Ys Origin

Ys Origin
Developer(s)	Nihon Falcom
Publisher(s)	JP Nihon Falcom Corporation HK Typhoon Games NA XSEED Games EU XSEED Games
Series	Ys
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	Windows XP JP December 21, 2006 (Limited Edition) Windows Vista JP March 29, 2007 Steam WW May 31, 2012
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Distribution	JP HK 1 DVD-ROM NA EU Steam
Sound	OGG Vorbis - 16-bit 44.1kHz stereo

Ys Origin (イース・オリジン, Īsu Orijin) is a Japanese action role-playing game developed and published by Nihon Falcom for Microsoft Windows in 2006. In 2012, XSEED Games published an English-language localization of the game, via the Steam platform.^[1]

Ys Origin is a prequel to the six previous installations of the Ys video game series. It takes place 700 years before the events of Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished, and tells much of the backstory of Ys, Darm Tower, the Black Pearl, the twin goddesses, and the six priests. The game has three playable characters: Yunica Tovah, Hugo Fact, and Toal Fact. By completing the game with each of the characters, the player sees more dimensions to the story. Each player character has a distinctive story, combat style and skillset. Ys Origin is the first game in the Ys series in which Adol Christin is not the protagonist.

Gameplay

Plot

Characters

• Yunica Tovah (ユニカ＝トバ, Yunika Toba): Yunica is the granddaughter of Priest Tovah, one of the six priests of Ys.^[2] She begins the game armed with a battle axe, but later acquires a sword. The axe allows for rapid attack sequences, whereas the sword affords a wider reach. Although unable to cast any kind of magic, she can use Fire, Wind and Thunder skills with her axe and sword when the related artifacts are found. Yunica's gameplay is comparable to Adol's in The Oath in Felghana and The Ark of Napishtim.

• Hugo Fact (ユーゴ＝ファクト, Yūgo Fakuto):^[3] The magician Hugo attacks by emitting magic missiles from his staff and from his two small satellites, the Eyes of Fact.^[2]

• The Claw (鉤爪の男, Kagizume no Otoko): "The Claw" is a character surrounded in mystery; he attacks rapidly, wielding two large metal claws.

• Adol Christin (アドル＝クリスティン, Adoru Kurisutin): The expansion disk and later editions of the game add Adol to the roster of player characters in the Time Attack and Arena Mode bonus games. The player can choose to play Adol as he appeared either in The Ark of Napishtim or in The Oath in Felghana. Each variation plays as it did in the original game, but with control mechanics adjusted for parity with the other three characters.

Release

Windows XP

This was the initial standard release of the game. It has since been discontinued due to Falcom dropping Windows XP support for their games.

Expansion disc

An expansion disc was made available for the cost of shipping and handling (with emphasis on handling) to owners of the first edition (a serial number had to be provided to request the upgrade). The expansion disc adds two new difficulty levels, an arena mode where players battle dozens upon dozens of monsters in a single room, alternate versions of the three main characters with upgraded skills, the ability to play as Adol Christin (in Time Attack and Arena Mode only) and a few additional secrets.

Windows Vista

This release includes all the expansion disc bonuses already included. Unlike the previous release, this version has support for Windows Vista, which the previous one lacked.

Windows 7

Similar to the Windows Vista version, this is the current release version for the PC. Version number is 1.1.1.0 for this release.

Steam

Same as Windows 7 release. This release added fully localized translation, proper widescreen support, Steam achievements, leaderboards, and Steam Cloud support.

Reception

References

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official Xseed Ys Origin website