Played this as part of Ys Book 1 & 2 but I don't have the desire to finish 2 right now :/
At a time when every RPG was simulating the grand adventures, rag-tag parties and obtuse mechanisms of table-top games, Ys is shockingly homely, meditative and streamlined. A short jog through the woods hiding in your backyard. It's just two towns, a couple adjacently-connected mini-dungeons, and a back-half set inside a giant tower. Although it has to commit to the 'monsters are becoming more dangerous lately' bit to justify the natural aggression of enemies, the conflict is archival instead of actively present; an ancient evil you seal for good, rather than a ravenous and militant force. Conversations are up-close and intimate with detailed character portraits, the menu-hopping grind is substituted for raw movement that Falcom themselves described as 'popping bubbles', and the game ends with Adol being forcibly teleported out of Esteria, his visiting time no more than a fleeting vision. These trendsetting quirks make this a tender and seminal must-play. But these same strengths are a mask to unfortunately bad dungeon design, bosses that range from punching bags to torture, and deathly repetitive sprites and tilemaps.
At a time when every RPG was simulating the grand adventures, rag-tag parties and obtuse mechanisms of table-top games, Ys is shockingly homely, meditative and streamlined. A short jog through the woods hiding in your backyard. It's just two towns, a couple adjacently-connected mini-dungeons, and a back-half set inside a giant tower. Although it has to commit to the 'monsters are becoming more dangerous lately' bit to justify the natural aggression of enemies, the conflict is archival instead of actively present; an ancient evil you seal for good, rather than a ravenous and militant force. Conversations are up-close and intimate with detailed character portraits, the menu-hopping grind is substituted for raw movement that Falcom themselves described as 'popping bubbles', and the game ends with Adol being forcibly teleported out of Esteria, his visiting time no more than a fleeting vision. These trendsetting quirks make this a tender and seminal must-play. But these same strengths are a mask to unfortunately bad dungeon design, bosses that range from punching bags to torture, and deathly repetitive sprites and tilemaps.