what the gameplay like??

[bigal80ak]

I like the tales series quite a bit and am glad one is coming to the pc. I was wondering does this game have stats and armor and things like that? This looks from the video less like an rpg and a lot more Zelda type with jumping and slashing. Is it something in the ball park of tales or fantasy?

[Zapp Brannigan]

I also wonder. I played the original on the NES, and have bad memories from it. There was no attack button or animation, you just ran into things. I repeat, there was no attack animation.

Hopefully that has changed???

[MrStevns]

^Its a hack n slash / button mashing game. You manually have to press a button to attack the enemy. The game from NES, supposedly YS I or II are the only exceptions where you attack by bumping into your enemies.

It is definitely very zelda like with jumping and slashing (given that you speak about newer games) You can strengthen your weapon, and gather new equipment (Boots, Armor, skills) and items through exploration, You'll encounter several puzzles and hectic boss fights, requiring you to be precise and learn to use your skills efficiently. I should also mention.. you are required to grind levels a lot, though with such magnificent music and cool environments, that shouldn't be a problem P:

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Ys Origin, Ys: the Oath in Felghana, and Ys VI: Ark of the Napishtim all play similarly, as all three use the same game engine.

All three of these are action RPGs which use hack-and-slash mechanics with a 3/4 overhead view, very roughly similar to the Zelda games if you want to make that comparison.

You have an attack button which you can mash to your heart's content, and eventually you also gain various magical abilities, which can become chargeable. These abilities allow you to float, do ranged attacks, have temporary invincibility, etc.. In the case of Ys Origin, there are actually three playable characters, one of whom starts with a weak ranged attack.

You also have RPG elements -- defeating enemies grants experience points, which contribute to leveling up. Finding or acquiring new weapons and armor, as well as upgrading your existing weapons and armor, will increase your attack and defense stats. A level or two can make a big difference occasionally.

Originally posted by Han Solo:

I also wonder. I played the original on the NES, and have bad memories from it. There was no attack button or animation, you just ran into things. I repeat, there was no attack animation.

Hopefully that has changed???

This has indeed changed, even in the case of Ys 1 & 2, but not the core concept.

You still have "bump system" combat in Ys 1 & 2, but the gameplay is MUCH smoother -- Adol moves much faster and can now move and attack at diagonals.

I've played both the NES Ys 1 and the Chronicles Ys 1 (the one available on Steam) and I can say the NES version is a tedious slog, while the Chronicles Ys 1 is far, far more enjoyable. And in fact I really appreciate that they kept the bump system, and even wish more games used it -- it's very fast-paced, even more so than the fast-paced hack-and-slash action of the Napishtim-engine games.

Ys 1's bosses can be a bit tricky, but remember that the key is that you damage them with your OWN contact damage, while they rely on external attacks to go after you, in general.

In Ys 2, you have the same bump system, but you also gain a ranged fireball ability, so the bump system is a little less apparent. I'm playing through it right now.

(Interestingly, I think that the way the difficulty levels work, at least in Ys 1, is to change whether you can attack on the diagonals? I'm not sure...)

[Berahlen]

No diagonal attacks in Ys 1. Ys 2 lets you do it, but seems to broaden the angle of risk as the difficulty scales, so by Nightmare you're better off just hitting things cardinally off-center.

That said, yes, it is much, MUCH smoother than the NES version (which was probably the worst version for all of the first three games).

Keep in mind that of the games until Napishtim, they deviated from the bump system twice and both times were utter flops. Ys 5 was more like Secret of Mana, but the gameplay was just so slow-paced compared to the bump combat that it failed and Falcom abandoned the series for quite a while. Ys 3 was in the style of Zelda II, and failed so epically that Falcom pulled out of the US entirely for the better part of two decades.

[Archetype Hisui]

bigal80ak, why not try the demo of Origin?

Really couldn't hurt.