Why I LOVE Japanese Games Part 4: YS

yup it's about a niche as it can get but this image is one of the reasons why I love YS

Yo this is ya boy gundamthagamer giving you another My favorite JPRG’s video episode and this time it’s on a somewhat niche and classic JRPG series. The series is called YS (pronouced EASE not YS). Mostly the series focuses on a single hero by the name of Adol Christian who travels around the world looking for adventures and each game follows a certain country he has been in. Each game in the series is different so other words there’s no direct sequel unless he comes across characters in previous games for instance his best friend or ally Dogi (doe-gee). That means you can play any game in the series without knowing about story or plot points in the series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The series is created and developed by a famous JRPG developer named Nihon Falcom. Although they have been developing games for a long time since the mid 80's Falcom hasn’t been well known in the JRPG circles outside of Japan until recently thanks to the awesome gaming service named steam as well as the legend of the heroes trails in the sky subseries and it’s sequel series of sorts Cold Steel (sorry if I got the name wrong not didn’t play the games yet). One more thing I forgot to mention that the first or earliest YS games didn’t have an attack button or you have to ram into the enemies to kill them by hitting them diagonally or from behind it’s easier said than done because I died myself trying to kill monsters. As a result I haven’t liked the earlier entries for instance I wasn’t of the gameplay of YS one and two. Then the third entry YS 3 plays like Zelda 2 on the NES and like that game it plays like a platformer and not like a JRPG at least you get to control Adol alot more due to having an attack button unlike the previous two games. Then they went back to the ram combat with YS 4 or the old YS 4 but I only played the awesome remake YS Memories of Celesta on PS VITA please Falcom please release memories of celesta on Steam please. Then There’s YS V for the super famicom or super nintendo only in japan. It’s the first game in the YS series that has a attack button option but the problem of the game is the combat is...SLOW,TANK LIKE, CLUNKY at times and I mean at times because the game doesn’t let you attack you diagonally or makes it difficult enough to attack in that direction. The sound track to the game is HORRIBLE compared to the previous and newer entries in the series. Besides Chrono Trigger needing a remake badly this game fits the list along of JRPGs that need a remake. It was rumored that YS V almost KILLED the YS series for good thanks to tanky, wonky gameplay, horrible ost and a whole list of problems. the series hadn’t have a new entry till almost eight year later in 2003 called YS VI Ark of Naptism. This entry features the traditional zelda look with 3d looking sprites, also working game play mechanics that work in all directions including to small enemies a jump attack, and also it has a attack button that works as well, also a good soundtrack besides being synthish/technoish stylish.

How I got into the YS series.... By renting a fellow “busmate” YS VI Ark of Napthism copy for the psp. To be honest I didn’t like the game at first due to getting used to the combat and gameplay mechanics also I gotten lost and was killed by ultra powerful monsters and the like. YES im a scrub at first then I starting to adapt to the gameplay and whatnot and as a result the game grew on me and I missed it after acouple of renting it from that busmate. Then YS Seven came out and thanks to my grandpa that bought the game for me for a birthday present. This is the first game in the series that features the modern party system combat that you swap party members on the fly. Also the game lets you play as Dogi Adol’s long time companion. Besides having a better soundtrack and all of that I didn’t like YS Seven due to the bosses being like health sponges unlike the previous entries in the series but this one takes the cake due to the monsters take FOREVER TO KILL. To the point I gotten completely bored of the game that I wanted to like but coudn’t get into. Then a year later I picked up YS Oath in Felghana which is a remake of YS 3 but with the tradional YS gameplay mechanics amazing ost, amazing gameplay mechanics, and high replay value. It’s still highly regarded as favorite of mine along with the remake of YS 4 for the PS Vita. Then there is the PS Vita remake of YS 4 Memories of Celestra which is another fave of mine features amazing graphics for the Vita, amazing soundtrack, Improved gameplay mechanics of Seven, and also loved the forest setting of the game. I know YS VIII came out recently but I havent played the game yet but plan too one day My final words are these “please try out the YS series if your a JRPG fan you wont regret it.