700 years before the events of Ys I & II, the land of Ys was on the brink of destruction. Demons came in droves and forced the twin Goddesses who ruled the land to whisk their subjects away from the surface, into the safe embrace of the clouds. The demons were persistent, however, erecting a massive...
700 years before the events of Ys I & II, the land of Ys was on the brink of destruction. Demons came in droves and forced the twin Goddesses who ruled the land to whisk their subjects away from the surface, into the safe embrace of the clouds. The demons were persistent, however, erecting a massive tower in pursuit. The battle that raged upon the ground had begun ascending for a second round up above.
One day, amidst this turmoil, the Goddesses stole away into the night, vanishing from Ys altogether. And there's only one place they could have gone: the Devil's Tower.
A search party of knights and sorcerers was hastily formed and dispatched to the surface in hopes of retrieving these runaway deities. Among its members were apprentice knight Yunica Tovah and troubled sorcerer Hugo Fact.
This is their story. Or at least, it's how each of them remembers it.
Expanding upon the gameplay elements introduced in Ys: The Ark of Napishtim and further developed in Ys: The Oath in Felghana, Ys Origin perfects the formula by adding different styles of play and new features never before seen in the Ys universe. Best described as an arcade-like platformer RPG with Metroidvania elements and a complex, multi-faceted narrative, Ys Origin is the perfect mix of action, exploration and story. Screen-filling bosses with complex AI, unique platforming elements, innovative puzzles and a deeply involving mystery await within the wildly varied confines of this classic Ys dungeon.
Come see how long you can last in the Devil's Tower...
Three unique playable characters in story mode, with additional variations unlockable through other modes.
Five difficulty levels ranging from "Very Easy" for casual players to "Nightmare" for true Ys masters.
Unlockable "Time Attack" and "Boss Rush" modes for showing off ultimate boss-taming abilities.
Unlockable Arena Mode pits players against massive hordes of enemies for unique gameplay rewards.
Minutely configurable high-resolution graphics with true widescreen support.
Fully adjustable controls supporting virtually any USB gamepad, as well as a standard keyboard and mouse setup.
Bought this game a while ago but a recent accident has left me hurt and I've been going through any games with controller support since it now hurts to use keyboard and mouse for extended periods. This game requires keyboard or mouse to use the settings menu and all tutorials are written with that in mind. Hunting for a fix isn't worth the effort to me since the sales listing states controller support.
More or less. It is chronologically, but it came out way later than the actual first entries. But that's not that important - it just made the joke complete.
This game is basically the first that made me enjoy it so much, I played it multiple times within a week.
This didn't happened since probably ten years, as I don't enjoy most games nowadays anymore.
So I guess that says a lot - but let's get a bit more into detail.
The port of this game is fantastic, as it was intentionally improved from dev side before release. While it appears clunky at first when booting up, you may soon notice that it actually comes with a small configuration tool inside it's game folder. There you can change graphical settings up to remapping your buttons for keyboard and controller, beside some small qol settings.
The game is quite short for an jrpg and apparently also an YS game (at least the newer ones). That's because it is actually a dungeon crawler without your typical jrpg features. It contains 3 characters to choose which change scenes and smaller encounters to some extent - but each of them only lasts for up to 5 hours (at least on easy to normal difficulty).
All of the above actually hit the right marks for me, though. High replay value and a focus on simple gameplay - combat, platforming, exploration. Combine this with well written story and dialogue, as well as a remarkable attention to detail in game design. Honestly, if I can play through a game multiple times and reaching 15 hours, only having a few small nitpicky complains because something isn't as well thought out as the rest, that tells a lot for me.
I would highly recommend watching the marketing material here and maybe somewhere else.. It will give you a good feeling for if you could like the game or not.
Recommending to the max - for fans of dungeon crawlers, jrpgs from the 2000s, good stories and characters - and very enjoyable combat.
Oh - and it has some small bonus modes.
Ys games are all about hardcore action with maybe some RPG elements sprinkled in. This game takes place entirely within the Darm Tower, and there is a lot of fighting. This uses the same engine as Ark of Napishtim and Oath in Felghana, and it works great here. Boss battles range from very tough to laughably easy, but they're all engaging and fun to figure out. There are multiple playable characters to switch things up, as well. The "money" that you earn can be spent on different perks that make your life easier. The game has a lull or two, and at least one frustrating boss, but overall, it's a very fun time...
...when you're running around and hitting things, that is. My biggest problem with this game, especially given its length and its strongly action-oriented nature, is that there is just SO MUCH TALKING. Keep it short and simple and let me go back to hitting things. To add insult to injury, each of the characters has about one personality trait, so not only are they yammering on endlessly, I really don't have the slightest interest in what they have to say.
Another issue is that this game likes to crash. I don't know if it's just this version, or this is something that happens in all of the different ports, but you'll be running along, and BAM! Dialogue box, and you're staring at the desktop. To its credit, the game has excellent crash recovery, so even when it does, it only sets you back as far as the beginning of the last room, most of the time. There is also a way to fix this, and you will likely have to, because for me (and for many others), it always crashes right before the final boss reveals itself. The fix is at least pretty easy, and it works consistently.
Overall, though, it's a great experience, if you're into this sort of thing; if you liked Ark of Napishtim and Oath in Felghana, you'll probably like this, too.
I played Ys Origin for the first time after completing Ys I and II. Origin is very different both in terms of gameplay and writing. Where the first two games are naive and simple, Origin is much more modern. Combat feels great and satisfying, with a bit of variety provided by different abilities and characters. The bosses are hard, some a lot harder and others I was able to beat from first or second attempt, but all very unique and memorable.
Story is great, and writing in Origin is the biggest improvement sicne Ys I and II. There are clearly good and bad guys, but there is space for personal struggles, and all the main characters are written well.
If I had to criticise anything, it is music. I think all boss fights have the same music track playing, and it gets really annoying by the end of the game. Also, the music from Ys I / II is a complete power-metal masterpiece, and it blows away Origin's soundtrack of easy listening electronica.
Overall, it is very much worth playing, both on its own, and definitely in the context of the whole Ys lore.
An action RPG that sees you ascending the demon infested Darm tower and a prequel to the other Ys games. Elements of Ys I and II (maybe others I haven't played) are revisited so it can be neat to see Origin's take on those if you're familiar with them, but it is perfectly fine to start with Origin too.
Unlike the other Ys games, while you do have character interactions and story sequences from time to time you don't have any cities to visit, townsfolk to interact with or sidequests to do, the game mostly being a linear progression through the tower with some deviations for extra upgrades, but there is still plenty of fun to be had. Getting to the next floor usually entails battling through enemies, hunting down items and occasionally doing some light platforming.
Combat (with Yunica anyway) is fairly simple and melee focused, you have a standard combo attack and attack variants with special properties and up to three skills to earn as you progress. Each skill differs in the area it strikes and can help with movement, so knowing when to use them throughout combat is important. Upgrades and levels affect damage and defence but overall surviving depends more on your skill. Care must be taken when facing enemies, because the only source of healing is drops by enemies, a passive buff when standing still and going near save points (that you can at least teleport to), and dying will see you sent back to your last save with few exceptions. Enemies themselves will usually need you to keep alert to avoid their attacks and get enough damage in. As expected this is even more crucial for bosses, that each provide exciting challenges to overcome and can often be impressive visually.
It's a great time overall and I strongly recommend it if you're a Ys fan or looking for an action focused RPG.
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