Ys Book I & II (TurboGrafx-CD) Playthrough

A playthrough of Hudson Soft's 1990 action role-playing game for the TurboGrafx-CD, Ys Book I & II.

Ys Book I & II, developed by Alfa System and published by Hudson, is a remake of the first two games in Falcom's Ys series for the TurboGrafx-CD system. Both games are shown in their entirety. Book II begins at 1:54:25.

Ys I and II were both originally made for the NEC PC-8801 (in 1987 and 1988, respectively), and though the first game had already seen official English releases (like on the Sega Master System https://youtu.be/WGy5fs7beds), this Turbografx game represented the only official way to play Ys II in English before a remake was included as part of Legacy of Ys on the Nintendo DS in 2009.

The CD-ROM format was still a new technology on the consumer-level computer market in 1990, and NEC led the charge on the console front in America, introducing the CD-ROM² system upgrade for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1989 for an eye-watering $399 at launch. That didn't include the required base TG16 hardware, which was an additional $199. The first wave of games released on CD did little to justify the extreme cost ($600 USD in 1989 works out to appx. $1520 in 2024 money), but then Ys I & II arrived and stunned both the media and gamers alike.

Hailed as the first work to truly leverage the seemingly limitless storage capacity of compact discs, Ys Book I & II was among the very first big-budget titles to be developed specifically for the CD format. The disc was packed with about twenty minutes worth of cinematic cutscenes, another twenty of digitized speech voiced by some big name talent (just check out that cast list at 4:49:30!), and over 40 Redbook music tracks, all in service of enhancing two (!) of the most polished, progressive RPGs of its day. And all of this for a dedicated games console, no less!

To call Ys Book I & II impressive in 1990 would be a gross understatement, a fact well illustrated by the number of perfect scores and GOTY awards it took that year. It was a true system seller, and it was later included as a pack-in title with the release of the TurboDuo.

These adventures are the story of wandering swordsman Adol Christin. He heads to Esteria after hearing reports of disturbances, and the people of Minea Town fill him in on the details: vicious monsters now roam the once safe countryside, people are being robbed, and an evil figure in a black cloak has been spotted in the area.

A psychic, Sara, tells Adol that she has been expecting him. She claims that he is the hero that will deliver the land of Esteria from evil, and asks him to retrieve the books of Ys, a historical record that will guide Adol on his quest. With that settled, all Adol has to do now is arm himself and vanquish the evil that plagues the land. All in a day's work, right?

Ys' gameplay doesn't fit the typical JRPG mold. Combat occurs in real-time, and there's no dedicated attack button. Adol must ram himself into his enemies, and the outcome depends on the angle of his approach, his equipment, and his level relative to that of his opponent. If done well, Adol dishes out heavy damage. If not, he's in for a world of hurt.

The system takes a bit of getting used to, but it's elegant in its simplicity. You can quickly be wiped out if you aren't careful, but there are special abilities conferred by special rings of power to help balance things out. You can also save anywhere, anytime outside of boss battles.

Ys I is an intimate feeling game with its small number of locations and NPCs, but its charm carries the story well, and it's an excellent way to set up the larger, more elaborate world presented in Ys II. The dungeon design is largely excellent - I love the way the game forces you to invest in each new area, many of which you'll revisit several times, and the boss fights are some of the most satisfying I've had in an RPG.

Ys II's introduction of attack magic adds an extra layer to the combat, and the wider range of environments and set-piece battles give it a lot more visual oomph than Ys I had, but the Solomon Shrine.... argh!! That late-game dungeon is an unreasonably huge maze that requires constant backtracking, and even with hand drawn maps, I still find it painful to navigate. It's the one spot in the entire collection where the game's vintage shows through a bit too well. Perseverance is rewarded well, though, since the best parts of Ys II follow soon after.

To me, the best part of the game is the soundtrack. Ryo Yonemitsu's remixes of Yuzo Koshiro and Mieko Ishikawa's original themes are superb. They're not as heavily rock-oriented as his Ys III (https://youtu.be/f-ZEdTDWslQ) arrangements were, but they all perfectly compliment the tone of the game, and the 80s synths sound awesome.

There's little doubt that this was one of Turbo's most important, defining games, and it deserves to seen as such. It's an unforgettable experience.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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