Nihon Falcom's Original 'Ys' RPG Arrives On Switch This Week

I would, but there's no English in-game. Only for the emulator menus. Sad times.

No bump combat for me, thanks, but it's cool to see it available.

This will have a very small audience since they did very little to translate this project. Nice to see for the sake of having it available, but definitely not for everyone. (myself included)

The only Ys game that really hooked me was Ys III: Wanderers From Ys on the Super Nintendo back in the early 90s.

It was a side scroller that reminded me of Zelda II, but with a lot more story and great music.

last year I went on a bit of an Ys marathon extravaganza. I played every game in the series, and I also decided to play a bunch of different versions of Ys I & II for good measure.

I wrote about them in-depth here: https://benjysgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/various-different-version-of-ys-i-ii.html

I never did play the PC-88 original though. So I'm definitely gonna get this, just for the sake of it, haha!

For people who aren't yet familiar with Ys 1, though, I would recommend playing an English translated version for sure, since the puzzles and progression do need a bit of language knowledge to work out. Either Ys Book I & II for TG-16 (also on the TG-16 Mini) or Ys I & II Chronicles for Steam (and PSP).

So yeah, for people who don't know Japanese, this release of Ys I might not be very useful, unfortunately.

@EarthboundBenjy (also on the TG-CD)

@EarthboundBenjy that was a really interesting read! I didn’t realize so many versions had so many differences!

I have had my eye on the DS version for years because it’s the only console I have

@xiao7
What?! It doesn't have English for the in-game text? Yikes. I was looking forward to giving it a try. Oh well.

Great in a way, but indeed very niche. I don't see them translating the game, because Ys I & II has been rereleased and remade so often. But it's always nice to see the developers' original vision and pixel art.

I have the DS version, which would be my recommendation. But Ys I & II (chronicles) is also worldwide available on iOS and Android, and Ys I & II Chronicles plus is available on PC via gog.com and Steam.

It's neat that they're rereleasing the original version but I'd rather just play the Chronicles+ version if I'm in the mood for Ys I, which is a very rare thing for me because I don't like it even in it's Chronicles+ version

I already purchased and completed both Ys games on PC with EGG, but it is a shame that I have to pay again if I want to play it again on Switch's EGG (unless I'm wrong).

Anyway, I consider both original PC-88 versions better than PC Engine versions (especially the soundtrack that is better on PC-88 with FM's sound and a more balanced gameplay). But the Chronicles versions are the best ones (although it doesn't prevent me playing again the original versions regularily for a more authentic experience).

I will probably pick it up.
I would really love to see an YS Pc Engine Collection containing the first 4 Games on Switch.

So does the game translate the in-game text on the overlay? Or is most of it just in completely untranslated Japanese? Am interested either way as this is great for preservation.

It should have been TurboGrafx16’s edition. It is properly translated, with gorgeous cutscenes with well-dubbed dialogs.

A bit odd they are releasing this version of the game but not the releases that are actually already translated and dubbed. The gameplay has also aged kinda poorly where to run into an enemy to attack is still weird.

What's the bigger mystery, why they're releasing it untranslated or why this fact is only implied in the article and not stated outright?

Nice to have the first game available on Switch but it being this specific version untranslated makes it incredibly n̶i̶c̶e̶ niche (edit: glad I reread this comment and realised it made no sense!!). That title alone is going to come across as complete gibberish to 99% of people.

@FX29 Just a question of getting used to that "bumping gameplay", but it works surprisingly very well. And if we considerer the age of this game, it was quite common on that age: Hydlide, The Tower of Druaga, Xanadu, Dragon Slayer, Popful Mail (PC-88/98 versions)...

> Will you be picking up this one on Thursday?

Not without seeing a review first.

So they're just selling an untranslated Japanese game? lol

Ys I is interesting, although super dated. So glad bump combat is gone and never coming back!

Just a pity XSEED/Marvelous are squatting on the Western distribution rights for most of the early games in the series.

Nice though I would had prefer if it was the Turbo CD version that came with Ys II but still good. Hopefully they get the Turbo CD, Sega Genesis, and Super NES Ys games too later on. Also please localized Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, that remastered of the Ys III remake was released for Switch in Japan last year already, we just need an English version this year.

Back when Dogi was Colin and Reah was Lair.

After so many rereleases of Ys 1+2 together, it feels very weird to sell just the first one separately.

@Ralizah In all fairness, the game did get remade and translated on PSP

No English? That’s a no for me

@mauhlin12 Perhaps on TurboGrafx, but on PC-88, so the original version, Dogi was named... Dogi. Speaking of Reah, it depends on the chosen transcription, but on the original PC-88 version, this could have been transcripted as "Léa" (but it was transcripted as "Reah").

While this is a non-starter for me due to the language barrier, I think it's great that they are releasing this worldwide and not just restricting it to the Japanese eShop. Plenty of Japanese speakers (and people willing to learn) outside of Japan.

Not to imply that there are people looking to learn Japanese just to play Ys 1 on the Switch. But if you're already a weaboo there's a pretty good chance that you're interested in classic games.

@Dimjimmer In fact, there are differences between the original versions and the PC Engine version. For example, in original Ys I, Adol's level was limited, so I can tell you the second to last boss of Ys I was MUCH HARDER than in Ys Book I&II. Really, I died at least 20 times before beating this boss!!! Why? Because in Ys I, we already reached the max level before this boss, whereas in Ys Book I&II, Adol's level was shared between the two games, so we could go far beyond the max level of the original Ys I game when we fight this boss (and this boss became a piece of cake on PC Engine).

Besides, there are some differences in the story. For example, in the original Ys I game, the fortuneteller really died (as well as Chronicles' remake), whereas she was only abducted in PC Engine's version.

And of course, the soundtrack used FM synthesis, so it is a different feeling (for example, Dahm tower's music is far better on PC-88 than on PC Engine).

So, it is interesting to play the original versions, so that we can experience a different feeling.

I hope Ys Books of Ys from the DS gets ported over.
My copy was stolen so long ago.
I've been wanting to play it again.
I still have the CD that came with it!

I've been playing Origins a little bit on Switch, but it is lacking.
Hope it gets better.

Glad to read that Adol's last name is Christin and not Fitler 😵‍💫

I'd buy the TurboCD version again, loved playing it on the Wii VC . But eh, untranslated lesser version? I'll just load it up on the Vita or Duo if I have an itch.

@Samalik Yep. Which isn't a modern platform, and is inaccessible to new players.

NIS would have ported this to Switch/PS4 already.

As it stands, PC is the platform of choice if you want to play the Ys games.

@NintendoWife
Phitler

The real “Kindness in RPGs” would be to include an English Translation with it, for goodness’ sakes.

Come on.

I have been waiting since the Switch arrived for this one particular game to arrive. What do we get? he most unplayable choppy as all get version. It literally will make you sick playing this version with the choppiness.

@JohnnyMind unfortunately it's the worst version of the game. Plays horrifically choppy.

@EarthboundBenjy I loved Ys 1 on the Master System

@Joe-b
Ah, sorry for giving the Master System version such a harsh critique in the blog post I linked... out of all the versions I tried, it was the slowest and most tedious one to play. But I agree that it is still a perfectly fun game if taken without the context of all the nicer faster versions!
I'm definitely interested to see if the PC-88 version is as choppy and terrible as you say, haha.

@EarthboundBenjy yah, it doesn't look as nice as the Master System either. I've waited so long for Ys to come out on Switch and this is the version we get. Talk about phoning it in!

....maybe hopefully the Turbografx can be the second Switch Online console from another company so we can have that version of Ys?

I don't remember what system I originally played this on, but it was really fun, yet definitely of its time. I'm just looking to play Ys III, IV, V, VI, and VII. Aaaand I just reminded myself I haven't played Ys IX yet either, dangit my backlog and schedule.

@MeloMan Don't forget that there are two completely different versions of Ys IV - one for TG-16, one for SNES. (the TG-16 one is great but non-canon, while the SNES one is canon but extremely mediocre...) Well, there's three actually if you also include the PS2 version which came out later and plays very differently from the prior two. (it's also very mediocre, but in different ways). Well, there's four actually if you consider Memories of Celceta to also be a version of Ys IV. Which it kinda is, but also it's its own thing too. Celceta is a great game btw.

And Ys V? It also got a PS2 version later on too, which again is very different from the original. But I'd say both SNES and PS2 versions of Ys V are pretty poor games all things considered lol. Actually, the PS2 version of Ys V is probably my least-favourite game in the whole series. The dungeon design was so repetitive and tedious...

oh and I guess if i'm talking about these ones, I'll need to mention Oath in Felghana, which is basically the new and improved version of Ys III.

...I hope Ys V one day gets its own Felghana/Celceta style reboot. Because right now, Ys V's story can only be experienced via a choice of two poorly-designed games.

@JohnnyMind yah, but this version is the worst. Choppy, and plays terrible when compared to the Master System and any System following... I'm so disappointed. I've been waiting since the Switch released and we get this lousy version.

@JohnnyMind I was so hoping for one of those better versions. Remember the Wii shop? Moment of silence. Ok, so I did get Ys 1 and 2 from the Tg16 cd version. I say moment of silence because if Nintendo dropped the ball somewhere, it was the Switch Eshop.

@Rudolf Ok cool, didn't know that. I figured he was always Dogi in Japan, and someone went rogue and called him Colin in the west. And there was an anime based on Ys 1+2 and they referred to Reah as "Leah" there, so it must have been similar to Crashman/Clashman there. Localizers didn't quite know what to do with that name.

@Joe-b @JohnnyMind

None of the old versions are perfect. I prefer the PC-88 version (even over the PC Engine version), because I think the soundtrack is better than Master System or even Sega Mark III versions (Western Master System and Japanese Sega Mark III have a different soundtrack because Sega Mark III version uses FM sound).
But the best version is the Chronicles' remake (I'd like to try the X68000 version though).

@Rudolf wow. That's surprising. I find it almost unplayable its so choppy. Well, let's see if an English release comes this way. If I'm not mistaken, it's only in Japanese at the moment.

@Joe-b Yes, only in Japanese unfortunately. For me, Japanese is not a problem to understand, but I definitely don't advise playing this game without understanding the texts, because texts are very important in this kind of 8bit RPG, or else, we are easily stuck.

But I understand the complaints about scrolling. In my case, I am used to playing Japanese 8bit computer games like MSX or PC88 games.

@Rudolf yah, I've played ys 1 several times. I could probably do it without knowing Japanese. I would just need to get through the weapon purchases. I'm playing Ys VIII again. 3rd time though. Such an amazing game.

@Joe-b In Japanese, there is absolutely no problem about the equipment (weapons, armour, shield and ring), because everything is written in English (even when speaking to characters selling them or when found inside a chest). You just have to pay attention to the fact "yes" and "no" choices are written in Japanese, はい and いいえ respectively, and "not buy" and "buy" are written かわない and かう respectively (in other words, the longest word written in syllabary characters means a negative decision). All of the consumable items are also written in English, like "MIRROR" and "WINGS" (the other "passive" items are written in Japanese though, as well as the 6 books and their text inside). The menu is also entirely written in English. The rest, including dialogues, is written in Japanese (and worse, in Japanese syllabary characters instead of Chinese characters, which makes it harder to decipher, contrary to Ys II that is written in Chinese characters with Japanese syllabary characters alongside).

@Rudolf wow! Thanks! That's great!

@Rudolf I see it in the shop. I might do it. Coincidentally I'm playing Ys VIII. Again, for the 3rd time.

@Joe-b Good.
Actually, I am very late: I still have to play Ys III (original version, not Felghana I already played and really enjoyed 10 years ago), Ys IV SNES, Ys V, Ys VI, Ys Origins, Ys IV PS Vita, Ys VIII, Ys IX, Ys X (and Ys I on X68000).

@Rudolf
Nice. 10 will be out this fall. I look forward to that. Looks like Ys VIII

@Joe-b Hello. Hello. You might be interested: according to Japanese websites I've read and after checking myself the Japanese eShop, Ys II (PC-88 version) is now available on Switch.
I can advise you watching the opening of this game because it was amazing at that time (1988!!!).

But I've already bought this game on PC with EGG and completed it last year or two years ago, so I don't want to pay it again on Switch (unless I missed something, it seems my EGG PC version is not available on Switch, which is a pity).

@Rudolf Hey, thanks for reaching out. Yes, I saw that. I did just finish Ys VIII again, what a great game. Looking forward to X. I'll prob get Ys 1 and 2, hoping the Japanese won't be a problem!