Legacy of Ys: Books I & II – NDS – Review

Debuting on the NEC PC-8801 over two
decades ago, the Ys franchise has been one of the most storied Japanese RPGs
around, with releases hitting a variety of systems, like the SNES, PC, and most
recently the PS2. However, while the series has been quite prolific in Japan, Ys
launches in the US have been few and far between. In fact, the most recent
release, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim on PSP and PS2, was the first title in the
series to see launch in the US since the third game in the series launched on
Super Nintendo. However, for fans of the series who have been waiting in the
dark for more Ys adventures, Atlus has released a repackaging of the first two
games in the series on the Nintendo DS, Legacy of Ys: Books I & II.

Legacy of Ys is a competent package,
offering updated versions of the original games, which stand up pretty well
after all of these years. Each one presents unique story elements, yet playing
the two of them together gives you a great insight to the events of the series
as a whole. Unfortunately, the gameplay is very limiting, and newer RPG fans
will find the game to be overly simplistic, limiting, and hard to navigate, and
may wonder just what all of the fuss is about. Still, if you’re an old-school
gamer who cut their teeth on older RPGs and never got the chance to check out
the Ys series, then this package is certainly something you’d want to check out.

Legacy of Ys tells the story behind
the inception of series hero Adol Christin, and his beginnings as he embarks on
the quest to discover the six books of Ys and defeat the evil that plagues the
land. The story develops as you move from the first game to the second, as does
Adol’s personality and the characters you interact with. While the story
certainly isn’t complex or deep by modern standards, it’s still interesting to
see how the series began.

Legacy offers classic Ys gameplay,
set from a top-down perspective. You’ll attack enemies by walking your character
into them, at which point you’ll attack them and keep stabbing at them until
they die or you do. The game moves at a very fast pace, with most battles rarely
lasting longer than a few seconds and moving in real-time. The second game
introduces magic to Adol’s repertoire, but this doesn’t really move beyond
standard ranged attacks. The combat mechanics are pretty easy to grasp and
incredibly simplistic, but still stand well for fans of the series.

One new feature introduced to the
game is four-player mode in Ys II that involves killing enemies and collecting
orbs. Once all enemies have been defeated and all orbs collected, the winner is
decided as the one with the most orbs. This isn’t the most original or really
compelling multiplayer mode, but is a nice addition to the package.

There are some quirks that rear
their heads that will no doubt infuriate some modern gamers unfamiliar with the
mechanics of the series. The item system is an absolute chore, often boiling
down into a guessing game to gauge just what specific items will give you in
terms of benefits, as purchasing them in a store gives you no details as to what
they do until you buy them. Of course, this is a symptom of many RPGs from the
old days, as games like Dragon Warrior or even the earlier Final Fantasy titles
never offered any sort of details on your items until you bought and equipped
them, but considering that this title is a remake geared towards today’s
audience, this is a pretty glaring issue.

Additionally, each game is quite
short. Seasoned RPG gamers should have no problem blazing through each game in
less than eight hours or so, and considering that most RPGs register around the
30-hour mark, this could be seen as a bit of a letdown.

Graphically, Legacy of Ys makes a
few subtle improvements to the characters and environments, and introduces
animated cut scenes to the mix that are a very nice touch. However, the whole
look is very dated and the game is far from being the best looking RPG on the
DS. The sound has also received some modest updates with a new music that sounds
great, like a classic SNES soundtrack.

Legacy of Ys: Books I & II comes
highly recommended for fans of the series looking to relive the magic of decades
past. While the old-school mechanics are simplistic and limiting and some
elements border on frustrating, this is still a good value for old-school RPG
fans.

Review Scoring Details for Legacy of Ys: Books I & II

Gameplay: 7.0
Aside from a few updates and an optional touch-screen control scheme, the gameplay in Legacy of Ys is definitely old-school, aptly preserved over decades.
However, as a result, it might be a little too traditional for some.

Graphics: 6.5
The graphics have received a modest update, and features some cool new
pre-rendered cut scenes and 3D environments, but generally looks dated compared
to other RPGs on the DS.

Sound: 7.5
The score is great in a retro kind of way and sounds like a great throwback
to classic SNES soundtracks.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.5
Considering that this is the first time these two titles have been available
together in the US since the TG-16 days, this compilation is a tremendous value
for fans of the Ys franchise.

Multiplayer: 7.0
The four-player orb-collecting mini-game is a nice touch, but doesn’t really
add much to the formula.

Overall: 7.0
Legacy of Ys: Books I & II is a great deal for fans of the original series
and old-school RPG fanatics, but likely will be far too outdated and traditional
for many RPG players.