilliant! It's not one big dungeon, it's more like three. One of my favorite dungeons of all time really, the intricate multi-layering spanning across multiple screens was very thought out and carefully designed, blows away any other RPG of the time. Plus it features some of the most memorable scenes in the game (Dalles turning the prisoners into ice cold stone, the Bell Tower scene esteban so wonderfully described, the descent of Ys). It's a real bummer when RPGs skimp out on the final dungeon (FFVII!!!)

I understand how Ys may not have the most colorful or defined graphics, but the thing that really puts it ahead of other games at the time is the variety of artwork. No two dungeons look alike, they all feature entirely new and unique tilesets with an eye for detail.

[rag-time4]

Aww c'mon guys, Solomon Shrine was brilliant! It's not one big dungeon, it's more like three. One of my favorite dungeons of all time really, the intricate multi-layering spanning across multiple screens was very thought out and carefully designed, blows away any other RPG of the time. Plus it features some of the most memorable scenes in the game (Dalles turning the prisoners into ice cold stone, the Bell Tower scene esteban so wonderfully described, the descent of Ys). It's a real bummer when RPGs skimp out on the final dungeon (FFVII!!!)

I understand how Ys may not have the most colorful or defined graphics, but the thing that really puts it ahead of other games at the time is the variety of artwork. No two dungeons look alike, they all feature entirely new and unique tilesets with an eye for detail.

I agree with the variety of environments in Ys! And pretty much all of them were awesome! I think the original Final Fantasy did a pretty good job of that as well, especially Tiamat's flying fortress.

Many RPGs have long, drawn out final dungeons... Ys I+II's final dungeon got old after a while. Maybe it was all the backtracking.

[kazekirifx]

Ys IV has always had the best soundtrack of the three, in my opinion. I've always had few who would agree with me on this.

Solomon shrine is a fitting finale to the game in my opinion. An epic game ought to have an epic dungeon at the end.

[rag-time4]

Ys IV has always had the best soundtrack of the three, in my opinion. I've always had few who would agree with me on this.

Solomon shrine is a fitting finale to the game in my opinion. An epic game ought to have an epic dungeon at the end.

It shouldn't be an epic chore, though.

[Keranu]

I also agree about the opposite that final dragged out dungeons are a real... drag.

To reiterate, Solomon Shrine is more than a final dungeon, it's half the game of Ys II and composed of multiple dungeons. Esteban made a great point earlier about the sewers, how draining the water in essence brought about a whole new dungeon. To make backtracking a whole lot more convenient, the transportation magic gives instant access to three separate locations across the shrine.