LTTP: Ys - where to start?

[Obiwanshinobi]

There aren't any PC Hard/Nightmare clears on YT at the moment, but there's a time attack here which at least demonstrates how to stay off the bullets' trajectories instead of blundering all over the place.

Saw that video before and he takes a lot of damage (which I do believe to be unavoidable). This is very unlike Zava (and the rest of Ys bosses I can put my finger on), where receiving a single hit is always a player's misstep (come on, I don't need to be good at the game to tell).

[BIL]

The fight is balanced so that the damage a skilled attack incurs won't be fatal, but clumsy play will be (certainly on Nightmare with the higher damage scale). It's absolutely a matter of patterns and dodging if you want to actually master the boss and win every time, rather than relying on the random elements occasionally going your way.

You shouldn't be taking as much damage as the Time Attack player does, btw. On Hard/NM he probably wouldn't have survived, but he's taking advantage of TA's Normal damage scale for the best time (patterns don't change across difficulties, only the damage scale). What you should take from that video is that it's entirely possible to intelligently dodge the bullets while pursuing Fact simply by staying parallel to them. Again, nothing complicated. Fact's not a very hard boss once you figure out a) the patterns and b) the balancing - taking the odd hit while evading the brunt of it is fine.

[Nico87]

Anyone of you have any of the later Ys I & II Complete releases? Not the one with the gold box which contains a book, but a release that looks like this



Both the Win 98/XP version and the Vista version looks like this. Does anyone know if it came with any extras, e.g. soundtrack or something?

[Aisha]

I'm trying to play Ys I Complete and I'm getting awful screen tearing. Has anyone else experienced this? I suppose it will happen in Ys II Complete as well. Short of getting a CRT monitor, I can't think of a solution. The game lacks a native vsync option and forcing it on through my graphics card settings doesn't work since it's a 2D game.

[Obiwanshinobi]

The translation patch readme file states Complete I&II are v-synced by default, MUST stay this way and you'd better make sure v-snc isn't forced OFF in your video card settings. Without v-sync the game is broken (bosses moving too fast, apparently).

[Aisha]

The translation patch readme file states Complete I&II are v-synced by default, MUST stay this way and you'd better make sure v-snc isn't forced OFF in your video card settings. Without v-sync the game is broken (bosses moving too fast, apparently).

True, but in my experience switching the v-sync option in my video card settings on and off had no effect on the screen tearing. I did figure the problem out, however. The English patcher pulls and modifies an updated version of the game executable from Falcom's website. The specific version of the executable pulled depends on your video card: If you don't have an ATI card, the patcher will pull the ysc0107 version of the game executable; if you do have an ATI card (which I do), it will pull the ysc0203 version, which contains some ATI-specific fixes. My guess is that these fixes are archaic and do not get along with modern ATI cards. Using a patched copy of the ysc0107 executable allowed me to play the game flawlessly. This trick also solved some problems with Ys II that I noticed when I was testing it out (e.g., 2000+ FPS).

Dark Fact was a bitch, but I got the hang of it after a few attempts. I wish the game had a few more locations to visit, but overall, I can't remember the last time I played such an enjoyable RPG. I'll probably start on Ys II tomorrow.

[drunkninja24]

So apparently I've been way out the loop and only now found out that the Ys Origin translation patch was released. What's a good place to buy the game from nowadays? And I see there's the Japanese and Chinese versions, does it matter which I get when it comes to the patch?

[drauch]

Yeah, last time I checked you had to use the Japanese version. For a copy you might ask over at http://seldane.proboards.com/index.cgi If anyone knows it's those bros.

[drauch]

P.S. let me know if you find a place to score a copy!

[drunkninja24]

Well, did some more checking around and ordered a copy from YesAsia. Looks like it'll be about a month before it arrives though, but it seems like that's the only place that has it now.

[Obiwanshinobi]

You can buy their PC games directly from Falcom (not sure if they ship to wherever you are, though).

[mrsmiley381]

Here is some information graciously stolen from HG101's forum about ordering directly from Falcom:

** How to order products directly from Nihon Falcom (yes, they ship overseas!): **

The trickiest part of this is the fact that international Falcom orders must be placed via email, which means you'll be
sending your credit card info and such directly to Falcom's international support department. This tends to turn a lot of
people off to the idea of ordering from Falcom at all, but every single one of the people mentioned in these credits, as
well as every single regular member of the Ancient Land of Ys web forum, has done this multiple times (dozens, in my case),
and never once has there been a problem.

For starters, you're going to want to check out Falcom's special of the week. As its name implies, this is a featured sale
package that Falcom changes every week (usually on Fridays), and it's far and away THE best way to get Falcom goods for a
dirt-cheap price. Around Christmas and New Year's, especially, Falcom will come up with some pretty spectacular deals
(as I recall, around Christmas 2007, Falcom offered basically the entire Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky trilogy,
complete with soundtracks, for an insanely low price that was over $100 cheaper than the norm!).

The special of the week may be found at this website:
- http://www.falcom.co.jp/mailorder/special/special.html

Take special note of the "item number," which is listed at the bottom of the page after the kanji combination 商品番号,
alongside the platform (i.e. Windows VISTA/XP/2000) and the medium (i.e. DVD-ROM).

If you're having any difficulty figuring out what all is offered in this special, I recommend downloading and installing
the Firefox plugin called "Rikaichan," which will allow you to mouse over any Japanese word and get a small but detailed
tooltip that translates it to English for you. Rikaichan can be acquired at the following website:
- http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/

The special of the week is also often translated and discussed on the Ancient Land of Ys web forum, under the following
topic:
- http://seldane.proboards.com/index.cgi? ... hread=1163

Once you've determined whether or not the special of the week is to your liking, you may continue shopping for other items
from Falcom's web store, which can be accessed here:
- http://www.falcom.co.jp/mailorder/index.html

The tabs on the blue bar at the top of the page translate to "top," "games," "music CDs," "books and goods," "weekly
special," and "full item listing." Click on one of these to get started, then take down some item numbers for products
you want to buy. Use Rikaichan for translation whenever necessary, and compile yourself a nice listing of games, CDs,
books, etc. that you'd like to buy.

Once you have this taken care of, drop an email to "support_h19@falcom.co.jp" that reads something along these lines:


---
TO: support_h19@falcom.co.jp
SUBJECT: International order request

Hello! I would like to order these items:

* 0823 - Weekly special: Zwei!! + Zwei!! soundtrack + Xanadu Next soundtrack + jdk Band Live DVD
* 860 - Ys: The Oath in Felghana Special Edition
* 888 - Xanadu Next
* M047 - jdk Band 2008 Spring
* M008 - Falcom jdk Band 1
* M041 - Eiyuu Densetsu FC & SC Super Arrange Version

I will pay with credit card:

Card type: VISA
Card name: John Q Example
Card number: 1234 5678 9012 3456
Expiration: 06/12

Billing address:
John Q Example
Apt. 42
123 Fake St.
Feenaville, RI 90210
U.S.A.

Shipping address:
John Example
c/o Exampleco Industries
9292 Mexican Hat Dance Blvd.
Lilia Springs, RI 90211
U.S.A.

Thank you very much!
---


Falcom sometimes takes a few days (possibly a week or more) to respond to international order requests - and oftentimes,
their emails get filtered to one's spam or bulk mail folder, so keep an eye on your email for the next little while. You
should eventually get a response like this:

---
Thank you for an inquiry of Falcom mail order service.
The total price is as follows.

Price (Japanese-yen)
3,800 yen :0823 Zwei soundtrack CD Set
7,960 yen :860 Ys Felghana Premium DVD
3,960 yen :888 Xanadu Next Vista
1,980 yen :M008 JDK BAND 1
2,980 yen :M041 Sora no Kiseki FC&SC SAV
2,800 yen :M047 jdk Band 2008 Spring
5,400 yen :shipping and handling
-----------------------------------
28,880 yen :total

*This game is only for Japanese edition Windows.
A game may not work if you don't have Japanese Windows.
Approve it in advance.

If you are ok, we think we would like to accept your order.
We are waiting for your reply.

Thank you
---


When you receive this response, you will want to reply again to confirm your order - but do remember that this is a
Japanese company, and its employees do NOT speak perfect English, so make certain your reply is written in unambiguous,
simplistic English. I usually send something like this:

---
This sounds good. Please send these items. Thank you very much!
---


Finally, within the next few days after sending this, you should receive one last response from support_h19@falcom.co.jp,
with the subject "From Falcom Mailorder":

---
Thank you for your reply.
We accepted your order.
The total price is as follows.

Price (Japanese-yen)
3,800 yen :0823 Zwei soundtrack CD Set
7,960 yen :860 Ys Felghana Premium DVD
3,960 yen :888 Xanadu Next Vista
1,980 yen :M008 JDK BAND 1
2,980 yen :M041 Sora no Kiseki FC&SC SAV
2,800 yen :M047 jdk Band 2008 Spring
5,400 yen :shipping and handling
-----------------------------------
28,880 yen :total

NAME:
(shipping)John Example
(card)John Q Example

ADDRESS:
(shipping)John Example c/o Exampleco Industries 9292 Mexican Hat Dance Blvd. Lilia Springs, RI 90211 U.S.A.
(card)John Q Example Apt. 42 123 Fake St. Feenaville, RI 90210 U.S.A.

It is your receipt number[ 01234-012345 ].
Please write the number of receipts, and send an E-mail if there is a question.
We will send a product on August XXth by EMS (International Express Mail).
Be waiting, please.

Thank you.
---


Double-check the info and make sure there are no mistakes (as there occasionally will be). If there are, send another
response, and explain the errors in the simplest, most basic English you can (imagine you're talking to a child: use small
words and unambiguous sentences as often as possible). They should correct the errors quickly and email you back with a
revised version of the above email. As long as everything looks right, there's no need to do anything else: your order will
be shipped via EMS on the date listed, and arrive at your doorstep within 3 or 4 business days afterward. The only downside
is that EMS requires that the addressee or his/her agent sign for the package, so if you can get it sent to your workplace,
that's probably a better option than having it sent to your home. Worst case scenario, though, is that you'll be forced to
drive to your local post office and pick it up.

-Tom

I found a page on ordering their albums too, but it contained a link that went straight to gay porn rather than Falcom.

I also want to mention Xanadu Next got an amazing translation a few months back. Definitely recommended.

[Deca]

Well I finished up Chronicles a while back and I'm currently halfway through Oath in Felghana, definitely hooked on the series!

Interested to try out some of the PC versions at some point.

[drunkninja24]

Oh cool, thanks for that mrsmiley! Sent an order request to Falcom for Ys Origin and Xanadu Next, I'll probably cancel my YesAsia order then, I'd definitely rather buy it from Falcom directly.

[drunkninja24]

Wow, Falcom works fast, already got a response and a package tracking number! Thanks again for the info!

[mrsmiley381]

It seems Falcom has been doing international orders long enough that they've got it down quite well. So are there any other fan-translated-only Falcom games aside from Xanadu Next and Ys Origin? I've been grabbing the Xseed-translated PSP games off the PSN and playing them with a zoomed monitor and PS3 controller. I know Ark of Napishtim got a fan trnaslation for the superior PC version, but I'm not terribly sure if it's worth the extra money to me.

[Obiwanshinobi]

So are there any other fan-translated-only Falcom games aside from Xanadu Next and Ys Origin?

Not really a Falcom game, but there's Ys IV for the PCE CD (the voiced dialogue remains Japanese without any captions).

[BulletMagnet]

In case you hadn't heard, Xseed is bringing both Oath in Felghana and the previously Japan-only Ys Origin to Steam - my computer's a piece of junk so this doesn't mean a heckuva lot to me, but I know a few of you might be happy to hear this.

[Estebang]

Ys Origin is pretty meh, and I already own Felghana PSP (which has some improvements over the PC version), but this is very promising news. Hopefully this will increase brand awareness for these games and bring in a good chunk of change for XSeed.

It would be really sweet if they could get Trails in the Sky SC and 3rd on Steam in English, since there's no hope of those making it onto PSP here at this point, but it would still be a colossal translation project--I've heard that SC's script alone is longer than the three Lord of the Rings books combined.

Still no news about Ys IV Vita, although someone at Falcom did mention that they hope Westerners enjoy it.

[drunkninja24]

Haha oh wow, and I just bought Ys Origin from Falcom. Still nice to have a physical copy with box though, so I don't regret it. Hell, I'll still pick this up on Steam.

[shmuppyLove]

Wow, Oath in Felghana is only $14.99 -- figured it was a no-brainer so I picked it up, and it plays very very nicely!

Music is great, graphics are very slick and look amazing cranked up to 1680x1050, full analog gamepad support (though in-game help only mentions keyboard/mouse controls)

I am super impressed, should be a nice change when I need a break from Skyrim

[Estebang]

Ys Origin is a glorified boss rush. It feels like an extra DLC chapter to Felghana.

Though, hey, can't complain when I got it for free during a one-day Groupon Japan promotion.

[gameoverDude]

In case you hadn't heard, Xseed is bringing both Oath in Felghana and the previously Japan-only Ys Origin to Steam - my computer's a piece of junk so this doesn't mean a heckuva lot to me, but I know a few of you might be happy to hear this.

I bought Felghana to support Xseed (no 3rd party DRM, thank God), and will do likewise for Origin. Hopefully Napishtim can't be too far behind.

Shame we won't likely see Ys CnJ come out on PC. But the pending Chinese release of 7 coming in June has me interested. Hopefully Xseed will take a look at that one- they could just slap in their own existing translation, unless the developers of that version have struck a deal to use it already. CnJ has me sold on the Vita.

[Estebang]

Wait, China (or at least Taiwan) is getting a PC release of Ys Seven? Weird.

About the Vita...Falcom's also giving it a port of Zero no Kiseki with full voices added, if it hasn't been posted here already. Should greatly increase the game's chances of getting localized.

[drunkninja24]

So a fully voiced translation patch for Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys was recently released:
http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index. ... ic=13136.0

Been playing this new release using Ootake. Fantastic game, and it's nice being able to play without some translation text file to try to keep up with the voicework. The dub actually isn't all that bad either for the most part. Great work overall, especially considering the technical issues involved with doing the dub (the audio replacements had to match the originals down to the byte).

[mesh control]

Ys Origin is on sale on Steam for $4.99.

[KBZ]

I've played through book I in Ys Book I&II complete, and the game was unplayable without vsync. However, I was never able to get vsync to work with Book II. I didn't seem to have much of an issue through the first couple hours of the game though. Maybe vsync isn't required for Book II?

[gct]

XSEED localizing Ys IV: Memories of Celceta

edit: Bah, didn't see it was already posted in the PS Vita thread a week ago. I don't have one so I hardly read it. Sorry guys.

[Deca]

I didn't really have any doubt they would, but it's still awesome to have the official announcement. This is the game I've been waiting for to buy a Vita!

[drunkninja24]

Just a little FYI for anyone not already aware, XSeed released Ys I & II Chronicles+ on Steam today for $14.99. It's basically the PC version of Ys I & II Complete, but with the music and the widescreen options of the PSP version of the game.