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Want to get into Ys. Where do I start?

entremet

entremet

Member
I’ve played most of the bigger JPRG series over the years—FF, DQ, Persona. But I missed the Y’s series. I’ve seen some quick looks and it reminds me of the 2d Zelda mixed with Secret of Mana. The music is incredible as well.

I have a PS4 and PS Vita and it seems the developer is mostly on Sony platforms and PC. The Vita should have access to the PSP games via PSN, so if they’re cheap there, I may start there if it is recommend.
 
S

Se7enSword

Banned
One strength of the Ys series is that you can pick up from any game, with the exception being Ys Origin because that's connected to Ys I and II and it's best to play those.

I'd recommend you start with Ys I and II first if you can, then go with Oath in Felghana and Ys Origins.

Then play Ys seven, Memories of Celceta and then Ys VIII
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Since Origin was ported to PS4 you have access to nearly everything.

I'd personally recommend that and Oath in Felghana first. 1 and 2 are also good, and could be good starting points if you are into retro games. Otherwise they may be better once you are more into the series.

Seven and Celceta are good games, a lot of people will probably give them strong recommendations, but I just don't like them as much. Still worth playing though.

Can't speak for VIII, I'll pick it up on sale at some point on PC.


Ys II is the only direct sequel, and should be played after Ys I. Origin is better after 1+2, but it's not necessary. Beyond that you can play anything in any order.


Ark of Napishtim doesn't exist on PSP. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
 
D

DooMAGE

Member
this one

boxshot.jpg
Click to expand...
 
S

Se7enSword

Banned
chaosblade said:
Since Origin was ported to PS4 you have access to nearly everything.

I'd personally recommend that and Oath in Felghana first. 1 and 2 are also good, and could be good starting points if you are into retro games. Otherwise they may be better once you are more into the series.

Seven and Celceta are good games, a lot of people will probably give them strong recommendations, but I just don't like them as much. Still worth playing though.

Can't speak for VIII, I'll pick it up on sale at some point on PC.
Click to expand...

VIII is amazing. It became my favorite Ys game beating out Origins for the crown.
 
T

Tyrant Rave

Banned
You can start wherever really. Ys VIII is solid and new, not a bad place to jump in. If you want more, there's plenty to go back to.
 
Z

zoodoo

Member
I played 1, 2, oath in felghana and memory of celceta. Most people will say oath but my favorite is 2.

It looks gorgeous in 2d and i did not mind the bump combat. I did not like the 2.5d of felghama. The game looks ugly and hitting flying enemies is a pain.

Celceta was ok but a bit on the easy side. 1 is very old school. 2 improved on 1 by adding magic but also has the old school corridor dungeon design.

Edit: i played 1, 2 and felghana on psp.
 
U

Usobuko

Banned
Ys VIII, the new entry out this year, has really good words of mouth from Ys fans if you follow the OT thread.

I'll say go for Oath, Origin and VIII.
 
T

Theswweet

Member
Release order is the best. That being, Ys I+II Chronicles -> Ark of Napisthim -> Oath in Felghana -> Origin -> Seven -> Memories of Celceta -> Lacrimosa of Dana

If you just want to jump in and see if you like the series, Oath in Felghana is considered one of the best, and VIII isn't a bad place to start either. If you do play Chronicles and end up liking them, there's a fan translation for Dawn of Ys on the PC-Engine that is really good.
 
D

Dragoon En Regalia

Member
If you really want to get into the series (and it's easy these days due to somewhat short playthrough lengths and low PC requirements) starting from an earlier entry makes sense. The games really improved over time at least wrt quality-of-life aspects. I recommend starting with I & II Chronicles if you want the most old-school introduction, or either Oath or Seven since they represent a rough average of the dominant Ys play styles in recent times.

Can't say I agree with pretty done. Seven's got a lot of great moment-to-moment play and bosses/set-pieces/dungeons, and I & II Chronicles still plays nice and has a lot of attention to detail. I think at least a few Ys games are excellent, anyway.
 
Nabs

Nabs

Member
I went Ys I + II, Oath in Felghana, Origin.

I'm glad I played it that way, but I understand if that's not for everyone. So I guess I'd recommend Oath and then Origin.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
entremet said:
I’ve played most of the bigger JPRG series over the years—FF, DQ, Persona. But I missed the Y’s series. I’ve seen some quick looks and it reminds me of the 2d Zelda mixed with Secret of Mana. The music is incredible as well.

I have a PS4 and PS Vita and it seems the developer is mostly on Sony platforms and PC. The Vita should have access to the PSP games via PSN, so if they’re cheap there, I may start there if it is recommend.
Click to expand...
Start with Ys Origin on PS4. It's an incredible game. If you enjoy it, then you can start exploring other options, such as Ys Seven and VIII (their gameplay formula is a bit different) or Ys I & II Chronicles on PSP/Vita.

entremet said:
I have a PS4 and PS Vita
Click to expand...
1upsuper said:
I'd say Ys Book 1 and 2 on the TG16.
Click to expand...
.... 🙄
 
Q

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
pretty done said:
You can stop here because the other games are not too great.
Click to expand...

This is garbage advice and not true at all.

Anyways if you want to start from the start and don't mind something more simple at the start of things go with 1+2 on steam then play oath then origin

If you want to start with something more standard then go with oath as your first


Personally for new people I always suggest 1+2 , then origin, after that you can jump onto seven



edit : Oh doh vita and ps4. Yeah get 1+2 and oath on vita, then origin for ps4, then seven for vita, then 8 on ps4
 
P

preta

Member
Really, any game in the series is fine to start with except Origin, which was conceived as a direct, very tightly connected prequel to I and II and is ideally played after them. Other than these three games, the main stories throughout the series are all independent - however, there is still interconnected lore and occasional (nonessential) references to other games.

If you want to play in an order that lets you fully experience the evolution of the series' gameplay while also ensuring you'd be able to understand every reference and lore connection on your first playthrough, I'd personally suggest release order - that is:

I and II Chronicles
VI: The Ark of Napishtim
The Oath in Felghana (remake of III)
Origin
Seven
Memories of Celceta (quasi-remake of IV)
VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

(PC versions are all definitive.)

V has yet to receive a modern remake, and the original game is both barely relevant to the rest of the series and not very good. However, a remake's been teased - just wait for that unless you're curious.

If you just want to start by trying one game that I think is the single most perfect encapsulation of what the series is all about, consider Oath in Felghana. That said - there are three main distinct styles of gameplay throughout the series. I, II and the original versions of IV are top-down 2D and use the "bump system", which means that you attack enemies simply by running around and hitting them at the right angle, with no dedicated attack button. Napishtim, Felghana and Origin use the so-called "Napishtim engine" and are in 3D, with an attack button as well as the added ability to jump, which allows for more complexity and variety in level and enemy design. Seven, Celceta and VIII use the "party system", meaning that for the first time, you can swap between playable characters on the fly, each with their own fighting style and skills. These games also did away with jumping in favor of rolling until VIII, which has both. They tend have a heavier focus on story and cutscenes than the previous games.

ekurisona said:
to help you on your journey...

http://www.digitalemelas.com/

http://worldofys.com/

https://www.reddit.com/r/WorldOfYs/
Click to expand...

Also, Digital Emelas' advice on this subject is very misleading and can be safely ignored. Honestly, they have no idea what they're talking about on some of this stuff, particularly with regard to claiming the series is intended to be played in chronological order for best understanding of the story and especially recommending to play Napishtim so late, which is just nonsensical. If you followed their story order, you'd play three games that make reference to Napishtim to some extent before playing Napishtim itself.
 
D

Dragoon En Regalia

Member
Insert brief mention of Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection here. That should be on Ys players' radars if anyone's hurting for a(n old) new Falcom action adventure with snappy combat.

ekurisona said:
to help you on your journey...

http://www.digitalemelas.com/
Click to expand...
Much as I really like this resource (and have a little something to contribute to it later), the Ys play orders there are debatable. Playing in story order's much less important for a new player than playing in order of general improvement between games. It's easy to revisit games later to soak up overarching lore and things you won't notice until after getting experienced with Ys.

entremet said:
Seems like the majority opinion.
Click to expand...
It's a very GAF opinion. You'll find more variation in vaunted favorites over at, say, r/Falcom or the XSEED forums. But Oath and Origin are bona fide Falcom classics if you ask me.
 
V

Viale

Member
I'd recommend oath in Felghana for your first Ys personally. It does an excellent job of introducing you to the series and had some of the best bosses. I think it's also friendlier as a starting point to the series than 1 and 2 which I'm going through now. I've heard a lot of people say that origin is better if you've played 1 and 2 first, so take of that what you will.


8 is also fantastic and one of my favorite arpgs in general, but is supposedly getting a patch to help its subpar translation, so you may as well wait a bit for that to drop before going in.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Dragoon En Regalia said:
It's a very GAF opinion. You'll find more variation in vaunted favorites over at, say, r/Falcom or the XSEED forums. But Oath and Origin are bona fide Falcom classics if you ask me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there is a significant number of people who prefer Seven and Celceta (and presumably VIII) over Felghana and Origin, but they seem to be a minority on GAF.

QisTopTier said:
Ys 2 is straight up one of the top 3 games in the series telling people to skip it is bleeeh
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure we disagree on the top two but I agree Ys 2 is number three and awesome.
 
R

RiouV

Member
I'm also gonna give my vote to Origin or Oath in Felghana. Ys I & II are really old games, I'd recommend going back to them later if you end up liking the series.
 
Q

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
chaosblade said:
Yeah, there is a significant number of people who prefer Seven and Celceta (and presumably VIII) over Felghana and Origin, but they seem to be a minority on GAF.
Click to expand...

8 is the best game in the series by a pretty far stretch.

8 > 2 > Origin > 7 > Oath > Cel > 1 > Ark
 
T

Thud

Member
I would stick to Easy/Normal if you're a first timer with Ys I&II and Oath. Go wild with higher difficulties such as Nightmare later.

Some of these bosses in Ys 8 phew.
 
N

not psycho

Member
Oath is my 2nd favorite game of all time (only beaten by Jet Set Radio) but I don't have experience playing any of them on handhelds.

Origin is incredible too, if you start there I suggest choosing Yunica first. Hugo would be a really weird introduction to the series.
 
Q

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
Depends on what you want from the games for difficulty tbh, for ys 1 I'd say stick with normal and Ark hard because of garbage hitboxes and such making some fights a pain but normal stuff dies too fast still.

Every other game in the series is amazing on nightmare *inferno for 8* Most of the games are short so spending 30 mins / 1 hour learning how to kill the bosses adds to the game time quite a bit.

They are still fun on normal if you just want to tear through things and just slaughter everything
 
T

Thud

Member
Dragoon En Regalia said:
I think it's fairly balanced. Whichever Ys you start with first tends to have the most impact on which style you prefer.
Click to expand...

I like Ark style the most, but started with Seven's party style :p.

As VIII has both that has become my favorite. I like Ys I the least, but there's a certain charm to it. Ark is the hardest to sell (except for Ys 5 I guess) and like Celceta a bit more than Seven.

So something like this:

VIII > Origin > Chronicles > Oath > Celceta > Seven > Ark

It's a shame most of the discussion on r/falcom and xseed forums is based on kiseki. I love me some kiseki, but Ys is great as well.
 
O

orborborb

Member
I've tried all of them over the years but Ys 6 and Ys 8 are the only ones I got hooked on so try one of those, it's the music, level design, and combat that should be fun within a few hours, the plot may not ever interest you much.
 
S

ShadowgeistX

Member
You can start by calling it "Ys".

Now, you can either start with Ys I, or 3. Both are playable off a refurbished computer from best buy or one picked out from your local landfill if you're desperate.

Ys I - Top-down, bump system combat. You'll know whether you like it or hate it after like 15 minutes. Proceed to Ys II if the final boss hasn't pissed you off or if you don't hate this type of game. Some people recommend to try this later...but chances are that after experiencing the extremely smooth 3D combat of the later games you won't want to bother. You probably won't revisit this till Ys 5 unless you wait for the eventual remake of that.

Ys 3 (Felghana) - Good after Ys 2, or just if you hate the Ys 1 system. Play Ys 6 (napishtim) for the story and a slightly inferior version of the combat, and/or Origin afterwards for the best version of this type of game. Origin is also neat because you see bosses that appear in Ys 1, except you're playing as a bunch of chumps instead of a red-headed steamroller.

Celceta (4) and beyond - pretty much smooth sailing from there. No need for a play order guide after that.

Of course, that's if you're a stickler for playing the games in a certain order. If you want the latest and arguably not the greatest depending on who you ask, you can jump into 8. However, playing the older ones first and waiting for a sale for the rest on your journey is the most cost efficient way to play.
 
S

SephLuis

Member
Follow these steps:

1) Buy or use a great headphone. Really. It will make every game better.

2) Start with Ys 1 and play about 20 minutes to see if you like the game. If you are starved for time, use a guide because a few things about it are archaic.

If you like (and if you can beat the last boss), proceed to Ys 2.

3) Play Ys Ark of Napishtim. It's Ys 6 but the first to use a new battle system.
After finishing these, proceed to Ys Oath in Felghana and then Ys Origins.

4) Play Ys Seven first because of the new party system and then Ys Memories of Celceta and then Ys 8.

Really, you can do 2-3-4 in any order. Just be sure to follow step 1.
 
S

Sir Ilpalazzo

Member
Depends on the kind of games you're into. What I can say is that if you like challenging action games, Oath in Felghana and Origin are must-plays - they have some of the coolest and craziest boss fights in video games. Other games in the series might be more up your alley if you're looking for longer adventure games though. (Ys I and II are neat action games in the vein of 2D Zelda (but with less exploration and little-to-no environmental puzzle solving, and Ys 6 is kind of a rough, inferior prototype for the much-more refined Felghana and Origin.)

Thud said:
I would stick to Easy/Normal if you're a first timer with Ys I&II and Oath. Go wild with higher difficulties such as Nightmare later.

Some of these bosses in Ys 8 phew.
Click to expand...

I think Felghana and Origin are best played on Hard your first time through, honestly. Those games really shine in their boss fights, and I'd say the boss fights lose a lot if you play on any difficulty below Hard.
 
Paltheos

Paltheos

Member
Oath in Felghana vies for my favorite action game ever. It's so meticulously well-tuned and exciting. The boss battles are won or lost by the skin of your teeth, the controls and movement feel perfect, the music is of course off the walls fantastic, and the game has a sliding difficulty that actually adds things to the boss fights (Up to Nightmare; Inferno does just 'add/subract more HP').

There are a couple gripes I or someone could have with the game. The mobs are only ok, the anime aesthetic is take-it or leave-it, and in the lower difficulties you can just grind to win. A couple of the bosses on the highest difficulty are also outright unfair, but the game lands so many other hits on so many fights that I can excuse that.

The game's an attention grabber though. One of the few games I played through multiple times, once on each and every difficulty just to see all it had to offer.

Also, I should tell you: I see allot of other people think this too, but Ys are not JRPGs. These are action games with RPG elements. Maybe once you get to Ys 7 and the lastest set of games you might be able to argue that since Falcom started giving you parties to build, but the emphasis of gameplay remains on player dexterity and skill and not equipment gathering or ability customization or anything of the sort.
 
Q

Quonny

Member
Origins, then VIII, then Oath.

Gives you the best of the series while separating the two similar playing games.
 
P

preta

Member
Producer said:
can anyone comment on the port quality for Origin on PS4? been meaning to double dip
Click to expand...

It has a somewhat different HUD that's higher resolution but I think is also harder to quickly read than the PC one. There's also very occasional slowdown and minor graphical bugs. You have to finish both Yunica and Hugo's stories to unlock the third character, like the Japanese PC version (which is actually a good reversion and the way it really should be), and there's a new title screen. Other than that, it's about the same as the PC version.
 
F

Fou-Lu

Member
I don't like Origin nearly as much as the rest of the series despite being a good game still. I would consider playing it first so your expectations don't make you feel it is worse than it is.

Also you should give the Trails series a shot too while you are joining the Falcon side. Start with Trails in the Sky FC.
 
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