Whew, that was close. Again.
Pictured above is my stunning defeat of the final boss of Ys Book 2, the Turbografx 16 CD classic that took me 30 years to get around to playing. Ys Book 2 is actually Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter, originally released on Japanese computers in 1989 before getting bundled with the first Ys game for the Turbografx 16 CD.
Fantastic music, cutscenes, and polished gameplay shine through this straightforward masterpiece of its time. You start Ys Book 2 bereft of your armor, weapons, and most items from Ys Book 1, but levelling continues from the first. Pacing is perfect and you level as you explore with no need for grinding, but occasionally you’ll find a sweet spot and go for it anyway.
The major addition in Book 2 is magic wands and MP to power their effects. Since the first wand was fire, and shot fireballs, I assumed the others would be also elemental themed effects, but Ys is a little offbeat in its design. Instead, the other magic included useful effects like teleportation back to any town, shield, and disguise as a monster.
While disguised as a monster, you get access to monster only areas and converse with the enemies, who sometimes offer useful clues regarding your next step. It added an unexpected and wholly delightful twist on the normal gameplay.
Most boss fights were epic challenges worthy of song with insane attacks and razor edge margins for error. Hell yes I used the save anywhere feature of the Turbografx 16 Mini to save optimal gameplay runs on a few of them. If I started out good in a boss fight, I’d save that point and start subsequent attempts from there. Again, don’t judge, I’m middle-aged.
Some of the boss fights were pushovers, but I’ll take it.
I previously stated that back in the day I was not convinced that Ys Book 1 & 2 was the killer app that would make me take the plunge and get the Turbografx 16 CD. I was wrong and I know that this game would have been a favorite of mine back then. Here in 2020 hindsight is still 20/20, but at least I got to play it now thanks to the current wave of 90s retro gaming nostalgia and the good-enough-for-now Turbografx 16 Mini.
No comments:
Post a Comment