Welcome to RadioSEGA, if you are not a member register today!

Memories of SEGA: Ys - The Vanished Omens

Awinnerwasyou is back with another one of his Memories of SEGA. Check out his experiences with Ys: The Vanished Omens.

 
It’s been 25 years since Falcom first unleashed the Ys series on the world. Since its initial release on the NEC PC-8801, the series has become one of the flagship franchises for the company, and helped put them on the JRPG map.  And yet, despite its popularity in Japan, Ys has never seemed to be anything more than a cult favourite in the west, compared to far more popular titles like Final Fantasy or Zelda. That’s a real shame, because the series has produced some excellent titles over the years- not to mention some exceptional soundtracks. The earlier games have also had many ports and remakes, including, of course, a few SEGA versions. Today, we’re looking at one of those ports - namely, the Master System version of the original Ys title.
 
 
Making it more interesting? I hadn’t played this version until a few months ago - making this (almost) an entirely new experience!
 
 
Seriously, just listen to this track from the PC Engine port. So good!
 
 
I can’t entirely remember where I first heard of the game. It was either in the leaflet that came with just about every Master System game around, or in an issue of Sega Pro magazine (Anyone in the UK remember that one?). Either way, I remember knowing next to nothing about it, except it was an RPG, and a rather good one at that. The only screenshot of it I ever saw at the time was of the title screen, so I didn’t even know what the actual game looked like, either. Eventually though, I got my chance to experience the game thanks to the Wii’s Virtual Console. While the Master System version wasn’t on there, the PC Engine version was. By this point, I had already played one of the other games on the series (The Ark of Napishtim on the PS2), so I was eager to play the earlier instalments. And what a treat I was in for!
 
The PC Engine version of Ys was a disc based title, and contained not only the first game, but the second as well. Graphically, it looked nothing like a CD game, but my god did it sound like one. The soundtrack was simply mesmerising! The gameplay was a lot of fun too, a little archaic in its combat perhaps, but it was addicting. In short, I loved it. Since then, I really wanted to check out the Master System version, just to see how it stacked up. I finally got that chance when I went to London Comic Con last year, where I found a copy of the game at one of the stalls. Needless to say, I snapped it right up. But would I end up enjoying it like its PC Engine counterpart?
 
The franchise puts you in the shoes of red haired swordsman Adol Christin (though he’s been renamed Aron in the Master System port) as he travels the world in search of adventure. In his first outing, he’s out to solve the mystery of the eponymous Ys - a kingdom of peace and tranquillity, until the day it mysteriously vanished into thin air. Needless to say, there’s an evil force at work, and it’s ultimately going to be up to Adol/Aron to find out what happened to Ys, and save the day.
The game is a top down action RPG which looks similar to Zelda, but honestly doesn’t play much like it. A lot of it looks like your standard RPG fare too- there are monsters to slay, experience and money to earn, equipment to upgrade, etc… But what sets it apart from its peers is its… interesting… combat system. Put simply, there’s no attack button in this game. Instead, you fight enemies by walking into them. Yup, you heard me. By walking into them. It’s not quite as easy as it sounds, mind - you can’t just charge straight at them. Doing so will only result in a quick game over, especially early on when you’re under levelled and have only crappy gear. The best way of attacking is by moving towards your foe at an angle, so you attack their side. Of course, it’s still quite easy to die early on even with this method, so you do need to take things nice and slow to begin with.
 
As in any decent RPG, defeating enemies give you both experience and gold, the latter of which is used for upgrading your equipment, or purchasing items. Unfortunately, it’s quite difficult to get a decent amount in the early stages, as items and equipment are very expensive, and enemies don’t drop very much of it. Same goes for experience - the early enemies don’t give very much, and it takes a fair bit to level up. On the plus side, the further you get, the more EXP and cash you get from killing monsters, and the quicker level grinding becomes. Also, the maximum level you can go up to is 10, meaning once you’ve done that, there’s no more grinding! However, as you’ll see later, this proves to be quite the double edged sword…
 
 
Some of the early parts of the game.

 
You’ll also be spending most of your time in dungeons - however, there’s only three of them. On the flipside, the third and final dungeon is huge- taking up the entire second half of the game. These areas are mostly mazes, with plenty of treasure chests for those who are willing to search for them. There are also a few puzzles to solve, mostly involving using certain items at certain points. There are several bosses to fight as well, and these guys prove tough! The early bosses become easier if you take the time to level up and buy better equipment, but the same can’t be said about later on. Remember when I said the fact your maximum level is 10 proves to be a double edged sword? This is where the trouble lies. By the time you get to the final dungeon, chances are you’ll already be at level 10, and you can’t become any stronger. This means if you struggle against some of the bosses in this area- and there are quite a few - there’s no gaining more levels to improve your chances- you have to fight them as you are! Quite annoying, and this is no truer than in the final boss battle.
 
This guy is near impossible to beat through skill. He doesn’t attack you directly, instead forcing you to dodge a ton of fireballs that split into four when you get near them. This is hard enough on its own, but the real killer is the fact bits of the floor disappear every time you hit him. If you’re standing on the tile that vanishes, you instantly die. This happens far too often, especially as you’re too busy dodging those fireballs to notice the floor. In the end, I spent nearly an hour trying to beat this guy, and I ultimately gave up on it since I’d had enough at this point. In the PC Engine version, you can level up way beyond level 10, which makes the last boss significantly easier- though in that version, you still have another half of the game to go (The Ys 2 section - the game is a port of both Ys 1 & 2, after all). Here? You’re stuck at level 10, so you have to beat him as you are. And it’s a massive pain.
Technically, the game’s decent. The graphics look fairly nice, not the best, but they do the job. The sound is also very good, with some nice renditions of the original games soundtrack. But hey, don’t take my word for it - its available right here on RadioSEGA, so request a few tracks from it and see for yourself! (In particular? "Palace Of Destruction" is a personal favourite of mine.) Sadly, as I was playing a PAL title, the game is 17% slower than its American and Japanese counterparts, and that goes for the music, too. It sounded quite different to the versions I was used to - It’s not terrible, just a little different. 
 
Ultimately, the Master System version of Ys is a nice title, and worth a play if you can find it. It’s just very frustrating compared to the PC Engine version- and that port has the added bonus of the second Ys title as well. So I’d honestly recommend that instead. The only way you can get that in the UK without importing is through the Wii Virtual Console service, but it’s definitely worth it. As for the Master System version, you can find it through the usual means - Amazon, eBay - though finding it complete is quite hard. My copy is missing the manual, and none of the copies I found on Amazon have one, either.
 
Next time on Memories of SEGA, I’ll be delving into the first RPG I ever played! Did I enjoy it? Find out next time!

16th April, 2014 - 18:47 GMT KC Article viewed 1413 times 0 Comments

Comments:

There are no comments for this article.

You need to be logged in to post a comment.
Please login using the boxes at the top of the page.
Now PlayingFavourite Button Placeholder
RadioSEGA on the Web
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Discord
Youtube
Instagram
Steam
irc.surrealchat.net - #radiosega
Top 10 Requests
Top 10 Requests
Friends of RadioSEGA
|
http://www.segadriven.com/
|
http://www.lastminutecontinue.com/
|
http://www.sonicstadium.org/
|
http://www.summerofsonic.com/
|
https://terraplayer.com
|
https://dreamcastyears.co.uk/
|
https://twitter.com/segaguys
|
https://kngi.org/
|
https://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/
|
https://outrun86.wordpress.com/
|
https://16bap.theclassicgamer.net/
|
https://puyonexus.com/
|
https://yakuzafan.com/
|
https://shenmuedojo.com/
|
https://www.thesegalounge.com/
|
https://www.fromashestofire.com/