Post by Rutema on Mar 13, 2005 3:34:22 GMT -5
Since this is my first post here, please allow me to introduce myself. I am a long-standing Ys fan. I was introduced to the series back on the SNES with Ys III. I rented it, played it, and hated it at the time. Later after forgetting Ys III I bought a Turbo Duo, got the Ys I and II free game, and tossed it aside. Then I finally gave it a try, and had my jaw drop the second I left the city and heard “First Step Toward Wars” for the first time. I was hooked on the series and it’s music since. I own and have played and beat all 6 Ys games, including both versions of IV. I have, as far as I know, every Ys CD made minus Ys VI stuff and have watched the anime in Japanese more times than I can count.
Ok, ok, I’m a pretty die-hard Ys fan. So I’m wondering why it has taken me so long to find this message board.
Now that I’m done with my introduction and before I get on to my review let me state one thing: I am very happy Konami released Ys VI in the states. It has been far too long and I hope that they continue to release Ys games here.
Now, for my review, feel free to disagree with me.
The good:
The first good thing I have to say about Ys VI is that the game play is over-all fun. Yes, it is a simple hack and slash, but the sheer simplicity of it is what makes it fun.
Also the overall look and feel of the visuals and environments are gorgeous. I felt like I was in a lush jungle, or a dank cave.
Next I thought that the part where you need to protect Olha and Terra was a great part, if at times annoying because of the lack of computer intelligence (Guy with spear is coming after you, um… get out of the way?).
Also I thought that Konami did a great job of matching voice actors to their characters. They weren’t annoying to listen to for the most part, and they seemed to fit what I thought the characters would sound like.
Finally, the very nice touches that Konami tossed in are very good. Adol changing his look as he changes equipment, cheat codes, and boss time attacks, are examples that come to mind. Games need more of these treats in them, the only down side is I wish they would have thrown in a lot more (but then, maybe they did and we don’t know about them yet).
The so-so:
The music for Ys VI, while not bad, I thought was not exactly a stellar J.D.K performance. The boss battle music was by far the best score for this game, and actually I’d have to say it stands up as one of the best boss soundtracks in all of the Ys games. However, that was about it. The original intro music was exciting and good, albeit short and the cave music almost seemed to be a remix of Beat of Terror from Ys 1, which I loved. Yet even counting these two, that’s only 3 really good songs out of the whole game. This to me seems to limp compared to the other Ys games, minus V, which also came up short in the soundtrack department.
Another thing I thought that was so-so was the controls. While not bad, with the number of jumps required in the game, it can and did become frustrating. Also the difference of when to hit attack between the upper cut slash and the downward slash got frustrating. But over all, not bad.
The bad:
Unfortunately I have to say one of the things I did not like about Ys VI was the plot. The first thing about the plot that bugged me was that it asked me to suspend disbelief far too much. How does Adol survive falling into the ocean with all his armor on? He should sink like a rock. The great vortex? First off this seems like way too general and unoriginal a way to seal off an area that is supposedly inaccessible. They used it in Ys 1 and they dust it off again. (Ok, I will grant maybe there’s more story behind it that we’ll hear later on, but as of right now it doesn’t sit well with me at all) Second, why are we sailing straight into the stupid thing if it tears up ships like nothing? There were other miscellaneous things throughout, but those are the ones I remember off hand. The second thing about the plot that bugged me is that it seemed far too generic, or should I say, nothing surprised me at all through it. Geis was a fairly interesting character, but it seemed to me that if they wanted to advance the story in a new direction they just throw in a new character, hardly any suspense and nothing I’d consider a plot twist. We all know Adol is going to 1) capture the hearts of any and all good, single females in the game, and 2) have a big ugly monster thrown in his way by bad guy XYZ in an attempt to stop him, so why not play off of that? Having Terra get jealous was a given.
Moving on to another thing I felt was bad about Ys VI was the general planned layout of the game. I felt that for each new area I’d come to, I’d have to spend 30min-1hr leveling up before I entered it, just so I didn’t get my rear handed to me. To me this is just wasted game-play time. No exploring, no adventuring, just mind numbing kill monsters, zone out, zone in, repeat. Also most of the game felt like it was running back and forth between the cities, again this seems to me like wasted game-play time.
Another thing I felt that was bad about the game was that it wasn’t very big. You have 3 over-world zones and a handful of dungeons. And even they were not all that large in and of themselves.
One final thing I didn’t like was the way Ys VI seemed to be going towards the “sex sells” philosophy. We have Crevia, the fairies, and even a bonus part where you can see Olha in a bikini. Now I like saving pretty girls, of whom my wife is the prettiest, as much as the next guy, but lust is not something I have or ever want to associate with the Ys series, and it sickens me that it seems to have taken this road.
The ugly:
There was only one ugly thing in Ys VI: the opening 3D animation. Now it’s not because of the voice actors. They actually did an ok job. And it is not because of the 3D models. They actually look pretty decent. It is the script. It is terrible. Just skip right through it and you’ll be fine.
Over all, Ys VI was a fun game. It was worth playing through once. Unfortunately though, I feel there’s still a lot that could be improved upon. If I were not an Ys fan, I really wouldn’t recommend spending the money for it, renting it yes, but not buying. I applaud Konami for its work here, and I challenge Falcom to make their next Ys game something that’s stellar all the way through, something that makes my jaw drop in amazement like Ys 1 and 2 did.
Thank you for reading and thinking about my opinions.
Ok, ok, I’m a pretty die-hard Ys fan. So I’m wondering why it has taken me so long to find this message board.
Now that I’m done with my introduction and before I get on to my review let me state one thing: I am very happy Konami released Ys VI in the states. It has been far too long and I hope that they continue to release Ys games here.
Now, for my review, feel free to disagree with me.
The good:
The first good thing I have to say about Ys VI is that the game play is over-all fun. Yes, it is a simple hack and slash, but the sheer simplicity of it is what makes it fun.
Also the overall look and feel of the visuals and environments are gorgeous. I felt like I was in a lush jungle, or a dank cave.
Next I thought that the part where you need to protect Olha and Terra was a great part, if at times annoying because of the lack of computer intelligence (Guy with spear is coming after you, um… get out of the way?).
Also I thought that Konami did a great job of matching voice actors to their characters. They weren’t annoying to listen to for the most part, and they seemed to fit what I thought the characters would sound like.
Finally, the very nice touches that Konami tossed in are very good. Adol changing his look as he changes equipment, cheat codes, and boss time attacks, are examples that come to mind. Games need more of these treats in them, the only down side is I wish they would have thrown in a lot more (but then, maybe they did and we don’t know about them yet).
The so-so:
The music for Ys VI, while not bad, I thought was not exactly a stellar J.D.K performance. The boss battle music was by far the best score for this game, and actually I’d have to say it stands up as one of the best boss soundtracks in all of the Ys games. However, that was about it. The original intro music was exciting and good, albeit short and the cave music almost seemed to be a remix of Beat of Terror from Ys 1, which I loved. Yet even counting these two, that’s only 3 really good songs out of the whole game. This to me seems to limp compared to the other Ys games, minus V, which also came up short in the soundtrack department.
Another thing I thought that was so-so was the controls. While not bad, with the number of jumps required in the game, it can and did become frustrating. Also the difference of when to hit attack between the upper cut slash and the downward slash got frustrating. But over all, not bad.
The bad:
Unfortunately I have to say one of the things I did not like about Ys VI was the plot. The first thing about the plot that bugged me was that it asked me to suspend disbelief far too much. How does Adol survive falling into the ocean with all his armor on? He should sink like a rock. The great vortex? First off this seems like way too general and unoriginal a way to seal off an area that is supposedly inaccessible. They used it in Ys 1 and they dust it off again. (Ok, I will grant maybe there’s more story behind it that we’ll hear later on, but as of right now it doesn’t sit well with me at all) Second, why are we sailing straight into the stupid thing if it tears up ships like nothing? There were other miscellaneous things throughout, but those are the ones I remember off hand. The second thing about the plot that bugged me is that it seemed far too generic, or should I say, nothing surprised me at all through it. Geis was a fairly interesting character, but it seemed to me that if they wanted to advance the story in a new direction they just throw in a new character, hardly any suspense and nothing I’d consider a plot twist. We all know Adol is going to 1) capture the hearts of any and all good, single females in the game, and 2) have a big ugly monster thrown in his way by bad guy XYZ in an attempt to stop him, so why not play off of that? Having Terra get jealous was a given.
Moving on to another thing I felt was bad about Ys VI was the general planned layout of the game. I felt that for each new area I’d come to, I’d have to spend 30min-1hr leveling up before I entered it, just so I didn’t get my rear handed to me. To me this is just wasted game-play time. No exploring, no adventuring, just mind numbing kill monsters, zone out, zone in, repeat. Also most of the game felt like it was running back and forth between the cities, again this seems to me like wasted game-play time.
Another thing I felt that was bad about the game was that it wasn’t very big. You have 3 over-world zones and a handful of dungeons. And even they were not all that large in and of themselves.
One final thing I didn’t like was the way Ys VI seemed to be going towards the “sex sells” philosophy. We have Crevia, the fairies, and even a bonus part where you can see Olha in a bikini. Now I like saving pretty girls, of whom my wife is the prettiest, as much as the next guy, but lust is not something I have or ever want to associate with the Ys series, and it sickens me that it seems to have taken this road.
The ugly:
There was only one ugly thing in Ys VI: the opening 3D animation. Now it’s not because of the voice actors. They actually did an ok job. And it is not because of the 3D models. They actually look pretty decent. It is the script. It is terrible. Just skip right through it and you’ll be fine.
Over all, Ys VI was a fun game. It was worth playing through once. Unfortunately though, I feel there’s still a lot that could be improved upon. If I were not an Ys fan, I really wouldn’t recommend spending the money for it, renting it yes, but not buying. I applaud Konami for its work here, and I challenge Falcom to make their next Ys game something that’s stellar all the way through, something that makes my jaw drop in amazement like Ys 1 and 2 did.
Thank you for reading and thinking about my opinions.
