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From August 2005 issue of Used Games magazine
Page 1
Comment on cover illustration:
As perhaps the most representative work of Falcom, a company whose games are loved by people spanning multiple generations, this month’s cover comes from the original Ys. Incidentally, a new release in the series has just gone on sale. Many thanks to Falcom, who allowed us to use so many of their materials in the creation of this issue – our cover is very lively by your graces.
Page 2:
Special Collection #1! The World of Falcom
Red text: “Games that are still spoken of.”
Page 3:
From the 80s and through the 90s, Falcom was the idol of Japanese computer game fans. Even amongst stringent competition, Falcom was able to rally unrivalled support.
Elaborately constructed worlds and deep mysteries that couldn’t be found on home game consoles. Beautiful graphics and resounding, harmonic FM melodies. Being able to savor experiences like that made playing Falcom games a sort of special status for PC owners. Undoubtedly, there were many who were unable to obtain an expensive computer and could do little more than long to play Falcom’s games.
The enrapturing intensity of strategically conquering Xanadu and Sorcerian.
The emotionally stirring stories and worlds of Ys and Legend of Heroes.
Never ceasing to pull at the heartstrings of gamers, the worlds of Falcom have withstood the test of time and are still loved today. Let us close in on them, so that we may see what makes them so alluring.
Page 4: Ys 1 & 2
The RPGs that taught us about love and kindness
Ys 1 & 2: Ancient Ys Vanished
Genre: Action RPG
Hardware (with release date):
Ys 1: PC88 (6/1987), X1 (6/1987), PC98 (7/1987), FM7 (10/1987), MSX2 (12/1987)
Ys 2: PC88 (4/1988), X1 (6/1988), PC98 (6/1988), FM77AV (7/1988), MSX2 (7/1988)
The renowed RPGs, Ys 1 & 2. What did Adol’s adventures contribute to the RPG genre?
Right Column: Ys
The Long Roads of Adventure
Ys Series
Adol Christin (Note: His name has been Romanized many different ways by both Falcom and other companies.). Adventurer. The Ys games that tell of his journeys have pleasantly light and approachable stories and sensibilities, which earned them passionate support from fans. They have crossed over the years, and are loved even today.
Main text:
Box: Leaving Increasing Difficulty Behind and Being Kind to the Player
In the first half of the 1980s, extremely difficult RPGs were the norm. Some games were so difficult that they felt as though they were thrusting a letter of challenge in the players face; they were actively trying to defeat the player. Both developers and players wanted games where progress was made by solving puzzles, raising characters, and gathering items – if you wanted a good story, you played an adventure game. It was a simple and clear division. (Incidentally, there were many difficult adventure games as well.)
In a marketplace such as this, it comes as no surprise that Ys sent a revolution-inciting shockwave through the game world when it arrived. Boldly denouncing the bewildering RPGs of the day, Ys introduced a new sort of RPG, one where the player was to be swept along with a story.
Box: The fun of following a story
“I wanted to make an RPG that not only ardent players, but also average people could also easily play.” These were the words of one of the makers of Ys. When people started playing Ys for the first time, they were amazed. When you first stepped out into the field, your eyes couldn’t help but be dazzled by the sprawling grassy plains that flowed across the screen. And the sounds of beautiful music reverberated in your heart…
Visuals that draw you in. Music so clear that it overturned the concept of “PC sound” entirely. The main reason that so many people talk about Ys today is undoubtedly its ability to bring you into such an impeccably constructed world.
When you start playing Ys, you aren’t told what the final objective of the game is. Adol Christin’s curiosity may lead him to setting foot on the cursed island of Estelia, but it is merely a means, not an end. Upon arriving in the village of Minea on Estelia, Adol is approached by a fortuneteller named Sara. “I want you to search for the Books of Ys, for if you do not, a great disaster shall befall us.” And thus the story begins.
Why will disaster come if you don’t search for the books? What is written in them? No answer is immediately given to these questions. Rather, you are given the chance to think about and ponder these things for yourself. This makes you want to play – you want to play so that you can understand what is happening. Stimulated by your desire to comprehend the story, you are able to enjoy the game more fully. It is this, the allure of understanding, that has made Ys well known as the forerunner of story-centered RPGs.
Box: The appeal of Ys remains unfaded, even now
The theme of Ys I is “kindness.” In order to dispel the “RPGs are a difficult genre” image that was prevalent in those days, Ys was made so that anyone could play through it at a brisk pace. First, Ys features an incredibly easy to use battle system in which you just run into your opponents. It feels and works much better than you might expect. In addition to analyzing the movement patterns of the enemies, there is a technique known as “half-stacking,” in which by running into the enemies with only half of your character touching them you can escape the battle relatively unscathed. Even if you do get damaged, all you have to do to heal is stand still for a little while. The puzzles are also designed so that you can overcome them through a little perseverance and some trial and error. Compared to its contemporaries, Ys is a very kind game indeed.
There is a bit of a surprise waiting for you at the end of Ys I – the sudden introduction of Ys II. Written beneath the Japanese title of the game is an English subtitle: “Final Chapter.” As the legend recorded in the books of Ys flashes across the screen, you discover that the tale of Ys I was merely a prelude to the real story, and that nothing has been truly explained yet.
From the moment it begins Ys II shocks you. An unbelievable landscape unfolds before you right as you start the game. “Wow, there’s animation playing on the screen!”
There were games with full-screen animation available before Ys II. However, in all of those, the animation lasts but an instant. Ys II is of an entirely different scale. Here it lasts for over five and a half whole minutes. In particular, the scene where the female heroine Lilia turns around and looks back left quite an impression upon players. Nowadays, opening movies are a standard element of a game, but the forefather of this convention is, without a doubt, Ys II.
Ys II starts off with a dramatic opening and then explains some of the intricacies of the world of Ys – about the Twin Goddesses, the six priests, and what the ancient kingdom of Ys was. With settings ranging from snow covered fields to vast lava beds, the scale and sense of adventure in Ys II is broad and really makes you feel like you’re exploring an unknown world. A sense of drama permeates the entirety of Ys II. From dashing through a labyrinth in order to save a girl who is about to be sacrificed to the climax of the story as you approach the final boss, it’s little wonder that this game has earned itself a place in the hearts of so many players. At the end, after you have finally beaten the game, you finally realize the meaning of the game’s theme of “going from kindness to emotion.” Although Ys I was a game where “kindness” was key, Ys II was about emotionally stirring the player and leaving an everlasting impression upon them.
Out of my personal acquaintances, I know many who played Ys while they were students and felt inspired to seek out a career in the game world because of it. You could say that the Ys games used the universal themes of adventure and emotion to inspire players who would become creators.
Left bar: Ports and remakes:
Famicom “Ys” (8/1988), Sega Mark III “Ys” (10/1988), Famicom “Ys II” (5/1989), PC-Engine CD “Ys I & II” (12/1989), Sega Saturn “Falcom Classics” (12/1997), Windows “Ys Eternal” (4/1998), Sega Saturn “Falcom Classics II” (10/1998), Windows “Ys II Eternal” (7/2000), Windows “Ys I & II: Complete Edition” (3/2002), Windows XP “Ys I Complete XP” “Ys II Complete XP” (5/2003), Playstation 2 “Ys I & II Eternal Story” (8/2003) [others]