Retro Game Club: Ys Deep Dive

Ys Deep Dive

Jul 9, 2020

Series background

Series started in 1987.
Action RPG - meaning an action game where you gain XP to earn levels and there's a story.
Loosely set in the time period of Roman conquest (100-150 BC)
Sometimes compared to Zelda but Falcom had already been working on other action RPGs by then.
Falcom is primarily a PC developer, console ports are by many different companies
- US localization is all over the place
- Except for I&II the games are independent stories but there are fan service references to previous characters and events. However, the different localizations mean sometimes these are easy to miss because people and places have different names depending on who did the translation.

Common elements across the games

Same lead character and sidekick (except for Ys Origin)
High quality soundtracks
- Every soundtrack ever is on Spotify or can be bought from all of the various music sites
Rings that enhance your powers
More levelling solves all boss fights

Typically not cutting edge in terms of technology, developer has never been interested in that
- Hudson's PC Engine CD ports are the big exception
Starting in the 2000s - trippy otherworldly final dungeons

Original bump mechanic
Introduces the main character and sidekick
First chapter revolves around final a set of lost books with the secrets of the world
Half the game is one massive dungeon
Second chapter is confronting the evil the books described.
The second chapter is a typical JRPG format
- Go to a new town, solve their problems, go to the next town
Imagine if like every time Nintendo released a new console they did a remake of Legend of Zelda
Likely incomplete list of remakes: Master System (Sega), Famicom, TG16CD (Hudson), Sega Saturn (Falcom Classics), PS2 (Konami, Japan only), DS, PSP (Xseed), PC (Eternal & Chronicles), Android, iOS (dotemu)

Switched to side scrolling format
One main city - some future games also use the central city hub idea
Probably the hardest in the series
For many US gamers this is only Ys game they knew of until Y 6 or 8 - meaning people who only have popular consoles
Debatable which port is best
Has parallax scrolling, which people say is “not possible” on TG16.

Return to bump mechanic
Falcom designed the story and soundtrack but didn't develop it (they were working on LoH 3 around this time which unintentionally would change the course of their company)
Super Famicom - Tonkin House
PC Engine CD - Hudson - which also has New Game+ for the first time in the series (and the last time for a while)
No US release but high quality fan translations
PS2 port by Taito
If you liked I&II this is worth importing
My favorite of the 8/16-bit games

First attempt to change the attack style - it didn’t work out
Visually resembles a Square game on SNES
No US release but there are fan translations
PS2 port by Taito
Regular and expert editions
Only game in the series I didn’t finish because the controls are pretty bad, will probably try again
Really good symphonic soundtrack album

Drastically improved combat compared to Ys V and subsequent games seem to be based off this engine
PSP and PS2 releases in the US (ported by Konami)
“VI” was dropped from the title in the US, probably because it had been over 10 years since Ys III was released in the US
Shipwreck
Major addition- weapon upgrade system

Beginning of the Toshiro Kondo era at Falcom - lowly script editor on this game then director then producer on the rest
- Second/current CEO of Falcom, originally hired because they liked his LoH 3 fan site
Remake of Ys III in the Ys VI engine with more story
Limited New Game+ feature (what you carry over depends on the difficulty + number of time you completed it)
Even retro gamers will probably enjoy this more than the original version
Not a bad place to start if you want to play through the series but not go all the way back to the original games

PSP and PC
Evolution of Ys VI engine and upgrade system
Major addition - multiple playable characters with different attack types (slash vs stab vs crush)
Special attacks and extra skills
Main characters lose all their awesome gear when they are arrested at the beginning - I believe this is re-used in Ys IX
Story wise - kind of a downer
No New Game+
In terms of the series timeline, this is the last game (until IX)

Least story of any game in the series
In terms of engine, kind of a step back - closer to Ys VI
Short term stat boosts encourages you to not pause combat
2 different main characters with slightly different stories, unlock 3rd
Most accessible for people who just want an action game with some leveling without a lot of story
Limited Run games physical releases on PS4 and Vita

Remake of Ys IV but by Falcom this time
Vita, PC and remake on PS4
Similar to Ys Seven with some elements that reappear in Ys 8
New additions - map completion, more emphasis on optional side quests
Most complex weapon upgrade system, Ys 8 returned to a simpler one
Upgrade system is a little overpowered, playing it again I forgot how easy the game is if you upgrade weapons
Ret-cons a connection to Ys VI
First signs of design influence with Trails series - Final dungeon is stylistically the same as the Trails in the Sky 3rd and Cold Steel II
Actual New Game+ mode

“Trails of Ys”
- Same character notebook & event system from Trails of Cold Steel
- A couple minor characters copied from Trails in the Sky/Trails of Cold Steel
- Mishy Mascot from Trails series makes an appearance
- Fishing
Return to Nintendo consoles (albeit by company doing the US port)
shipwreck again
Story revolves around finding survivors and building a town
Dual lead characters in different times
Probably the most accessible to new players
Maybe my overall favorite in the series, although I could do without fishing
If you like Ys VIII you will probably like Tokyo Xanadu - although it is heavier in the story and character event aspects - roughly the same fighting engine (note: it was ported by Aksys and has the worst translation since the 1980s)

Coming to PS4 and Switch in 2021
Trying to avoid looking at it too much - seems similar to Ys 8 but with new character abilities
Switch port again

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#retro #retrogaming #retrogames #Ys