Ys Origin – review and opinion about the game [Switch]

Ys Origin from Nihon Falcom, originally released for PCs only in Japan in 2006, was a wet dream of fans of the series and all Japanese in general. At that time, the title belonged to those beyond KKW, like many others, until he had to get his own English-language fan patch. However, the climate was slowly changing and longed-for Western players were officially given the title six years later. Console taking had to wait a few more years to receive its own versions, and as you can see, Nintendo Switch could not do without it. Is it still worth spending time with this old man? Absolutely, but more on that later in the review.

The World of Ys 700 Years Before

Ys Origin is a prequel to a whole series of excellent JRPGs of action, which had its roots back in the 1980s, with the red-haired young man Adol (although this time almost without him). The world of Ys itself refers to one of the many mythical sunken lands, today located near the French Brittany. In this episode, the action of the game takes place 700 years before the first expeditions of our wanderer and presents the causes of the fall of the ancient civilization, the relics of which he discovered during his journeys.

In times gone by, the land was ruled by a highly developed magical civilization that was invaded by demons. Two young goddesses, however, managed to save the great temple along with the remnants of its inhabitants by lifting it into the heavens. Hell’s creatures are stubborn beasts, though, so they built a giant tower to get there too. Unfortunately, both girls mysteriously left their post, and all traces lead to the tower, where the rescue expedition sets off. It (un) accidentally includes the teenage warrior Yunica Tovah and the young magician Hugo Fact. Whose fate the player will take depends only on him, but it is worth knowing that after passing both heroes we unlock the character of Claw, whose story is not a hundred percent carbon copy of the fate of the two.

Ys Origin – an old man full of energy

The plot of the reviewed Ys Origin it is rather not a complex one, although it is still better than in the canonical versions. However, history has its charm thanks to our two heroes. Personally, I chose Yunika, whose persistence in pursuing her goals makes her a figure worth remembering. All in all, we got a simple but really addictive fairy tale about the fight between good and evil for two or three evenings in a magical world doomed sooner or later to extinction.

On the other hand, in order not to be too pink, there are few animated films that make a big scratch. They were left in their original resolution, and since the game is from 2006, you can guess how unpleasant to watch them today. I also noticed a few moments when the animation could jerk sharply, and blurry images when additional objects or characters appeared / disappeared (which I did not meet in the PS4 version). Besides, the original Japanese PC version Ys Origin it had dubbing in key moments of the scenario, and in the console version (as in the Steam version), that is also on the Switch, it was cut. The music itself, on the other hand, fits the game’s atmosphere perfectly, and the energetic rhythms have always encouraged people to play. Returning, however, to the aforementioned ailments, fortunately they occur rarely enough to bother with them.

Bloody shambles in a female edition

At least the gameplay Ys Origin It’s a simple mix of chop, platformer, and RPG elements, and it’s still fun. In addition, we have quite a lot of freedom in exploring the tower and often return to previously inaccessible places, thanks to which the title can also be upgraded to the metroidvania genre. In short – we go over the next floors of the tower to get to the top. Along the way, we are happy to knock the enemies we meet and jump on the platforms. We are also looking for items that allow us to get to previously inaccessible places. Simple, but fun to play, especially since the pad control is quite comfortable.

The icing on the cake worth mentioning when reviewing Ys Origin there are fights with huge bosses, which to defeat you have to be smart and find their weak point, which will often require jumping on them. The difficulty level, however, is quite low, because a relatively short (for the genre) grind is enough for a quick character promotion. However, I liked the idea of ​​buying upgrades with gems, which is a pretty good incentive to slaughter hordes of monsters. For beginners, I recommend playing with Yunica, whose ax, in my opinion, makes a more solid thud than the weak Hugo missiles.

A new platform, but Ys Origin the same as before

Ys Origindespite fourteen years on the back of his neck, he is still a great time lover, which should not be indifferent to any fan of colorful jRPG action and the old school. He’s a terrible time waster, but it ends faster than we think. I recommend it to anyone who misses the old titles with a soul and would like to play with this production also on Nintendo Switch.

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