Ys Origin

This game is Fantastic! It is casual with some challenges along the way. Great old school action RPG fun. Exploration is rewarded. Gameplay has a nice pace. The Graphics are charming, with a good mix of sprites and 3D. It is perfect for someone looking for a casual action RPG, It has few flaws if any, and I would highly recommend grabbing this Gem!

Первая игра серии Ys, которую мне посчастливилось пройти.
Плюсы:
1)Графика и стиль. Вкусовщина, но лично мне очень зашло. Своеобразная топорность, резкость углов, простые модельки, есть у этого свой шарм
2)Атмосфера и музыка. Героическое приключение с отличным саундтреком.
3)Отсутствие багов
4)Приятная боевка
5)Сложные и интересные бои с боссами

Минусы:
1)Бектрекинг
2)Сюжет. Он есть, но больше для галочки

TLDR: 7/10, не самая великая игра, но один раз пройти точно стоит

This is a very fun 2D action RPG and is definitely worth playing. As usual from Falcom, the soundtrack is amazing.

I did my first run on Normal, which I found to be fairly challenging: bosses do a good amount of damage and there are no healing items. So learning the patterns to minimize damage is necessary. Some grinding is also necessary since EXP gain is a little low if you don't rerun areas and being underleveled gives you big damage penalties. I played all 3 characters and they all handle fairly differently.

Great game

it's an Ys game. If you like action RPG games, or Ys, you will like it. Probably one of the best Ys games outside of the 3d games.

Fantastic game, never played the Ys games before but glad I did. Play style was a bit weird at first but after seeing it as playing the same as older gba games like dbz buu's fury or dbz legacy of goku 1+2 it became cake, however I am slightly disappointed in the lack of Fact puns. So many puns coulda been made such as My name is Hugo and that is a Fact, Hugo Fact. Etc type shiii

3 playable characters and in my opinion, considering the short runtime, playing each of the 3 characters is definitely worth it. An extremely fun action game with pretty good bosses and a nicely, while also simple, story.
My favorite of the Ys ark engine games.
Personally: origin > 6 > oath.

Yunica's nightmare boss rush condition story playthrough is very fun and very frustrating. It reminds me of Felghana.

..

Unskippable cutscenes!!!

An excellent game made even better if you've played Ys I and II. A couple of annoying rooms and hard bosses. The music and graphics are incredible. Really loved it.

I don’t know whether to feel happy or a little melancholic now that I’ve finally caught up with most of the older Ys games. As someone who adores old school action RPGs and holds a deep love for the early 2000s era of Ys, I know I’m going to miss the simplicity and atmosphere of these games dearly. I adored Ys I & II, and Oath in Felghana was so addictive that it quickly became one of my all time favorites.

Ys games just have a gentle, simple, and nostalgic charm that never fails to captivate me. In a way they feel reminiscent of the pre-BOTW Zelda games, and I genuinely can’t think of higher praise than that. They embody the pure feeling of adventure, and the simplicity of the gameplay only enhances that. Ys Origin is no different. If anything, it’s a huge step up from The Ark of Napishtim, and I couldn’t be happier about it. There are no overly complex combat mechanics or convoluted upgrade systems, just a beautifully streamlined experience that hits the perfect balance between exploration and action. You’re not mindlessly running in a straight line, but you’re also never overwhelmed by aimless wandering. This simplicity is what makes the game so enjoyable.

The movement is fast and fluid, making even the act of engaging in combat incredibly fun. Every attack flows seamlessly into the next, slashing through hordes of enemies is endlessly satisfying, especially with an awesome soundtrack that takes the experience to the next level.

After loving most of the older Ys games, I can say without a doubt that the Ys games from the 2000s are among my favorite games. I can only hope that the later entries manage to capture the same magic that made these classics so special.

Finale，What CE can‘t rewrite。

TL;DR:

Surprisingly decent, pretty typical story (for its time), ᛒᚢᛁ ᛁᛏ ᛟᚾ ᛊᚨᛚᛖ!

Detailed review

The good:

1. Soundtrack is pretty dope, as is expected from a Ys game
   
2. The characters aren’t anything special, yes, but it’s still decently executed in both design and personality; which in my opinion. matters a whole lot more[1]
   
3. The story is predictable, YES, but it does it’s job and that’s fine[2]
   
4. It’s quite a different spin on ARPG in that there’s no real focus on getting some overly esoteric build predicated on some pedantic 300 hour research hunt, it’s just plug-and-play[3]
   
5. Replayability; new unlockable modes and 3 story arcs
   
6. Satisfying level up/resource system*
   *it’s very grindy, but the fact we don’t have the modern crafting slop is a blessing + you have plenty of options to give you some small increase in power that isn’t a pure stat boost (such as status immunity, health regen, etc.)
   
   
   

   Explanation

   
   [1] The characters are pretty standard cliché characters for it’s time, while I won’t delve into them at depth due to spoilers I’ll write:
   
   
   
   • Prince charming stubborn guy character who is fixated on 1 goal, leaving everything including the friends/girl who has a crush on him behind… i.e. the archetype of a 100% NTR’d character
     
   • The girl who changes her heart which ultimately causes Prince Charming to see the error in his ways
     
   • Big brother who wronged everyone for power but don’t worry he totally did it to protect everyone
     
   
   That said I honestly can’t hate on the characters too much despite these simplistic characteristics/personalities, I think it comes down to the fact that the game plays it safe and executes just what is expected of said characters which forms a fairy tale kind of character development instead of some 2deep4me characters as if I’m watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, which I feel is bizarrely enough a breath of fresh air (as it used to be the other way around).
   [2] The same can be said about the story, as typical it is, it’s fun seeing the true origin of Ys universe, the bosses you’ll face and the reoccurring themes make it click, again there’s nothing grandiose about the story but as I said about the characters it feels more like a coherent fair tale story rather than some advanced esoteric commentary about the working man’s ailing wounds.
   [3] This is a big reason why I like the game, it might be fun to play Path of Exile or Diablo for a while, but this cookie-cutter fixation and “competitiveness” in games is just sucking out all the joy of the game, I know why companies rely on it.
   That said this game has none of that, maybe to a fault, I like the idea of having 1 gearset you upgrade x times and then spend the extra cash on small extra upgrade on the side that makes your character strong, it’s not perfect but it does the job just as well as some esoteric 3000 hour gameplay required build in Path of Exile.
   

   The bad:

   
   [olist]
   
7. The camera is frustrating, to say the least[1]
   
8. VERY SPAMMY gameplay[2]
   
9. Combat hasn’t aged well + control design
   
10. Character models look… overly cartoonish when miniaturized
    
[*] Some upgrades are just money sinks with barely a real difference

Explanation

[1] The issue is that the camera is fixed, which itself is fine, however, given that the game is a 3D game and it makes use of 3D movement (i.e. utilizing the Z axis) it makes it hard at times to know just where you are.

[2] The biggest negative is just how awful the spamming is in this game, you have 1 real ability, and that ability you have to MANUALLY press each and every time you want to attack, considering then how certain enemies are damage sponges, if there’s 1 game that will make you develop carpal tunnel syndrome, this is it; but I guess you could also see it as a real motivator for you to go and gym.

[3] The combat just isn’t all that impressive or fun, while I think today’s ARPG is way too fixated on gear optimization or “build” optimization; that said this game can feel very lackluster with what they give you, beyond the basic ability there’s the really awkwardly implemented ↑ + ability button “special attack” that has such a tight window to be pulled off you might as well not bother with it - then you got a charge ability which is fine.

[4] A minor pet peeve given the age of this game, but it feels more like you’re fighting with barbie dolls than real characters (if it weren’t for the cutscenes).

[5] Another pet peeve since this game was made before everything became a formula - but there are “newbie” traps one should look out for.

Conclusion:

It’s far from a perfect game, honestly, maybe it could even be considered “weak” mainly due to it’s awful manual attack control, still I would argue it's holding up fairly well if you can get behind the expectation of a simple, straight-forward story & characters with some decent gameplay.

While I enjoy complexity in RPG games, unfortunately, it usually has gotten too formulaic or intentionally designed to cost you hundreds of hours to achieve which has killed any joy I have for such complexity in games as such games like this hold themselves (despite it’s age) up bright while more “traditional” APRG just feels like a waste.

So definitely buy it if you can look past it’s biggest flaw (manual attack), can understand what’s to expect from the game or perhaps want to seek out games such as this (due to similar reason I’ve stated).

I didn't expect to have that much fun and I am glad to be wrong.

:)

If you want to just unwind for 30 minutes after work before your workout, this is your game. Just download the community control configuration that gives you auto fire and go to town. I rarely play games a second time but I will certainly finish with all three characters.

Great game. 3 characters with different stories and playstyles. Love the visuals and music too.

Wow! What a piece of garbage! I loved various YS titles on PSP, but this is just ass.
- Can't pause game during boss fights
- Unskippable long dialogue before some boss fights
- Can't set up gamepad controls in launcher, you have to configure them manually in an .ini file while guessing what things like "PAD_SWORD_REVD" mean
- Default gamepad controls are insane
- Menus don't properly work with mouse
- There's no map
- At one point I got to a save point with 1hp, but it was "cursed" and I needed to somehow kill a huge monster near it. I died and the "retry" option put me in the same room with 1hp. And of course there are no healing items
- While I was looking for a cerebral action-RPG this is truly primitive

I'll stick around for a bit in case the game is worth the hassle, but I already regret purchasing this.

Love the aesthetic. It truly is a fun game, Damn the long intro that I can't skip through though lol.

Great game, playing style and music is legendary
Bad in the game is the large number of boring dialogues
It cannot be skipped

soul

It's all just a little too simple. You have the option of hero, but each run is pretty similar. There's isn't a variety of weapons and armor, a few special attacks, most enemies are pretty straightforward and there are no side quests or hidden areas with secret items. I feel like I am just going from room to room killing enemies until I'm strong enough to fight the next boss. If you're looking for really mindless hack & slash entertainment, it can kill a few hours but I am about halfway in and already bored with it.

A prequel that details the backstory of the first two Ys games, detailing the aftermath of the events that led the twin goddesses Feena and Reah to whisk their part of the island of Ys to the skies while the world below was ravaged by demons. In this one you can play as sorcerer Hugo Fact or apprentice holy knight Yunica Tovah, each a grandchild of one of the original Priests of Ys as they investigate the twin goddesses disappearance by going to the surface and searching for them in the the Devil Tower.

The gameplay mechanics are similar to The Oath in Fhelgana, but this one is the only one in the series that feels not so much like an action RPG and more like a regular action title with some metroidvania elements, since the whole game takes place inside the tower and consists of making your way to the top in search of the missing goddesses and the strange humans who seem to have captured them for some nefarious purpose, which if you played the original games you'll notice also have familiar names.

It's a comparatively short game, but it does have some replay value because there's some differences in the details of the story and also in the gameplay depending on who you pick as the main character, and if you finish the game at least once with either Yunica or Hugo, you unlock a third main character whose playthrough has even more differences.

If you played Ys I and II you'll recognize some places, items and people/creatures, and you'll have an idea of how to solve a couple of puzzles because you already explored a simpler 2D version of this tower in those games and, even 700 years in the future some things remain the same.

This is the worst of the series. Nothing like the others most of puzzles involved jumping. So 90% of items require jumping . Every others games require defeating enemies. required items like the evil ring are hard to jump to. Save your money for the others

Loved this game the first time I played it, and it's absolutely fun, bosses are cool to fight (although I got the feeling they get easier the closer you get to the game's end).

It shows its age though. It doesn't work well with Steam Input and with my Nintendo Switch controller and I couldn't get vibration working by any means. Other than that, a masterpiece!

Good Game, Play Hugo's Route First and then take a break before playing the other 2 if you're interested in them, they're very similar especially Yunica's Route.

I like how Yunica and Hugo both have a violent curse battle with Zava.

This is a game where you learn enemy/boss patterns and mash the hell out of buttons in a "strategic" way. The story is kinda there but the game is really fun. Oh and there's some platforming stuff too I guess. There are 3 characters that you can play as. It took me 18 hours to finish as one character. I wrote this at 20 hours of play and am currently playing the 2nd character. Even though I feel that some actions are repetitive, it's not so much that I would be bored of the game. I'd give this a 9.5/10.

0.5 point loss because full screen isn't borderless and I chat a LOT on discord (so for no good reason)

As a lifelong Ys fan, I admit I slept on this entry. For whatever reason, I was pulled away from it and didn't have a hankerin' to go back and so I've largely ignored it over the years. It may have been a combination of not liking some of the decisions they made in regards to the setting and something else evoking "ooh, shiny" 13 years ago, but it definitely wasn't because it was a bad game. It's not anything remotely of the sort, but alas, it didn't draw me in. However, it showed up for dirt cheap on the Switch and I figured why not have a portable version and I have been absolutely enthralled from start to finish. So despite my posted hours on Steam, I'm coming back here to give a good ol' thumbs-up, especially since there may be new eyes on it due to the Memoire release of the Oath in Felghana.

So to get it out of the way, there's just a handful of things that I initially didn't like that I have now come to terms with. The most major one is some of the platforming elements in this game. It's by no means terrible and not anywhere close to Napishtim (Ys VI) levels of frustration, but the otherwise-charming perspective can sometimes work against you when you need to make precision jumps, especially with some of the bosses that absolutely require you to bunny hop like a lunatic. However, bosses-aside, it's never much of a problem to go back to where you were and try again; the game is super quick, features absolutely no drawn-out load times and you'll be grinding some xp on the way back, so it's no big deal. The other things are pretty minor and I've long gotten over them; first, given that this takes place 700 years prior to Ys I & II, there's no Adol (series MC) or Dogi (series sidekick) to be found and second, the fact that it takes place entirely in a demonic tower means the environments are drab and bland compared to more typical Ys vistas. I've grown up a lot since this game dropped and have delved into many a dungeon so suffice to say my mind is a lot more open than it used to be as a young, angry gamer lol

What really matters is that Ys Origin is designed specifically to keep you out of menus. You'll go in from time to time, of course, but the focus here is on responsive, thrilling, button-mashing action. You can't defend yourself, so you can't just run in like a goon and breeze through it, but part of the fun is simply navigating hordes and figuring out how to dispatch them without getting hit a lot since there's no portable healing available. There are drops, of course, but you can't be dependent on them, especially since they don't happen during exquisite boss fights that I'll get to in a bit. You'll have various tools and abilities available to you as you navigate the game with the three available characters in three separate, but connected yarns, and there are indeed some puzzles to solve, but at all times you are in the thick of it until you hit exposition points where the story unfolds. It proves to be a fun time that has a bit more depth than it seems, but ultimately you are a killing machine and it's fun to watch every enemy explode like pinatas dropping a smattering of pick-ups.

Puzzles mostly take the form of some platforming, finding and pushing buttons or killing enough monsters to get through gates so you can find and push buttons, but the bosses themselves are also puzzles. Not that you're expected to kick blocks or solve equations, mind you - the boss fights are about learning the patterns and figuring out how to get their defenses down so you can wail on 'em. It's a lot of old school ideas that work together to figure out the loop of navigating a level and finding its treasures - which often grant new abilities or more powerful variations thereof, like a Metroidlike without all of the backtracking - opening the boss gate and kicking its ass, and then a short conversation with NPCs.

It can be repetitive, yes, but JRPG and J-ARPG fans here will be used to it and the constant real-time action means you're almost always engaged directly when not in a dialog roll. And the game just feels good to play so it doesn't really get boring. It's responsive, full of dazzling effects, and the music is probably in the top 3 of the entire franchise in a franchise known for its incredible music. That is saying a lot.

There are some existing bugs that probably won't get fixed, but none of them are game-breaking; they'll annoy the completionist, but otherwise the game is solid and plays silky smooth. It upscales very nicely and while it's 13 years old at this point, it still feels fresh and fun if you can get over the visuals (which I quite enjoy anyway).

Ys Origin is a fantastic entry into the series even if thematically it's a bit of a black sheep. If you're looking to jump into the franchise (and to be frank, you can jump in anywhere), this wouldn't be a bad choice. I love the Ys VI engine trilogy (Napishtim, Felghana, and Origin) because of its solid gameplay-first goals and Origin definitely learned lessons from its predecessors. The new ones might tickle your fancy more especially if you haven't been following along, but you can trust Falcom to deliver a great experience every time.

Fun and challenging dungeon crawler, the plot isn't really captivating but it does its job, on the other hand, the main character Yunica really shines trough and it is a joy seeing her character progression trough the story as we ascend the demon tower.

I had high hopes for this as I loved the gameplay of Felghana and Napishtim, and this promised to tell a deeper story than the other Ys games before it. Sadly Ys Origin just doesn't quite deliver. While the idea of 3 different playable characters with their own plots is interesting, the experience is 90% identical for each of them. There's just not much variety beyond running through floors of monsters, fighting a boss, conversation, and repeat. Most of the "challenge" on any difficulty above Easy comes from forced level grinding when the game decides you have to kill certain monsters that will take 1 damage until you've gained an arbitrary number of levels. While other Ys games are short and sweet, Origin just pads out a pretty limited game.

Consider playing it if you're an Ys fan and want to play the whole series. In which case play as Hugo, then the secret character as Yunica's story is pretty much irrelevant and skjppable. Otherwise, it's not really worth the time.

Overall I give this game a 7/10. The camera, the Yunica story experience, and certain boss designs are what made me not score it higher.

== Play Order With Ys I&II ==

Chronologically Ys Origin comes 700 years before the events of Ys I&II. Even so, I still believe it's better to play Origin after I&II. Playing Origin before I think would really make I&II feel even more underwhelming in terms of both game mechanics and story. Playing it after instead enhances the overall excitement in seeing recognizable characters and enemies. That said, if a I&II remake every comes out which improves both gameplay and story flow I might reconsider my position.

== The Cursed Camera ==

I'd rate this much higher if it wasn't for the camera. The game is... 3D in look but the player doesn't really control the angle. Due to the perspective of the camera missed jumps and attacks at bosses are an unfortunately common occurrence.

== Difficulty ==

I would say it's far more fair than I&II bosses were, though the issue with particle visibility is still a thing. Without grinding, even Normal difficulty can be challenging for newcomers. Taking Normal as a measurement 4 levels above any boss can make brute forcing a viable option (though you still will need to understand mechanics). The easy modes also enable handicaps if you chose that are essentially cheats in nature.

== Characters ==

You start out with either Yunica or Hugo as your first pick. Upon completion of the story on either you'll unlock a third character which is the canon ending of Origin. The two starters are essentially a way to understand the game overall. One NPC is available at any time to give hints as to how to progress. Another give hints on not so obvious item locations.

Yunica I felt was a nice balance type. I'd consider it "a rough start but it gets better" type situation. That said her story didn't feel as strong when compared to the others. She also has an unusual amount of stuttering in her lines. At first I thought it was localization weirdness but it even happens in the JP version. This made it difficult to feel character development with her.

I didn't try Hugo but I'd consider him a better choice if your focus is on story. Hugo on very easy is what I'd consider to be story mode difficulty.

== Story ==

The story did fell fairly rewarding considering the overall game time, though this is mostly judging the canon ending. Having played I&II also helped boost my overall story satisfaction. That said, if you're expecting an insanely complex Witcher 3 type story complexity you'll be sadly disappointed there. It still fits a somewhat standard formula you see in traditional JRPGs.

== Gameplay ==

The overall game play is mostly:

1. Solve a puzzle in the area
2. Obtain a boss room key
3. Locate the boss room door
4. Open the door and defeat the boss

Now the first point is where you're probably going to be spending the most time. One thing to keep in mind is this game has what I'd call key items. Without these your damage may suffer or you won't be able to progress at all. If something seems off you may just not have the tool to deal with it. For those going blind, I still recommend a guide to reference once you've reached the boss door. That way you can check to see if you passed by any crucial item and how to reach it if so.

== Replay/Completion ==

Honestly I think after the Yunica and the canon ending I felt satisfied enough. There were enough differences to make it fresh enough to go through. After that though it didn't really feel all that necessary to go back and play Hugo's story. This is coming from someone who tends to be a completionist at heart.

As far as the platinum trophy, it's pure suffering and you will definitely need a guide for it. I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to live this game for a very very long time.

Make sure you play the 3rd route (unlocked after doing Yunica or Hugo). It is by far the best one and the canon route according to Falcom

hi

Yes

Monster log bug is still not fixed and no patch from the dev

Fun and challenging classic action RPG with a lot of heart.

Really solid action RPG and, in my opinion, the most solid game of the three entries that were built on the Ys VI engine (Ys VI, Ys Oath in Felghana, and Ys Origin). For those new to the series or looking into older entries after playing the more recent ones like VIII, IX or X this game sees you controlling a single party member as opposed to multiple members that are switched between on the fly. However, to keep things interesting and add replayability there are three different characters you can choose at the beginning. Each has their own play style so if you like the game you'll want to try them all (plus you get the story from different perspectives). Be aware though that the third character is only unlocked after finishing the game with one of the first two.

One thing that I really appreciate is that this entry actually respects your time and doesn't have a bunch of bloat or mandatory grinding. I very much took my time and finished my most recent play-through in about 10 hours. There are also some other modes available such as time attack once you finish the game so there is a good bit to do if you really get into it, plus multiple difficulty levels and achievements centered around different difficulty levels. This can be as much or little as you like of a time commitment. The difficulty as well is very scaleable. If you just want to thrash some monsters and enjoy the story, there is a very easy difficulty which I'd have to imagine is almost impossible to lose while playing (I've tried it on Normal and Easy and found Normal to be a fair challenge and Easy to be quite easy so I can only imagine the lowest difficulty is a cake walk) all the way up through Hard and Nightmare which are extremely challenging.

The game also runs well (as it should for being so old) and scales nicely to 4k without any hiccups. I did not encounter any crashes during my recent playthrough.

Also of special note is the soundtrack which is one of the best in the series. It is available after installing the game in OGG format and worth the price of admission alone. It is noteworthy too that the soundtrack is a standout because the whole series has a strong lineup of soundtracks. I picked this game up on Steam about a decade ago and I have listened to the soundtrack more than I've played the game at this point.

Finally, kudos to Falcom for dropping the goofy dash-jump "thing" from Ys VI (despite building this on the same engine) and replacing it with a much more functional and useful double-jump.

Overall, give this one a try if you are interested in a brisk, well made action RPG with a killer soundtrack. Hopefully the success of the newer entries in the series will give these older entries a new lease on life because they are pretty great and worth revisiting even all these years later.

Peak

What a blast! Game play is a lot of fun and its a welcoming pace and evolution from Ys 1 amd 2. I read to recommend playing after those and I can see why, you have so much lore you get to understand while enjoying the fast pace game.

I'm playing on the ROG Ally. Defs a great game for hand held :)

Really solid, feels great to play

Decent game. Snappy controlls, the combat is juicy, levels are pleasant to look at.

game

Awesome :)

Fun and simple action RPG, and great prequel for Ys 1 and 2

What started as a promising playthrough through a charming hack n slash quickly became a slog to the end as it became clear there were going to be no new combat abilities or unfolding of the base gameplay.
The game seems to give you all your special abilities before the game is even half over, with no further progression of one's character besides one-off puzzle items or equipment/blessings that provides some minor passive effect.

I find myself struggling to find the motivation to finish out the rest of my current playthrough, let alone play through the game 2 additional times to get the true ending.

Mama, I'm chasing a ghost!
I don't know who he is
Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
I don't know where he is
Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
Do I look like him? (Like, what?)
Like him (like, what?)
Like him (like, what?)
Like him

Ys is on: NEC PC-8801, Sharp X1, MSX2, FM-7, NEC PC-9801, Sharp X68000, Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, NES, Super NES, Nintendo DS, Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, TurboGrafx-CD, Apple IIGS, mobile phones, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Google Stadia, PlayStation 5.

This is a great game. Kick ass remastered OST, fun progression - but you can destroy your playthrough near the very end if you level up the guy with claws wrong. Beware!