QCF: Y's I & II Chronicles+

This Review was Frelanced by Johnathan Sawyer; you can find his other work here.

 storm had arrived. Nothing could pass through this supposedly impenetrable "Stormwall," as it had come to be called. The land looked as though it would be seeing its final days, until a lone man with fiery-red hair washed up on the shores of Esteria... It is here in Ys I & II Chronicles+ that the saga of Adol the Red begins and puts several memorable marks into the pages of gaming history along the way.

Honestly, from all of the Ys games I’ve played over the years, there exists one steady element that you can always count on: the music. Sound Team JDK lives up to its promise once again, bringing an excellent hair-metal type remix to the classic soundtrack. Compared to this compilation's two prior soundtrack ventures (the PC-88 original and the Complete remaster), this one easily takes the cake. Jam out to the licks of the guitar as you travel through a monster-infested temple, listen carefully to the beat of the drum and the synth as you go through a dark, creepy cave, or just let loose when a high guitar note comes out of nowhere, syncing with the giant beast that just crashed into the room, ready to rip you to pieces.

The OST is not all rock, though. Sound Team JDK also covers the depressing and somber tracks as well, and they are done extremely well, possibly bringing tears to your eyes at certain parts of the story. I can safely say that there actually is not a poor track in the game; they all suit the current situation particularly well, and each of the tracks will stick with you as you go from area to area. But seeing as this is a compilation of two games, I would give the award of "Best OST" between to the two to the first Ys. Not because the second's lacks quality, but just because the first's is incredible. Do a search for "Ys - Palace of Destruction" online; you can thank me later.

If that were not enough, there is even more goodness that comes from this soundtrack; included within the game are three versions of it! The original PC-88 version, the 2001 Complete version, and the fully revamped 2009 Chronicles version. I prefer the Chronicles version myself, but just having the options there for those who would like them is an example that other developers should follow and learn from.



Keep in mind that this game has been around either...

a) Since you have been alive.
b) Most of your life already.

The story itself may seem slightly generic by today's standards at first glance, but it is a worthy portion of the story in the entire Ys saga, especially relative to the prequel, Ys Origin. In the first Ys, Adol comes to the land of Esteria after hearing rumors of turmoil in the country. After being nursed back to health by its citizens, a chance encounter with a fortuneteller pushes him to find the ancient Books of Ys, and to discover what’s happening and why.

Since Ys I & II combined is really meant to be one account of Adol's first adventure, it is hard to go into the details of Ys II without spoiling any of Ys I, but the same theme falls true with the sequel, just in a different area with a different set of characters. The plot seamlessly continues from the final battle of Ys I to the first events of Ys II.

Each game has several dozen unique characters to talk to, as well as some familiar faces from other games in the Ys series. While the story itself may not be a blockbuster, all of the attention placed into the NPCs, in addition to the story itself, makes it thoroughly enjoyable. I would be lying if I said that there weren’t any surprises in the story; there were a few instances that caught me off guard, and I found that quite impressive for a game this aged. There are even several points to where you certainly start to wonder, "What IS going on?" For those who say the story is cliche, I say it is far from it. I am sure you can think of at least one or two guilty of this.


The gameplay: One portion of Ys I & II Chronicles that, regardless of how good the rest of it is, will ultimately make or break a player's decision to enjoy the game. Which part? THE BUMP SYSTEM.

I will be honest. The first time I tried the bump system on the PSP version, I absolutely loathed it. I could not play the game for longer than 30 or 40 minutes without getting frustrated with it. However, being the Falcom and Ys fan that I am, I know that I needed to give it a fair shake, so as time went by and the PC version was released, I was ready to give it a go again. I turned a full 180, and as the game progressed, I grew to appreciate it thoroughly. Yes, I was spoiled on the system featured in Ys: The Oath in Felghana at the time, and this seemed sub-par, but with Falcom's aim of keeping this "retro," I can now understand why they would keep it. It does require skill, and it does require patience.

To elaborate more on the bump system: It automatically allows Adol to attack enemies with his sword when he bumps into them on the field. It is also known as "buttonless combat" since you literally don’t do anything else except move Adol. When attacking enemies, you must aim to smash into them while being off-center; if you attack them head on, then you will receive damage instead. If you attack them from behind, or even diagonally, then they still have a chance of quickly turning that direction. If that happens, then you will be facing them directly once again, leaving you open for damage. See how this can be a bit challenging? It is all about precision. It can be a bit trying at times, and to make it worse, the enemies get faster as the game goes on, requiring your timing and skill be a little more honed.

In the second Ys, you are not as dependent on the bump system since Adol is able to learn magic this time around. You will still spend the majority of time bumping into random enemies on the field just to conserve your MP, but at least it is not the ONLY thing you are forced to do. However, this time around, hitting enemies diagonally is the preferred method of contact, guaranteeing your success virtually every time. The Easy difficulty in Ys II is also a bit more forgiving; it seems that you do not take much damage, if at all, from attacking foes head on, making the learning curve for Ys II more manageable.

As for the magic, you will have different types of it at your disposal! You can use Fire magic to blast away at foes (and even the townspeople if you are looking for some humor), Light magic to be able to see better in caverns, Return magic to teleport back to towns for quicker travel, Alter magic to become a Roo (a cute, fuzzy kangaroo-like creature that, even after being transformed into a demon itself from the outside evil influences, maintains its innocence and overall cuteness), Time magic to stop everything for a few seconds so you can either gather your bearings or deal some extra damage, and Shield magic to allow you to become invincible for a short period of time. Each of those will unlock at various points through the game, and positively add more strategic measures to the gameplay.

Outside of the action aspects of the game, you will notice that the game is VERY fast paced. Adol runs faster in this game than I have seen most characters do in any other game! With the bump system, I am extremely glad it is like this; otherwise, battles would be fairly tedious. Because it is this way, it makes backtracking much, much easier as the time between the starting point and destination seems minimal.

As with most other RPG's, you are able to earn money by defeating monsters, buy items and equipment from shops, explore dungeons and cities, find treasure chests, and take on difficult bosses at the end of the aforementioned dungeons. Of course, being a Falcom game, these bosses are not going to be a pushover in any difficulty; they just will not be as hard on Easy compared to Nightmare. As long as you can tolerate the bump system, it will be a fitting challenge. It does require skill and patience; if you do not have either of those, then you will likely not enjoy the boss fights, let alone the majority of the game.


I am one that hates basing a game's rating based on how it looks, as long as it does not look awful. Luckily, this is not the case! If you have ever seen the PC-88 graphics of Ys, then you would not be surprised that they needed an overhaul. Unlike most other remakes, like what Falcom did with Ys: The Oath in Felghana, they actually stayed VERY true to the original! The game is still an overhead, 2D RPG with sprites, except now, the resolution is MUCH higher, and the sprites look wonderful! For both enemies and NPC's, each one has a lot of detail, as well as their own distinct look. Even the backgrounds are well done, staying true to the original while bringing a modern feel to the game.

The graphics themselves are comparable to sprite-based games on a late PS1 or an early PS2 game, but seeing as this compilation was first released in 2001, it does not come as a surprise. But with being able to increase the resolution and upscale the graphics, they still keep up extremely well here in 2013, and are a pleasure to look at.

With this compilation, Falcom brings to the table different viewpoints and artwork for the game! The game was first compiled in the Complete version in 2001; it stayed in the classic 4:3 resolution, the gameplay was shown in a window at the top, the statistics were at the bottom, and pleasant anime-style artwork went with it. The second time it was compiled in 2009 for the PSP, the window was ditched, everything was in the PSP's 16:9 window to accommodate for the smaller screen and wide resolution, and a different kind of artwork that felt more "modern" was introduced. This version brings both of those together, allowing you to choose from either the 2001 version, or the 2009 version, or even mixing both of them up, putting different styles of artwork with the other display type!


This would not be an Ys game if it did not have some replayability! As with most other Ys titles, there are several difficulty levels; this one has Easy, Normal, Hard and Nightmare. Just like those other Ys titles, Nightmare is exactly as described: a nightmare. Enemies become much, much stronger and faster, and you must change your strategy to do things a little bit smarter.

Another bonus is a Time Attack mode that is unlocked upon completing each of the Ys games! This mode allows you to go into what is also known as a Boss Rush in the other games, where you take on one boss after another, based on a level that you should have been during the playthrough. Because of this "estimated level," it is likely that you will be more under leveled in this mode than you were in the game itself, and you will probably have a harder time with the boss. This goes doubly true if you only played it in Easy mode. If you want to test your skill, this is the place.

However, if you are not into trying different difficulties or bashing bosses, then you will likely only have one playthrough. While it is a lot of bumping fun, you certainly cannot stray far from how you played it the first time to do anything different, due to the linearity.

The Ys series does not boast as much fame as one like Final Fantasy, but I hold it in high regard as one of the best series of all time. While not the strongest entry in the series, Ys I & II Chronicles+ itself definitely holds its own, and at only $14.99, it is worth buying on either Steam or even the PSP, whichever version you can get your hands on. It will be a joy to your eyes and ears, and if you like punishment via the harder difficulties, your mental stability. This is only the beginning of the story of Adol Christin; it is truly enjoyable, but there are quite a few others to follow, so make your way to Ys: The Oath in Felghana on Steam or the PSP after this!