How and when did you discover Ys? and...

[X-Calibar]

How and when did you discover Ys and your thoughts, experience~
   [anything else you want to add]

(I think NightWolve might be exempt from this. I think I remember reading his response on this in the readme file :P)
As for me, I discovered Ys way back around 1988-89? Maybe earlier, with the release of Ys 1 for the Sega Master System... I originally got Phantasy Star, but didn't know what I was doing and got Ys instead :O [decisive turning point]  And I played it off and on for the next 10 years before beating it.

YEP not a typo, 10 years.  ............... lol Well what happened was besides being a tough version of Ys, I managed to exploit a bug accidently in the Tower of the Doomed [Dharm Tower], and never started a new game till I dusted off the Sega in 1998 and beat it :O [Didn't play Ys 2 till NightWolve released the translated Ys 2 Complete though :O mmmmmmmmmmmmmm]

The bug was uh...in the Devil's Song tunnel room .......  How was I supposed to get past this terrible area??? Well....  being the creative genius I am and not knowing what to do I  used.... *gasp* ................ a Potion to survive the run to the other side :o ......................................................................................


Thus began my 10 year imprisonment in the Tower.  [lol had to beat that area the right way otherwise, the events wouldn't kick in and the last area was simply *Sealed by a Evil Force* .................................................. (and going back into the tunnel potion-less was suicide so...)

That's my story, lol; but what probably kept me coming back, was the story, the music, and the gameplay~!  Ys was pretty much my first RPG-like game, and I fell in love with it :P The story was like a classic archetype; the first of its kind to me.

The positive upbeat red-haired youth/Hero; devoid of evil, solos the evils of the Kingdom!
Oh, and the Old Mine was never as scary as it was back then...  I probably would still get a chill from hearing the Sega Master System death sound [...]  and in the smallll smalll viewable range of the old mine, one touch could mean instant death :O   
Ah good times :P

Then I discovered Ys 3 for the Super Nintendo... but that's another story :P

[NightWolve]

Eh, cheezy poll, but what the hell, I voted. A-for-effort. I bought my Turbo Duo sometime late '93 early '94 as TTI was dying in the US and you could buy everything in the cheap. I paid $99 USD for it and it came with 5 games, one of which was Ys Book I & II, and from that small decision thereafter is why I and this site exist today. Fine story to tell the kids one day.

[Gamemusicfreak]

   Being an established lover of RPGs and game music thanks to the NES, when the TG16 hit I went after a lot of games for that system.  One game that I loved for it was Dungeon Explorer.  Then the CD/Duo upgrade came and I found Ys.  It's funny, I don't remember buying it, just that it was there.  I probably bought it because I knew it would at least be a new adventure game.  That was the first time I had heard voice acting in a game.  Then I played Exile, and was even more impressed.  When I played Ys though, the music was so magical for me.  I could not get over it.
 
Eventually I had gotten my hands on the Sega Master System version and I hated it so bad, because it wasn't like the TG16 one.  What was I thinking?  I don't know!  I was still pretty young.  All I can say is, Ys just captures your imagination so well, only those who have played it understand it.  Now I've played more than a few versions of the first two, and finished all the other chapters in the series too, but I always go back to that TG16 version at least once a year.  I could go on forever, but I think that about sums it up.         

 

       

[esteban666]

80's: First, Ys on SMS (I actually rented this from a local video store... they had tons of SMS games). A friend actually recommended it, but I had to wait for him to return it to the store.

Later, I got the TurboGrafx-CD version (Book I & II).  There weren't too many games available when TG-CD came out, but thankfully Ys I  & II made it all worthwhile. Truth be told, however, my brothers and I were debating what we should get first: Monster Lair, Fighting Street or Ys I & II. We got Monster Lair, on the condition that the next game would be Ys I & II. You see, one of the three siblings didn't like anything remotely resembling an RPG, so we had to appease him. To this day, I still love playing Monster Lair and Ys I & II... and I haven't played Fighting Street for more than a few hours (cumulatively).

One of these days I'll have to play the computer versions of Ys, which seem have multiplied rapidly over the years. I'm stoked . I have played nearly all the console versions already... but sadly I no longer have as much free time as I did when I was a lad. Oh well.

/anecdote

[Seldane]

Early 90's. It was when my big brother borrowed a Sega Master System from a friend of his. He wanted to play the built-in game Alex Kidd. I was excited. I had never played on a Sega console before (I had a NES) and Alex Kidd looked like a pretty good game (my brother was playing -- I was only watching).

Then I looked in the plastic bag he had taken the Sega in. I found another game box. It said Ys. Looking at the picture, I thought the game seemed pretty interesting. A swordsman. I was an rpg-nut, as I've always been. Looking at the back of the box, I didn't quite realize what kind of game it was (I was in fifth grade. I didn't understand English well at all.)

I asked my brother to try out the game, but he refused. He only wanted to play Alex Kidd, and I got bored of watching him. I constantly nagged at him and eventually he turned off the Sega and popped in Ys. I was excited.

Looking at the unusual title screen. Seemed promising. The game started. Overhead view. Villagers. Houses. Me and my brother looked at each other -- "it is an adventure game!!"

Whenever he wasn't playing the Sega -- I was. He liked Ys, and he understood the dialogue better, so he told be stories about the game. Those stories were much better than anything I've ever heard. I played the game myself and LOVED it. Eventually my brother got sick of it but I couldn't get enough of it.

For some reason, he thought you were supposed to explore the mines first, and therefore he didn't get far (since it was too hard). I was exploring the shrine and I got further. He stopped playing the game entirely. I got to the tower, and got stuck.

A couple of years later, I actually finished the game. It was an incredible experience. I wanted more. I found Ys III in an ad from a video game store also selling imports. I had no idea there were other Ys games. I was shocked. I needed that game! I thought it was like Ys I, I hadn't seen a single screenshot from it. I later heard it was an "action" game and got disappointed.

Some years later I got to play YsIII. I was amazed. I played both the SNES and Mega Drive versions. I started to hate the SNES version (still do). The Mega Drive version was so much better. After that, my neverending hunt for Ys games/stuff started. When I have every single Ys game release (there are at least 70+ different ones) I can die in peace.

I could go on with this story for hours. But I feel like I'm rambling now, so I'll be quiet. Good bye.

[TDOMMX]

I remember, way back in the early 90's, my dad decided to buy my brother a SNES (our first console) for his birthday.  Shortly afterwards, my brother recieved a Super Scope and a copy of the ridiculous game adaption of Home Alone 2.  Let's just say that, of the three games we had, Super Mario World spent the most time in the console.

When my birthday came around, I recieved a copy of Wanderers From Ys.  While I can't completely remember my first impression of the game (I was in grade school at the time), I remember that the gameplay was fun and the music was excellent, and I would occasionally hum the music to myself.

After I had finally gone online in the late 90's, I started hearing about other versions of Ys III, the Turbo Grafx and RIGG.  I joined the Guild and had a look at the Turbo Grafx version of Wanderers, with it's incredible soundtrack and laughable dubbing.  I decided not to go after Ys I & II since, from what I was told at the time, they weren't action sidescrollers.  Stupid reason, I know, but I have since learned the error of my ways.

After I learned about NightWolve's Ys Complete translation project, I decided to cast aside my doubts and give it a shot.  I decided to play the Turbo Grafx and PC versions one after another so that I would be able to appreciate the quality of the remake.  Once I finished Ys I Complete, I was officially hooked on the Ys series.

Since then,  I have played through Mask of the Sun, purchased the PS2 version of Napishtim, and imported The Oath in Felghana.  I have also turned a few of my friends in college into Ys fans (in exchange, they ended up turning me into a Type-Moon fan).

Ys holds a special place in my life, along with other memorable series including Castlevania, Megaman X, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda.  While I have come to love may things since then, including anime, manga, and the visual novel medium, I never would have gotten into these if not for video games, and Ys III was the first game I ever owned.  How's that for nostalgia?

Pointless question:  Whenever my brothers play through the final stage of RunSaber, they comment that the music sounds very Ys-ish.  I can't find myself agreeing with this statement.  Could anyone comment on this?

[Red Hairdo]

 Heheh, that is a looong story... But still...

 I have two brothers that are about 8 and 10 years older than myself. In Christmas 1991, about all my family gathered themselves together to buy something for my brothers, since that thing was INSANELY expensive at the time and place, they all spent some money to import a TurboGrafx 16 together with Ys Book I & II.
 At that time, I was only 1 year old... This was the first game I ever played in my life. One of my brothers always tried to teach me how to play with 1 year old...Though when my brother gave me the controller, I used to throw it against the floor...xD! When I was about 3-4 years old, I could play almost normally...but I was usually leveling up Adol for my brothres xD....I used to do that many times for years in a lot of RPGs...

 I last saw the game's ending with 4 years....after then the TurboGrafx broke! T_T... Just after 12 years I got the Magic Engine Emulator, then beated the game by myself! It was so strange...the deepest I got into the game, the more I was remembering...It was very nostalgic...YS IS A BLESSING! =D

 By the way, during those 12 years, I played ohter Ys like Ys III, IV & V for the SNES... Also last year when I knew there was another Ys IV for PCE, I got overwhelmed! Then when I saw that a guy called "Nightwolve" was translating it, I said to myself " OH MY GOD!!! A YS MISSIONARY!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!=DDDD" or sorta. xD
 Anyway, Nightwolve gave me the chance to know more about Ys...heh, he is so kind.^^

 O.O wow, I'm speaking here forever...Better I stop here....>.< Sorry for all that long story, but that was how I knew Ys....I was born playing Ys... xD

[Haven]

Been hearing bout Ys since I've seen an ad in a 1992 (GASP) Gamepro issue.

But I never had any interest in the game until I stumbled upon Nightwolve's fan translation site.

Yep, that made me into a fan who shells out hundreds of dollars on Ysgames and related merchandise^^

Not only that, but now I'm questioning whether Zelda is now the best action RPG^^

[Jest]

Well what happened was besides being a tough version of Ys, I managed to exploit a bug accidently in the Tower of the Doomed [Dharm Tower], and never started a new game till I dusted off the Sega in 1998 and beat it :O [Didn't play Ys 2 till NightWolve released the translated Ys 2 Complete though :O mmmmmmmmmmmmmm]

The bug was uh...in the Devil's Song tunnel room .......  How was I supposed to get past this terrible area??? Well....  being the creative genius I am and not knowing what to do I  used.... *gasp* ................ a Potion to survive the run to the other side ......................................................................................


Thus began my 10 year imprisonment in the Tower.  [lol had to beat that area the right way otherwise, the events wouldn't kick in and the last area was simply *Sealed by a Evil Force* .................................................. (and going back into the tunnel potion-less was suicide so...)

It's kinda funny, because that's pretty much how I finished Ys the first time as well. I had no idea you could break that pillar to get the music to stop, so after dying a few times, I just used a potion to get to the other side. I don't really remember having to beat the area the right way though. I don't think I figured that out till the TG version.

Yeah, the SMS version was my first foray into the world of Ys, and I loved it quite a lot. I thought that it was one of the greatest games ever made. When I first played the updated TG version of it, I played straight trough till I finished it. Easily my favorite games of all time.

Peace Out
Jest
Peace Out
Jest

[Seldane]

The bug was uh...in the Devil's Song tunnel room .......  How was I supposed to get past this terrible area??? Well....  being the creative genius I am and not knowing what to do I  used.... *gasp* ................ a Potion to survive the run to the other side ......................................................................................


Thus began my 10 year imprisonment in the Tower.  [lol had to beat that area the right way otherwise, the events wouldn't kick in and the last area was simply *Sealed by a Evil Force* .................................................. (and going back into the tunnel potion-less was suicide so...)

This is impossible. The prison is BEFORE the tunnel.

And I did the same thing. Used a potion to get through the tunnel. Then using another potion to get back and fetch the rod .... and then go back to the first floor and take that potion there and then return to Dulk Dekt's room.

Peace Out
Jest
Peace Out
Jest

Peace out.

[X-Calibar]

This is impossible. The prison is BEFORE the tunnel.

And I did the same thing. Used a potion to get through the tunnel. Then using another potion to get back and fetch the rod .... and then go back to the first floor and take that potion there and then return to Dulk Dekt's room.

I think you misunderstood me or I don't understand mmmmm
I meant I was imprisoned in the tower; Getting out of the Jail was easy, but when I ran across the tunnel by using the potion; I got stuck on that side. Thus imprisoning / getting me stuck in the upper levels of the tower for many years... [since if there was another potion higher in the tower I think I might have used it, not realizing I had to go back!]
I tried the hammer on so many things

Oh and I loved everyones story :O  There are few games like Ys...

[malducci]

I didn't know about Ys 1 being on the master system until years later. Master system wasn't very popular in the US, I even remember kids being picked on because they preferred a master system over the NES 

 Any Ys was the second TG16 CD I played, right after Valis II. I was impressed by Valis II, but when I got Ys I think my hands were trembling after the intro and opening cinema. All my friend and I could say was "duuude!" and "baaaddd!". This was in March or April of '91 (freshman year). Ofcouse we brought the good word of Ys to all our friends houses - utilizing the suitcase feature of the system!

 Ys I & II had amazing music too. I remember listing to it over and over. I also bought Ys III when it came out later that year. I did also play and beat the snes version which is easier imo. I'll have to give the genesis version a shot, since seldane and a few others say its better than the snes - I'll bet the music is atleast (I like the gen's distinct sound).

 Ys IV I imported in '94 since TTI was already going heads up and no chance of a translation. I got as far as the witch blocking the cave and couldn't find all the items she was asking for.  It wasn't until I found Rigg and waited patiently until the patch was released. Being able to beat the game in English was awesome, it was like I was back in '93 again.

 I've beat Ys: The Oath in Felghana for PC and Ys VI for the PS2. I guess that just leaves Ys IV and V for SFC left.

[SkyeWelse]

Well, I think I had always heard of Ys in some form or another, but I had never bothered to play them. I think the only one that I could remember being available to me in my area was Wanderers from Ys for SNES and I just never really got around to trying it.

One day I was a friend's place who like myself is very much into emulation and he was watching a preview for the Japanese release of YS VI. Being a huge Zelda fan I saw how interesting the game looked and how fast paced the overhead action was on the PC. So I asked him about it and he basically told me a general synopsis of Ys Book's One and Two and the story of Adol, the mysterious land of Esteria and the six books of Ys leading to a much greater secret. It's funny because the way he explained it was well done and it almost seemed like he was telling a legend itself just talking about it. So I guess you might say it was the curiousity of this story matched with the Zelda-style gameplay that made me first play these games.

I started in order playing the first Ys I and II on NES, the third on SNES, then playing the incredible remake of YS I & II Eternal translated by Nightwolve and the addiction only got worse from then on out. Now I'm trying to play pretty much any version of Ys that I can get my hands on, if even just to see the minute differences between the games. lol I guess that is what fandom is all about.

Needless to say this all made me rather passionate about the series and if I have time one day, I would like to create a tribute site of some kind to honor this series in some way.

-SkyeWelse

[NightWolve]

Welcome SkyeWelse & malducci. Good to have ya aboard.

Needless to say this all made me rather passionate about the series and if I have time one day, I would like to create a tribute site of some kind to honor this series in some way.

Oh, you're way too late. There's no need since this does the job:

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ys/ys.htm

[malducci]

Thanks Nightwolve 

[SkyeWelse]

Wow... Yeah I don't think I could ever top those pages in terms of content now that you mention it Nightwolve. But, I might consider still doing one just for the heck of it and perhaps having a link to that um... better one. lol

And wow, I must say the Saturn version looks great. I have it on a backup disc, but I've never been able to play it due to the fact that I traded my Japanese Saturn a long time ago for the American one. It doesn't seem to play with the 5-in-1 cart either unfortunately. : (  Maybe I should look into Satourne or something. Well worth it it seems for what those screenshots showed.

-SkyeWelse

[Seldane]

Ys I and II for Saturn are crappy remakes. Don't let the pretty graphics deceive you.

You can't play backups using 4-in-1 carts. That's probably why it won't run. You'll have to use the swap method -- but you can't do that with 4-in-1 carts connected.

Dump the game to your hard drive, patch it with Sega Saturn Country Code Converter (change the region to US) -- burn the ISO and THEN you can play it using the swap method. You'll need an original disc of your own region in order to do that though.


Oh, and Falcom Classics 1 works on the BEST Saturn emulator -- Cassini 5.0. Falcom Classics 2 works too, but the sound is messed up (and Asteka II won't work that well).

[esteban666]

Thanks Nightwolve 

Hey, malducci, is that your Ys site? I friggin' love it!

[malducci]

Hey, malducci, is that your Ys site? I friggin' love it!

Huh!?
 
No,  I don't have an Ys site. Do you mean Seldanes Ys site/forum?

Ohh you mean this - http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ys/ys.htm. No, it's not mine but it's an awesome site

[NightWolve]

No, steve, that's Psycho DeuceBag's friend actually. He introduced him to the Ys series and at some point he was inspired to do all of that. You'll notice Psycho DeuceBag's stuff is on the same domain:

http://ninjagaiden.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ys/

[malducci]

Does anyone remember these guys being in the SFC version of Ys IV?

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ysanime4-03.jpg

[NightWolve]

That's from the [almost] anime that never was (Falcom made the promo trailer, shopped it around but couldn't get it produced) based on Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys, I think. Maybe they are in SFC after all, but that game doesn't have any portraits like the image below from Dawn of Ys, so you wouldn't remember:



Was there a General Leo, Bammi, Guruda, etc. and that other guy in the SFC storyline? I can't remember from what I played of it.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ys-iv-dawn-of-ys-mask-of-the-sun/

[esteban666]

No, steve, that's Psycho DeuceBag's friend actually. He introduced him to the Ys series and at some point he was inspired to do all of that. You'll notice Psycho DeuceBag's stuff is on the same domain:

http://ninjagaiden.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ys/

Aha! I love these sites!

[Seldane]

Does anyone remember these guys being in the SFC version of Ys IV?

They're all in Mask of the Sun. You get to fight all of 'em near the end of the game.

[malducci]

Cool. I'll have play it from the beginning again as I don't seem to remember much about the game, even though I'm somwhat far along.

[motoh]

I discovered Ys by deleting my Dos.

>.>  Had ye olde floppy version, and installed them erroneously into the Dos directory.  Being the swift lad I was, I quickly went into the Dos directory and cleared it all out.

Been all good after that, though.

Nice to meet you all!  o.O

[JoeQuaker]

Y's 3 for SNES when it first came out.

->

[adol1976]

For me it's quite special. I heard about YS years ago, in snes era..
But living in europe, I never played it.
In 2000, I traveled in Japan for holydays and since I had a PC I decided to visit games shop. What a chance YS 2 eternal was just out. I decided to buy it...
Well factly there wasn't any other "great looking PC game", so no choice... I even didn't know if I could make it run... Oh I remember I was struggling myself what to choose between YS 2 and a software which could make 3D models... I think I took the good one...

[MP83]

Y's 3 for SNES when it first came out.

No apostrophe in the name of Ys.

[Dark Fact]

I discovered Ys a couple of months after the release of Ys II for PC8801.
My friend who came from Japan, brought a Pc8801 and Both Ys I and Ys II... I played them, fascinated with the music & graphics...

In 1990,  I bought the Ys for Sega master system, and I could FINALLY say that I completed the 1st chapter.

[turbofan]

I knew about Ys for many years. I finally picked the game up about a year ago for the turbo CD. I was pretty disappointed with it. Guess if I had played the game back in the day, I d have different opinion on it. As it stands I wasnt that impressed with it.

[Seldane]

Y S?

[turbofan]

Y S?

Yep, sorry if didnt spell it right. We all know Seldane is the Ys expert, and of video games in general...

[MonCapitan]

My first Ys game was Ys: The Vanished Omens for the Sega Master System.  The battery back up still works.  Now that I have a PC of my own, I just ordered Ys I & II Eternal from Himeya.  I was going to try to order it from Falcom directly, but I never got a reply to my e-mail.  I snatched up the Playstation 2 version of Napishtim and I bought Ys: The Oath in Felghana for PC.  The latter game is even more awesome than the former.  Being able to play it at 1680 by 1050 resolution rocks!

[MP83]

Now that I have a PC of my own, I just ordered Ys I & II Eternal from Himeya.

Are you sure you're talking about the Eternal versions and not Complete? Because only the Complete versions can be patched into English.

[MonCapitan]

I meant Complete.

[JoeQuaker]

On a side note... correcting people spelling of Ys is unnessasary. It's a fictional word, and anyone who cares enough to look at the box or title screen will see it's Ys. I usually say Y's just because it's habit to put a ' between a y and an s in other words. Fan boys get their panties in a wad ( no offence to any of you, heh ) but it's quite trivial really.

!! !!

[Seldane]

It isn't a fictional word. It is a name. It's like calling someone Jame's instead of James.

[MP83]

Seldane's right. Ys is a name, and names should be written correctly. It has nothing to do with fan boy-ism. Okay, maybe just a little bit (because I'm accurate about these things anyway).

[MonCapitan]

I would agree.  Since it is a name of a fictional work, that makes the word "Ys" a a title of a work.  The least we can do is ensure that we spell it properly.