Ys I [5/10]: It's a good enough game but perhaps does not hold up as well as its sequel; the "charmingly simple" combat is perhaps a little too simple and I often found myself wanting for options. Ironically my problems aren't with the bosses (the final boss in particular is actually excellent), but rather the dungeons, a lot of which tend to go out of their way to be more tedious to traverse than they should be. As someone who more or less adores Ys's gameplay across all titles, I found myself more focused on the destination in Ys 1, rather than enjoying the journey as I usually do.

Ys II [7/10]: Big improvement on the original with the addition of magic. A lot of the dungeons feel a lot cleaner and give the player a better sense of bearings as they navigate through them. The narrative introduced in I is built upon and resolved well. Final boss is a bit too easy when using all the final magic you unlock, however.