700 years before the events of Ys I & II, the land of Ys was on the brink of destruction. Demons came in droves and forced the twin Goddesses who ruled the land to whisk their subjects away from the surface, into the safe embrace of the clouds. The demons were persistent, however, erecting a massive tower in pursuit. The battle that raged upon the ground had begun ascending for a second round up above. One day, amidst this turmoil, the Goddesses stole away into the night, vanishing from Ys altogether. And there's only one place they could have gone: the Devil's Tower. A search party of knights and sorcerers was hastily formed and dispatched to the surface in hopes of retrieving these runaway deities. Among its members were apprentice knight Yunica Tovah and troubled sorcerer Hugo Fact. This is their story. Or at least, it's how each of them remembers it. Expanding upon the gameplay elements introduced in Ys: The Ark of Napishtim and further developed in Ys: The Oath in Felghana, Ys Origin perfects the formula by adding different styles of play and new features never before seen in the Ys universe. Best described as an arcade-like platformer RPG with Metroidvania elements and a complex, multi-faceted narrative, Ys Origin is the perfect mix of action, exploration and story. Screen-filling bosses with complex AI, unique platforming elements, innovative puzzles and a deeply involving mystery await within the wildly varied confines of this classic Ys dungeon. Come see how long you can last in the Devil's Tower...
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Will come back later for my last play through as Claws.
Mind you I only played the Yunica route here, I felt like playing the other characters would be more or less the same with only the skills and the bosses being different. As fun as I had playing as Yunica, I don't think it would be worth going any further than that.
The two big highlights here are the music and the boss fights. There are some killer music here that are pretty catchy, biggest example for me is the fire section of the tower. The bosses are somewhat difficult too, until you can figure out the patterns, then it becomes pretty damn easy.
There's some variety in the level design but it could have gone further with the designs, both in themes and layout, because after a while it does feel a little samey, regardless if they add some gimmicks here and there.
It's a good game to pick up and play if you can get it on a sale, like i did. It was enjoyable that does have more game inside it, but I think one playthrough is more than enough!