Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: March 1989
Ys feels like the perfect RPG series for the Sega Master System. I’m not sure how it happened, but the Master System has the pause button on the console itself instead of on the controller where it belongs. It was an extremely annoying feature that made playing any game that needed something like a menu screen somewhat of a pain to play. You either have to be constantly bending over to push that button or use your feet. I’ve always referred to more complex SMS games as big toe games for this reason. Thankfully, Ys is not a big toe game. It is just about the most button-lite RPG ever made. You don’t even need a button to attack. You just crash into monsters with the control pad. You play through about 98% of the game while using only one button. The other button is only used for occasional action items. So in that way it is perfect. Sadly, however, the SMS just isn’t quite up to the task of handling Ys. I know this port has always gotten good reviews, and it was for many years the easiest way to play Ys in North America, but to me it feels like a bad port. Let’s investigate a bit further.
I can see why people want Ys to be good. There are only three RPGs on the Master System in the US, so it stands out just by being different. However, this game is just too slow. It really only plays like an RPG for the first half, and during that time it’s one of the slowest and most boring grinds in the history of gaming. The nature of the combat means that there is no strategy at all. You just run into enemies until you slowly earn enough money to buy better equipment or gain a level. The overworld is very small so there’s not even that much to explore. You also move painfully slow in general. It feels like about half the speed of the excellent TurboGrafx-16 version. Health regenerates in the field, so there’s a lot of standing still. This becomes especially painful in the later part of the game with a full health bar. You can find a heal ring which regenerates health in dungeons, but it regenerates much slower than it does in the field. Standing still is no fun and there’s no reason it has to be so slow. I can only imagine what it must’ve been like playing this game before smartphones. I’d just have to stare at the wall while I waited for my health to refill. Hydlyde has always been criticized for doing the same thing. Why does Ys get a pass?
In general there’s not that much equipment to buy or many levels to gain. After all is bought and leveled it becomes an action game taking place in a huge tower. This section of the game is much more fun. There are plenty of of puzzles to solve and challenging bosses to fight. The bosses are all strategy which is a refreshing change of pace after all the mindless bashing. There are still too many annoyances for it to save the game, however. This is where the slow health regeneration really started to take its toll on my sanity. The monsters just get harder and with no way to get stronger they never get any easier. It gets to the point where I have to fight one enemy, stand still for a minute to regenerate health, and then save just to make a little progress. I also hate that I can’t use my potion during boss fights. I know it makes the game more challenging, but why even let me have one if I can’t use it when I need it? Sometimes I feel like this game is just messing with me.
Ys is a tough one for me because I really want to finish it. Master System games are typically difficult, so I haven’t finished that many of them. I would also love to have a classic console on which I beat all the RPGs. For now, however, I just can’t stomach it. It’s hard to give a good score to a game that I actively want to stop playing. It’s not even that long of a game. So I’m sorry everyone who has reviewed this game and raved about it. It’s just not fun to play. I suppose if you enjoy a game where you move for five seconds and then stand still for a minute than this is the game for you. I sure hope you aren’t that person.
Sometimes I look at my list and wonder what I was thinking. There are often big gaps between when I play certain games, so some of my choice surprise me. Is Beethoven really better than Galaxian? I guess so! Ys is ending up higher than I expected because the just okay games are hard to rank. It makes some kind of sense because they are the most forgettable neither standing out for their quality or badness. I remember Demon Crest though, and I can positively say that I liked Demon Crest more than Ys. So that’s where it’s going. Congratulations Ys you are now #70. You may not be that much fun, but at least you are memorable.
SMS quality percentage: 3/7 or 42.85%
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