ElkinFencer10 wrote:Awesome, thanks man. How does the SMS version compare to the TGCD version aside from the obvious audio inferiority? Also, do you know if it supports FM sound?
I'm not an audiophile and no nothing about SMS FM sound. I will say that the OST sounds pretty solid on the SMS.
Two things that jump out at me about SMS
Ys... First, expect to spend a substantial amount of time grinding. This has nothing to do with the amount of XP required to gain a level but more to do with that fact that Adol moves slower and only a small number of enemy sprites can inhabit the screen at one time. Second, some of the dungeon maps in the SMS game are flipped "mirror images" when compared to other versions. No idea why. Some programmer was drunk or decided to troll us. So if you seek maps out on the internet make sure they're unique to the SMS game.
Overall, there are three "types" of
Ys Book I & II variants.
First, the old computer and 8-bit console releases.
Ys and
Ys II were first initially released on the PC-88 and then soon ported to the PC-98, FM-7, X1, X68000 (
Ys I only), MSX2, Apple IIGS (
Ys I only), DOS (DOS
Ys II is heavy reworked... and Korean), SMS (
Ys I only), and Famicom. I highly recommend going the console route - controls are improved and the computer versions are impossible to find these days anyway, save the MSX2 games which require really expensive hardware.
Recommendation: Ys I on SMS, Ys II on FamicomNext, the CD-ROM era.
Ys Book I & II on TurboGrafx CD contains the most "definitive" versions of these games. They're combined into one long experience (no other version does this, other compilations separate the games), and showcase the best graphics and artwork by a longshot. The games later appeared on the Saturn via Falcom compilations featuring redone graphics and sound that are both substantially inferior.
Recommendation: TurboDuoFinally, the
Eternal games and all subsequent ports.
Ys Eternal and
Ys II Eternal are Windows 95/98 games with redone graphics and sound design. They're quite exquisite, and every subsequent version of
Ys and
Ys II (whether standalone or compiled) is based on these releases. This includes
Ys I & II Complete (PC),
Ys I & II Eternal Story (PS2),
Legacy of Ys: Books I & II (DS - in Japan these were released as standalone games
and as a compilation),
Ys I & II Chronicles (PSP, PC), and all the various cell phone / tablet versions. Of the bunch
Chronicles is your best bet. The art style is great, there's an option to listen to retro variants of the soundtrack, and the controls are smooth and fast as lightning.
Recommendation: The GOG.com and/or PSP variant of Chronicles