Legacy of Ys: Books I & II

Everything from Apple to Zerglings

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bastian
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Post by bastian »

These remakes look VERY Mana to me. Overhead ARPG stuff. I don't know about these two games, but I know when I played the third game in the series (Wanders from Ys on the SNES) it was a sidescroller ARPG. A few years back they remade it into an overhead style game. I found this out while looking up a game I thought I would be interested in (Summoner Night) on Wikipedia and it said it was an overhead ARPG "in the style of the Ys and Seiken Densetsu series" . . .

Anyway, I preordered a copy, but my stupid local Game Crazy hasn't received it yet, so they say. But once I get it and start playing it, I'll let ya'll know if it's any good. Supposedly it if four player co-op!
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manaman
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Post by manaman »

Totally let us know how it is.
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Kefka
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Post by Kefka »

Totally let us know how it is.
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bastian
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Post by bastian »

Well . . . there's no four player co-op after all. Only in a stupid mini game.

I'm getting sick and tired of games advertising that they have co-op/multiplayer and then have it just turn out to be some lame minigame. Do people actually play things like that? I never do.

As far as the rest of the game. I JUST about finished the original Ys 1 game (the cartridge has the first two games).

It's . . . alright. For being one of the VERY FIRST ARPGs ever made (1987) the plot and such isn't all that bad. This new 3D remake isn't all that different from the original. You can compare screen for screen on the field and in towns and dungeons and it's still pretty much the same, just with updated 3D graphics.

Which I think was a mistake. Rather than doing low-quality 3D, they should have done top quality 2D. There's no need whatsoever for 3D graphics since it's still an overhead view game. So I think they should have stuck to the 2D. But ah well.

It's really short. I accidentally maxed out my leveling up at level 24 . . . and I still have probably two more dungeons to go or so. All in like four hours of total gameplay.
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manaman
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Post by manaman »

Well, that's disappointing. . . .
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Kefka
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Post by Kefka »

Well, that's disappointing. . . .
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manaman
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Post by manaman »

Ha ha! Wow, that's weird, Kyatto. Are you stocking me or are you making fun of me? ;)
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bastian
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Post by bastian »

I just finished this DS cartridge.

It is really rather good!

These two games are remakes of the original first two Ys games, which were intended to be two halves of one game. But this was back in '87 and the game was getting too big, so they broke it up into two games.

I've never played the original versions, but what I really like about these two games is the feeling that they are so interconnected. I don't want to give away the ending of the first game, but let's just say it is quite a cliffhanger and makes playing the second game through essential.

Anyway, if you're in dire need of a good old school AARPG (like I always am) check these out!

I'm now going to start on a newer version of the first Ys game I played back on the SNES (Ys III: Wanderers From Ys)
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Post by g33s3 »

I had bought Ys 5? I think it was 5
Ark of Napishtim for the PS2.
The gameplay is amazing and really fun. One of the problems I had was that it was too short too (I also hated the 3D cutscenes, but you can replace that with some cheats). Good game and very fun, I recommend it.

They also came out with a japanese animation on Ys I & II. The style changes from Ys I and Ys II, with Ys II being a little bit more updated. Not that much though. I've never played I & II though, so I don't know how closely the story is to the game. I remember that Ys II was VERY different, more dark and I think just almost better overall.

http://www.falcom.co.jp/download/movie/ys2e_demo.wmv

Link to the demo if anyone is interested. It shows the opening of Ys with some gameplay mixed in. Snippits from the anime can be seen near the end.
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manaman
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Post by manaman »

I've been debating about picking this up. . . . So, it sounds like you're saying it's worth it?
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Post by g33s3 »

Probably renting, and not buying. The game was a little too short, finished it within 3 days, on and off.

There are some replay value, but not that much. You can replay the game on a higher difficult setting, and there's a time attack mode with the bosses, in all three settings.
You can also upgrade weapons and armor, but it's just a point base system. I think that's pretty much it for replay. I'm not sure if anything happens if you beat it on the highest difficulty, or if you get anything from time attack. I haven't played the game that far.

The cinematics, which isn't much, can be changed from 3D to 2D, anime style, and the dialogue can be changed from english to japanese for the players that don't like the english voices. The only way to do that though is through cheating. You can look up the codes online, and apply the cheats before you start a new file.
But everything else is pretty limited. The story wasn't so bad, ups and downs, but decent overall.

A game I think people should play, but you'd probably finish it a little too fast. Maybe just renting it would be better. Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim
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bastian
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Post by bastian »

Um . . . here's the deal: it's good. But . . . you can find a MUCH better incarnation for free if you know where to look.

They did a major graphical/sound update some years back for the PC and I've just started playing those versions . . . they are by FAR superior to the DS versions.

For some reason Falcom had a third party design super cheap (super UGLY) 3D renderings for this newest adaption . . . but they turned out REALLY ugly in comparison to the more recent 2D enhanced graphics for the PC.

So I guess what I'm saying is, I would have much rather just played the most recent PC version than the DS version.

Hell, even the Super Famicom version was better in my opinion.

I hate it when things are adapted to 3D just for the hell of it, without any attention to quality.

Anyway, I've totally become a Ys fan as a result, and have just played "Ys: Oath in Felghana" (which is a VERY good remake of the SNES Wanderers From Ys). It so so awesome I can't even describe. About ten times better than Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim (which is still pretty good).

Now I'm playing the Super Famicom "Ys IV: Mask of the Sun" which is . . . quirky, but fun.

Ys games are by their very nature SUPER SHORT. And frankly, the older I get, the more I like this. I do NOT fall in the "100+ Hours RPGs RUUUULE"camp. Frankly, I think more FF games are too long. I get bored of them fast and just want to hurry up and finish them. Not so with Ys. You can finish most Ys games in just under ten hours.
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