Ys I & II Chronicles+

One of the best game series out there in my opinion.

Ys Book I, I have been playing since I first played "Ys: The Vanished Omens" on the Sega Master System. Ys I (Chronicles+) is just an upgraded version with better graphics, sound effects, and music of that original Sega Master System game I played with extreme enthusiasm back in my childhood days.

Ys Book II, I have been playing since I first played it in 2013.
And I still do a Ys I & II rerun from time to time, due to that it is a couple of fantastic games. Ys II (Chronicles+) is for me MY original to the game regardless that it came out for PC-Engine/Turbo GrafX-CD back in the early 90s.

I think the Bundle of Ys Book I & II (Chronicles+) is a couple of the best ARPGs to date, mostly that they are nostalgic games from my childhood, but also because they both got amazing atmosphere which you can invest hours of gaming with.

How I like to describe them both:

- Bump-battlesystem.
- Loads of secrets & treasures to be ound.
- Smooth & amost handdrawn graphics.
- Nice & neat & well-connected story from Book I To Book II.
- A nice quality soundtrack.
- Wonderful atmosphere.

That I believe is a fair description of the games without spoilers.

The bump system is so silly and simple. I love bumping the hell outta my enemies. It definitely made me want to play more of the games though I know the bump system is only in these two games. The OST, simple gameplay, and short length of both of these games make it a good buy and something to play here there.

Bump system the GOAT

Great classic game. The only game(s) I know that has this kind of combat.

If you can adjust to the bump combat there's a decently fun game here.

They made Darm Tower way too god darm long in Ys 1. Horrendously long. You will want to the mute the music after awhile.

It's interesting how much of Ys 1 they left alone. The level cap gets hit before the halfway point. You can only use one item at a time (except for the monocle). The boss fights are complete shit. You get locked into a tower with no escape.

They did add a lot of new things, though mostly it's extended dungeons and they spiced up the story to be much more dramatic with now the island being surrounded by a cursed storm that's trapped everyone in with no way out and everyone else out. There's even a lot of little references and things they played around with from the other versions as well. Though, I feel like I preferred the Turbografx-CD version of Ys 1 over this still. It goes by waaaaaaaaay faster. This one sort of drags on at the end and they didn't really make the bosses fun (THE FINAL BOSS IS A CRUEL JOKE) and could probably stop you dead in your tracks and make you want to give up.

One day I'll play Ys 2, but I need to find whoever approved the vampire boss and Dark Fact fight and yell at them for awhile.

Ys I!

Woo!

Buy a copy and play it!

cute little game. if you've played trails, welcome to the better falcom franchise

I can't play the game at all. Any time it cuts to a special scene where you're supposed to see character art, the screen turns black and I see nothing until I reset entirely.

I have not yet played Ys2 by the time I post this review

I'm giving this game a recommendation cause it's not like you can buy it separately

if you're gonna play Ys1+2 cause you want to follow some lore tidbits, just play this on easy/normal
there are 2 problematic bosses in this game that's not worth learning patterns for, unless you're a speed runner

those 2 bosses made my experience sour

Score: 3/10

Preface:
Before diving into this review, it’s important to remember that Ys I originally came out in the late '80s. Many mechanics and features we take for granted in modern RPGs simply didn’t exist back then. This game laid the foundation for the entire Ys franchise, so while it may feel dated in some areas, it’s still a fascinating look at where it all began.

• Story: Extremely basic, even considering the era it was originally released. It sets up the world of Ys but does so with minimal character development or narrative intrigue.
  
• Art: The visuals are serviceable. They’re clean and slightly modernized in the remaster, but nothing particularly memorable or striking. It gets the job done, but just barely.
  
• Music: The soundtrack is very good and iconic, especially for the era. However, the limited number of tracks leads to noticeable repetition over time.
  
• Combat System: One of the weakest aspects of the game. The infamous "bump system" feels outdated and frustrating—there's no attack button, and instead, you damage enemies by running into them off-center. If your positioning is even slightly off, you take damage. It removes any real sense of skill or control in combat.
  
• Boss Design: Boss fights are poorly designed. Some require you to wait long periods for a short vulnerability window, dragging battles out unnecessarily. Others spam nearly unavoidable attacks, and with the bump system offering no real defensive mechanics, you’re forced to take damage no matter how careful you are. These fights feel more like a war of attrition than anything tactical or rewarding.
  
• Progression: The balance between level, gear, and enemy scaling is terrible. If you're underleveled or missing just one equipment upgrade, enemies can destroy you in seconds. On the flip side, being just slightly overleveled makes fights trivial. This is especially noticeable in boss battles, which become either nearly impossible or laughably easy depending on your stats.
  
• Level Cap: The main character caps at level 10, and you’ll likely hit this limit before entering the final dungeon. This makes most encounters there pointless, as you gain nothing from fighting enemies—completely killing pacing and progression.
  
• Quality of Life: Severely lacking. There’s no in-game map, no autosave, and no guidance system to help you understand your next objective. For a remaster, it’s baffling that there’s no option to enable modern features. These should at least be available with toggles for those who want a more "authentic" experience.
  
[*]Overall Experience: Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the Ys franchise or curious about the origins of action RPGs, this one is hard to recommend. The outdated mechanics, poor boss design, and frustrating systems far outweigh its historical value.

For fans of classic NES/SNES rpgs and adventure games I think this is an easy fit into what could be an unheralded classic of its own. Ys I&II is very charming from the get-go, and before long there is a sense of purpose and spare focus to the game world that reminds me of Zelda with its concise forward progression, and with the story telling elements found in jrpgs. Perhaps due to updates and revisions, the game is fleshed out with simple visual details, exceptional music (with numerous options), surprisingly well-written story and character elements.
It is a game of its time (1987), and some of the story progression is not telegraphed in the modern ways so it does take a bit of player engagement to keep up and move forward. It also needs to be said that the game revels in some diabolical difficult spikes. These points will require a total mastery of the game's combat and 8-directional movement, which proves to be intuitive.
Definitely recommend this one for the classic 8 & 16-bit feel.

I spent 10 hours on the last boss in nightmare mode

Where do I even begin with Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished? This game completely captivated me from start to finish and has easily become one of my favorite ARPG experiences.

First and foremost, the music is absolutely breathtaking. Yuzo Koshiro's iconic soundtrack is a masterpiece, perfectly setting the mood for every area and battle. I often found myself just letting the melodies wash over me, adding so much to the overall atmosphere.

The characters are charming and memorable. While the dialogue might be concise at times, their personalities shine through, and I genuinely cared about their fates and Adol's interactions with them. The storyline is engaging and mysterious, drawing you deeper into the lore of ancient Ys with each step. The plot and world-building are expertly crafted, leaving breadcrumbs of information that encourage exploration and piecing together the rich history of Esteria. I felt truly drawn into this world, eager to uncover its secrets.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the bump combat system! Initially, I was a little hesitant, but it quickly became intuitive and surprisingly engaging. It requires a different kind of focus and timing, and I found it to be a unique and enjoyable way to battle enemies.

One aspect I particularly appreciated was the game's approach to information. It doesn't hold your hand; you need to pay attention, take notes, and remember key details. This added immensely to the immersion, making me feel like a genuine adventurer piecing together clues and navigating a real, lived-in world. It's refreshing to play a game that trusts the player to be observant and resourceful.

While Ys I might show its age in some aspects, its core gameplay loop, compelling narrative, unforgettable music, and unique combat system hold up incredibly well. If you're looking for a classic ARPG with a fantastic atmosphere, memorable characters, and a rewarding sense of discovery, look no further. Highly recommended!

It's Good. It's Ys, you get decent gameplay and very good music. and it pretty much started with this first entry.

Fun bump combat system with a nice story. The bosses are probably my biggest issue as it usually just comes down to you killing them faster than they kill you with not much strategy involved.

Good ol' bump combat, top down action rpg exploration fun! Short and sweet.

Ys is a very tight, and light for the genre, JRPG. The combat is a bit weird initially, but gets to be pretty fun after the first quick area. The map is just big enough to get a sense of scale without being annoying to travel across and you can easily figure out 99% of the game just by talking to NPCs and paying close attention. The only time I had to look something up was for the final boss, and that's because he glitches out on high refresh rate monitors. I had a ton of fun with it over a weekend and would recommend it to most RPG enjoyers.

game of childhood. runs well on modern pc.

Чтож, вот он! Ремейк легендарной двулогии Ис. Сюжет и музыка хороши, игры довольно короткие, но это +, т.к. не устаёшь, играется норм, но это больше на любителя, атмосфера выкупает. Советую данную классику? Да, стоит попробовать, не факт что зайдёт, но лично мне эти игры запали в душу и буду дальше покорять данную серию.

This is an example of a great Action RPG experience being created. A must play for fans of the later games.

Love the story lore, and soundtrack

Yes

BE CAREFUL!! This game installs two programs on your pc called Ys 1 and Ys 2!

good

Ys mopre like Hell Ys

My first experience with a Nihon Falcom game, I really like the mystical feel of it and how you're sent on a quest to strange lands. Old games like this deserve respect honestly.

The bump combat in the game is surprisingly fun, and while it doesn't have a groundbreaking story with crushing plot twists, I really enjoyed it. Not to mention the soundtrack is absurdly good.

jogo baum, dark fact pode ir tomar no meio do cu

Awesome game with great visuals and music. A little cryptic and maze-like. The bump system is wacky.

A great retro game, I first played on the Turbo Duo system and this is very close to the original but missing the great voice over work that was done in the original

ahhh! video game!s!! i love video games!!!!

Solid game for it's age. Unique bumping combat system, easy fights with a little grind but challenging enough to not be boring on fights that matter. really set up the stage for the series and our red haired protagonist.

Dark Fact

165Hz is bad

Bat boss

Bad control and long and boring conversations

Ys I and II are honestly a great entry point to the Ys series. Sure, they feel old and definitely have aspects and mechanics that show their age, but they hold up much better than you'd expect from a game released in 2009 (which itself is a remake of a game from 2001, which again is a remake of a game from 1987 and 1988).

Their strongest points are definitely the beautiful world, amazing music, likable characters, really funny dialogue, and interesting lore (which only gets better if you play Ys Origin). On the other hand, Ys I is notorious for having poorly designed bosses, such as the bat and the final boss, which is essentially a coin flip. However, Ys II improves on Ys I in pretty much every aspect. It’s much more fleshed out, expands the combat with magic, features a bigger world, less confusing dungeons (looking at you, Darm Tower), and overall does a better job of continuing the story Ys I started. Another important point is the fact that on their own, both feel very incomplete, specially Ys I, but as a doulogy, they are much much better, so do try to play both for yourself to get a better experience.

All in all, I think they're absolutely worth it since they're incredibly cheap. Plus, the fact that you can play them in a weekend (or take a few weekends and get all achievements in less than 30 hours for both) is great. I recommend them if you're interested in trying out the Ys series. Do note that their gameplay is unique, and the bump system has been changed in almost every other game release after them. If you want to try them after playing another Ys game (Ys VIII was my first, and I wanted to see the origin of the series), they’ll still provide you with a great experience to start your Ys journey.

Review of Ys 1 - "My first Ys game" - 7/10

Firstly, Ys is a retro JRPG game. It's the first in its serious and has apparently had a million remakes and ports. What drew me to this game in the first place was its artwork and for the simple fact of it being a JRPG.

Storyline and Characters

The story of Ys 1 is classic tale of a boy becoming a knight to save a land from an evildoer, sounds typical but it's a classic for a reason and Ys throws in plenty of interesting elements to make it their own unique. If you're someone that's already a fan of classic anime and JRPGs, it's a story you'll enjoy.

You're sent to find the six books of Ys in order to free a land from a curse placed upon it. Monsters have appeared on the island in the last six months, a stormwall isolates the island from the outside world as well and there's worry about thieves stealing all of the silver from the island. Any small, tiny amount of silver will be stolen for some reason. You'll need to solve these mysteries, help a few townsfolk, encounter the thieves guild, explore abandoned mines, find the legendary silver sword and figure out what's at the bottom of an ancient shrine.

The game goes pretty quickly, but you do get a chance to "get to know" quite a few of the characters. My only complaint would truly be that it was too short. It's still fun and satisfying to interact anyway, everyone has their own personalities, after many story events a lot of the dialogue is updated for everyone in the entire world so it gives you quite a bit to find out. There's a lot of things you can miss if you don't explore though.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters. But I am someone that enjoys cheese old anime so I'm heavily biased.

Gameplay and Mechanics

The gameplay was actually a bit to get used to in terms of combat. You use something called the "bump system" to fight monsters. Rather than clicking a button to swing your sword, you have to run into the enemies at the right angle to avoid taking retaliatory damage. Although, it didn't take long to get used to it and enjoy it. Later on in the game, it actually became something I appreciated given all the backtracking that I did. I'd say this type of combat definitely fit the game well, despite my poor first impressions.

The game does not have autosave, so you'll have to make sure to remember to save. It's easy to forget that nowadays. There's one point in the game where you will not be able to go back, so it's probably a good idea to make lots of saves between points of interests. If you're someone interested in going back and finishing things, as there's no new game+ in it either.

Graphics and Music

The graphics are a charming retro style that remind me of Chrono Trigger. Everything is such a beautiful pixel-art as well as quite a few cutscenes drawn in the old anime-style many of us love. Certain important characters throughout the game get their own scenes as well. Where they're using drawn portraits rather than pixel-art text boxes to represent them. The artwork for the landscapes and locations is also beautiful, there's a small touch that goes appreciated as well. During the final area, the background changes accordingly with the time and the higher you climb.

Score

I'd give it an overall 7 out of 10. Everything combined from the artwork, the gameplay, the story, the characters and the overall lore of the world was very satisfying. I went in knowing nothing of the Ys series and I beat the entire game in three long play sessions. It took me about 7-8 hours to beat my first playthrough. I plan to do so again on nightmare difficulty and get all the achievements eventually. If your'e someone that enjoys JRPGs, this is definitely one you'll want to get. Especially at its cheap price.

Some criticisms... Will include spoilers so beware

The finally boss of the game was a bit of a let down. It was not a real fight imo, but I suppose you can make the argument that it fits in with the bump system of fighting that the game has. So it's understandable why it was the way it was. So while earlier I do praise the combat and thing it was a great choice for the game, the final boss was still a let down no matter how you look at it.

You'll need to have been paying attention too, because if you use the wrong gear against him, you'll never be able to beat him. And about a third of your game time will be spent in the final area. The amount of backtracking that you have to do is actually a bit insane. And there were some moments where I felt like just quitting for the day. But thankfully they didn't last very long. Definitely would recommend a guide on your second playthrough. I used no guide and found myself lost so many times. I had made it to the top of the tower only to finally realize there was an item I had needed to grab all the way down on floor 2. It was quite a pain. I do believe it may have been intentional to make this tower as insufferable as possible.

The game is incredibly short. Maybe we're spoiled by modern JRPGs but this game is short. Sometimes short can be good and not so overbearing, sometimes short can be a nice change of pace for you. Short can be a good thing for many people but this game only left me wanting more, and with how quickly things progressed through the story, it all flew by in a flash.

When you become max level and have all the best gear, the game is a bit of a breeze. Even the final boss, once you learn his gimmick, is quite easy. Just make sure at every pass you try to go for more than one hit at a time and you'll beat him in no time.

God-tier OST. Garbage combat and boss design

Going into writing my thoughts on this game, I have to remember this is an old game...remade. I'm surprised by how short it was, but I was also very dumb at the start and didn't know you had to equip the sword you got for free.

But as a game, it was short and fairly simple. Fighting via running into your enemies did get a bit of getting used to, and once you get a hang of things, regular enemies aren't too challenging to handle. Bosses, on the other hand, are horrendous in this game. From the phantom who warps around, only giving you a moment to hit him while also avoiding long bars of blue fire to the damn vampire bat who is only able to be hit for a moment before he goes back to his bat phase.

The final boss is also pretty rough too. He's just a bullet hell boss who flies around and can kill you easily with either the vanishing floor or the overload of projectiles flooding the battlefield. He also doesn't appear at all in the flesh until literally the end of the game. We hear about him from a few NPCs, but never actually see him.

I do like some of the characters, though. But I think they've given away too easily the identity of our two blue haired ladies way too quickly when you put two and two together.

A review for people into single player story and character based games:

Graphics/Art Direction:
- Graphics are a product of the time, very outdated, but the lively sprites and beautiful character portraits help to balance the dated graphics in my opinion. All the main characters have their own unique portraits that bring them to life and give them distinguishing features to remember them by. Having portraits in dialogue really helps to flush out the story aspect and is a great feature that is sorely missing even from some of the most popular franchises made around the same time: including Final Fantasy. This game originally came out in 1987, the same year as the first Final Fantasy, and has flushed out characters with beautiful portrait work that is notable absent in dialogue even in the pixel remaster series of the Final Fantasy games from the same period. I think this really shows how progressive this series was for it's time, despite being consider much more niche.
- The environments are varied and fun to run through for the most part, though there are only really a few hidden secrets to find and the progression is fairly linear, though I personally do not mind this, and this is reasonable for how old the game is.
- Enemies are variable and have different appearances, but it was a big difficult to appreciate their design since the graphics are so dated, which made it hard to see the subtle differences. Bosses were designed with more visual differentiation though, and I enjoyed the way each met a different theme.

Gameplay/Game Mechanics:
- The bump combat mechanic feels really weird to play initially, and even later in the game it was not my favorite, but it did not prevent me from enjoying the game overall. It would have been nice to have a little more control, especially as I got used to it in the beginning, as I died a lot since you have to attack enemies facing their back or sides and will take damage from a head on approach. This is easily offset later with some of the equipment you pick up that helps you heal or can deflect damage, but early on it was very challenging since healing potions are very limited in the quantity you can carry, and other than the more expensive healing items, only heals you minimally.
- Boss battles were varied and fun. Some felt a bit cheap, like one of the final battles where you face multiple iterations of bats that fly around attacking you: it becomes hard to manage all the on screen aspects of attacks and trying to dodge attacks simultaneously while running from one corner to another to try to group the enemies together to make it more manageable. People that appreciate a challenge will enjoy this.
- Leveling and progression is fairly limited as it really comes down to your equipment and selecting the right accessories at the right time. You max out your level far in advance of the final boss if you do any grinding, so I would recommend avoiding grinding unless the game is too difficult at your current level.

Story/Character:
- While the Ys stories are not as focused, or narrative driven, as the Tails series, the other popular Falcom RPG series, I felt it did a respectable job with the story, and kept me motivated to continue progressing through the game. The first game is a bit weaker in this respect, as it builds the narrative payoff for the second game, and many of the characters and bosses had minimal plot development with the exception of the female characters in which the game intends for you to develop feelings for as part of the romance component of the story. Overall, I still felt the narrative was good for the time, and it far exceeds other games of the same generation: I'm looking at you Final Fantasy generic warriors of light.

Final score:
7.0 as individual games but 7.5 when played as a duology to completion

Good remake, good game.

Was having a great time until my save corrupted in the tower and now I can't finish the game; will have to just watch a video of it online I guess.

Nostalgic rage game

This was a trip down memory lane to a time when games were really simple but still managed to work.

The controls took some time to figure out and the bump combat system is, er, unique, but for all its flaws this is a pretty charming game that introduces the adventurer Adol and some other key concepts I've heard about but never seen because I'm just now starting this franchise, like how Adol almost always survives a shipwreck at the start of any Ys game and finds himself in some strange land he must explore and whose people he must help.

I was surprised at how short it is, since I'm already in the final dungeon and I've played it for about 5 hours, and it's been about half the game since I reached max level because I decided to wander off into tougher areas and started racking up a lot of XP by barely managing to kill a single monster and fleeing, rinse and repeat, because I felt really weak only to find out Lv. 10 is the cap. Also, not having maps for the maze-like dungeons was totally a throwback ot the early days of home consoles, but man, it was a trip down memory lane I did NOT enjoy.

Solid intro anyway, I liked it and I'm under the impression that this duology is really outdated and they steadily improve over time much like the Trails series did, so I'm hyped to slowly make my way to the latest game. I'll update this review when I'm done with Ys II.
_____________________________________________________________

So, after finishing both games in Ys Chronicles, I have to say that this one improves upon the first one in almost every way possible.

The story picks up immediately after the ending of the previous game when Adol got surrounded by a mysterious light after defeating the final bad guy, so once again you wake up in some a bed in some stranger's house being nursed back to health by some people you don't know, only this time they claim you're in Ys instead of Esteria. How can that be? Ys was the ancient name of that kingdom. Did Adol time travel? Well, that's what you're going to find out by going once again on a quest to help the people of this land and save them from demons.

Improvements compared to the original include slightly better graphics, a revamped bump combat system that doesn't suck as bad as the one in Ys I, the addition of being able to use magic spells, a higher level cap, and a longer and more detailed story that takes place in a bigger map with more towns and dungeons to explore. I liked this one more than part 1, but they do work perfectly as a single longer game IMO.

This one felt to me like a SNES-era Zelda style RPG, which was a very good thing. I'm definitely interested in how this franchise will evolve over the next games, since I'm given to understand these two are the worst by far, and I found them to be a very enjoyable experience taken as a single long game divided in two halves.

A short, fast paced RPG with great music and arse bosses.

I love you Falcom, but the boss design in this game is one of the worst I've ever seen, and that's a fact. A Dark Fact.

nice fun, classic game

I honestly went into this not really sure what to expect and came out the other side enjoying my experience with Ys I & Ys II. Both games had their moments of frustration or leaving you feeling unsatisfied. Some of the bosses really illuminate the poorer design choices or just felt like a pot-luck. Both Escort segments were just bad (As all escort sections are). But those moments were few between and the overall experience averages out into something rather enjoyable.

The bump combat system can take some getting used to. Once I understood what was going on, I very much prefer the system. This especially became evident when having to revisit areas or farming for XP/Gold. The story is very a product of early video game story telling. However, once all was said and done, I'm very fond of it and am considering continuing with the Ys series.

Traversal in a new area can get somewhat confusing, as where you leave one map doesn't line up where you enter a new one. For instance, there are times where you'll leave the top of one map, only to enter from the top of the next map. This may also result in you accidentally returning to the previous map, as you keep holding the same direction, only for that to walk you back into the door. It's not 100% of the maps, but it's still quiet often. If this becomes frustrating, I'd suggest using a guide...but the maps on a lot of the guides are actually more confusing than the game itself.

These are fairly short games, I completed both games in the span of 24 hours (11 hours for Ys I & 13 hours for Ys II). However, that was with Normal Difficulty and leaving a few achievements/aspects on the table. It makes for a short and sweet adventure, while there is still a bit more for the completionists to hunt down. Despite the shorter game-time, it actually felt somewhat on point. Things didn't feel too rush, nor did it feel like it lingered too long.

One last thing, the Music in both these games are stellar! They also include the music and NPC art for the different version of the game (the original PC-88 version, "Complete" version and "Chronicles" version).

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