Rhyanna
Zinoyd
Looking for something to run into just slightly off center
Posts: 260
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Post by Rhyanna on Apr 2, 2009 14:17:25 GMT -5
I recently played through V: Expert only able to decipher the katakana with minimal FAQ help for a couple of puzzles that I think you'd need to be magic to do without more japanese than my 2 years of faded highschool classes, and I loved the game. I know I butchered the magic system, and missed out on what was probably an awesome story (I thought that one floaty guy was a villain for half of the game. Heck, maybe he still was, I dunno!) but it was really fun.
Is Origin similarly fun without understanding whats going on? I loved Felghana's system, and people seem to say this plays similarly, plus the different characters makes it sound even more fun.
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Post by Ashurei on Apr 2, 2009 14:57:57 GMT -5
Having played some iteration of everything but 4 and 5, I'd have to say that so far, Origin is by far my favorite; I even go so far as to put it in my top 5 favorite games evar. I'm almost done with Felghana and, in comparison, I'd have to say that Origin is alot more straightforward, fast-paced and is VERY easy to follow without extensive japanese knowledge, given that. Mine's about as good as yours (2 years), and I never had any problem figuring any part of the game out as far as gameplay mechanics or where to go were concerned, whereas in Felghana, if I didn't have it translated, I'm certain I'd be lost and requiring a walkthrough to figure out wtf to go. Origin's just a straight-up hackn'slash dungeon crawler within Darm Tower, and it's AWESOME. The different characters are definitely a huge plus, and none of them play *quite* like Adol. Yunica's probably the closest; she hits a few less times in a combo, but the wind and fire magic are basically the same as his, lighting/earth is significantly different, though (and arguably the best!). Hugo's like playing a shmup RPG and Thor is just plain badass. Very fun, indeed. You are going to be missing out on the story, for the most part, though. Maybe I just didn't read into things enough, but until I sought out the answer to questions like "why is this guy the bad guy?" or "who are all these people and why are they here?", I really had no idea. It was the gameplay, visual style and music alone that drew me in and, inevitably, got me hooked on the Ys series in general. I can't recommend Origin enough, really. It's a fantastic game. Should be even more so once the translation is done, too! I know I'll be playing through each characters story once more at the very least.
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Rhyanna
Zinoyd
Looking for something to run into just slightly off center
Posts: 260
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Post by Rhyanna on Apr 2, 2009 17:49:26 GMT -5
I'll be honest, those two years were six years ago, but Ys V was actually the second game I played in Japanese. The first was Final Fantasy IV, attempting to find new fun words. I got Kishi = Knight and Ankouku = Darkness from it! Plus a deeper understanding of how the Japanese do not enjoy their own language. Makes it better for me in a way - Katakana is easy to translate - but I always confuse my Kata with Hira and wah! Your description makes me REALLY want to give it a go, so I think after VI that'll be my next stop. I just hate using FAQs/Walkthroughs more than necessary. Except for one spot early on, and around the ending, V didn't much require one (if you were diligent in talking to every character and exploring) so I'm glad Origins seems to be similar. I have to admit, a good varied dungeon crawler in Ys fashion has me salavating! wyrwad, (editing so as not to double post) That just means when the translation is finished (you were involved in that, yes? ) I'll have another reason to play through it!
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Post by Lumi on Apr 2, 2009 19:57:22 GMT -5
Dammit, Ashurei, you stole everything I was gonna say. But I'll cast my vote in here as well for Ys Origin being quite easy to play in Japanese. I'm normally a trigger-finger when it comes to reaching for walkthroughs if I'm stuck, but this game never really gave me that point of frustration, even with my very limited Japanese at the time. I think the only sticking point was when it came to purchasing upgrades off the goddess statues-- but there's a translation of sorts for that here on the boards, as I recall. Also: Ys Origin is also MY personal favorite game in the series. What I could gather of the story was awesome, the characters were great, and the different heroes having vastly different play styles really added to the replay value.
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Post by Ashurei on Apr 2, 2009 19:59:47 GMT -5
Haha, sorry. I think the only sticking point was when it came to purchasing upgrades off the goddess statues Oh man, I forgot about that. Not the statues, but what to do with the Cleria ore! When I got to Gelaldy and was hitting him for TWO damage I was like.......... I missed something here, they can't possibly expect me to whittle him down like this. There ARE a couple spots where I can see getting stuck - right around the Tower of Rado, for instance, there are a couple very specific things you have to do that aren't immediately obvious if you can't read the dialogue. But for the most part, Ashurei is correct: it's a very fun game, with or without its story. And it's not like we wouldn't gladly help you out if and when you got stuck. I've played through the game so many times, I totally forgot about the tower, now that what to do there is second nature, haha. Yes, I rescind my statement, there is definitely stuff like that. I'm not sure if any text covered it, but I remember not having any idea what to do when I got to the Devil's Corridor as Yunica, too. There are context clues for Thor and Hugo, but with her I had to look it up.
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Post by Lumi on Apr 2, 2009 20:07:50 GMT -5
Suuuuure, you are. Argh, but yeah- I guess knowing what to do in Yunica's case requires some familiarity with the original games and story junk, too. Such as knowing the point of that freakin' harmonica. Guess there are a FEW snagging points, but nothing terribly painful. I do recall making some idiotic mistakes on my first cycle through, however. We won't talk about those. >_>
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Post by lindaluv on Apr 2, 2009 20:42:42 GMT -5
The reason I think a lot of people like this game is because it adds a very nice pace of platforming (which I enjoy too much ^_^) and simple but addictive fun, couple that with amazing graphics, an outstanding music score and an in depth and intriguing story and you have what I think is a very successful and majorly fun game, so thank Falcom, thank them very much ~_0
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Post by Lumi on Apr 2, 2009 20:44:28 GMT -5
...an outstanding music score... Silent Desert. Need I say more?
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Post by Lumi on Apr 2, 2009 21:04:42 GMT -5
Yes, it is.
Oddly enough, I also got really partial to Samsara and Paramnesia for some reason I can't quite figure out.
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Post by Varion on Apr 2, 2009 21:12:10 GMT -5
That track always makes me think 'Devils Tea Party' for some reason. I dunno if it's the choice of instruments or what, but that's the mental image it always gives me. But yeah in short Origin is fun but not quite as fun. For what it's worth, way back when it came out I stopped playing at the start of Claw's route because I felt like I was missing too much. I've now finished it properly, following the dialogue, and I'm glad I waited. It's still an awesome game either way, though. Just make sure you play it again once wyrdy's finished the translation
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Post by Ashurei on Apr 2, 2009 21:34:00 GMT -5
...an outstanding music score... Silent Desert. Need I say more? The rearrangement of Over Drive! Movement of Wicked Energy! Scarlet Tempest! Devil's Wind! But mostly Scarlet Tempest. It's my favorite song, at least. The synth work in the latter half of the song is GODLY! And the way the drums pulse with every note of the lead melody is just... unf. Though I will admit, the super arrange Silent Desert is the single greatest thing on that album.
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Post by Varion on Apr 2, 2009 21:37:19 GMT -5
This thread is just reminding me how much I want the Ys 7 and Chronicles soundtracks now
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Post by Lumi on Apr 3, 2009 2:04:05 GMT -5
I'm not shy to say that it was the music of Falcom that first got me interested in the games themselves, oh so very long ago...
Well, that and the artwork.
>_< Which is why it VEXES me so viciously that the artwork for Ys 7 is so TERRIBAD. *twitcha-twitcha*
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Post by Lumi on Apr 3, 2009 2:23:49 GMT -5
Hear hear. ^.^ People will probably kill me for this, but I was NOT crazy about the original versions of the bump system in the games. I just can't do it. :\ It wasn't as painful to me in Ys I & II Complete, but I still have the most fun with Felghana and Origin (ESPECIALLY Origin). The art's been great for the last several installments. I sorta wish they'd grab Felghana's artist back for Ys 7 though... :\ Yes, I will keep whining about this unto eternity.
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Rhyanna
Zinoyd
Looking for something to run into just slightly off center
Posts: 260
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Post by Rhyanna on Apr 3, 2009 9:33:17 GMT -5
The younger looking Feena art in those scans for Chronicles makes me go a little becasuse I liked how she didn't look 13 in Complete, but who knows when/if I'll get my hands on that anyway. I have to agree too, that the music is absolutely amazing and more than enough reason to play on its own. If I wont be able to understand why I'm playing through origin, maybe I can just pretend the various characters are there to hear the ambient background music!
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undamned
Lyus
Hyper Solid Shooting!
Posts: 120
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Post by undamned on Apr 3, 2009 11:16:24 GMT -5
I'd actually say Ys Origin is kind of like an arcade platformer. My sentiments, too. I was thinking Magic Sword 3D I just finished Origin for the first time, a few days ago. I used Hugo and it was pretty straight forward without Japanese skills. I looked up about half a dozen things in the walkthru, but probably only really needed 3 of those hints. Can't wait to actually enjoy the story someday -ud
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Post by Ashurei on Apr 3, 2009 18:46:07 GMT -5
Origin's art looks so stiff, I can't blame ya there, wyrd. But I dunno about the main villains... one of them, at least. Zava's character design is probably the hardest to look at of anyone else in the game, I think. Forgive me for saying, but her chest looks so unnatural; her stomach is a vertical line, and the cleavage is just... bad! It irks me seeing her portrait in-game.
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Post by lindaluv on Apr 3, 2009 20:01:28 GMT -5
If you guys want art, Brandish has very beautiful character and environment (Looks oiled or water colored, Im leaning towards water), but non the less both in game and cover artwork for Brandih is stunning. Origins art was good, better then 7s for sure, but some of the characters jut had too much going on at once... Zava -__-
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Post by Ashurei on Apr 5, 2009 6:02:55 GMT -5
You know, I was looking through my artbooky thing for Origin earlier today, and I noticed that... the full-color sketches of pretty much every character looked amazing! Like, it's as if quality was lost during the transition from hand-drawn to... what was used in-game? It's late and my mind is blank for a better way to word it, but yeah. The sketches are amazing.
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Rhyanna
Zinoyd
Looking for something to run into just slightly off center
Posts: 260
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Post by Rhyanna on Apr 11, 2009 16:54:36 GMT -5
Coming back in to answer my own question. I just beat it the first time through, using Yunica. Yunika? One thing about how I translate the characters makes it so I know its supposed to be one thing, but i hear it in my head otherwise. Roi is Roy, but to me he's Roi and its pronounced a fair scoshe differently than Roy.
Anyway, this game is far and beyond playable without understanding the text. The fetch quest? If you haven't played through YsI&II you shouldn't play Ys Origin anyway, but if you have, then it should feel very very familiar in its own pretty way.
The music was superb. The art was superb. Yunica's ingame art for looking forward is dumb, but otherwise I liked the graphics used, too. It had some speed issues on my Acer, but its kinda not meant for this kinda stuff.
So, yes, it totally is.
My only thoughts now, are is Hugo as fun, and how do i transfer save files/victory to another computer for times when I want to play on the desktop?
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