Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand (1995)

Preliminary: Ooo another Ys?! One of my favorite series that I only first experienced thanks to this chronology project! The music like always with this series is nice, tho nothing spectacular so far. The Look is beautiful, tho again, nothing spectacular for late 95 (and this series, to me, often set the standard for the next era with each of its best games). The storyline seems empty so far, and what an unceremonious beginning lol, but I'm sure it'll get more interesting. I think the combat and/or hook will be the main deciders on this one. I love that there's a jump in an Ys game like this, but we shall see how it feels outside of town.

I love how fast the walk is. I like how easily customizable the controls are. But nto a big fan of the menu system in general. Why people felt the need to be unique with those is beyond me. Ngl I miss the bump combat :( but this isn't bad so far.

I'm not in love with this so far, something about the combat just feels meh and not what I want from Ys. I do like when I manage to be "that right spot" like in the old ones and that that still helps, but I dunno, just feels clunky with the pausing after you swing your sword and, I dunno, just not waht I wanted from a Ys. However, the town music continues to be stellar so we shall see. I'm sure this'll manage to get itself at least a 3 star.

Day 2

Yeaaa still not feeling this first boss fight and the combat in general plus the dungeon-y music. Too bad cuz I love the Yses. I guess it's just time for the new era, I'm antsy for it

Look: 7/10 For late 95 this is just a 7, otherwise it would've been higher

Sound: 7/10

Play: 6.5/10

Feel: 7/10

Attachment: 7/10

Overall: 6.9/10

Ys 5, for SNES

Rating: 8.4/10; Great

Ys 5 is an action rpg with a top down view and a limited set of controls. Press the attack button to swing your sword and damage enemies. If you can hit from the side (or best the rear) you will do even more damage but this also applies to enemy attacks. Different swords have different attack animations and it seems like this also applies game mechanic effects; a thrusting sword with better range vs a sweeping slasher with less range and more area. Maybe. Realistically you will be using the sword with the highest power without regard to how it swings. A missed opportunity to create slightly different playstyles and tactics.

Enemies do contact damage in addition to animated attacks, and sometimes it can be hard to gauge distance, especially when jumping is involved. Attacking and jumping can be combined to hit elevated enemies but this is only necessary in a few boss fights. Jumping can also be used defensively to help avoid projectiles and enemies, and there is platforming. Thankfully it is not too difficult and failure never results in death. You can use a shield to block attacks but doing so prevents you from doing anything other than changing direction. It is a good way to help prevent damage, however defense is pretty much optional. Hp regenerates in the field while standing still, but not inside dungeons until you find the heal ring. On top of that you can buy and carry a fair number of healing items that are powerful and cheap. You can easily just farm gold and chug healing potions instead of playing with skill and tactics, which is why the game is very easy. Normal enemies are largely fodder and no threat while bosses are reasonably challenging and would be quite difficult if they hit a lot harder and healing items were more limited.

Killing enemies grants xp for sword or magic depending on which lands the killing blow. Leveling up each gives different stat boosts but the entire magic system is awkward. You press and hold the magic button to charge up your spell casting ability; when it is 100% press sword attack to cast the spell. Mana does not regenerate either and magic is not usable in most boss fights. Combine all of that with all magic being direct damage nukes that are not significantly more powerful than hitting with the sword and the entire magic system becomes pointless and an added chore. At best, some of the spells can be used for ranged attacks on the easy normal enemies. Or you can just berserk them down and passively heal after, which will take less time over all than charging up and watching the casting animations (which are ridiculously long and unskippable for the strongest spells). Spells are equipped on swords and crafted from combinations of 3 element items. Not every combo results in a spell and the game is missing most that involve dark and/or light. The game does not give any indication of what the spells do nor how powerful they are. All in all the magic system is pointless filler in an already short and easy game.

Where the game shines is the basic hack and slash gameplay and well written story, with interesting characters and settings. The characters are particularly well done with even the most minor having decent dialogue that sheds insight on their personality and life. The menu system is some kind of rotational abomination like in Secret of Mana, and there are separate inventories for normal items and key items, with no indication that you can equip some key items. The entire game world is interconnected, like the Legend of Zelda, but there is no fast travel system and the map is utterly useless. Despite all its flaws, the game is a lot of fun and well worth playing.