Is this a good Ys game to start with?

[kudo]

Just wondering. I see some interesting Ys titles on steam and I'm wondering if this is the best one to start with? Both in terms of gameplay and story.
All thoughts are appreciated, thanks!

[EdgarAllenSwole]

Depends on taste. The Ark games (Felghana, Origin, Napishtim) are known for tough, fast-paced combat. Seven, Celceta, and Dana have more exploration while relaxing the difficulty through a party system (multiple HP bars, healing items, etc). Then you have Ys 1 & 2, which are simple and charming in an old-school way.

Luckily you can start anywhere. The stories are self-contained with minor exceptions: mainly nods to previous games like remixes, lore tidbits, and the occasional returning character. The references don't matter but do improve the experience if you get them.

[S_Jake]

Originally posted by kettz:

Just wondering. I see some interesting Ys titles on steam and I'm wondering if this is the best one to start with? Both in terms of gameplay and story.
All thoughts are appreciated, thanks!

In short, no. Ys VI was good when it was originally released on the PS2, but Felghana and Origin basically took the Ys VI template and improved on it, so try those first.

If you want a more modern Ys game, I'd recommend Ys VIII or Memories of Celceta (which both took the Ys SEVEN template and improved on that).

[Graeystone]

If you play for progression of story line start with Origin then go through the games in numerical order. If you want game play instead then you might as well skip Ys I, II, and maybe even VI(Ark). What annoys me is that Oath is a remake of Ys III(had it on Super Nintendo back in the day) and was rebuilt from the pixels on up to fit the type of looks, style, and game play found in VI and Origin AND YET, Ark, which Oath and Origin have their roots in wasn't touched at all except for compatibility purposes for PC users.

Why OH WHY didn't the developers address some of the issues in Ark that gamers had legitimate concerns over when the game first came out? Its kind of insulting to the gamers and the franchise that VI inspired two of the most popular games in the series while nothing was done to improve VI.

[Beardybot]

Originally posted by Graeystone:

If you want game play instead then you might as well skip Ys I, II

Au contraire, I think the bump system is glorious in terms of gameplay, especially in II with the spells and higher level cap.

[AirborneMuffins]

Originally posted by Sandypants:

Originally posted by Graeystone:

If you want game play instead then you might as well skip Ys I, II

Au contraire, I think the bump system is glorious in terms of gameplay, especially in II with the spells and higher level cap.

Bump combat wasn't even good at the time. C'mon man.

[Gnidex]

Originally posted by AirborneMuffins:

Originally posted by Sandypants:

Au contraire, I think the bump system is glorious in terms of gameplay, especially in II with the spells and higher level cap.

Bump combat wasn't even good at the time. C'mon man.

Bump combat is good in my opinion, but that's not the biggest issue with bump games. It's labyrinth design. If they were more streamlined and without so much backtracking in Darm Tower and Solomon Shrine, they would be really good. And considering those dungeons take half of their respective games, I don't think the entire games themselves are good.

Ys IV Dawn of Ys was a fun bump game. But it's skippable because Memories of Celceta (remake in style of Seven) is better in my opinion.

I wouldn't mind another bump game, preferably on mobile. Touch screen fits this style.

[jgkitarel]

Originally posted by Graeystone:

If you play for progression of story line start with Origin then go through the games in numerical order. If you want game play instead then you might as well skip Ys I, II, and maybe even VI(Ark). What annoys me is that Oath is a remake of Ys III(had it on Super Nintendo back in the day) and was rebuilt from the pixels on up to fit the type of looks, style, and game play found in VI and Origin AND YET, Ark, which Oath and Origin have their roots in wasn't touched at all except for compatibility purposes for PC users.

Why OH WHY didn't the developers address some of the issues in Ark that gamers had legitimate concerns over when the game first came out? Its kind of insulting to the gamers and the franchise that VI inspired two of the most popular games in the series while nothing was done to improve VI.

In terms of chronological order with regards to story timeline, it's Origins, I, II, Oath, Celceta, the not remade by Falcom Ys V: Lost Keffin, Mask of the Sun (they didn't make it though the events are canon to the stroyline), VIII, Ark, and then Seven. Where Ys IX: Mostrum Nox will play chronologically is unknown right now.

As for why the devs didn't address the issues with Ark, it's because it's a pure port from the PS2 release, not a reimaging or remaster like Oath in Felghanna was for Ys III: Wanderers.

[Gnidex]

Originally posted by jgkitarel:

Originally posted by Graeystone:

If you play for progression of story line start with Origin then go through the games in numerical order. If you want game play instead then you might as well skip Ys I, II, and maybe even VI(Ark). What annoys me is that Oath is a remake of Ys III(had it on Super Nintendo back in the day) and was rebuilt from the pixels on up to fit the type of looks, style, and game play found in VI and Origin AND YET, Ark, which Oath and Origin have their roots in wasn't touched at all except for compatibility purposes for PC users.

Why OH WHY didn't the developers address some of the issues in Ark that gamers had legitimate concerns over when the game first came out? Its kind of insulting to the gamers and the franchise that VI inspired two of the most popular games in the series while nothing was done to improve VI.

In terms of chronological order with regards to story timeline, it's Origins, I, II, Oath, Celceta, the not remade by Falcom Ys V: Lost Keffin, Mask of the Sun (they didn't make it though the events are canon to the stroyline), VIII, Ark, and then Seven. Where Ys IX: Mostrum Nox will play chronologically is unknown right now.

As for why the devs didn't address the issues with Ark, it's because it's a pure port from the PS2 release, not a reimaging or remaster like Oath in Felghanna was for Ys III: Wanderers.

I think they didn't fix the issues with 6 because it's just a good game. Not perfect, no game is and next 2 games used this gameplay style much better, but even years after it's still a blast to play. Meanwhile original 3 was... not good to say the least, so completely overwriting it with much superior Oath in Felghana was a good move. 4 also had good reason to be remade - not made by Falcom and improving continuity. People speculate that 5 will be remade too for the same reason as 3, for being a black sheep that made the series to go on hiatus (even if it's an ok game, just not a good Ys game).

9 is the last game in the timeline (after 7).

[Ikagura]

No

[Ikagura]

Originally posted by AirborneMuffins:

Originally posted by Sandypants:

Au contraire, I think the bump system is glorious in terms of gameplay, especially in II with the spells and higher level cap.

Bump combat wasn't even good at the time. C'mon man.

Then how the serie has been going on for decades? I even find the bump system easier in the older Ys game than the Eternal/Complete/Chronicles remake

[DaSH]

my first was VIII which I absolutely loved! So much I want to (try to at least) play them all now. So far, 1 though simple was enjoyable until the stupid vampire/bat boss which made me quit. I switched to 6 and it was ok til I got to spots where supposedly I need to grind like 6 more levels in order to be able to dmg stupid enemies. Wondering if I should cut my losses and skip all of them and just move on to 9...

I'm giving 6 more time though, turns out I was way underleveled and wouldn't call what I had to do "grinding" because I was able to get to the level I needed to be at pretty easily and quickly, so the game balance is just way off compared to at least 8 which was a joy to play the entire time and was never lost/confused or felt like I had to grind.

[Mondae Sundae]

Only Ys I and Napishtim have a strange balance. Every other Ys game is much more solid.


In Ys I, the level cap is 10. To fight the Bat Boss requires Adol at Level 10 (Max Level). It also requires a special equipment which is a bit obtuse to figure out. Ys II on the other hand is far more solid.


Despite being older than Napishtim, the original Ys III, Ys IV (Dawn of Ys and Mask of the Sun) and Ys V don't have the same oddities that Napishtim does.

With that said, Grana-Vallis is balanced around killing most enemies encountered -- it should be possible to kill all of them (even the exploding rocks). With that said, it's a bit difficult to safely kill the Fireflies without fully utilizing the Wind Element (getting all 5 Wind Element attacks).

In regards to Adol's expected level at each point:
1. [Demi-Galba] (first boss): Lvl 6
2. End of Mythos Path: Lvl 9
3. Grana-Vallis Entrance: Lvl 12 (Livart: Lvl 4)
4. Grana-Vallis Midpoint: Lvl 18 (Livart: Lvl 4)

[Ikagura]

Originally posted by Mondae Sundae:

Despite being older than Napishtim, the original Ys III, Ys IV (Dawn of Ys and Mask of the Sun) and Ys V don't have the same oddities that Napishtim does.

I would recommend against playing the original Wanderer and Mask.

Ys V being too easy while the Expert version became a grind fest.

[Tr0w]

Originally posted by Graeystone:

If you play for progression of story line start with Origin then go through the games in numerical order. If you want game play instead then you might as well skip Ys I, II, and maybe even VI(Ark). What annoys me is that Oath is a remake of Ys III(had it on Super Nintendo back in the day) and was rebuilt from the pixels on up to fit the type of looks, style, and game play found in VI and Origin AND YET, Ark, which Oath and Origin have their roots in wasn't touched at all except for compatibility purposes for PC users.

Why OH WHY didn't the developers address some of the issues in Ark that gamers had legitimate concerns over when the game first came out? Its kind of insulting to the gamers and the franchise that VI inspired two of the most popular games in the series while nothing was done to improve VI.

Numerical order won't give him progression of story because Ys V Lost Kefin isn't available on PC/modern consoles, and Ys VIII takes place between V and VI.

Also Ys 6 is awful, worst in the franchise due to it's garbage mechanics.

[Ikagura]

Originally posted by Tr0w:

Also Ys 6 is awful, worst in the franchise due to it's garbage mechanics.

Not at all, Ys III (the original) or Ys strategy existing makes this argument invalid.