Games Beaten 2017

[ElkinFencer10]

One of our esteemed members here decided to play Chrono Trigger for the first time.

Aww, I'm esteemed! =D

[ElkinFencer10]

This review is dedicated to BoneSnapDeez

Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 7

January (7 Games Beaten)

1. Persona 4 Arena - Playstation 3 - January 1
2. Chrono Trigger - SNES - January 7
3. Ys: The Vanished Omens - Master System - January 8
4. MUSHA - Genesis - January 10
5. Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below - PlayStation 4 - January 11
6. Ys I - TurboGrafx-CD - January 13
7. Ys II - TurboGrafx-CD - January 14

6. Ys I - TurboGrafx-CD - January 13
7. Ys II - TurboGrafx-CD - January 14



Holy god. This game, man. Holy shit. I mean...DAMN. Even though they were original released as separate games, I waited until finishing both Ys I and Ys II to write this because they were released in the same package here, and (more importantly) the end of Ys I immediately leads into the beginning of Ys II. If you recall, I played Ys I on Master System about a week or so ago. Bone told me that the TurboGrafx-CD version is by far the definitive version, but unfortunately, I don't have a TurboGrafx-CD - just a TurgoGrafx-16 and a PC-Engine. Fortunately, however, the incredible Nintendo Wii has it on the Virtual Console service. God bless the Wii.



So, to begin, let's start by comparing Ys I on TGCD vs Master System. First and foremost, it's definitely the same game. Don't expect something like Nintendo Tetris vs Tengen Tetris on NES. Other than the obvious technical boosts, though, it starts with about two or three minutes of prologue that was excluded from the Master System release; Adol arrives on the continent by ship and sets out on his quest out of a desire to help the people of this land he's visiting. Not exactly a gripping, intricate narrative or motivation, but it's at least SOME motivation, something the Master System version lacked. Beyond that, it's the same game with some minor tweaks. The dungeon layouts are SLIGHTLY different - some are mirrored vertically, some horizontally, a few paths here and there are different - but I was able to do everything except the mine straight from memory of the Master System version (that one was mirrored and just confusing in general). Some of the names are slightly changed (Adol is actually called Adol in this one, for example; he had some stupid different name on Master System).



As you can see, the character interactions are enhanced with some GREAT 80s style anime art in addition to the regular character sprites, and since this originally used CD technology, key characters even have voice acting - something truly outstanding when you consider that this game was originally released in 1989. Because Ys I carries over directly into Ys II, the leveling system is drastically different. Whereas in the Master System version of Ys I the level cap was 10, each level took a LOT of exp to reach, and your stat boosts were dramatic, the level cap here is 62, each level is MUCH more attainable, and your stat boost are very incremental because you'll be level over two games (and the second game is probably at least twice as long as the first). For reference, I was level 37 at the end of Ys I and 59 when I got to the final boss of Ys II (though I had to grind to the max level 62 before I was able to beat him). Unfortunately, none of your gold carries over to Ys II (and you need a lot more gold in Ys II than you did in Ys I), and unsurprisingly, none of your items carry over.



After you defeat Dark Fact at the end of Ys I, you're transported magically up to the floating land of Ys for the start of Ys II. The only items that you still have are the six books of Ys, and they're the key to the first part of your quest. You'll travel through a mine complex first that's very similar in purpose to the shrine in Ys I (although infinitely more convoluted) returning each book to its respective priest statue. Then you kill an ass ton of demons, travel through Hoth and then straight into and through Hell before you get to the most obnoxious and oversized dungeon I've ever see in an RPG and one that by itself will easily take up a third of your play time. Seriously, it's a bitch, use a map and/or a walkthrough when you get to Solomon Shrine. I did Ys I without a walkthrough and only used a map for the mine, and I did Ys II without a walk through or map (except for the mine) up until that point, but I had to pull out a walkthrough AND a map for Solomon Shrine because it was SO huge, SO complex, and SO confusing.



Truthfully, the ending of Ys II was underwhelming. The final boss fight was intense although the mid-boss before you get to him was a joke; I literally walked straight through is attacks and just wailed on him with no attempt to dodge and beat him with more than 3/4 of my health left. Darm, the final boss, however, was a bitch. I couldn't get more than half of his health down at level 59, and at level 62 - an hour and between ten and fifteen THOUSAND random enemies later - while he was extremely manageable, I still had to take care to dodge his attacks as much as I could. The ending itself, though, after you defeat Darm, was...okay. It wasn't bad by any means, and it was your general feel-good "thanks for saving all of creation from certain doom" celebration, but after such an incredible game, it felt like a bit of a let down.



Now let's wrap this up talking about where the game REALLY shines - the soundtrack. Ys I & II on TurboGrafx-CD has, without exaggeration or compare, the greatest soundtrack of any game I've ever played. Holy shit, man. The Master System version sounded good (as long as you played with FM Sound), but god DAMN, this music is incredible thanks to the CD audio capabilities. It obviously looks SIGNIFICANTLY better than the Master System visually, but for a 16-bit system using CDs versus an 8-bit system using cartridges, that shouldn't come as a surprise. The music is really where this shines. The music for the area between Rance Village and the shrine/mine dungeon in and the music for the sewers underneath Solomon Shrine (both in Ys II) are among the greatest video game musical compositions I have ever heard, surpassed only by Final Fantasy VII's One-Winged Angel in my opinion.



The TurboGrafx version is DEFINITELY the version of Ys I and Ys II to play. The gameplay and controls are superb; the awkward hit detection I lamented in the Master System version of Ys I is totally fixed. The visuals are incredible, especially the dialogue character models and parallax scrolling. The music is unrivaled. My buddy BoneSnapDeez was right; this game is truly god-tier in every sense of the expression. By all means, play other versions of Ys - it's a bitchin game in general - but do NOT skip the TurboGrafx version. Get an actual TurboGrafx-CD, download it on Wii or Wii U, whatever you need to do (I GUESS you can emulate on a PC if you're a punk-ass bitch), but play this version, man. It's just incredible.

[TSTR]

This review is dedicated to BoneSnapDeez

RIP in peace
wait
shit

(I GUESS you can emulate on a PC if you're a punk-ass bitch)

Or on a number of other platforms. Punk-ass bitchery knows no bounds.

[BoneSnapDeez]

BoneSnapDeez was right

This is generally true regardless of the situation.

Glad you liked the game. I downloaded the VC version myself, as if I need another variation to play.

Solomon Shrine is a weird thing. I love it and hate it. It has this great archaic atmosphere with stirring musical accompaniment, but it's convoluted as all hell. It's actually easiest to navigate in the DS port, where you have a map system and every individual section is labeled (Dabby, Tovah, and so on...).

[marurun]

Elkinfencer10, welcome to the cult of Yonemitsu. He is a fantastic arranger of that great 80s Falcom goodness.

[ElkinFencer10]

This review is dedicated to BoneSnapDeez

RIP in peace
wait
shit

lol, I said "dedicated to," not "in memory of."

[TSTR]

This is dedicated to the niggaz that was down from day one

[PartridgeSenpai]

Partridge Senpai's 2017 Beaten Games:

1. Tales of Hearts R (Vita)
2. UPPERS (Vita)
3. Volume (Vita)
4. Overlord: Minions (DS)

5. Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)

I needed another short-ish action game to play while I waited a million hours for my computer to reinstall Windows (and everything else), and then I remembered that I had Kirby Robobot to play! I had thoroughly enjoyed it when I tried an in-store demo, and the main game didn't disappoint!

Long story short, it's more Kirby, and it's still great. The gimmick of this title is the giant robot suit you get from time to time, and it's AWESOME. You spend about half the game in this thing, and it has its own unique powers totally different from Kirby. It's kind of a much better system of the UBER-SUPER-MEGA powerups from Return to Dreamland. This game reminded me of a far better version of Return to Dreamland, because it shares a very similar aesthetic, but the levels are far better designed. Despite the fact you have a lot of health, this game is fairly difficult as well, especially if you're gonna try and find all the things. I didn't quite find all the things, but I had a very fun time regardless.

Verdict: Highly recommended

[Sarge]

Yep, Robobot was one of my favorites from last year. It doesn't do a ton differently from other Kirby games, but the mech suit is a nice touch.

[marurun]

1. Axiom Verge (Windows)

If you like classic Metroid you should probably play this game. Axiom Verge is a game designed to look largely like an NES game, with limited color use and chunky graphics. The music is sort of a modern take on chiptunes, so chip sounds are integrated but not the only instruments. Sound effects are mostly chip-sounds. There's parallax in the backgrounds and 3D shader effects on weapons and explosions and whatnot, too. Level layouts, graphic inspiration, and destructible blocks are all right out of Metroid. Right off the bat you'll start looking around for a morph ball because it just feels so natural (but you won't find one). As the game goes on it slowly teaches you how it is different from Metroid, but you'll never shake the deja vu, and that's not a bad thing. The weapons and various powerups are where the game really diverges. The game gives you all sorts of abilities to get around the map at speed and in style once you've made it about half-way into the game.

The story of the game is clearly meant to keep you guessing at first, and as it is revealed, there's still more you'll probably want to know that the game won't tell you. But there are some really interesting hints at a larger universe you barely get to see.

For those who want a real challenge, there's a speed run option built right into the game. It removes all the various dialogues and some of the GUI, so that you can get right down to business.

My only major complaint with the game is that for some of the late game enemies there really isn't a safe strategy for confrontation, even with all the weapons and tools this game provides, and the game gives you TONS of different weapons. Only about half of them really feel useful. The rest are fun to play with, but don't really add anything to the core gameplay experience. Experts can really use the mobility tools to their advantage in combat, but they can feel a little finicky at times for those without perfect timing and that just leads to some frustrating deaths. As an example, there's a grappling hook in the game that feels a lot like the one from Bionic Commando on the NES, but it's just not quite as flexible a tool and those who want it to be everything it was in BC will be lulled into complacency until suddenly they run head first into what it doesn't do.

While there are other gameplay influences, this game doesn't just wear Metroid on its sleeve, it skins it and wears it for a suit. Truth told, the fit is pretty good. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it. It's not perfect, but it doesn't have to be. It's more than good enough.