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Aw snap! The Ys series (one of the BEST ARPG series ever) are discounted on Steam!

Tizoc

Member
Seems these titles were added during the last few days as I don't recall them being discounted when the Lunar Sale started, either way you have 24 hours to grab them at their current discount, being 70% off on all 4 titles

What is the Ys series you ask? Here's an illustrative explanation
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The Long version-
The Ys series are Action RPG games from Falcom, the ones on Steam are the latest and updated version of some of the games in the series that did get PC releases, they are
Ys 1 and 2
Ys Origin, has a Demo if you want to try it out
Ys 3 (Oath in Felghana)
Ys 6

What makes the Ys series so friggin' awesome is
1- Simple but fun combat system that is the equivalent of


2- It has some of the BEST soundtracks a video game could ever have

3- Great boss fights

4- Did I mention the series has some of the BEST soundtracks a video game could ever have? Because they do.

5- You play as Adol 'Gets shit done' Christin, one of the most badass protagonists in a video game series, he's so badass, Nintendo remain chickenshit to add him to Smash 4, unaware that doing so would make the game of the generation; Link vs. Adol, the fight that has been put off for 20 years too long.

One of the good things about the series is how overall the story isn't important; the basic premise is the following for every game outside of Origin-
Adol Christin goes to a town or village, said town or village is threatened by monsters and demons, Adol kicks monster and demon ass, takes down demi-god, move onto next village or town in need of demon ass to be kicked.

Should you need a proper starting point in this case you have 2 options (IMHO)
Start with Oath in Felghana; this is how I started out with the series and it was a great introduction. Story was simple and the overall game was a joy to play from start to finish. This game is a remake of Ys 3, released after Ys 6 and features various gameplay improvements from Ys 6.

Start with Ys 1 and 2; the original Ys games used a rather peculiar combat system: You just run at motherfuckers and Adol automatically slashes or cuts them up. It's a simple yet SATISFYING combat system, and they managed to make boss battles interesting despite this simplicity. The combat is known as the 'Bump' system, which gave rise to Adol being called One-Bump Man aka One-Cut Man aka One-Slash Man. Take your pick~
Now keep in mind there's an important aspect to the Bump system: DO NOT HIT ENEMIES HEAD ON. If an enemy is IN FRONT OF YOU DIRECTLY, do not run at their faces. Instead run at them diagonally to hit them from the side (of their sprite). Doing so otherwise will lead to YOU taking damage as well.
It'll take a few minutes to adjust to it, but once you get the hang of it you'll be bumping into monsters from their lefts and rights and racking up dat EXP and Gold~

Ys Origin is a prequel taking place centuries before Ys 1 and 2, and is best played after them to better appreciate the lore and characters in it.

What's that?
You want MORE Falcom goodness? Well Gurumin is also on sale and is a cute and adorable adventure game, currently going for less than $5!

In conclusion I leave you with a selection of some of the great tracks this series is known for
RELEASE
OF
THE FAR WEST
OCEAN


Holders of Power aka Theme of Vagullion

Valsetian Castle Just keep listening~

First step towards wars

Genesis beyond the beginning

I'd post TO MAKE THE END OF BATTLE, but this track is a reward for completing Ys 1 and starting Ys 2~

So go forth young GAFfer, experience the greatness that is Ys and Adol Christin and let your voice join the many as you raise your fist towards the heaven with a mighty yell shout out "FUCK YOU, DARK FACT"
 
Love Ys III (Felghana). I've played many versions of it (the original Ys III on Turbografx, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and Oath on PC) and, except for the Super Nintendo one, all of them have amazing variations of the same amazing soundtrack. It's worth listening to all of them.

The Sega Genesis one is my personal favorite when it comes to the music, it's one of the finest usages of the Genesis sound chip. However, if you want real instruments, you can't go wrong with Oath on PC. Play it LOUD!
 
So if I have a limited budget which of these should I buy first?

If you're OK with a simple combat system and short game, consider Ys 1+2, if you want something more action oriented with exploration, Ys OiF is good.
I personally started with Ys OiF which is the one I recommend most since it'd be the more convenient to get into.
 
I love Ys, but I feel like it's on sale at least once a month. Cool for the folks that still need to pick it up though.
 
If you never played an Ys game before, you should play these ones (in this order for maximun impact):

Ys Vi > Felghana > Origin
 
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