Wikipedia

Ys(series)

"Y's" redirects here. For the Latin character, seeY.For other uses, seeYSandY (disambiguation).

Ys(イース,Īsu,IPA:[iːsɯ])(/ˈiːs/) is a Japanese series ofaction role-playing gamesdeveloped byNihon Falcom.[1]The series chronicles the life of the adventurer Adol Christin.

Ys
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Developer(s)Nihon Falcom
Publisher(s)Various
Creator(s)
Composer(s)Falcom Sound Team jdk
Platform(s)NEC PC-8801,Sharp X1,MSX2,FM-7,NEC PC-9801,Sharp X68000,Master System,Sega Genesis,Sega Saturn,NES,Super NES,Nintendo DS,Windows,PlayStation 2,PlayStation Portable,TurboGrafx-CD,Apple IIGS,mobile phones,PlayStation Vita,PlayStation 4,Nintendo Switch,Xbox One,Google Stadia,PlayStation 5
First releaseYs I: Ancient Ys Vanished
21 June 1987
Latest releaseYs X: Nordics
28 September 2023

The first game in the series,Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished,was released on theNEC PC-8801in 1987.[2]Ysgames have since been ported and released on many other platforms. As of 2017,Yshad sold over 4.8 million copies worldwide.[3]

Common elements

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Plot

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TheYsseries chronicles the life of Adol Christin, a young man obsessed with adventure. Gameplay usually revolves around Adol, though his comrade, Dogi, is a frequent companion in his travels. More recent games in the series include several other playable party members.

The Darm Tower & The Tower of Rado

A feature of the earlyYsgames is the Darm Tower. In the story, it is an unfinished and deserted tower, built with the intention of touching the sky. The tower houses a small annex, titled "the Tower of Rado" (or simply "Rado's Annex"[4]) three quarters of the way up. According to in-game lore, the normally immortal ancient Ys aged because humans overused the magic power of an ancient artifact, known as the Black Pearl. The result of this misuse was evil magical energy bringing forth millions of cruel demons. The people of Ys fled to the Palace of Solomon and used the Black Pearl to lift the palace into the sky, creating a safe haven. The demons, focused on controlling the Black Pearl for their own intentions, began building the Darm Tower, day and night, attempting to connect to the Palace of Solomon with their construction. As in-game-events transpired, however, the demons' efforts were thwarted. Later games feature a variety of plots but frequently begin with a shipwreck, with a stranded Adol getting involved in the new area's events.

Gameplay

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In early games, the player uses only thedirectional padto fight. The player must run Adol into enemies, hitting them on the side, back or slightly off-center of the front. This was created with accessibility in mind; while other RPGs at the time had eitherturn-basedcombat or a manually activated sword,Yshad Adol automatically attack when walking into enemies. While mostYstitles do not use the 'bump attack' system, it has become one of the series' defining features.[5][6]Falcom staff have compared this style of gameplay to the enjoyment of popping air bubble sheets, in the sense that it took the tedious task oflevel-grindingand turned it into something similar to ahigh-score-basedarcade game.[2][6]

A feature that has been used in nearly everyYstitle is thehealth regenerationmechanism, which had previously only been used in theHydlideseries. Recharging health has since become a common mechanism used in many video games today.[7][6]

Ys IIintroduced magic spells to the series (e.g. shooting fireballs), and the ability to transform into a monster, which allows the player to both scare humannon-player charactersfor unique dialogues, and interact with non-boss monsters.

Ys III: Wanderers from Ysadoptedside-scrollingaction-adventuregameplay, similar to Falcom's ownDragon Slayerseries andNintendo'sZelda II: The Adventure of Link,with an attack button and a variety of different attacks.

Ys IV: The Dawn of YsandYs IV: Mask of the Sunreturned to the original control scheme, whileYs IV: Mask of the Sun-A New Theoryrequires the player to press buttons to attack.

Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sanduses a top-down viewpoint and requires the player to press buttons to attack or defend with a shield.

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtimgraphically departed from its predecessors, using a mix of three-dimensional graphics and sprites. Gameplay ishack and slashgenerally without the ability to actively block.Ys: The Oath in FelghanaandYs: Originshare this gameplay style.

Ys Sevenbrought back the ability to actively block, with skills, stun meters for enemies, weapon types, super combos known as EXTRA skills, and the ability to parry hits from attacks with a flash guard system. Failed flash guards result in the player character taking extra damage compared to failing to defend at all.Memories of Celcetaintroduces a flash dodge where a player character dodges just before a hit.Ys VIIIandIXcontinued this style.

Games

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Further information:List of Ys media
Release timeline
1987Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished
1988Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter
1989Ys III: Wanderers from Ys
Ys I & II
1990–1992
1993Ys IV: Mask of the Sun
Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys
1994
1995Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand
1996–2002
2003Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim
2004
2005Ys: The Oath in Felghana
2006Ys Strategy
Ys Origin
2007–2008
2009Ys Seven
2010Ys vs. Trails in the Sky
2011
2012Ys: Memories of Celceta
2013–2015
2016Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
2017–2018
2019Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
2020–2022
2023Ys X: Nordics

TheYsseries has its roots in the Japanese computer systemNEC PC-8801.Each of the first three games was released on that platform first. Ports of the games to console platforms have usually been handled by various other licensee companies, such asHudson Soft,Tonkin HouseandKonami.

The first two games in the series were originally intended as a single game, but the creators, Masaya Hashimoto and Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, eventually decided to split it into two separate games:Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished(1987) andYs II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter(1988).[2]They were later re-released together in theenhanced remakeYs I & II(1989).[8]It was one of the first video games to useCD-ROM,which was utilized to provide enhanced graphics, animatedcutscenes,[9][6]a Red BookCD-DAsoundtrack,[8][6]and voice acting.[8][9]ItsEnglish localizationwas also one of the first to usevoice dubbing.The game received theGame of the Yearaward fromOMNI Magazinein 1990, as well as many other awards.[9]TheSharp X68000remake ofYs Ireleased in 1991 was notable for its early use of3Dpre-renderingfor the bosssprites.[10][6]AnMS-DOSremake calledYs II Specialwas also released exclusively for theSouth Korean marketin 1994; it was a mash-up ofYs IIwith theanimeYs II: Castle in the Heavens(1992) along with a large amount of new content.[10][11][6]

After completingYs III: Wanderers from Ys(1989), Hashimoto and Miyazaki leftNihon Falcomand foundedQuintet.[8]Two versions of the fourth game were released, and Falcom licensed both versions out: theSuper Famicomversion to Tonkin House (who had handled the Super NES port forYs III), titledYs IV: Mask of the Sun;and thePC Engine CDversion to Hudson Soft (who had ported all three previous games to that platform), titledYs IV: The Dawn of Ys.Hudson Soft took certain liberties with the game, and as a result, it is very different fromMask of the Sun.They share the same setting, cast, and much of the basic plot, but the actual structure of the story plays out in a completely different manner, as do the game's levels and enemies.Mask of the Sunis the official continuation of the series, while Falcom have deemedThe Dawn of Ysto be essentially an "alternate universe" take on the events in Celceta. A PS2 remake ofMask of the Sunwas released in May 2005, further subtitled "A New Theory".

Falcom releasedYs Vas a Super Famicom exclusive. A standalone title, it gave Adol a jump and manual attack. It was criticized as being too easy; in response to this, Falcom put outYs V Expert,a harder version of the game. A PS2 remake ofYs Vby Taito was released 2006 in Japan.

After this, the series remained dormant for eight years (except for remakes such asYs Eternal), during which time Falcom abandoned console development altogether, choosing instead to focus on theWindowsplatform. The sixth game in the series, entitledYs VI: The Ark of Napishtim,was released in September 2003.Ys: The Oath in Felghana,a remake ofYs III,was released in 2005. A spin-off game calledYs Strategywas released in March 2006 in Japan for theNintendo DS.Unlike the rest of the series, it is areal-time strategy game.It received lackluster reviews and general disdain from fans.

Ys Originwas released in December 2006. It takes place 700 years before the events of the first game, following the separation of Ys from Esteria. The two initial playable characters are Yunica Tovah and Hugo Fact. The two characters' stories play out somewhat differently during character interactions. Adol appears only as a hidden bonus character. Falcom has since released a new version of the game that required a copy's registration serial number sent to Falcom along with shipping charges to get an extra enhancement disc for the game. With this disc the player would be able to play as Adol, along with various other new features.Ys Sevenwas released in Japan in 2009 for thePlayStation Portable.Unlike the previous entries in the series, this time the player has a party of characters fighting simultaneously against enemies on the field, and can change the controlled character on the fly with the press of a button. This system has been maintained in all subsequent games in the series. The graphics also had a significant upgrade compared toYs Origin.

In September 2012,Ys: Memories of Celcetawas released for the PlayStation Vita.Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Danawas released in Japan in July 2016 for the PlayStation Vita, and was later ported to the PlayStation 4,Windows,andNintendo Switch.[12]Ys IX: Monstrum Noxwas released on the PlayStation 4 in Japan in September 2019.[13][14]It was released in North America and Europe in 2021.[15]Ys X: Nordicswas released in Japan for thePlayStation 5,PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in September 2023.[16]It features naval exploration and combat for the first time in the series.[17]

English releases

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Until 2005, only threeYsgames were available in North America:Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished(Master System, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS),Ys I & II(TurboGrafx CD), andYs III: Wanderers from Ys(SNES, Genesis, TurboGrafx CD). The original PC-8801, PC-9801, X1 and MSX2 versions, as well as the Famicom ports, remain exclusive to Japan. English ports of the JapanesePCgameYs VI: Ark of Napishtimwere released by Konami in 2005 and 2006 for the PS2 and PSP, respectively, marking the first English release of the series in 13 years.

At one point, NEC Interchannel proposed bringingDigiCube'sYs Eternal Storyto North America, but the idea was rejected bySony Computer EntertainmentAmerica.

The original Windows PC remakes wereYs EternalandYs II Eternal.Later, there was a compiled re-release calledYs I & II Complete,which bumped upYs Eternalvisuals toYs II Eternallevel (more color depth, primarily) and made the soundtrack sound more cohesive between the two. Once this was out of print, Falcom began selling the two separately again, asYs I CompleteandYs II Complete.Falcom changed the "Eternal" to "Complete" on all external packaging and advertisements, but not in the actual games themselves. In one of the English patches, the internal bitmaps are edited to reflect the external change for the packages.

In 2002, Nicolas Livaditis, an avidYsfan and software engineer, spearheaded an English fan translation project for the first PC remake,Ys I Complete.This led to other projects forYs II Complete,Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys,Ys: The Ark of Napishtim,Ys: The Oath in FelghanaandYs Origin,though not all were completed; theYs VIproject for example, was cancelled to respect Konami's licensing rights. Completed translation patches were made forYs I & II CompleteandYs IV: The Dawn of Ys.In 2010,Xseed Gamespurchased the fan-translated script forYs: The Oath in Felghanafrom Jeff Nussbaum, the actual translator, an act considered historic and unprecedented, as unlicensed translations are technicallycopyright infringementsas unauthorizedderivative works.XSEED went on to purchase three more fan-translated scripts forYs I,Ys II,andYs Origin.

Nintendo addedYs Book I & IIto the USVirtual Consolein August 2008, the first release of theYsseries on a 7th generation home console. Atlus released the games in one package entitledLegacy of Ys: Books I & IIin February 2009 on theNintendo DS.

Xseed Games localized thePlayStation PortablegamesYs I & II Chronicles,Ys: The Oath in Felghana,andYs Sevenin North America. As of 2011, all games have been released.[18]

In 2012, Xseed Games began publishing Japanese PC games through Steam, starting with the PC version ofYs: The Oath in Felghanaon 19 March.[19]On 31 May, Xseed Games released an English version ofYs Originon Steam.[20]Ys I & IIwere also released via Steam in February 2013 asYs I & II Chronicles+[21]– XSEED's Steam programmer Sara managed to combine Falcom's PC port ofYs I & II Chronicleswith the earlier fan-favorite PC releaseYs I & II Complete,effectively mixing all the best features of both versions like selectable soundtracks (PC-88 original, Complete and Chronicles) and art styles from both Chronicles and Complete, alongside the visual flexibility of Complete, such as greater viewing area, togglable screen frame and support for windowed mode.

Ys: Memories of Celcetawas released in North America in November 2013 by Xseed Games. The American release was also released as a limited edition calledSilver Anniversary Edition,which features a 3-CD collection of both original and arranged music spanning the history of the franchise, a cloth map of the land of Celceta, a logo-emblazoned compass and Adol's Travel Journal, containing around 120+ pages of adventuring strategies and artwork.Ys: Memories of Celcetawas released byNIS Americain Europe in February 2014.[22]

MMORPG

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Ys Online ~ The Call of Solum,developed by the South Korean game makerCJ Internetand taking place more than a hundred years after the main series, was launched on 5 November 2007 in South Korea, and in 2009 as an open beta for Chinese, Japanese and European players, but was discontinued in all regions in October 2012.[23]

Animation

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Main article:Ys (anime)

There are two separateOVAseries ofYs,with the first spanning seven episodes and covering the events of the first game, and the second running for four episodes and loosely covering the events of the second game. The first anime expands on the relatively thin storyline ofYs I,including a retelling and expansion of the prologue found in the game's original Japanese manual.

Both series were released on DVD in English by Media Blasters' anime label "AnimeWorks", packaged both separately and in a three-disc box set. The dubbed/audio tracks have changes to some character names ( "Dark Fact" becoming "Dark Factor", "Adol" becoming "Adle", and "Lilia" becoming "Lillian", for instance). Pronunciations of various names are inconsistent, sometimes within the same scene.

Included on one of the discs is what appears to be a preview for an anime based aroundYs IV: Dawn of Ys.This was created by Falcom as a "pitch" trailer to shop around to various animation studios to see if anyone was interested in producing the series, but they had no takers, so this trailer is all that exists of the rumoredYs IV: Dawn of Ysanime.

Music

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The first two games were composed byYuzo Koshiro,Mieko Ishikawa,[24]and Hideya Nagata, whereas Mieko Ishikawa handled the soundtrack forYs III.The composers' works have been remixed for each subsequent release, for instance, by Japanese musician Ryo Yonemitsu forHudson Soft'sYs I & II,Ys III: Wanderers from YsandYs IV: The Dawn of Ysreleases forTurboGrafx-CD.[24][25]The TurboGrafx versions made use ofRed Bookaudio.

TheYsseries is seen in thevideo game musicindustry as some of the finest and most influentialrole-playing video gamescores of all time,[2][26]demonstrated by an extensive series of CD releases based on the series' music, with numerous variations on its themes. It has also inspired video game composers outside Japan, such as German musicianChris Huelsbeck.[27]

The later games in the series were composed by Falcom Sound Team jdk, the collective name of Falcom's internal sound production staff (not to be confused with the jdk Band – a band made of freelance musicians who works for Falcom and performs Sound Team jdk's music live and for arranged albums).

References

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  1. ^"Falcom License Information".Nihon Falcom Corporation. 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 24 February 2019.Retrieved31 December2009.
  2. ^abcdSzczepaniak, John (7 July 2011)."Falcom: Legacy of Ys".GamesTM(111): 152–159 [154]. Archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2013.Retrieved8 September2011.
  3. ^フィールズ chu thức hội xã ( FIELDS Co., Ltd. )11 July 2017
  4. ^"Ys: Origin [3] – Rado's Annex – Blogging Games".Blogging Games.26 July 2012.Retrieved24 October2017.
  5. ^Szczepaniak, John (7 July 2011)."Falcom: Legacy of Ys".GamesTM(111): 152–159 [153]. Archived fromthe originalon 9 December 2012.Retrieved7 September2011.
  6. ^abcdefgSzczepaniak, John (8 July 2011)."History of Ys interviews".Hardcore Gaming 101.Retrieved6 September2011.)
  7. ^Szczepaniak, John (7 July 2011)."Falcom: Legacy of Ys".GamesTM(111): 152–159 [154]. Archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2013.Retrieved8 September2011.
  8. ^abcdSzczepaniak, John (7 July 2011)."Falcom: Legacy of Ys".GamesTM(111): 152–159 [155]. Archived fromthe originalon 9 December 2012.Retrieved8 September2011.
  9. ^abcSzczepaniak, John (7 July 2011)."Falcom: Legacy of Ys".GamesTM(111): 152–159 [156]. Archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2013.Retrieved8 September2011.
  10. ^abSzczepaniak, John (7 July 2011)."Falcom: Legacy of Ys".GamesTM(111): 152–159 [157]. Archived fromthe originalon 10 July 2012.Retrieved9 September2011.
  11. ^Szczepaniak, John (7 July 2011)."Falcom: Legacy of Ys".GamesTM(111): 152–159 [158]. Archived fromthe originalon 9 July 2012.Retrieved10 September2011.
  12. ^2015-12-16,Ys VIII launches summer 2016 in Japan,Gematsu
  13. ^Romano, Sal (19 December 2018)."Ys IX: Monstrum Nox announced for PS4".Gematsu.Retrieved19 December2018.
  14. ^"Ys IX: Monstrum Nox details cooperators, extra contents".Gematsu.5 September 2019.Retrieved23 June2020.
  15. ^"Ys IX: Monstrum Nox coming west for PS4, Switch, and PC in 2021".Gematsu.23 June 2020.Retrieved23 June2020.
  16. ^Romano, Sal (24 May 2023)."Ys X: Nordics launches September 28 in Japan".Gematsu.Retrieved24 May2023.
  17. ^Romano, Sal (15 December 2022)."Ys X: Nordics announced for PS5, PS4, and Switch".Gematsu.Retrieved15 December2022.
  18. ^"XSEED/Falcom Interview".RPGamer. 14 May 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 16 May 2010.Retrieved24 May2010.
  19. ^"XSEED/Gamasutra Announcement".Gamasutra.14 March 2012.Retrieved14 March2012.
  20. ^"XSEED Games/Ys Origin Available on Steam".Xseed Games.31 May 2012.Retrieved2 June2012.
  21. ^"Ys Chronicles/Available on Steam".Xseed Games.14 February 2013.
  22. ^"Ys: Memories of Celceta headed to Europe via NIS".29 October 2013.
  23. ^"CJIJ, WIN “Ys Online ～The Call of Solum～” 2009 niên xuân より nhật bổn quốc nội でのサービス triển khai を khai thủy ".13 March 2009.
  24. ^abKalata, Kurt (27 November 2010)."Ys".Hardcore Gaming 101.Retrieved3 September2011.
  25. ^Ryan Mattich."Falcom Classics II".RPGFan.Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2012.Retrieved3 September2011.
  26. ^Chris Greening & Don Kotowski (February 2011)."Yuzo Koshiro Interview: Innovator in Game Music and Sound Design".Game Music Online.Retrieved20 June2011.
  27. ^Sorlie, Audun."Chris Hülsbeck Remembers Jim Power".Hardcore Gaming 101.Retrieved3 September2011.
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