Review:
 "Ys, the ideal utopia...How could such a land of prosperity be forgotten?... The legend has been silent for over 700 years. And now, the mystery unfolds." Who would imagine that Alan Oppenheimer's stirring introduction to the mystical world of Ys would be a fitting eulogy for the legacy of the Turbo CD. Attempting to write a modern review for Ancient Ys Vanished: Book I & II is a difficult task. While the game is antiquated, it holds such historical and personal significance for older gamers, that it's challenging not to be biased. Ys Book I & II was released as the first RPG on the first video game console CD-ROM (the Turbo CD) in 1989. It's release heralded the evolution of the "standard" role-playing game. With more than 100 times the memory than console RPG's at the time, Ys promised a much larger, more colorful world, populated with lifelike characters who communicated with voice instead of text. Did Ys Book I & II deliver on it's promise. Let's take a look.

Graphics: 8/10

For an RPG on an hybrid 8/16 bit system, Ys Book I & II painted a very pretty picture. While simplistic overworld design, and utilitarian character animations, Ys did an amazing job of painting it's tapestry of landscape in bold colors. While the Sega Genesis scrambled to display 64 colors out of a palette of 512, Ys had the advantage of drawing from an unlimited RGB palette displaying up to 256 colors simultaneously. The earlier parts of the game are simply decorated, but as the player continues on his quest, the graphic prowess of Falcom's artists shines through in a way that was not surpassed until the seminal FFVI. I shall never forget how awe-struck I was at the scenery in Y's Book II as I raced up a cathedral bell tower to prevent a cursed bell from tolling. The stained glass windows and flickering torches were clearly drawn and animated well, even with faux lighting effects. Upon reaching the blether I was amazed at the scenery, for in the distance you could see the sun setting between mountain tops, swirl in hues of orange and red clouds that scrolled independently of the foreground. The illusion of the height of the tower and the majesty of the landscape was complete. Though the character sprites were simplistic in design and animation (a trend that continues today in most RPGs), the close character portraits are pristine and still some of the best anime designs to date. With the advent of such a large memory medium as a CD, Falcom included an introduction, intermediate and ending cinematic. While a far cry from the anime FMV found in most modern RPG's, for the first attempt ever, Ys Book I & II was remarkable. In keeping with the fantastic character design, these cinematics were well directed, even though their animation was severely limited due to the Turbo CD's RAM. Overall, the graphic quality of this game has stood the test of time. Simplistic at times, and breathtaking in the end, Ys Book I & II paints it's world of wonder without much difficulty.

Sound: 10/10

I could write a novella about the legendary music of Ys. While most import shops have a hard time stocking the dozen or so Ys Perfect Collection music CD's, there is good reason why. Before the weeping orchestrations of Nobuo Uematsu and his contemporaries, Ys = acoustic bliss. In a time removed from the advent of MP3s and oversampling, there was this divine beast known as Redbook Audio, also known as true digital sound. While not very memory efficient, this was, and still is the standard for CD audio. Besides the functional PCM, with it's "slash", "clang", "boink" and "boom", Ys Book I & II took Redbook Audio and ran. The pacing and instrumental choices always fit the mood, whether you were lolling around Estheria or racing to the (final?) confrontation at the top of Darm Tower, the quality was unmistakable. From the sweeping orchestrations of it's tragic introduction, to the rustic dalliance of it's lighthearted ending, Ys Book I & II is an audio masterpiece. Simply brilliant. 

Gameplay: 5/10

To put it simply, there really isn't much to it. Though the game offers a good variety of equipment, the spell election is basic at best. With a spell for each simple element (fire, ice, etc..), the graphical effects are efficient, but not magnificent. The actual combat mechanics seem to have been an afterthought. Simply run into the enemy (preferably his side or back) and the game tallies up the damage to you and the enemy. Though this makes combat fast paced and removes the annoyance of random encounters, it just looks silly. When most Action RPGs have some kind of combat interface, Ys resorts to a sprite based Milli-Vanilli chest bash. Tactically, plotting your ramming trajectory is the key to victory, but this gets a bit perplexing when you have to deal with significantly larger opponents, ala..the last boss. Overall, disappointing, but it worked.

Voice Acting: 10/10

Though this topic would usually belong under general audio, the vocal performances in this title surpasses most gaming dubs produced today. NEC/Falcom went the extra mile here with higher dubbing production values than most anime OVAs. With top-notch talent such as Debby Derryberry (Sasami from Tenchi Muyo), Alan Oppenheimer (Merlin from Prince Valiant), Michael Bell (Transformers, the Smurfs, as well as Soul Reaver's Raziel), and others, the cast of Ys makes the acclaimed voice talent from Metal Gear Solid sound like a high school drama club.  It has taken the gaming industry over a decade to even match the performance delivered in Ys Book I & II. From Lilia's sweet inquiries to Dark Fact's boasting, you just can't beat the acting in this game. It's a shame this much talent wasn't put to work on other Turbo CD titles.

Story line: 8/10

A young adventurer sets out on a simple archeological romp (though a dangerous one at that) at the behest of a local seer, only to be thrust into the classic struggle of good versus evil, and eventually become light's champion in a conflict of celestial proportions. Pretty standard RPG fare for the experienced, but it is a tory that is told so well, both in text and voice, that even the most jaded gamer will be hesitant to leave the screen.

For it's time, Ys Book I & II introduced us to a fantastical world created with cutting edge technology. It old a story of tragedy, hope and life. It wove a convincing and enthralling experience that has made it legend, and with good cause. Though not an epic like the 80+ hours of Xenogears, the game (both books) will take a seasoned gamer little over 14 hours to complete. But, those brief moments spent in the spell of Nihon Falcom's classic will last you for the rest of your days. Heck, it still puts a smile on my face.
 
 

Got a funny caption? Email us and let us know!