Topic: Help - Beginners Guide to Ys

I hope we have some experts of this series on board.
For the longest time, ive tried to get into this series. But since there are so many versions of each (older) game out there, i lost track of it.
So, a couple of questions for those, who know the series pretty well:

• Is the entire series playable in english ? (if in doubt, fan translations are ok)
• Which is the go-to version regarding the older titles ? (Gameplay > Story > Graphics)

The entire series is available in English. Both older versions of Ys IV (cruddy SNES one and amazing Turbografx one) are fan-translated. The Turbografx one is actually playable on a Turbografx. Ys V recently got fan-translated, although that game is generally seen as the worst in the entire series. All other Ys games are officially available in English format on their respective platforms of release.

As for which ones are the best, it's usually seen as a race between two different battle systems: the lone-character one (found in Ys Origin and Ys: Oath in Felghana, both on PC and Felghana also on PSP) and the party system (found in Ys Seven (PSP) and Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita)). Both styles are very much worth playing.

When it comes to the older titles, Ys IV: Dawn of Ys for Turbografx is by far the best of the bunch, mainly because it doesn't require a guide to get through due to several factors, be it smaller temple sizes or a progression system that makes more sense (look at this random thing and then talk to this random NPC kind of stuff isn't in it). Ys I&2 are so extraordinarily old-school that it's off-putting. If you want to play them, play the 2009 PSP version. Basically the most refined version. Ys 3 isn't worth bothering with. Neither is the SNES version of IV, and I already mentioned that V is seen by most as the worst version in the series that nearly killed the franchise. Ys 6 is okay, nothing really special, and it's outclassed in every way by the later titles in the series.

In terms of my personal favorites, I'd say Memories of Celceta > Oath in Felghana = Ys Seven > Ys IV: Dawn of Ys > Ys Origin > Ys I&2 > Everything else

Sorry for the long post. I like Ys games.

EDIT: Enjoy the wonderful music!

@moomoo Thanks for your great post ! By no means do you need to be sorry, thats exactly what im looking for.
As for the "best" version, i more meant for each individual game. If i dive into a series, i do it from the very beginning to the bitter end, in that order
Thats why i asked in advance if the whole series is available in one way or another. Missing one part in the middle would just bug me to no end.

As for the quality of individual titles: I dont care. They are part of the series, so im going to play them
But since its already 5:20 in the morning over here, and i still havent slept, im going to dig through your recommandations part for part tomorrow. Maybe we can a reference list together, if other might be interested to.
Listing each individual part of the whole series and picking its best version for the english speaking audience

@Einherjar That's where things get complicated. You see, a number of the games in the Ys series have gotten remade... to the point of not being the same game anymore. So they'll basically share the same plot (sort of), as well as some musical and world similarities, but everything else will be different. Ys III got remade as Oath in Felghana, and many people see Oath in Felghana as redeeming Ys III, as it basically "fixed" it, so to speak. Ys IV is even more complicated, the official canon version is the SNES one, which later got "remade" as Ys: Memories of Celceta for the Vita. Instead of using the classic battle system, it used the system found in Ys 7, and incorporated many new characters and story elements into the game. Ys IV: Dawn of Ys isn't canon, and it actually acts as an in-between point story-wise between Ys 2 and 3. It was only called Ys IV because Hudson Soft still wanted an Ys game on their dying console at the time, and Falcom (the official developer) made it for the Turbografx, leading the inferior canon game to be put on the SNES. It's quite strange.

Also, just so you know, Ys V is getting remade for the Vita and PS4 and is coming out some time next year in Japan, so if you want to jump on the chronological boat, that will be helpful. It uses the same gameplay in Ys 7 and Memories of Celceta.

If you want the best way to play the games in chronological order by the series timeline, it would be as follows (the recommended games will be bolded):

Ys Origin (PC)
Ys: Book 1 and 2 (there are several versions; the best is the PSP version followed by the Turbografx 16 version, which just so happens to be on Virtual Console)
Ys IV: Dawn of Ys (Turbografx 16)
Ys III (Turbografx 16) / Ys: Oath in Felghana (PSP/PC)
Ys IV (SNES) / Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita)
Ys V / Upcoming Ys V for Vita and PS4
Ys VI (PS2 version over the PSP one, since the loading times are terrible on PSP)
Ys 7 (PSP)

I'll jump in on this thread more later on when i have more time, as i am a huge fan of Ys, but i just wanted to jump in and say that i would not recommend playing Origin first. There's characters (some ancestors) that are tied directly to Ys I and II, and you'll get more out of it if you've played 1 and 2 first. But that's more of a preference thing (like the argument of whether one should watch the Star Wars prequels or the Original Trilogy first)

Thank you guys SO much, especially you @moomoo for taking the time to create that list and giving some insight.
Also looking forward to your part in it @the_shpydar
That helped majorly, and i cant thank you enough. Ill try to track all of them down as best as i can, and after my romp through SMT4 (finally !!!), ill jump right into this series.

Just gonna throw out a recommendation for the PC port of Ys 1+2 Chronicles, it's a fantastic updated port with both modern and classic playstyles which you can choose between. Failing that, Ys Book 1+2 for the Wii Virtual Console is a good bet.

I have played multiple versions of Ys Books 1 + 2, and I still like the TG-CD version on the VC the most...I mean, I haven't played the PSP version yet, but what does it have that could really add to the experience? I know it didn't add better music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf87KPms97c - :X

yeah @the_shpydar has you covered @Einherjar.
i was going to jump in here and offer his help for you and to no surprise hes already responded

Now then ... where to start ...
The Ys games are absolutely fabulous. Even the lesser entries (i'm looking at you, Ys V) are still good games. Between the music, the gameplay and the sheer fact that Adol Christin is awesome, this is a series that anyone who is interested in action RPGs needs to at least check out.

When trying to say which game is best, a lot of it comes down to personal tastes. My favorite is probably Oath in Felghana, as it nails everything perfectly. But i also really enjoy the original Book I & II on Turbografx16, and i am among the few who actually really like the original Ys III: Wanders from Ys. Ys Seven is a great game, but i tend to prefer the solo-Adol adventures; even though Seven does it well, i'm not as much of a fan of the multiple character thing.

When it comes down to which version of each game is best, in some ways it depends on what you're looking for. Personally, for Book I & II, i tend to prefer the TG16 version, but the version released on PSP (Chronicles, which itself is a version of the Complete/Eternal remakes, which the DS version of the games was also based on) is very good, and includes a lot more story content and some refined gameplay.

For Ys III, even though i really enjoy the original Wanders from Ys, Oath in Felghana is the definitive way to go. Much refined gameplay, and a much better-expanded story that makes more sense and is more complete than the way it was told in Wanderers.

I have only played the SNES version of Ys IV, which is Mask of the Sun (and i'm still in the middle of it at the moment, actually), so i can't speak too much on that one at the moment. I know that the Dawn of Ys entry of Ys IV is supposed to be a better game, and that Celceta is now the official "canon" version of the story events that are considered to be the "true" story of Ys IV (Mask of the Sun and Dawn of Ys have common story elements, but they are different games).

Ys V is not horrible, but it is the weakest entry — it's very short, much easier than the other games, and just utterly forgettable. I'd recommend it only after you've played a bunch of the other games and decide that you really love the series.

Ys VI is a good game, but also somewhat forgettable. There's nothing wrong with the game, it's just not as good as some of the other amazing entries in the series.

Ys Seven, as mentioned, has a full party system going on, with several playable characters who all have their own styles in fighting and such. It's an excellent game and definitely recommended. Also a very good story, and it truly feels epic. It's probably towards the top of the "best of" list.

Ys Origins is very reminiscent of the original games in terms of feel. It's set centuries before the original games, and explains how some of the things in the original games came to be (which is why i said in my earlier post that you'll get more out of it if you play I & II first). There's three different playable characters (you only play as one at a time), and for each one of them, the story plays out from a different perspective, which is a very cool dynamic.

Now, as far as the overall story, you can almost consider III, IV, V, VI and Seven as "stand-alone" entries in that you can play them in any order and you won't really be "missing" anything. I, II and Origins are the ones that are interconnected story-wise.

Now, rather than ramble on some more, i'll stop myself here. If you have any questions in particular, throw them up and i'll do my best to answer. As i said (and as @ogo79 well knows ), i am a huge fan of the Ys series and i'll be happy to help you out.

I also agree that Ys V is okay, but not particularly memorable, with bland dungeons and gameplay that doesn't feel very Ys-like, or really unique at all (it plays more like Soul Blazers, but not quite as refined).

To expand on a few other points:

I found Ys III: Wanderers of Ys very difficult to get into - I've tried it several times on various platforms, and I never can get very far before I'm confused and/or frustrated. I don't recommend playing that one unless you become enough of a fan of the series that you want to sample a largely forgotten piece of its history.

Dawn of Ys is fantastic if you can find a way to play it. It's easily the best of the "run-into-enemies" type of Ys games. There's a surprising amount of care and detail to it's gameplay, graphics, music, and story, that I can hardly believe Falcom didn't have a hand in it. That said, I do prefer Ys: Memories of Celceta in a lot of aspects, but that's not to say Dawn can't run with the best of them.

It can't be said enough: go with the PS2 version of Ys VI. Konami put in a lot of effort into making a really good port of what was a "decent" game otherwise, and it really goes a long way in making the game more fun. It's still not a great game in comparison to most of the other entries in the series, but it's very good in its own regard, IMO. Definitely one to play when you've gone through most of the great Yses and still want more Ys.

I've just started Celceta on the Vita, which I believe is a remake of one of the earlier ones.

Haven't got that far yet, (because FFX) but it's pretty good so far and definitely a suitable starting entry if you have a Vita.

Can't believe I actually bought FFX three times (original US release, JP International Edition, PS3)