Ys Book I & Ii On North American Virtual Console Today!

[mattrob24]

Finally! And on my birthday too!!

Ys Book I & II for the TurboGrafx-16 CD came out today on North America's Virtual Console. It's been on VC-review.com's "Coming Soon" list since January or February. It's what pushed me to finally buy my own Wii, instead of just playing with other people's Wii's.

This game blew my mind back in 1991. Everything from the original Turbo CD version seems to be intact. The CD audio music, recorded dialogue, anime cinematics (limited though they may be, by today's standards), etc. This game was ahead of its time during the late 8-bit era / early 16-bit era.

http://www.vc-reviews.com/games/tg16/ys_book_i_and_ii

[mattrob24]

There's a nice, concise walkthrough (with maps) in PDF format here:

http://www.vnoteschronicle.com/ys_book_i_ii.htm

[JoNJoN]

Is this game really that good? I remember really wanting it back in the day but it doesn't look like it has aged too well.

[mattrob24]

  JoNJoN said:

Is this game really that good? I remember really wanting it back in the day but it doesn't look like it has aged too well.

It's basically an 8-bit RPG which features battle mechanics similar to Hydlide (i.e. you walk into enemies, as opposed to turn-based or sword-swinging battles). Granted, this game implements this mechanic much better than Hydlide. This style of game play does require a bit of adjustment, but it's easy enough to master <G>.

The game holds up well, considering it's from 1990. If you like the original Legend of Zelda, Crystalis or Willow on the NES, then you'll likely enjoy this game. The music alone is worth the download. This game has the best music ever in a video game, IMHO. (Final Fantasy 7 and Actraiser are my next all-time favorites)

[meppi]

  mattrob24 said:

It's basically an 8-bit RPG which features battle mechanics similar to Hydlide (i.e. you walk into enemies, as opposed to turn-based or sword-swinging battles). Granted, this game implements this mechanic much better than Hydlide. This style of game play does require a bit of adjustment, but it's easy enough to master <G>.

The game holds up well, considering it's from 1990. If you like the original Legend of Zelda, Crystalis or Willow on the NES, then you'll likely enjoy this game. The music alone is worth the download. This game has the best music ever in a video game, IMHO. (Final Fantasy 7 and Actraiser are my next all-time favorites)

When these hit over here I'll download them in an instant.

Now that I think about it, could actually get a US copy for the PCE since the CD games are region free.

I've had the Master System version of the first game for many years, but like with so many RPGs I never finished it at all.

[mattrob24]

  meppi said:

When these hit over here I'll download them in an instant.

Now that I think about it, could actually get a US copy for the PCE since the CD games are region free.

I've had the Master System version of the first game for many years, but like with so many RPGs I never finished it at all.

Both games (Ys I and Ys II) are relatively short. In fact, you could probably finish part 1 in under 5 hours. Until I got the VC version, it had been years since I played them.

I'm still playing through part 2 (again), so I'll let you know how long that takes <G>.

Fun games though. Great music.

[meppi]

Didn't realize they were that short!

Well that gives me even more incentive to start them when they are released.

One of my favourite RPGs ever is pretty short actually.

Panzer Dragoon RPG/Saga.

I believe my first play-through was 16-18 hours and it should be able to go through it in 12 or so.

Really want to do it again one of these days.

But I'll be busy for a while with Dragon Quest 4 next month so there's no rush in releasing them, at least not for me.

[mattrob24]

  meppi said:

But I'll be busy for a while with Dragon Quest 4 next month so there's no rush in releasing them, at least not for me.

Oh yeah!! Looking forward to that. Now I just have to finish the new DS version of Final Fantasy 4.

Then Chrono Trigger in December. Oh, man. Old-school RPG goodness on my NDS!!

[Thor]

  mattrob24 said:

Finally! And on my birthday too!!

Ys Book I & II for the TurboGrafx-16 CD came out today on North America's Virtual Console. It's been on VC-review.com's "Coming Soon" list since January or February. It's what pushed me to finally buy my own Wii, instead of just playing with other people's Wii's.

This game blew my mind back in 1991. Everything from the original Turbo CD version seems to be intact. The CD audio music, recorded dialogue, anime cinematics (limited though they may be, by today's standards), etc. This game was ahead of its time during the late 8-bit era / early 16-bit era.

http://www.vc-reviews.com/games/tg16/ys_book_i_and_ii

I'm still holding out and waiting for them to release the remake of this game since I already have it on my TG16.

[Saber08]

I always wanted to give these games a try. I played the third one, but it's kinda the black sheep of the bunch since it's a side-scroller.

[mattrob24]

  Saber08 said:

I always wanted to give these games a try. I played the third one, but it's kinda the black sheep of the bunch since it's a side-scroller.

Regarding Ys III, I prefer the Genesis version to the Turbo CD version, at least from a gameplay perspective. The animated cinematics and music are better on the Turbo CD version, of course.