Ys1: The best things about this game are: its pacing, its music and its general art direction. The action-RPG combat I can take or leave. Now, I hate to disparage the "Bump" system, especially as it Tries Something New (TM), but I just have to ask: WHY? I completely appreciate the need to tackle foes from the sides and weird angles; it adds a small level of tactics to an otherwise breezy combat experience, just like 'A Link to the Past', where certain armoured enemies needed to be struck from the sides, lest the PLINK of defeat ring in thine ears...Would Ys1 be better with a dedicated sword button? Maybe...The biggest problem with "Bumping" is the lack of complete character control and there are some bosses where it felt like a race to the bottom of the HP barrel. Thankfully, you can save almost anywhere, meaning a judicious RPG-liker shouldn't be losing too much progress to a poorly designed boss.
There are, in my view, two such bosses, which were probably "designed" in the same way my local council "designs" roundabouts: badly, and with way too many bats. Ys1 likers will no doubt feel a shiver down their spine at the mere mention of "Bat Boss" and I can only gasp these words of advice having finally bested this beast of absolute dubious provenance: Please Don't Play This Game On Hard or Nightmare Mode!!!! Maybe Hard mode is possible, maybe; if you believe in the Heart of the Cards enough you might be able to prevail where I stumbled. But, ye gods! Never try Nightmare mode. Never!! Have you ever read those H.P Lovecraft stories that always begin with the protagonist already at the brink of sanity (but always find time to "set down" their experiences in extremely florid and pageful prose before jumping out a window or some such...) after a horrifying eldritch encounter? That's what playing Nightmare mode is like! In fact, Lovecraft himself would blush at the sheer Hell induced by this abominable mode!!
You should give it a try!
Nightmare mode aside, the game is breezy, I tell you, like a gust of wind gently pushing you along. The pacing is really well done for an RPG, a genre historically plagued by games that take a somewhat whimsical approach to the audience's time. Ys1 pivots from plot point to plot point at speed, introducing new macguffins and world-saving crystals conveniently tucked into old women's shawls at an alarmingly refreshing pace. Until we get to the final dungeon, where the developers seemed to completely panic and started to pad, pad, pad the time away with backtracking...Not a dealbreaker, and it only happens once or twice, although by this time your patience and serenity towards the game may be waning.
You know what doesn't wane, though? This kick-ass music! Mostly electric guitar based with some awesome synthy touches (think Castlevania: Symphony of the Night boss battle type music and you're in the same ballpark) it really helps to make you feel like a true hero as you skip through these dungeons, Bumping(TM) into your enemies. Very cool. I don't really remember the melodies very well, but highlights would include: the Plains music, Darm Tower and most boss battles (yes, even the horrible BAT boss is almost saved by the strength of those chugging guitar lines).
And I definitely want to check out some more Ys titles after this to see where the series goes. Like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, I need to pick on later games to get more of a feel for what this series is really supposed to be, or what it later became.
There are, in my view, two such bosses, which were probably "designed" in the same way my local council "designs" roundabouts: badly, and with way too many bats. Ys1 likers will no doubt feel a shiver down their spine at the mere mention of "Bat Boss" and I can only gasp these words of advice having finally bested this beast of absolute dubious provenance: Please Don't Play This Game On Hard or Nightmare Mode!!!! Maybe Hard mode is possible, maybe; if you believe in the Heart of the Cards enough you might be able to prevail where I stumbled. But, ye gods! Never try Nightmare mode. Never!! Have you ever read those H.P Lovecraft stories that always begin with the protagonist already at the brink of sanity (but always find time to "set down" their experiences in extremely florid and pageful prose before jumping out a window or some such...) after a horrifying eldritch encounter? That's what playing Nightmare mode is like! In fact, Lovecraft himself would blush at the sheer Hell induced by this abominable mode!!
You should give it a try!
Nightmare mode aside, the game is breezy, I tell you, like a gust of wind gently pushing you along. The pacing is really well done for an RPG, a genre historically plagued by games that take a somewhat whimsical approach to the audience's time. Ys1 pivots from plot point to plot point at speed, introducing new macguffins and world-saving crystals conveniently tucked into old women's shawls at an alarmingly refreshing pace. Until we get to the final dungeon, where the developers seemed to completely panic and started to pad, pad, pad the time away with backtracking...Not a dealbreaker, and it only happens once or twice, although by this time your patience and serenity towards the game may be waning.
You know what doesn't wane, though? This kick-ass music! Mostly electric guitar based with some awesome synthy touches (think Castlevania: Symphony of the Night boss battle type music and you're in the same ballpark) it really helps to make you feel like a true hero as you skip through these dungeons, Bumping(TM) into your enemies. Very cool. I don't really remember the melodies very well, but highlights would include: the Plains music, Darm Tower and most boss battles (yes, even the horrible BAT boss is almost saved by the strength of those chugging guitar lines).
And I definitely want to check out some more Ys titles after this to see where the series goes. Like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, I need to pick on later games to get more of a feel for what this series is really supposed to be, or what it later became.