Post by korzic on Jan 26, 2013 21:10:16 GMT -5
During my time playing the Ys series, I've come across a ton of bugs, and the occasional quirky gameplay element between versions. Admittedly, most of them are rather minor and not worth a mention. Anyway, since there's a ton of information, I'll try and list the interesting ones all in one place (unless someone wants me to, I'll hold off on the really boring ones). Again, most of this stuff is pretty useless overall, and rarely game breaking. Fair warning, the I & II sections in particular are quite long, but the others aren't nearly as lengthy. If anyone would like to add to this, feel free.
Ys I (PC Eternal/Complete, and PSP Chronicles)
Ys II (PC Eternal/Complete, and PSP Chronicles)
Ys III (SNES)
Ys IV (SFC)
Ys I (PC Eternal/Complete, and PSP Chronicles)
ITEM WARP
Simply use a Wing right as you're opening a chest, but before the "item obtained" message shows up (there's a little leeway, as opposed to Ys II). This is useful for not sitting through the item jingle, but you'll end up in Minea, so it's rather useless in most cases. Also, this glitch is only possible pre-Darm Tower, as Goban will take your Wing away before entering Darm Tower.
Eternal = No (item not obtained)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles= Yes
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MOVE BEFORE MIRROR ANIMATION STARTS
For some reason, there seemed to be a small period where you could move before the Mirror animation would activate in Chronicles, something that wasn't present in Eternal/Complete (there, it happened instantly). Doesn't seem to be useful.
Eternal = No
Complete = No
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
DEATHWARP
If you warp at the very moment an enemy hits you, your dead body will be warped away. Pretty useless, but it is kinda amusing seeing Adol's dead body being warped into Minea in Chronicles.
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes (Minea doesn't load)
Chronicles = Yes (Minea loads)
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TRY TO REPEATEDLY OPEN LOCKED CHESTS DURING WARP
If you warp at the very moment you try to open a locked chest, you can try and open it again, even as the warp is still taking effect. Pretty useless, but kind of odd.
Eternal = No (action halts immediately upon using Wing)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
INFINITE GOLDEN PEDESTALS
First, use a Wing right as you search the lake area where you find the Golden Pedestal. If done correctly, you should have it in your inventory upon reaching Minea, despite not seeing the normal event text boxes or hearing the item jingle. Doing this will allow you to re-obtain/re-sell the Golden Pedestal as many times as you want (somewhat useful if you want to get the second/third set of equipment right away - Talwar excluded). However, if you obtain it the "normal" way, it won't re-appear (as expected). There is a weird side-effect to this bug in the Complete version, but nothing major. It appears that after performing this glitch, the mouse cursor will be invisible on the main screen (not the close-ups, or the subscreens), but it can still be used. This peculiar effect wears off when you get the Golden Pedestal the "normal" way, or when you use the first teleport statue in the Shrine. This glitch does not appear to be possible in the Eternal version. Even if it was, it would be virtually useless, as a Wing is needed, and they normally cost 2,000 G (1,800 if you barter) in that version - the price that the Golden Pedestal initially sells for (2,200 if you barter).
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg6pil1bcmg
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ENEMY UNHARMED WHEN APPEARING AT YOUR POSITION
If an enemy appears right at your position (Jenocres, Vagullion, Dark Fact), you should hear a null damage "ding", instead of actually damaging it.
Eternal = Yes (unsure about Jenocres)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (unsure about Jenocres)
=====================================================================
FEENA EXP GLITCHES
Two different bugs here, both done when rescuing Feena from the Shrine (before killing Nygtilger, otherwise you don't get any EXP. The first bug is done by selecting the "rescue Feena" option, and then quickly refusing. By doing so, you can get an infinite amount of EXP from her, as much as 1,000 each time (I'm unsure whether this particular one can be done in Chronicles/+ or not, but I've only gotten it to work in the Complete version so far).
The second bug is basically a variant of the previous bug, but can only be abused once. You simply need to rapidly select the "rescue Feena" option, which can be selected as much as four times for a total of 2,000 EXP (unless you have extremely quick fingers, you'll probably only get 1,000 or 1,500, though). Of course, this has the downside of being unable to perform the previous bug anymore. In Complete, you simply mash confirm while doing this, but Chronicles/+ it seems you rapidly press confirm, cancel, confirm (I'm only able to get 1,000 EXP this way, but who knows, maybe more is possible). Credit for this bug goes to this site, without which I may never have discovered the first one:
teilv.ojaru.jp/themeplay_of/ys1_event7_2.html
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IgXLTHNHrM
Eternal = No (both bugs)
Complete = Yes (both bugs)
Chronicles = No (first bug), Yes (second bug)
=====================================================================
FEENA RECOVERS HP WITH TEXT ON-SCREEN
A cheap way to keep Feena alive during the escort mission is to have some kind of text on-screen (items, treasure chest, someone talking), provided you're in a place that will let you restore HP. Having text on-screen will stop the enemies from moving, but for some reason will continue to restore HP.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ENTER ZEPTIC WITHOUT FEENA
In Eternal, you can enter Zeptic without Feena, simply by leaving her far enough behind. Whether or not this was intentional, in the Complete/Chronicles versions, it's pretty clear that you're not meant to be able to do this. To do it in Complete/Chronicles, you first need to make sure Feena's still with you, close enough to where the game will actually let you into Zeptic. Just as you're crossing the mountain path screen boundary, use an item (just not a Book of Ys, I think). For whatever reason, doing this will not end the escort mission, and you can head back to Minea for more Mirrors (to level Feena, although I don't know if she can get past level 3), or even complete the Mine (provided you have the Treasure Box Key beforehand). Unfortunately, you need to take her to Zeptic eventually, or else you won't be able to trigger the later events with Jevah to help get into Darm Tower. Neither of these methods appear to be possible in Chronicles.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=3izCM4e3Hpk
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
FINISH SHRINE WITHOUT SAVING FEENA
By using the item/warp glitch on the Book of Ys after Nygtilger, you can actually escape the Shrine without saving Feena, something that is meant to be impossible if you haven't done so before getting the book. This glitch has two drawbacks to it. First, you are forbidden to use the Wing until you escort Feena to Zeptic (takes place immediately after getting the Book, which is why you warp as you're opening the chest). And second, you still need to take Feena to Zeptic eventually, or else you won't be able to trigger the later events with Jevah to help get into Darm Tower. So, an ultimately useless glitch, but still kind of cool nonetheless.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9vinnba4GI
Eternal = No (item/warp won't give you the Book of Ys)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ITEM TEXT BOX CLEAR DURING SCREEN TRANSITION
If you use items that generate text boxes (in Eternal, this is only the Beastiary Potion and the Roda Seed, I believe) during a screen transition, the text boxes are canceled. This is useful for using the Beastiary Potion/Roda Seed, but not waiting for the text to clear.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - READ BOOK OF Ys DURING SCREEN TRANSITION
If you try and read a Book of Ys right as the screen's transitioning (new map screen, or a close-up), the game will become unwinnable when you exit the book screen. Adol will be stuck at the screen's transition point, unable to do anything. How humiliating. =p
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - FEENA DIES DURING SCREEN TRANSITION/OUT OF BOUNDS
During the Feena escort mission, if Feena's far enough away, and she dies right as you transition to a new screen, the game becomes unwinnable. Provided that Feena was left behind, you'll still be able to move on the new screen, but you can't do anything to go to a new screen. If you do this on the upper level of the Shrine (where Jenocres is fought), entering the stairs or warp statue will cause Adol to "use" the transition point, but because it's technically already "game over" (can't save), he basically disappears.
There are two ways to activate the out of bounds portion of this bug, the first of which is in Zeptic. First, you need to let Feena die while entering Zeptic from the Mountain Path screen (have to use an item in Complete, otherwise she'll follow you, leading to the game being locked up when Adol's supposed to take her to Jevah's). Once in Zeptic, trying to use one of the exits will result in being able to go beyond them, and you'll actually be able to go outside the screen's boundaries. Be careful, though, because if you run, say 30 seconds, off-screen, it'll take you just as long to get back.
The other known spot to get out of bounds is on the screen with the Thieves' Den. While you can have Feena die on the previous screen, the game will not let you get around that screen's boundaries - at least not that way. Instead, take Feena inside the Thieves' Den, and then exit. When you exit, Feena's position will prevent the door from immediately closing. Move Feena to the upper right portion of the doorway, and then move Adol right below her. If done correctly, the door should close, making you clip through the building. From there, you can move around in the out of bounds area. You can also go around the edges of the screen here, but more importantly, there's a view of Darm Tower that you can't see during normal play. Be careful, though, as once you completely enter this out of bounds area, you can't escape it (you probably could, if the game would let you use the Wing). Unfortunately, the technique used to get out of bounds here doesn't seem to apply in other situations (maybe because of how this particular transition point was set up - aka being able to get behind a closed door, which doesn't seem possible with others, not without a screen transition taking place).
VIDEO (second out of bounds bug) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDttzOCwwFw
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (can't get out of bounds in Zeptic)
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - SILVER HARMONICA "RETURNED"
If you warp at the same time you activate the event to return the Silver Harmonica to Lair, you can make the game unwinnable, but only if you advance the event to the sixth text box (the one before the blue text shows up). That is where the Silver Harmonica disappears from your inventory; finish warping before it gets there, and the game will let you re-do the scene (as you still have the Harmonica). However, it appears there is another "trigger" within the scene that needs to be activated to consider the event "complete" (probably when Lair starts to play the harmonica, or at the start/end of the vision of the Roda Tree), as the game will only show you the first set of the Roda Trees' scenes, the same as if you didn't return the Harmonica (actually, Chronicles will show you the second Roda Tree scenes, but won't give you the Silver Sword afterwards). You can still beat Vagullion and do everything else before Darm Tower, but since you don't have the full set of Silver equipment (in this case, the sword), Goban won't let you inside. After performing this glitch in Complete, Lair will be in her "original" position in the upper-right portion of Minea, still requesting you to find her Harmonica (I think, it's been so long since I've played with the English patch). Of course, it's impossible to find again, but it's so odd since it's clear it was returned, even though the scene wasn't "completed". XD In Chronicles, she's still on the ramparts or whatever, but returning there will cause the game to lock up.
Eternal = No (action halts immediately upon using Wing)
Complete = Yes (no second Roda Tree scene)
Chronicles = Yes (can see second Roda Tree scene, but no Silver Sword)
=====================================================================
USE ITEMS/ACCESS INVENTORY DURING WARP
You can actually open the subscreens during a warp, as well as use an item during it. This is useful for using the Roda Seed/Beastiary potion, but not actually needing to manually clear the text boxes. Pretty useless otherwise.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (only after Minea loads; item text boxes not auto-cleared)
=====================================================================
EATING RODA SEED
For whatever reason, eating the Roda Seed is not mandatory to understanding the Roda Trees in Eternal (though you still need to have obtained it).
Eternal = No (can be done, but not necessary)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
RODA TREE SECOND SCENE TEXT SPEED GLITCH
By talking to the Roda Trees twice - once before eating the Roda Seed, and once right afterwards - you can skip the Roda Tree's special text faster than normal, which should only happen after viewing the scene at least once beforehand. Normally, if you talk to and understand the Roda Trees (either one would work) before returning the Silver Harmonica to Lair, they'll say some stuff, and then talking to them a second time will trigger the cutscene again, only this time you can skip their text faster than before. However, after returning the Silver Harmonica, the Trees will only show their respective scenes once, and then they'll stop talking to you, which means that those scenes' special text cannot ordinarily be sped up. I don't know the exact details, but I'm guessing that talking to the Trees without understanding them somehow fools the game into thinking that their respective cutscenes have already been activated. This glitch is useful for speeding up the text of these scenes in Complete, while only needing to see them once. As mentioned above, eating the Roda Seed in Eternal is not necessary, so the glitch can't be performed there. It can't be done in Chronicles either, but the whole scene can be skipped there, so it's a moot point.
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
FAILED WARP DURING SCREEN TRANSITION
If you use a Wing during a screen transition, the warp will fail, but the Wing will be gone. In Eternal and Complete, it's pretty useless. In Chronicles, however, some of the close-up scenes will activate, and you'll warp after they're exited. So, it could be useful if you wanted to quickly head back to Minea after getting the Silver Sword.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
BOSS DOORS CLOSE AGAIN/ESPAPE BOSS BATTLE
Normally, you're not meant to escape boss battles, but by using a Wing right as the battle starts, you can escape. Additionally, the doors to Jenocres and Nygtilger will be shut, but not Vagullion (maybe because it's a different door type). Strangely, escaping the Vagullion battle (the easiest one to do) will make it so that the door to Nygtilger is closed; the door to Jenocres, however, will still remain opened. Anyway, a pretty useless glitch, especially since by the time you realize you want to escape, it will likely be too late to do so.
Eternal = Yes (unsure if Jenocres/Nygtilger can be escaped)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (unsure if Jenocres/Nygtilger can be escaped)
=====================================================================
EVIL RING TEXT BOXES NOT CLEARED AFTER LOAD/RESTART
If you equip the Evil Ring without first wearing the Blue Necklace, and then try to take it off, you'll get a message about how you can't get the ring off (you must exit and re-enter the sub-screens to get the message). When the message comes up, instead of pressing the "confirm" button ("Enter" by default), simply exit the sub-screen by pressing "Esc" or the equipment sub-screen hotkey ("E" by default). Upon dying or reloading, the message will still be there, so long as you don't press the "confirm" button.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
SOME EVENTS NOT RE-ACTIVATED WITH EVIL RING TEXT ON-SCREEN
Continuing from the previous glitch, if you have the Evil Ring text still on-screen, some events will not re-activate in such a condition. For example, trying to open the Battle Armor chest, or the door to Dark Fact's room will result in the events simply not re-activating, provided you've tried them at least once before (in Dark Fact's door case, you'd need to save after first failing to open it - otherwise there is text that needs to be cleared, which can only be done after clearing the Evil Ring text). Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to affect the cell trap in Darm Tower.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (text auto-clears after dying)
=====================================================================
KHONSCLARD DOUBLE EXP
For some reason, killing Khonsclard will give you a total of 10,000 EXP, whereas Pictimos and Yog & Omu will only give you 5,000. In this game, you will receive a boss' EXP as the game is refilling your HP. In the case of Khonsclard, you get 5,000 EXP as he is exploding (doesn't happen for the other bosses), and 5,000 again when your HP is refilled. Since Yog & Omu comes later, and they only give you 5,000 EXP, I'm pretty sure this is just a programming oversight or something. A shame it's basically useless since you're probably already at max level by the time you enter Darm Tower.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ENEMIES DON'T RESPAWN
For some reason, the enemy on the bridge to Rado's Annex (where Reah/Leah/Lair is) will also not show up when heading back to the main portion of Darm Tower. This also happens in the second mirror maze if you immediately enter the warp mirror after defeating Yog & Omu. Additionally, the music will go silent (not the sound effects, however) after the big mirror shatters. This will last until you either enter the corridor behind the big mirror, or step outside.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (music doesn't stop)
=====================================================================
ENEMIES OUT OF BOUNDS
In the second mirror maze, the sworded enemies actually start out slightly inside the walls (they're normally supposed to have a small "empty" space when they're walking along vertical walls), but they normally work their way out within a couple of seconds. If you use a Mirror to help freeze them in their starting position (otherwise, they'll work their way free pretty shortly), you can push them through since they're already partially inside, or watch them shoot out themselves (they have to land in a "free" space, some of which are apparently within the black spaces). Unfortunately, this seems to be pretty useless, especially since there doesn't appear to be a way to make Adol go through walls (removing the Mask of Eyes in those invisible doorways doesn't seem to work), at least not yet.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-sgLLWhq0
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
SAVE DURING TIME ATTACK
Turns out you can actually access the menus at a couple points during Time Attack, which will actually allow you to save your game in a couple of glitched states (also, it lists it as "Normal" difficulty, so Time Attack's difficulty is now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt). Even stranger, the inventory and equipment screens are shown to be empty, although the equipment one will have "equip" boxes around the pre-determined weapons/armor for fights. Anyway, the points you can do this are before and after Yogleks & Omulgun, and after Dark Fact. Saving, then loading the game afterwards (can't do it during TA, even with access to other menus) will let you wander around after Yog & Omu, but you can only get to the door leading to Dark Fact, which is locked; you also can't backtrack through the rest of the tower (presumably, both instances are due to having a blank inventory screen - you'd ordinarily have the Rod and Blue Amulet by this point). As for the Dark Fact instance, you are stuck where the game places you after his death animation. No clue why (perhaps because TA normally displays the time results at this point), but it's not like you could do much of anything anwyay without any items.
Unfortunately, this means that this is useless at this point, but maybe there's a way to exploit it like in Ys II Complete (more on that later). If there is such a way, I'm currently unaware of it.
Eternal = No (Time Attack wasn't added to this version)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
Simply use a Wing right as you're opening a chest, but before the "item obtained" message shows up (there's a little leeway, as opposed to Ys II). This is useful for not sitting through the item jingle, but you'll end up in Minea, so it's rather useless in most cases. Also, this glitch is only possible pre-Darm Tower, as Goban will take your Wing away before entering Darm Tower.
Eternal = No (item not obtained)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles= Yes
=====================================================================
MOVE BEFORE MIRROR ANIMATION STARTS
For some reason, there seemed to be a small period where you could move before the Mirror animation would activate in Chronicles, something that wasn't present in Eternal/Complete (there, it happened instantly). Doesn't seem to be useful.
Eternal = No
Complete = No
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
DEATHWARP
If you warp at the very moment an enemy hits you, your dead body will be warped away. Pretty useless, but it is kinda amusing seeing Adol's dead body being warped into Minea in Chronicles.
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes (Minea doesn't load)
Chronicles = Yes (Minea loads)
=====================================================================
TRY TO REPEATEDLY OPEN LOCKED CHESTS DURING WARP
If you warp at the very moment you try to open a locked chest, you can try and open it again, even as the warp is still taking effect. Pretty useless, but kind of odd.
Eternal = No (action halts immediately upon using Wing)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
INFINITE GOLDEN PEDESTALS
First, use a Wing right as you search the lake area where you find the Golden Pedestal. If done correctly, you should have it in your inventory upon reaching Minea, despite not seeing the normal event text boxes or hearing the item jingle. Doing this will allow you to re-obtain/re-sell the Golden Pedestal as many times as you want (somewhat useful if you want to get the second/third set of equipment right away - Talwar excluded). However, if you obtain it the "normal" way, it won't re-appear (as expected). There is a weird side-effect to this bug in the Complete version, but nothing major. It appears that after performing this glitch, the mouse cursor will be invisible on the main screen (not the close-ups, or the subscreens), but it can still be used. This peculiar effect wears off when you get the Golden Pedestal the "normal" way, or when you use the first teleport statue in the Shrine. This glitch does not appear to be possible in the Eternal version. Even if it was, it would be virtually useless, as a Wing is needed, and they normally cost 2,000 G (1,800 if you barter) in that version - the price that the Golden Pedestal initially sells for (2,200 if you barter).
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg6pil1bcmg
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ENEMY UNHARMED WHEN APPEARING AT YOUR POSITION
If an enemy appears right at your position (Jenocres, Vagullion, Dark Fact), you should hear a null damage "ding", instead of actually damaging it.
Eternal = Yes (unsure about Jenocres)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (unsure about Jenocres)
=====================================================================
FEENA EXP GLITCHES
Two different bugs here, both done when rescuing Feena from the Shrine (before killing Nygtilger, otherwise you don't get any EXP. The first bug is done by selecting the "rescue Feena" option, and then quickly refusing. By doing so, you can get an infinite amount of EXP from her, as much as 1,000 each time (I'm unsure whether this particular one can be done in Chronicles/+ or not, but I've only gotten it to work in the Complete version so far).
The second bug is basically a variant of the previous bug, but can only be abused once. You simply need to rapidly select the "rescue Feena" option, which can be selected as much as four times for a total of 2,000 EXP (unless you have extremely quick fingers, you'll probably only get 1,000 or 1,500, though). Of course, this has the downside of being unable to perform the previous bug anymore. In Complete, you simply mash confirm while doing this, but Chronicles/+ it seems you rapidly press confirm, cancel, confirm (I'm only able to get 1,000 EXP this way, but who knows, maybe more is possible). Credit for this bug goes to this site, without which I may never have discovered the first one:
teilv.ojaru.jp/themeplay_of/ys1_event7_2.html
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IgXLTHNHrM
Eternal = No (both bugs)
Complete = Yes (both bugs)
Chronicles = No (first bug), Yes (second bug)
=====================================================================
FEENA RECOVERS HP WITH TEXT ON-SCREEN
A cheap way to keep Feena alive during the escort mission is to have some kind of text on-screen (items, treasure chest, someone talking), provided you're in a place that will let you restore HP. Having text on-screen will stop the enemies from moving, but for some reason will continue to restore HP.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ENTER ZEPTIC WITHOUT FEENA
In Eternal, you can enter Zeptic without Feena, simply by leaving her far enough behind. Whether or not this was intentional, in the Complete/Chronicles versions, it's pretty clear that you're not meant to be able to do this. To do it in Complete/Chronicles, you first need to make sure Feena's still with you, close enough to where the game will actually let you into Zeptic. Just as you're crossing the mountain path screen boundary, use an item (just not a Book of Ys, I think). For whatever reason, doing this will not end the escort mission, and you can head back to Minea for more Mirrors (to level Feena, although I don't know if she can get past level 3), or even complete the Mine (provided you have the Treasure Box Key beforehand). Unfortunately, you need to take her to Zeptic eventually, or else you won't be able to trigger the later events with Jevah to help get into Darm Tower. Neither of these methods appear to be possible in Chronicles.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=3izCM4e3Hpk
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
FINISH SHRINE WITHOUT SAVING FEENA
By using the item/warp glitch on the Book of Ys after Nygtilger, you can actually escape the Shrine without saving Feena, something that is meant to be impossible if you haven't done so before getting the book. This glitch has two drawbacks to it. First, you are forbidden to use the Wing until you escort Feena to Zeptic (takes place immediately after getting the Book, which is why you warp as you're opening the chest). And second, you still need to take Feena to Zeptic eventually, or else you won't be able to trigger the later events with Jevah to help get into Darm Tower. So, an ultimately useless glitch, but still kind of cool nonetheless.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9vinnba4GI
Eternal = No (item/warp won't give you the Book of Ys)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ITEM TEXT BOX CLEAR DURING SCREEN TRANSITION
If you use items that generate text boxes (in Eternal, this is only the Beastiary Potion and the Roda Seed, I believe) during a screen transition, the text boxes are canceled. This is useful for using the Beastiary Potion/Roda Seed, but not waiting for the text to clear.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - READ BOOK OF Ys DURING SCREEN TRANSITION
If you try and read a Book of Ys right as the screen's transitioning (new map screen, or a close-up), the game will become unwinnable when you exit the book screen. Adol will be stuck at the screen's transition point, unable to do anything. How humiliating. =p
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - FEENA DIES DURING SCREEN TRANSITION/OUT OF BOUNDS
During the Feena escort mission, if Feena's far enough away, and she dies right as you transition to a new screen, the game becomes unwinnable. Provided that Feena was left behind, you'll still be able to move on the new screen, but you can't do anything to go to a new screen. If you do this on the upper level of the Shrine (where Jenocres is fought), entering the stairs or warp statue will cause Adol to "use" the transition point, but because it's technically already "game over" (can't save), he basically disappears.
There are two ways to activate the out of bounds portion of this bug, the first of which is in Zeptic. First, you need to let Feena die while entering Zeptic from the Mountain Path screen (have to use an item in Complete, otherwise she'll follow you, leading to the game being locked up when Adol's supposed to take her to Jevah's). Once in Zeptic, trying to use one of the exits will result in being able to go beyond them, and you'll actually be able to go outside the screen's boundaries. Be careful, though, because if you run, say 30 seconds, off-screen, it'll take you just as long to get back.
The other known spot to get out of bounds is on the screen with the Thieves' Den. While you can have Feena die on the previous screen, the game will not let you get around that screen's boundaries - at least not that way. Instead, take Feena inside the Thieves' Den, and then exit. When you exit, Feena's position will prevent the door from immediately closing. Move Feena to the upper right portion of the doorway, and then move Adol right below her. If done correctly, the door should close, making you clip through the building. From there, you can move around in the out of bounds area. You can also go around the edges of the screen here, but more importantly, there's a view of Darm Tower that you can't see during normal play. Be careful, though, as once you completely enter this out of bounds area, you can't escape it (you probably could, if the game would let you use the Wing). Unfortunately, the technique used to get out of bounds here doesn't seem to apply in other situations (maybe because of how this particular transition point was set up - aka being able to get behind a closed door, which doesn't seem possible with others, not without a screen transition taking place).
VIDEO (second out of bounds bug) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDttzOCwwFw
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (can't get out of bounds in Zeptic)
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - SILVER HARMONICA "RETURNED"
If you warp at the same time you activate the event to return the Silver Harmonica to Lair, you can make the game unwinnable, but only if you advance the event to the sixth text box (the one before the blue text shows up). That is where the Silver Harmonica disappears from your inventory; finish warping before it gets there, and the game will let you re-do the scene (as you still have the Harmonica). However, it appears there is another "trigger" within the scene that needs to be activated to consider the event "complete" (probably when Lair starts to play the harmonica, or at the start/end of the vision of the Roda Tree), as the game will only show you the first set of the Roda Trees' scenes, the same as if you didn't return the Harmonica (actually, Chronicles will show you the second Roda Tree scenes, but won't give you the Silver Sword afterwards). You can still beat Vagullion and do everything else before Darm Tower, but since you don't have the full set of Silver equipment (in this case, the sword), Goban won't let you inside. After performing this glitch in Complete, Lair will be in her "original" position in the upper-right portion of Minea, still requesting you to find her Harmonica (I think, it's been so long since I've played with the English patch). Of course, it's impossible to find again, but it's so odd since it's clear it was returned, even though the scene wasn't "completed". XD In Chronicles, she's still on the ramparts or whatever, but returning there will cause the game to lock up.
Eternal = No (action halts immediately upon using Wing)
Complete = Yes (no second Roda Tree scene)
Chronicles = Yes (can see second Roda Tree scene, but no Silver Sword)
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USE ITEMS/ACCESS INVENTORY DURING WARP
You can actually open the subscreens during a warp, as well as use an item during it. This is useful for using the Roda Seed/Beastiary potion, but not actually needing to manually clear the text boxes. Pretty useless otherwise.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (only after Minea loads; item text boxes not auto-cleared)
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EATING RODA SEED
For whatever reason, eating the Roda Seed is not mandatory to understanding the Roda Trees in Eternal (though you still need to have obtained it).
Eternal = No (can be done, but not necessary)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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RODA TREE SECOND SCENE TEXT SPEED GLITCH
By talking to the Roda Trees twice - once before eating the Roda Seed, and once right afterwards - you can skip the Roda Tree's special text faster than normal, which should only happen after viewing the scene at least once beforehand. Normally, if you talk to and understand the Roda Trees (either one would work) before returning the Silver Harmonica to Lair, they'll say some stuff, and then talking to them a second time will trigger the cutscene again, only this time you can skip their text faster than before. However, after returning the Silver Harmonica, the Trees will only show their respective scenes once, and then they'll stop talking to you, which means that those scenes' special text cannot ordinarily be sped up. I don't know the exact details, but I'm guessing that talking to the Trees without understanding them somehow fools the game into thinking that their respective cutscenes have already been activated. This glitch is useful for speeding up the text of these scenes in Complete, while only needing to see them once. As mentioned above, eating the Roda Seed in Eternal is not necessary, so the glitch can't be performed there. It can't be done in Chronicles either, but the whole scene can be skipped there, so it's a moot point.
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
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FAILED WARP DURING SCREEN TRANSITION
If you use a Wing during a screen transition, the warp will fail, but the Wing will be gone. In Eternal and Complete, it's pretty useless. In Chronicles, however, some of the close-up scenes will activate, and you'll warp after they're exited. So, it could be useful if you wanted to quickly head back to Minea after getting the Silver Sword.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
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BOSS DOORS CLOSE AGAIN/ESPAPE BOSS BATTLE
Normally, you're not meant to escape boss battles, but by using a Wing right as the battle starts, you can escape. Additionally, the doors to Jenocres and Nygtilger will be shut, but not Vagullion (maybe because it's a different door type). Strangely, escaping the Vagullion battle (the easiest one to do) will make it so that the door to Nygtilger is closed; the door to Jenocres, however, will still remain opened. Anyway, a pretty useless glitch, especially since by the time you realize you want to escape, it will likely be too late to do so.
Eternal = Yes (unsure if Jenocres/Nygtilger can be escaped)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (unsure if Jenocres/Nygtilger can be escaped)
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EVIL RING TEXT BOXES NOT CLEARED AFTER LOAD/RESTART
If you equip the Evil Ring without first wearing the Blue Necklace, and then try to take it off, you'll get a message about how you can't get the ring off (you must exit and re-enter the sub-screens to get the message). When the message comes up, instead of pressing the "confirm" button ("Enter" by default), simply exit the sub-screen by pressing "Esc" or the equipment sub-screen hotkey ("E" by default). Upon dying or reloading, the message will still be there, so long as you don't press the "confirm" button.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
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SOME EVENTS NOT RE-ACTIVATED WITH EVIL RING TEXT ON-SCREEN
Continuing from the previous glitch, if you have the Evil Ring text still on-screen, some events will not re-activate in such a condition. For example, trying to open the Battle Armor chest, or the door to Dark Fact's room will result in the events simply not re-activating, provided you've tried them at least once before (in Dark Fact's door case, you'd need to save after first failing to open it - otherwise there is text that needs to be cleared, which can only be done after clearing the Evil Ring text). Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to affect the cell trap in Darm Tower.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (text auto-clears after dying)
=====================================================================
KHONSCLARD DOUBLE EXP
For some reason, killing Khonsclard will give you a total of 10,000 EXP, whereas Pictimos and Yog & Omu will only give you 5,000. In this game, you will receive a boss' EXP as the game is refilling your HP. In the case of Khonsclard, you get 5,000 EXP as he is exploding (doesn't happen for the other bosses), and 5,000 again when your HP is refilled. Since Yog & Omu comes later, and they only give you 5,000 EXP, I'm pretty sure this is just a programming oversight or something. A shame it's basically useless since you're probably already at max level by the time you enter Darm Tower.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
ENEMIES DON'T RESPAWN
For some reason, the enemy on the bridge to Rado's Annex (where Reah/Leah/Lair is) will also not show up when heading back to the main portion of Darm Tower. This also happens in the second mirror maze if you immediately enter the warp mirror after defeating Yog & Omu. Additionally, the music will go silent (not the sound effects, however) after the big mirror shatters. This will last until you either enter the corridor behind the big mirror, or step outside.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (music doesn't stop)
=====================================================================
ENEMIES OUT OF BOUNDS
In the second mirror maze, the sworded enemies actually start out slightly inside the walls (they're normally supposed to have a small "empty" space when they're walking along vertical walls), but they normally work their way out within a couple of seconds. If you use a Mirror to help freeze them in their starting position (otherwise, they'll work their way free pretty shortly), you can push them through since they're already partially inside, or watch them shoot out themselves (they have to land in a "free" space, some of which are apparently within the black spaces). Unfortunately, this seems to be pretty useless, especially since there doesn't appear to be a way to make Adol go through walls (removing the Mask of Eyes in those invisible doorways doesn't seem to work), at least not yet.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-sgLLWhq0
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
SAVE DURING TIME ATTACK
Turns out you can actually access the menus at a couple points during Time Attack, which will actually allow you to save your game in a couple of glitched states (also, it lists it as "Normal" difficulty, so Time Attack's difficulty is now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt). Even stranger, the inventory and equipment screens are shown to be empty, although the equipment one will have "equip" boxes around the pre-determined weapons/armor for fights. Anyway, the points you can do this are before and after Yogleks & Omulgun, and after Dark Fact. Saving, then loading the game afterwards (can't do it during TA, even with access to other menus) will let you wander around after Yog & Omu, but you can only get to the door leading to Dark Fact, which is locked; you also can't backtrack through the rest of the tower (presumably, both instances are due to having a blank inventory screen - you'd ordinarily have the Rod and Blue Amulet by this point). As for the Dark Fact instance, you are stuck where the game places you after his death animation. No clue why (perhaps because TA normally displays the time results at this point), but it's not like you could do much of anything anwyay without any items.
Unfortunately, this means that this is useless at this point, but maybe there's a way to exploit it like in Ys II Complete (more on that later). If there is such a way, I'm currently unaware of it.
Eternal = No (Time Attack wasn't added to this version)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
Ys II (PC Eternal/Complete, and PSP Chronicles)
ITEM WARP
By opening a chest at the very moment the warp menu finishes loading (in Eternal and Complete, you can move around a bit before it fully loads), you can obtain an item as you're warping meaning you don't have to listen to the item jingle. If you open the chest any sooner, doing so will cancel out the menu and just give you the item as normal. This can also be used when activating certain events, but the warp activates so quickly, you usually don't have enough time to reach the scenes' various "trigger points" (points you pass before the game counts the event as "complete"). This glitch sends you to the warp location of your choosing, so it's use is pretty limited. In Chronicles, the game will halt action as soon as you activate the Warp menu, so this glitch doesn't seem to be possible.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
DEATHWARP
Simply warp at the very moment an enemy hits you with a deathblow. Your dead body will be teleported to the location of your choosing (have to be quick about it in Eternal and Complete, I think). Pretty useless, obviously.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
WHITE SCREEN EFFECT
This glitch is basically a "failed" warp. Simply activate a warp during a screen transition, and the next screen will be mostly white (to get rid of it, just save and load, or simply exit the screen normally). Mostly everything seems to function normally under the "white screen" effect, except that sometimes other characters will for some reason be facing right (you can catch a brief glimpse of a room before it turns white). This is especially unusual for the scene before the Zava battle, as her "human" form is never normally shown to be facing anywhere but down.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYLinN0V0Y0
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
=====================================================================
MOVE IMMEDIATELY ON NEW SCREEN
Upon entering a new screen, if you immediately try and go back the way you came, there's a small but noticeable movement pause before Adol will turn around. However, if you press any other direction, you can move immediately. This is useful for when you need to refresh a screen while leveling (to respawn enemies faster). What I do is press up to enter a new screen, briefly press down to move immediately, and then press up again shortly afterwards. This means that I could get back to the "leveling screen" a bit faster than normal, which helps to save a little bit of time. It's a bit tricky to get the hang of, but if done well, it gives the illusion that the "leveling screen" is being refreshed without actually moving to another screen. A neat little time-saver, but probably not too useful for the average player.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
EMPTY TEXT BOXES AT START OF CLOSE-UP SCENES
If you use an item with multiple text boxes (or just with a lot of text, like the Books of Ys) right as you activate a close-up scene, the close-up scene's text boxes will be empty when it's time for you to select a topic to discuss, at least until you clear the text. Pretty useless glitch.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (?)
=====================================================================
DR. RALLE MINE SCENE SKIP
For whatever reason, if you approach the wall where Dr. Ralle is trapped at a diagonal angle, it will not trigger his initial dialogue where he requests you to find a Mattock, so that means he can be freed immediately. I've honestly no idea what causes this weird behavior, but when using the mouse in Complete, the scene will still occasionally activate, even at a diagonal angle (maybe something to do with 360-degree movement). Another variation of this is to use the Mattock at the very moment the scene activates. Dr. Ralle will be requesting you to help, even as you break down the wall. XD
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
WARP TO CURRENT LOCATION
You normally can't warp to one of the 6 Warp locations if you're already there. However, let's say you're standing on the southern edge of the screen right outside Rance Village. Activate the Wing/Warp magic, but immediately head into Rance Village before the Warp menu fully loads. Since you started the action on the previous screen, the Warp menu doesn't list you as inside Rance Village like it normally would. Pretty pointless, but it's kind of amusing warping to the exact spot you just were (for Rance Village, at least). If you do the reverse of what I explained - that is, if you start the warp in one of the six locations, and then exit to another area - the Warp menu still considers you to be in the area you started to activate it. For example, if you start to activate it in Rance, and then exit the village before the Warp menu fully loads, the game will still consider you as being in Rance Village when the menu appears on the next screen (you just need to cancel the Warp and try it again to fix it).
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - LEAVE JIRA'S BASEMENT WHILE RINGING EVIL BELL
If you leave Jira's Basement after ringing the Evil Bell to get the monsters to break down the wall in Complete, the game becomes unwinnable. Presumably, the game considers the event "complete" by then (even though the wall isn't broken), because going back down and ringing the bell again results in nothing happening. While it is possible to ring the bell and get upstairs at the same time in Eternal/Chronicles, the game is still perfectably winnable (makes you wonder why they changed it in Complete - it wasn't broken then). Anyway, a pretty useless glitch, but this is one glitch you don't want to save after performing.
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - GLITCHED DALLES/DARM SCENE
This is partially a side-effect of the "failed" warp, though it can be activated without it. For some reason, activating the Dalles/Darm scene (when first entering the Ice Ridge of Noltia) under the "white screen" effect will load a glitched form of what appears to be the Dalles boss fight, instead of the other scene (you can tell by Dalles' positioning). However, you do not necessarily need to be under the "white screen" effect to trigger this bug (makes it a lot easier, though =p). You can instead make the warp menu fully load on the pre-Noltia screen, while at the same time triggering the scene (a bit harder to do). It should be noted that activating the glitched scene will force you to quit, unless you can manage to warp (not easy, as the warp menu is cancelled almost immediately by the glitched scene), in which case you will need to activate the normal scene. Too bad you can't manually escape to explore the rest of Solomon Shrine for the Cleria Sword, or else this bug could be a real game-breaker.
UPDATE: Strangely, loading the warp menu for the glitched scene, saving the game, then loading the file in glitched Time Attack (described further down) results in being able to move around out of bounds (the screen scrolls occasionally when moving). The only way Dalles can hit you in this state is by using Time Stop magic, which surrounds your position with a bunch of projectiles. Conversely, you are not able to attack Dalles like this, so it's pretty useless. I'm guessing this is all a side effect of Adol not actually being present for the glitched scene (at least, he's not visible).
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYLinN0V0Y0
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - TARF DISAPPEARS
When escorting Tarf back to the Lava Village, if you use a Warp right when entering the village with Tarf on-screen, it will seemingly cause Tarf to disappear. Normally, he'll be right where you left him, but not in this case. I've searched everywhere I could in the game up until that point, and he's nowhere to be found. I'm guessing the game considers him to have technically been escorted to the village, but due to the warp, the game also doesn't have time to fully activate the cutscene (it barely starts at all =p). The escort mission is probably deemed as "complete" the moment you re-enter the village with Tarf on-screen, so the game doesn't think you have a need to escort Tarf anymore. But, since the cutscene doesn't get to the point where Tarf and Ruba are reunited, Ruba apparently thinks he's still missing, and so there's no way to re-trigger the cutscene (I'm assuming), making the game unwinnable.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (action halts right after activating warp menu)
=====================================================================
MISTY ICE DROPS STILL EQUIPPED AFTER USING THEM
If you use the Misty Ice Drops right in the center of where you form the ice bridge in the Ice Ridge of Noltia, they're still listed as equipped after using them (just check the inventory sub-screen; doesn't happen for other "consumable" items, I think). You can even attempt to use them again (to no avail, of course), at least until you exit the screen. If you switch to another inventory item, magic, or accessory, they'll be gone, as they should be. In Complete, this glitch is useful in being able to cycle items immediately afterwards (normally, you'd have to manually re-equip another item). Chronicles will only let you cycle accessories and magic, not items. In Eternal, this bug doesn't seem to be present at all (again, makes you wonder why they changed something that wasn't broken).
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
OUT OF BOUNDS
Three different spots (so far) for Adol to get out of bounds. Two are in the Eternal version, two for Complete, and Chronicles seem to only have one (need to double-check Chronicles sometime, though). Anyway, first is in the Ice Ridge of Noltia. If you try and run up those slopes without the Stone Shoes, the game will eventually force Adol downwards. You're supposed to stop sliding once you reach the bottom of the slope, but if monsters are in those spots, then the game will eventually push you right through them, until there's a "free" space. By manipulating the monsters into certain positions, you can make it so that the game will eventually push you out of bounds. The main trouble with this is getting the enemies to stay positioned properly, as they'll often try and wander off, or sometimes you or another enemy will end up pushing them out of position. Aside from hoping the enemies don't wander off, there are two other techniques I used to keep them in place. First, and probably the easiest, is to get a text box to show up from using a non-consumable item. This stops all movement on screen, but you'll still slide (I guess that's not technically considered movement, as it happens without your input). Second, just ring the Evil Bell repeatedly. This will attract monsters in human form, but as a Roo, they'll think you're one of them, so they'll just freeze for a bit. Unfortunately, this glitch doesn't seem to be very useful, as once you're completely out of bounds, you can only get out by warping (can't walk on the in bounds tiles, which also means you can't open any of the Ice Ridge chests (well, maybe the Stone Shoes, but that's probably more trouble than it's worth).
The next spot is in Complete only (probably also in Eternal, if you were to transfer save files, but no point doing that for this), in the Colony of Lava. If you do the glitch to get all items early (see the "Glitched Time Attack" section further down), talking to Ruba anytime before saving Tarf will cause him to think Tarf's already been saved, and he will offer to let you rest outside (he should only do this inside) - this then places you out of bounds (as before, you can only get out by warping). Normally, you're re-positioned after resting inside, so due to activating this where you're not supposed to, the map coordinates for the re-positioning are screwed up, and point to an out of bounds square. As for why he offers to let you rest outside, more than likely, the game detects an item in the inventory from later in the game, and so the game probably assumes Tarf is already safe and sound because of that. Doing the all items glitch before being able to enter Solomon Shrine will make the game unwinnable (Gorto simply won't let you in - probably thinks he already has, due to a full inventory), so be sure that if you do this, you have a backup file.
The other spot you can get out of bounds is in Solomon Shrine, right where the gate is where you need the Pass. In the Eternal version, either you or the enemies can simply walk right in/out, as it appears there's a missing boundary right where the gate is on the right hand side of that wall (gate needs to be open to get in). In Complete/Chronicles, however, it seems as though only the guard can get in (the boundary appears to be patched up), and this is because he's actually standing on part of the gate. After getting him to open it, immediately attack him, forcing him to the right. If you do this quick enough, he should zip right out of bounds (because he's already standing on something he shouldn't be), in the same spot you can enter in Eternal. Unfortunately, this glitch doesn't seem useful either.
Another interest with both of these is that there are some spots where you can make Adol go outside what the screen shows. In all of these cases, if you run off-screen for, say 30 seconds, it'll take you just as long to get back on-screen. Yet another oddity is a black box in both of these areas. In the Ice Ridge, touching it will "warp" you to a different part of the screen, though not far from the black box (and still out of bounds). In Solomon Shrine, it doesn't appear to do anything.
Eternal = Yes (Adol = Ice Ridge and Solomon Shrine, enemies = Solomon Shrine)
Complete = Yes (Adol = Ice Ridge and Colony of Lava, enemies = Solomon Shrine)
Chronicles = Yes (Adol = Ice Ridge, enemies = Solomon Shrine)
=====================================================================
SURVIVE LETHAL HIT
Two known variants of this. During bosses, the game will let you survive a lethal hit, provided your fireball (haven't tested physical hits in the cases of Dalles/Darm) hits and kills the boss before they hit you. However, if they kill you first, yet your attack still hits them afterwards (for instance, shoot a fireball right before Velagunder's projectiles hit you), they'll die like normal, but the funny thing is, the game will still try and restore your HP/MP (to no avail, of course XD).
The other bug is to kill an enemy at the same time they deal a deathblow to you. However, you have to make sure that killing that enemy will level you up, but that you also gain enough HP from the level up to survive the otherwise "lethal" hit (level ups give you a little extra HP/MP, but not a full restore). Doing so will allow you to not get a game over, and at the same time, you have no hit detection (meaning you can't do physical attacks, but fireballs still work). If you die, but manage to level up right after (via releasing a fireball before death), sometimes it won't give you the "game over" screen, but you can't move (you'll be frozen in your "death" animation, but you can still recover HP XD). To be honest, I've only tested this on the Charlont (mages) and Balkilea (knights) outside the Bell Tower. I've been successful with the Charlonts by killing them right as they're releasing their projectile, but haven't really messed around with the Balkilea yet. Anyway, the no hit detection thing lasts only until you transition to a different screen, so this bug seems rather useless.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (can survive lethal boss hit, unsure about the second bug)
=====================================================================
NULLIFY DAMAGE BY HEALING
If you use a consumable item right when an enemy's about to hit you, their attack should pass harmlessly through you (at first I thought it was projectiles only, but that doesn't seem to be the case). In some cases, you can even go through enemies (Gelaldy's worm, Druegar, Zava). I had hoped to use a similar method to bypass the rock golems guarding the Staff of Divinity, but it doesn't seem to work on regular enemies (none yet, at least).
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
NULLIFY TYALMATH DAMAGE BY RELEASING FIREBALLS AGAINST WALLS
When fighting Tyalmath, if you time the release of your fireballs (the charged ones, at least) just as his ice wave attack is about to strike, the attack will go right through you. I'm not entirely sure whether or not positioning matters in this, but I do this pinned up against the wall. Makes the fight a lot easier, even if under-leveled (where you do only a sliver of damage).
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
CAMERA COLLISION
In the Moat of Burnedbless, on the screen with the Goddesses' statue, ring the Evil Bell (to trigger the curious Roo) at the same time Adol initially feels like he's being watched. It's a variation of two events occurring at the same time (it's basically what all the glitches are, so far), but this screws up the camera movement briefly, probably because both of the events move the camera away from Adol briefly.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
BLOCK ROO WHILE RINGING EVIL BELL
As you should know, you need to ring the Evil Bell in order for the path to the Roos' Nest to be revealed by a Roo coming out to check the noise. If you ring the bell next to where the Roo comes out, you can block him off, and he'll just head right back to the nest without really checking the area, saving a little bit of time. However, if you're not quite in the right position, he'll push Adol for a little bit, and then head back inside.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
"EXTRA" BLACK PEARL IN MOAT OF BURNEDBLESS
After getting the Black Pearl in the Moat of Burnedbless, it's supposed to disappear from the statue right afterwards. However, if you activate the item/warp glitch right as you select "Yes" to get it, the statue will still show the pearl in its forehead. Unfortunately, this is only a graphical glitch. I was hoping to re-obtain the Black Pearl from this point, instead of the meeting room in Solomon Shrine.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (no item/warp glitch)
=====================================================================
SHRINE ENTRY SCENE SKIP
By transforming into a Roo right as you pass the "trigger point" for the scene where Adol-Roo shows his equipment to the Solomon Shrine guards, you can actually skip it. The scene won't normally activate in human form (actually, it will, if you change from Roo to human right as you enter the "trigger point" - the same thing can be done with a lot of other "human/Roo only" scenes), but the guards will eventually attack you if you're too close, so you need to change to a Roo. If the guards notice you in human form, the glitch can't be done unless you exit and re-enter the screen. After passing the trigger point, simply touch the Shrine door (or talk to the guards) like you would normally, and they'll let you in. Aside from the precision needed to perform this skip, the only catch is that if you wish to avoid seeing this scene, this bug will need to be done every time you enter the Shrine through the front door.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=UccH9T_1vME
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
SKIP DRUEGAR
First, you need to activate the Druegar boss fight like normal, but leave (be sure to enable exiting boss fights) and re-enter. This will make it so that he briefly has no collision detection upon re-entering the fight (probably because the game's still loading the fight), but that alone is not enough. Upon re-entering, use the Time Stop magic immediately, and touch the door above Druegar, which will now open. This glitch was fixed in Complete on upwards, but files can still be transferred between Complete and Eternal, so it's technically possible to avoid killing him in Complete by using a file from Eternal beforehand. Credit goes to this site:
teilv.gozaru.jp/ys2/boss4%20druegar.html
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYSdiXBOEwU
Eternal = Yes
Complete = No
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
EXTRA EXP FROM ZAVA
When fighting Zava, use the Time Stop magic immediately after all of the dialogue. This will make it so that Zava is still listed as being in her "human" form (via the Beastiary Potion), making her susceptible to physical attacks. Even though you receive EXP for killing her "human" form, she must still be killed normally, after dealing with the 3 waves of Zavaaz. To maximize the potential of this bug, just exit the boss fight after killing her "human" form (be sure to enable exiting boss fights), and repeat the process. It should be noted, though, that the "human" form gives out less and less EXP the more you level (bosses normally give a fixed amount of EXP, I think). This is because Zava's "human" form is not considered to be a boss enemy, and she even has different stats than her demon form. This glitch was fixed in Complete on upwards. Credit goes to this site:
teilv.ojaru.jp/themeplay_of/ys2/event/mini_zava.html
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNP6WSm9emU
Eternal = Yes
Complete = No
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
"EARLY" DARM BATTLE
Plot-wise, this battle is right where it should be. This just allows you to skip the final screen before Darm. Anyway, all you need to do is bring up the warp menu right as you're passing through the final "boss door" (where you free the Goddesses), and you will end up in the Darm battle. Be careful not to cancel the menu too soon, or else you will still need to pass through the final screen. This is not much of a skip in terms of gameplay, but it is very peculiar nonetheless. I don't know what causes this weird behavior, but it's activated in much the same manner as the glitched Dalles/Darm scene before the Ice Ridge of Noltia.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gu7R1bC_Uc
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
=====================================================================
GLITCHED TIME ATTACK
This is activated by loading a file immediately upon dying in Time Attack, which lets you select any file, which has the peculiar side-effect of the timer still running during the main game. It also skips the text when activating events, or some just won't activate at all (like returning the Books of Ys to the priests) - that or it requires a "normal" save, then performing the glitch (makes most triggers function, but with the bonus of skipped text).
Much stranger than that, though, is the developers apparently had one of each inventory and equipment item stored for this mode, even though you normally can't access any sub-screens then. To get around that, you can die in TA, immediately load up a file (before returning to the title screen) that has at least one boss killed, and then re-visit its room to receive everything. You also automatically level up to the pre-set TA level for whoever's boss room you enter, but only if you're under-leveled (technically, the EXP is never given, but the stats are, so if you go back to a boss room that would award less EXP, you're de-leveled (stats included) to the proper point - that is, whatever level your listed total EXP reflects). Going into a boss room where the boss hasn't been defeated yet, if you still have the timer running, it automatically gives you the pre-set TA equipment (unless you load a save already in the room with other stuff equipped, which could render the boss unbeatable, as it is then inescapable - or, it could make it laughably easy), and once you beat it, it's off to the next boss. To continue playing the main game with everything, you simply make a save after getting everything, and then load it during normal play.
Aside from potentially being extremely overpowered (try doing this with the glitched Dalles/Darm scene when entering the Ice Ridge, then warping away), it seems some bosses take damage from Adol having "Shield" magic equipped, just by letting them run into you a couple times, though I've been unable to get this to work for Druegar, Dalles, and Darm so far. For Velagunder you just need to bring up the warp menu from the previous screen as you enter his room, and then activate it to have access to "Shield" magic. Druegar, it seems like it should work, as sometimes your fireballs will pass right through him afterwards, even though he still bounces you around. Dalles and Darm, I'm not sure, but I theorize it doesn't work because they don't actually seem to do collision damage, just projectile/other things. In hindsight, this behavior makes some sense, since normally when an enemy runs into when you equip "Shield" magic, it takes damage instead, and Dalles and Darm don't do collision damage (Druegar does, so that's still confusing).
Some of the events are messed up, as evidenced by talking to Ruba in the videos. If you try talking to him on the main Colony of Lava screen, he'll offer to let you rest, something that he should only do when in his house. The result is you're placed out of bounds afterwards, which seems to be only escapable via a warp. Another instance is talking to Lilia in the Core of Ys with a gift in hand (why this works, I have no clue). If you used the glitch to skip the normal way of obtaining the Shrine Key, after the initial text, she will then attempt to give you the Shrine Key, which is of course normally followed by Dalles warping in to turn the runaways to stone. In this case, the game crashes, likely either because Dalles is normally set to warp on a screen you're not currently on, or perhaps he would actually appear inside a wall (I think there'd be enough room here, though). There's other stuff, such as talking to Sada while petrified (because you have the Cleria Sword, most likely), Ys never returning to the ground outside Lance Village, and not being able to enter the meeting room where the Black Pearl is re-obtained (which is moot, since it's already given via the glitch, and it's no longer necessary to re-obtain it anyway).
All that aside, there is one major flaw with activating this too early, and that is Gorto won't let you inside Solomon Shrine. I don't know why exactly, but it's probably due to already having the Lila Shell by that point, which he normally requests you to get from Hadat. To get around this, I recommend activating this after he opens the door to the Shrine, as I currently don't know of any other way to get inside. Once inside, some stuff can be skipped/done out of order, but the game is beatable then.
VIDEO #1 - www.twitch.tv/korzic/c/5028264
VIDEO #2 - www.twitch.tv/korzic/c/5028274 (a more complete testing of the game)
VIDEO #3 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_F0JKzPMxE (a condensed summary of the more interesting points)
Eternal = No (Time attack wasn't added to this version)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
By opening a chest at the very moment the warp menu finishes loading (in Eternal and Complete, you can move around a bit before it fully loads), you can obtain an item as you're warping meaning you don't have to listen to the item jingle. If you open the chest any sooner, doing so will cancel out the menu and just give you the item as normal. This can also be used when activating certain events, but the warp activates so quickly, you usually don't have enough time to reach the scenes' various "trigger points" (points you pass before the game counts the event as "complete"). This glitch sends you to the warp location of your choosing, so it's use is pretty limited. In Chronicles, the game will halt action as soon as you activate the Warp menu, so this glitch doesn't seem to be possible.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
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DEATHWARP
Simply warp at the very moment an enemy hits you with a deathblow. Your dead body will be teleported to the location of your choosing (have to be quick about it in Eternal and Complete, I think). Pretty useless, obviously.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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WHITE SCREEN EFFECT
This glitch is basically a "failed" warp. Simply activate a warp during a screen transition, and the next screen will be mostly white (to get rid of it, just save and load, or simply exit the screen normally). Mostly everything seems to function normally under the "white screen" effect, except that sometimes other characters will for some reason be facing right (you can catch a brief glimpse of a room before it turns white). This is especially unusual for the scene before the Zava battle, as her "human" form is never normally shown to be facing anywhere but down.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYLinN0V0Y0
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
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MOVE IMMEDIATELY ON NEW SCREEN
Upon entering a new screen, if you immediately try and go back the way you came, there's a small but noticeable movement pause before Adol will turn around. However, if you press any other direction, you can move immediately. This is useful for when you need to refresh a screen while leveling (to respawn enemies faster). What I do is press up to enter a new screen, briefly press down to move immediately, and then press up again shortly afterwards. This means that I could get back to the "leveling screen" a bit faster than normal, which helps to save a little bit of time. It's a bit tricky to get the hang of, but if done well, it gives the illusion that the "leveling screen" is being refreshed without actually moving to another screen. A neat little time-saver, but probably not too useful for the average player.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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EMPTY TEXT BOXES AT START OF CLOSE-UP SCENES
If you use an item with multiple text boxes (or just with a lot of text, like the Books of Ys) right as you activate a close-up scene, the close-up scene's text boxes will be empty when it's time for you to select a topic to discuss, at least until you clear the text. Pretty useless glitch.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (?)
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DR. RALLE MINE SCENE SKIP
For whatever reason, if you approach the wall where Dr. Ralle is trapped at a diagonal angle, it will not trigger his initial dialogue where he requests you to find a Mattock, so that means he can be freed immediately. I've honestly no idea what causes this weird behavior, but when using the mouse in Complete, the scene will still occasionally activate, even at a diagonal angle (maybe something to do with 360-degree movement). Another variation of this is to use the Mattock at the very moment the scene activates. Dr. Ralle will be requesting you to help, even as you break down the wall. XD
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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WARP TO CURRENT LOCATION
You normally can't warp to one of the 6 Warp locations if you're already there. However, let's say you're standing on the southern edge of the screen right outside Rance Village. Activate the Wing/Warp magic, but immediately head into Rance Village before the Warp menu fully loads. Since you started the action on the previous screen, the Warp menu doesn't list you as inside Rance Village like it normally would. Pretty pointless, but it's kind of amusing warping to the exact spot you just were (for Rance Village, at least). If you do the reverse of what I explained - that is, if you start the warp in one of the six locations, and then exit to another area - the Warp menu still considers you to be in the area you started to activate it. For example, if you start to activate it in Rance, and then exit the village before the Warp menu fully loads, the game will still consider you as being in Rance Village when the menu appears on the next screen (you just need to cancel the Warp and try it again to fix it).
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
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UNWINNABLE GAME - LEAVE JIRA'S BASEMENT WHILE RINGING EVIL BELL
If you leave Jira's Basement after ringing the Evil Bell to get the monsters to break down the wall in Complete, the game becomes unwinnable. Presumably, the game considers the event "complete" by then (even though the wall isn't broken), because going back down and ringing the bell again results in nothing happening. While it is possible to ring the bell and get upstairs at the same time in Eternal/Chronicles, the game is still perfectably winnable (makes you wonder why they changed it in Complete - it wasn't broken then). Anyway, a pretty useless glitch, but this is one glitch you don't want to save after performing.
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
UNWINNABLE GAME - GLITCHED DALLES/DARM SCENE
This is partially a side-effect of the "failed" warp, though it can be activated without it. For some reason, activating the Dalles/Darm scene (when first entering the Ice Ridge of Noltia) under the "white screen" effect will load a glitched form of what appears to be the Dalles boss fight, instead of the other scene (you can tell by Dalles' positioning). However, you do not necessarily need to be under the "white screen" effect to trigger this bug (makes it a lot easier, though =p). You can instead make the warp menu fully load on the pre-Noltia screen, while at the same time triggering the scene (a bit harder to do). It should be noted that activating the glitched scene will force you to quit, unless you can manage to warp (not easy, as the warp menu is cancelled almost immediately by the glitched scene), in which case you will need to activate the normal scene. Too bad you can't manually escape to explore the rest of Solomon Shrine for the Cleria Sword, or else this bug could be a real game-breaker.
UPDATE: Strangely, loading the warp menu for the glitched scene, saving the game, then loading the file in glitched Time Attack (described further down) results in being able to move around out of bounds (the screen scrolls occasionally when moving). The only way Dalles can hit you in this state is by using Time Stop magic, which surrounds your position with a bunch of projectiles. Conversely, you are not able to attack Dalles like this, so it's pretty useless. I'm guessing this is all a side effect of Adol not actually being present for the glitched scene (at least, he's not visible).
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYLinN0V0Y0
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
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UNWINNABLE GAME - TARF DISAPPEARS
When escorting Tarf back to the Lava Village, if you use a Warp right when entering the village with Tarf on-screen, it will seemingly cause Tarf to disappear. Normally, he'll be right where you left him, but not in this case. I've searched everywhere I could in the game up until that point, and he's nowhere to be found. I'm guessing the game considers him to have technically been escorted to the village, but due to the warp, the game also doesn't have time to fully activate the cutscene (it barely starts at all =p). The escort mission is probably deemed as "complete" the moment you re-enter the village with Tarf on-screen, so the game doesn't think you have a need to escort Tarf anymore. But, since the cutscene doesn't get to the point where Tarf and Ruba are reunited, Ruba apparently thinks he's still missing, and so there's no way to re-trigger the cutscene (I'm assuming), making the game unwinnable.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (action halts right after activating warp menu)
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MISTY ICE DROPS STILL EQUIPPED AFTER USING THEM
If you use the Misty Ice Drops right in the center of where you form the ice bridge in the Ice Ridge of Noltia, they're still listed as equipped after using them (just check the inventory sub-screen; doesn't happen for other "consumable" items, I think). You can even attempt to use them again (to no avail, of course), at least until you exit the screen. If you switch to another inventory item, magic, or accessory, they'll be gone, as they should be. In Complete, this glitch is useful in being able to cycle items immediately afterwards (normally, you'd have to manually re-equip another item). Chronicles will only let you cycle accessories and magic, not items. In Eternal, this bug doesn't seem to be present at all (again, makes you wonder why they changed something that wasn't broken).
Eternal = No
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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OUT OF BOUNDS
Three different spots (so far) for Adol to get out of bounds. Two are in the Eternal version, two for Complete, and Chronicles seem to only have one (need to double-check Chronicles sometime, though). Anyway, first is in the Ice Ridge of Noltia. If you try and run up those slopes without the Stone Shoes, the game will eventually force Adol downwards. You're supposed to stop sliding once you reach the bottom of the slope, but if monsters are in those spots, then the game will eventually push you right through them, until there's a "free" space. By manipulating the monsters into certain positions, you can make it so that the game will eventually push you out of bounds. The main trouble with this is getting the enemies to stay positioned properly, as they'll often try and wander off, or sometimes you or another enemy will end up pushing them out of position. Aside from hoping the enemies don't wander off, there are two other techniques I used to keep them in place. First, and probably the easiest, is to get a text box to show up from using a non-consumable item. This stops all movement on screen, but you'll still slide (I guess that's not technically considered movement, as it happens without your input). Second, just ring the Evil Bell repeatedly. This will attract monsters in human form, but as a Roo, they'll think you're one of them, so they'll just freeze for a bit. Unfortunately, this glitch doesn't seem to be very useful, as once you're completely out of bounds, you can only get out by warping (can't walk on the in bounds tiles, which also means you can't open any of the Ice Ridge chests (well, maybe the Stone Shoes, but that's probably more trouble than it's worth).
The next spot is in Complete only (probably also in Eternal, if you were to transfer save files, but no point doing that for this), in the Colony of Lava. If you do the glitch to get all items early (see the "Glitched Time Attack" section further down), talking to Ruba anytime before saving Tarf will cause him to think Tarf's already been saved, and he will offer to let you rest outside (he should only do this inside) - this then places you out of bounds (as before, you can only get out by warping). Normally, you're re-positioned after resting inside, so due to activating this where you're not supposed to, the map coordinates for the re-positioning are screwed up, and point to an out of bounds square. As for why he offers to let you rest outside, more than likely, the game detects an item in the inventory from later in the game, and so the game probably assumes Tarf is already safe and sound because of that. Doing the all items glitch before being able to enter Solomon Shrine will make the game unwinnable (Gorto simply won't let you in - probably thinks he already has, due to a full inventory), so be sure that if you do this, you have a backup file.
The other spot you can get out of bounds is in Solomon Shrine, right where the gate is where you need the Pass. In the Eternal version, either you or the enemies can simply walk right in/out, as it appears there's a missing boundary right where the gate is on the right hand side of that wall (gate needs to be open to get in). In Complete/Chronicles, however, it seems as though only the guard can get in (the boundary appears to be patched up), and this is because he's actually standing on part of the gate. After getting him to open it, immediately attack him, forcing him to the right. If you do this quick enough, he should zip right out of bounds (because he's already standing on something he shouldn't be), in the same spot you can enter in Eternal. Unfortunately, this glitch doesn't seem useful either.
Another interest with both of these is that there are some spots where you can make Adol go outside what the screen shows. In all of these cases, if you run off-screen for, say 30 seconds, it'll take you just as long to get back on-screen. Yet another oddity is a black box in both of these areas. In the Ice Ridge, touching it will "warp" you to a different part of the screen, though not far from the black box (and still out of bounds). In Solomon Shrine, it doesn't appear to do anything.
Eternal = Yes (Adol = Ice Ridge and Solomon Shrine, enemies = Solomon Shrine)
Complete = Yes (Adol = Ice Ridge and Colony of Lava, enemies = Solomon Shrine)
Chronicles = Yes (Adol = Ice Ridge, enemies = Solomon Shrine)
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SURVIVE LETHAL HIT
Two known variants of this. During bosses, the game will let you survive a lethal hit, provided your fireball (haven't tested physical hits in the cases of Dalles/Darm) hits and kills the boss before they hit you. However, if they kill you first, yet your attack still hits them afterwards (for instance, shoot a fireball right before Velagunder's projectiles hit you), they'll die like normal, but the funny thing is, the game will still try and restore your HP/MP (to no avail, of course XD).
The other bug is to kill an enemy at the same time they deal a deathblow to you. However, you have to make sure that killing that enemy will level you up, but that you also gain enough HP from the level up to survive the otherwise "lethal" hit (level ups give you a little extra HP/MP, but not a full restore). Doing so will allow you to not get a game over, and at the same time, you have no hit detection (meaning you can't do physical attacks, but fireballs still work). If you die, but manage to level up right after (via releasing a fireball before death), sometimes it won't give you the "game over" screen, but you can't move (you'll be frozen in your "death" animation, but you can still recover HP XD). To be honest, I've only tested this on the Charlont (mages) and Balkilea (knights) outside the Bell Tower. I've been successful with the Charlonts by killing them right as they're releasing their projectile, but haven't really messed around with the Balkilea yet. Anyway, the no hit detection thing lasts only until you transition to a different screen, so this bug seems rather useless.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes (can survive lethal boss hit, unsure about the second bug)
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NULLIFY DAMAGE BY HEALING
If you use a consumable item right when an enemy's about to hit you, their attack should pass harmlessly through you (at first I thought it was projectiles only, but that doesn't seem to be the case). In some cases, you can even go through enemies (Gelaldy's worm, Druegar, Zava). I had hoped to use a similar method to bypass the rock golems guarding the Staff of Divinity, but it doesn't seem to work on regular enemies (none yet, at least).
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
NULLIFY TYALMATH DAMAGE BY RELEASING FIREBALLS AGAINST WALLS
When fighting Tyalmath, if you time the release of your fireballs (the charged ones, at least) just as his ice wave attack is about to strike, the attack will go right through you. I'm not entirely sure whether or not positioning matters in this, but I do this pinned up against the wall. Makes the fight a lot easier, even if under-leveled (where you do only a sliver of damage).
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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CAMERA COLLISION
In the Moat of Burnedbless, on the screen with the Goddesses' statue, ring the Evil Bell (to trigger the curious Roo) at the same time Adol initially feels like he's being watched. It's a variation of two events occurring at the same time (it's basically what all the glitches are, so far), but this screws up the camera movement briefly, probably because both of the events move the camera away from Adol briefly.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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BLOCK ROO WHILE RINGING EVIL BELL
As you should know, you need to ring the Evil Bell in order for the path to the Roos' Nest to be revealed by a Roo coming out to check the noise. If you ring the bell next to where the Roo comes out, you can block him off, and he'll just head right back to the nest without really checking the area, saving a little bit of time. However, if you're not quite in the right position, he'll push Adol for a little bit, and then head back inside.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
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"EXTRA" BLACK PEARL IN MOAT OF BURNEDBLESS
After getting the Black Pearl in the Moat of Burnedbless, it's supposed to disappear from the statue right afterwards. However, if you activate the item/warp glitch right as you select "Yes" to get it, the statue will still show the pearl in its forehead. Unfortunately, this is only a graphical glitch. I was hoping to re-obtain the Black Pearl from this point, instead of the meeting room in Solomon Shrine.
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (no item/warp glitch)
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SHRINE ENTRY SCENE SKIP
By transforming into a Roo right as you pass the "trigger point" for the scene where Adol-Roo shows his equipment to the Solomon Shrine guards, you can actually skip it. The scene won't normally activate in human form (actually, it will, if you change from Roo to human right as you enter the "trigger point" - the same thing can be done with a lot of other "human/Roo only" scenes), but the guards will eventually attack you if you're too close, so you need to change to a Roo. If the guards notice you in human form, the glitch can't be done unless you exit and re-enter the screen. After passing the trigger point, simply touch the Shrine door (or talk to the guards) like you would normally, and they'll let you in. Aside from the precision needed to perform this skip, the only catch is that if you wish to avoid seeing this scene, this bug will need to be done every time you enter the Shrine through the front door.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=UccH9T_1vME
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = Yes
=====================================================================
SKIP DRUEGAR
First, you need to activate the Druegar boss fight like normal, but leave (be sure to enable exiting boss fights) and re-enter. This will make it so that he briefly has no collision detection upon re-entering the fight (probably because the game's still loading the fight), but that alone is not enough. Upon re-entering, use the Time Stop magic immediately, and touch the door above Druegar, which will now open. This glitch was fixed in Complete on upwards, but files can still be transferred between Complete and Eternal, so it's technically possible to avoid killing him in Complete by using a file from Eternal beforehand. Credit goes to this site:
teilv.gozaru.jp/ys2/boss4%20druegar.html
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYSdiXBOEwU
Eternal = Yes
Complete = No
Chronicles = No
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EXTRA EXP FROM ZAVA
When fighting Zava, use the Time Stop magic immediately after all of the dialogue. This will make it so that Zava is still listed as being in her "human" form (via the Beastiary Potion), making her susceptible to physical attacks. Even though you receive EXP for killing her "human" form, she must still be killed normally, after dealing with the 3 waves of Zavaaz. To maximize the potential of this bug, just exit the boss fight after killing her "human" form (be sure to enable exiting boss fights), and repeat the process. It should be noted, though, that the "human" form gives out less and less EXP the more you level (bosses normally give a fixed amount of EXP, I think). This is because Zava's "human" form is not considered to be a boss enemy, and she even has different stats than her demon form. This glitch was fixed in Complete on upwards. Credit goes to this site:
teilv.ojaru.jp/themeplay_of/ys2/event/mini_zava.html
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNP6WSm9emU
Eternal = Yes
Complete = No
Chronicles = No
=====================================================================
"EARLY" DARM BATTLE
Plot-wise, this battle is right where it should be. This just allows you to skip the final screen before Darm. Anyway, all you need to do is bring up the warp menu right as you're passing through the final "boss door" (where you free the Goddesses), and you will end up in the Darm battle. Be careful not to cancel the menu too soon, or else you will still need to pass through the final screen. This is not much of a skip in terms of gameplay, but it is very peculiar nonetheless. I don't know what causes this weird behavior, but it's activated in much the same manner as the glitched Dalles/Darm scene before the Ice Ridge of Noltia.
VIDEO - www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gu7R1bC_Uc
Eternal = Yes
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No (can't activate warp/warp menu during screen transition)
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GLITCHED TIME ATTACK
This is activated by loading a file immediately upon dying in Time Attack, which lets you select any file, which has the peculiar side-effect of the timer still running during the main game. It also skips the text when activating events, or some just won't activate at all (like returning the Books of Ys to the priests) - that or it requires a "normal" save, then performing the glitch (makes most triggers function, but with the bonus of skipped text).
Much stranger than that, though, is the developers apparently had one of each inventory and equipment item stored for this mode, even though you normally can't access any sub-screens then. To get around that, you can die in TA, immediately load up a file (before returning to the title screen) that has at least one boss killed, and then re-visit its room to receive everything. You also automatically level up to the pre-set TA level for whoever's boss room you enter, but only if you're under-leveled (technically, the EXP is never given, but the stats are, so if you go back to a boss room that would award less EXP, you're de-leveled (stats included) to the proper point - that is, whatever level your listed total EXP reflects). Going into a boss room where the boss hasn't been defeated yet, if you still have the timer running, it automatically gives you the pre-set TA equipment (unless you load a save already in the room with other stuff equipped, which could render the boss unbeatable, as it is then inescapable - or, it could make it laughably easy), and once you beat it, it's off to the next boss. To continue playing the main game with everything, you simply make a save after getting everything, and then load it during normal play.
Aside from potentially being extremely overpowered (try doing this with the glitched Dalles/Darm scene when entering the Ice Ridge, then warping away), it seems some bosses take damage from Adol having "Shield" magic equipped, just by letting them run into you a couple times, though I've been unable to get this to work for Druegar, Dalles, and Darm so far. For Velagunder you just need to bring up the warp menu from the previous screen as you enter his room, and then activate it to have access to "Shield" magic. Druegar, it seems like it should work, as sometimes your fireballs will pass right through him afterwards, even though he still bounces you around. Dalles and Darm, I'm not sure, but I theorize it doesn't work because they don't actually seem to do collision damage, just projectile/other things. In hindsight, this behavior makes some sense, since normally when an enemy runs into when you equip "Shield" magic, it takes damage instead, and Dalles and Darm don't do collision damage (Druegar does, so that's still confusing).
Some of the events are messed up, as evidenced by talking to Ruba in the videos. If you try talking to him on the main Colony of Lava screen, he'll offer to let you rest, something that he should only do when in his house. The result is you're placed out of bounds afterwards, which seems to be only escapable via a warp. Another instance is talking to Lilia in the Core of Ys with a gift in hand (why this works, I have no clue). If you used the glitch to skip the normal way of obtaining the Shrine Key, after the initial text, she will then attempt to give you the Shrine Key, which is of course normally followed by Dalles warping in to turn the runaways to stone. In this case, the game crashes, likely either because Dalles is normally set to warp on a screen you're not currently on, or perhaps he would actually appear inside a wall (I think there'd be enough room here, though). There's other stuff, such as talking to Sada while petrified (because you have the Cleria Sword, most likely), Ys never returning to the ground outside Lance Village, and not being able to enter the meeting room where the Black Pearl is re-obtained (which is moot, since it's already given via the glitch, and it's no longer necessary to re-obtain it anyway).
All that aside, there is one major flaw with activating this too early, and that is Gorto won't let you inside Solomon Shrine. I don't know why exactly, but it's probably due to already having the Lila Shell by that point, which he normally requests you to get from Hadat. To get around this, I recommend activating this after he opens the door to the Shrine, as I currently don't know of any other way to get inside. Once inside, some stuff can be skipped/done out of order, but the game is beatable then.
VIDEO #1 - www.twitch.tv/korzic/c/5028264
VIDEO #2 - www.twitch.tv/korzic/c/5028274 (a more complete testing of the game)
VIDEO #3 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_F0JKzPMxE (a condensed summary of the more interesting points)
Eternal = No (Time attack wasn't added to this version)
Complete = Yes
Chronicles = No
Ys III (SNES)
ILVERN RUINS CUTSCENE SKIP
After escaping the Zone of Lava, if you immediately hold left (it helps to release right during the screen transition, and then hold left), you can skip the cutscene where Chester and Garland talk for a bit about Adol's defeat of the Fire Dragon. However, it seems that the statue boss in the room's secret passage is still needed to progress with the plot, so you still have to enter that room. I'm not sure on the details, but it seems you can often get in 1 frame of movement before cutscenes, but it almost never matters - this appears to be an exception.
Credit goes to MP83 for this find. I'll quote part of his PM regarding this here.
VIDEO - www.twitch.tv/zewing/c/1810184
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TABLET CUTSCENE SKIP
Similar to the above, when getting the Mission's Tablet in the Abandoned Mine, you can skip the first set of dialogue by approaching the chest from the right-hand side, or jumping forward before reaching the first miner on the left-hand side. The text after opening the chest doesn't seem skippable.
Thanks to zewing of SDA for this find.
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MIRROR WEIRDNESS (still needs console testing)
As is typical of the Mirror items in the series, it allows you to momentarily halt enemy movement. This isn't normally allowed in the middle of a boss fight, but if you use it on the screen before, it will stun them. Unfortunately, it's not nearly long enough to make much of a difference in killing them, if any at all (it usually wears off before you can reach them, and if you can, it's only a couple of free hits you can score).
Also, if you use this before taking the floating platform to the final battle with Galbalan, you will actually step right through it. Interestingly enough, you can then fall in the pit, which also acts as the screen transition to the fight. Not sure what's going on here, but maybe it has to do with screen wrapping?
Alternatively, once the platform's already moving upwards, if you use the Mirror, it'll actually halt, but Adol will continue floating up. XD
After escaping the Zone of Lava, if you immediately hold left (it helps to release right during the screen transition, and then hold left), you can skip the cutscene where Chester and Garland talk for a bit about Adol's defeat of the Fire Dragon. However, it seems that the statue boss in the room's secret passage is still needed to progress with the plot, so you still have to enter that room. I'm not sure on the details, but it seems you can often get in 1 frame of movement before cutscenes, but it almost never matters - this appears to be an exception.
Credit goes to MP83 for this find. I'll quote part of his PM regarding this here.
And there's more to that glitch than meets the eye. There's a way to freeze the game for instance (not the actual game ROM, though, since the music keeps playing normally), and you can use the same stairs to walk in the air as if you were still on the stairs (no real benefits of doing that, but it's kinda fun). I don't remember the specifics off the bat, but these things are easy to pull off. I have them recorded on my hard drive, if you're interested in seeing them (I could upload them to YouTube).
By the way, not sure if you already knew this, but when you skip that Chester and Garland cutscene entirely, there's a side-effect of Elena always being at the inn, even when Galbalan kidnaps her later on. Nothing major, but I always find it funny when Adol cries to Dogi about not being able to save Elena, when she's actually doing just fine.
By the way, not sure if you already knew this, but when you skip that Chester and Garland cutscene entirely, there's a side-effect of Elena always being at the inn, even when Galbalan kidnaps her later on. Nothing major, but I always find it funny when Adol cries to Dogi about not being able to save Elena, when she's actually doing just fine.
VIDEO - www.twitch.tv/zewing/c/1810184
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TABLET CUTSCENE SKIP
Similar to the above, when getting the Mission's Tablet in the Abandoned Mine, you can skip the first set of dialogue by approaching the chest from the right-hand side, or jumping forward before reaching the first miner on the left-hand side. The text after opening the chest doesn't seem skippable.
Thanks to zewing of SDA for this find.
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MIRROR WEIRDNESS (still needs console testing)
As is typical of the Mirror items in the series, it allows you to momentarily halt enemy movement. This isn't normally allowed in the middle of a boss fight, but if you use it on the screen before, it will stun them. Unfortunately, it's not nearly long enough to make much of a difference in killing them, if any at all (it usually wears off before you can reach them, and if you can, it's only a couple of free hits you can score).
Also, if you use this before taking the floating platform to the final battle with Galbalan, you will actually step right through it. Interestingly enough, you can then fall in the pit, which also acts as the screen transition to the fight. Not sure what's going on here, but maybe it has to do with screen wrapping?
Alternatively, once the platform's already moving upwards, if you use the Mirror, it'll actually halt, but Adol will continue floating up. XD
Ys IV (SFC)
MISALIGNMENT GLITCH
If you bring up the Wing menu or use a consumable item while transitioning to the next movement square, you can make it so your movement is slightly misaligned. In most cases, this isn't very noticeable, but one of the easiest ways to tell is to try entering a space that you can normally. For instance, try opening a door. If Adol moves off to the side, instead of entering like normal, that's an indication that the glitch has occurred (or he may be able to use the door - generally from the right-hand side - but still clip through part of the building). To fix this, you need to enter a new screen, or run into an obstacle "properly" to re-align yourself.
Anyway, the door example is why I'm bringing this up in the first place. In those cases, instead of entering the door like normal, you enter it from the "side", about one half-square away. Doing this at the elder's house in Selrei means you can enter the door that leads to the Sage of Celceta without collecting the three Eyes. It seems as though the "door refuses to open" trigger wasn't set there, but the entry trigger to that part of the house was (yet for at least one of the houses in Komodo, I walked right through the doorway). In this example, you have to be careful about when you do it, otherwise you probably can't get back to Minea later in the game (to get the Golden Pedestal from Pim, to access the ancient city). After you talk to the elder via Flair's help, it should be safe to see the Sage.
You can also use this glitch to see Lefance without the Hero Sword. You still need to talk to the Sage first (again, not too early), but afterwards, the game will let you clip on through him, provided your vertical position is misaligned and you immediately hold left. I believe this means that one could complete the game without ever obtaining the Hero Sword, though the Ice Sword would probably be needed to have enough STR to kill Bami. However, I think that'd require level 30/31 (max) to get the needed STR. (I should also note, walking through characters after talking to them is not uncommon in this game, but this instance has Adol taking a couple steps away after the conversation. This would normally be enough to prevent clipping through someone, but for some reason being misaligned helps in this case.)
Other known instances where misalignment is also useful is when you first enter Komodo, Karna takes you to the elder, she normally stops you if you try to exit his house without talking him. Exiting the house at a misaligned horizontal angle will have you avoiding to speak with him.
In the Minea Plains, the game ordinarily makes you fight that one boss (the centaur?) before continuing to Zeptic/Lance, but you can use horizontal misalignment to clip through part of the bridge to avoid fighting him.
Lastly, in the Temple of the Sun, you're supposed to talk with Lefance's 5 companions briefly, but using vertical misalignment means the event won't trigger.
There's also using vertical misalignment before fighting Eldeel to actually go up and speak to him, though it's unclear if the dialogue is his, or someone else's (it's not in purple color, and he only says it once). In the English translation patch, he says " Ah, Adol. It's good to see you alive and well. Please, have a seat."
There are several other useful instances I had hoped this would work for, but these are the only ones I know of. A couple of failed examples are clipping through the dog in Highland (before talking to Leeza), and passing through the rock piles at the Temple of the Earth. There's more than that I've tried, but I can't think of them right now.
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ENEMY KNOCKBACK GLITCH (still needs console testing)
Similar to the above, there are a couple places where enemy knockback can push you through certain triggers that are normally unskippable. These are the scene where Adol is struck by lightning and winds up at the Stormvale Castle, and the bridge in the Minea Plains before defeating the centaur-like boss. Both require precise timing, but especially the Stormvale Castle one, since you only get one shot before needing to reload a file. Another potential problem is having enough HP to survive the attacks, but so long as you have full health beforehand, this shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Regarding the Stormvale Castle scene, after a certain point (once you have access to the ancient city, I believe), Eldeel and his minions won't appear to knock the stuffing out of you (though they still speak, I believe XD), so you have to use the Wing to escape. Presumably, this is because they're needed elsewhere in the story by this point, namely in the ancient city.
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MIRROR NECKLACE GLITCH
Ordinarily, boss fights don't allow you to use the Mirror Necklace to stun bosses. However, using it just before triggering a fight, they will be stunned for a brief period - how long depends on how fast you can get through any story scenes there may be.
Unfortunately, this isn't useful for the majority of the bosses, as it freezes their opening animations, and most either start out in an invulnerable state, or simply not on-screen yet (dropping from above, or something). By far, the most useful boss to do this for is Eldeel. Normally, he's got all those plot mechanics before he can be damaged, but using the Mirror Necklace beforehand freezes him temporarily, and unlike some bosses, he is immediately vulnerable. This is the case even with the Radiance Sword equipped (he normally can only be damaged by the Hero Sword, excluding "magic" attacks), and if you're fast enough, you can kill him before he even has a chance to do anything. However, when I tested this at level 28, I was not able to do quite enough damage before time ran out, even making use of the misalignment glitch (lets you initiate the fight a tad closer than intended). Levels 29 and above you can kill him in time with the Radiance Sword, but the transition from level 28 to 29 is another 11,000 EXP, which is a lot for this game. Even at level 28, this means that if you do enough damage beforehand, upon using the Radiance Necklace to advance to the second form, he'll immediately go to his armored form, which is still quite handy.
If you bring up the Wing menu or use a consumable item while transitioning to the next movement square, you can make it so your movement is slightly misaligned. In most cases, this isn't very noticeable, but one of the easiest ways to tell is to try entering a space that you can normally. For instance, try opening a door. If Adol moves off to the side, instead of entering like normal, that's an indication that the glitch has occurred (or he may be able to use the door - generally from the right-hand side - but still clip through part of the building). To fix this, you need to enter a new screen, or run into an obstacle "properly" to re-align yourself.
Anyway, the door example is why I'm bringing this up in the first place. In those cases, instead of entering the door like normal, you enter it from the "side", about one half-square away. Doing this at the elder's house in Selrei means you can enter the door that leads to the Sage of Celceta without collecting the three Eyes. It seems as though the "door refuses to open" trigger wasn't set there, but the entry trigger to that part of the house was (yet for at least one of the houses in Komodo, I walked right through the doorway). In this example, you have to be careful about when you do it, otherwise you probably can't get back to Minea later in the game (to get the Golden Pedestal from Pim, to access the ancient city). After you talk to the elder via Flair's help, it should be safe to see the Sage.
You can also use this glitch to see Lefance without the Hero Sword. You still need to talk to the Sage first (again, not too early), but afterwards, the game will let you clip on through him, provided your vertical position is misaligned and you immediately hold left. I believe this means that one could complete the game without ever obtaining the Hero Sword, though the Ice Sword would probably be needed to have enough STR to kill Bami. However, I think that'd require level 30/31 (max) to get the needed STR. (I should also note, walking through characters after talking to them is not uncommon in this game, but this instance has Adol taking a couple steps away after the conversation. This would normally be enough to prevent clipping through someone, but for some reason being misaligned helps in this case.)
Other known instances where misalignment is also useful is when you first enter Komodo, Karna takes you to the elder, she normally stops you if you try to exit his house without talking him. Exiting the house at a misaligned horizontal angle will have you avoiding to speak with him.
In the Minea Plains, the game ordinarily makes you fight that one boss (the centaur?) before continuing to Zeptic/Lance, but you can use horizontal misalignment to clip through part of the bridge to avoid fighting him.
Lastly, in the Temple of the Sun, you're supposed to talk with Lefance's 5 companions briefly, but using vertical misalignment means the event won't trigger.
There's also using vertical misalignment before fighting Eldeel to actually go up and speak to him, though it's unclear if the dialogue is his, or someone else's (it's not in purple color, and he only says it once). In the English translation patch, he says " Ah, Adol. It's good to see you alive and well. Please, have a seat."
There are several other useful instances I had hoped this would work for, but these are the only ones I know of. A couple of failed examples are clipping through the dog in Highland (before talking to Leeza), and passing through the rock piles at the Temple of the Earth. There's more than that I've tried, but I can't think of them right now.
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ENEMY KNOCKBACK GLITCH (still needs console testing)
Similar to the above, there are a couple places where enemy knockback can push you through certain triggers that are normally unskippable. These are the scene where Adol is struck by lightning and winds up at the Stormvale Castle, and the bridge in the Minea Plains before defeating the centaur-like boss. Both require precise timing, but especially the Stormvale Castle one, since you only get one shot before needing to reload a file. Another potential problem is having enough HP to survive the attacks, but so long as you have full health beforehand, this shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Regarding the Stormvale Castle scene, after a certain point (once you have access to the ancient city, I believe), Eldeel and his minions won't appear to knock the stuffing out of you (though they still speak, I believe XD), so you have to use the Wing to escape. Presumably, this is because they're needed elsewhere in the story by this point, namely in the ancient city.
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MIRROR NECKLACE GLITCH
Ordinarily, boss fights don't allow you to use the Mirror Necklace to stun bosses. However, using it just before triggering a fight, they will be stunned for a brief period - how long depends on how fast you can get through any story scenes there may be.
Unfortunately, this isn't useful for the majority of the bosses, as it freezes their opening animations, and most either start out in an invulnerable state, or simply not on-screen yet (dropping from above, or something). By far, the most useful boss to do this for is Eldeel. Normally, he's got all those plot mechanics before he can be damaged, but using the Mirror Necklace beforehand freezes him temporarily, and unlike some bosses, he is immediately vulnerable. This is the case even with the Radiance Sword equipped (he normally can only be damaged by the Hero Sword, excluding "magic" attacks), and if you're fast enough, you can kill him before he even has a chance to do anything. However, when I tested this at level 28, I was not able to do quite enough damage before time ran out, even making use of the misalignment glitch (lets you initiate the fight a tad closer than intended). Levels 29 and above you can kill him in time with the Radiance Sword, but the transition from level 28 to 29 is another 11,000 EXP, which is a lot for this game. Even at level 28, this means that if you do enough damage beforehand, upon using the Radiance Necklace to advance to the second form, he'll immediately go to his armored form, which is still quite handy.