âYs... the ideal utopia.â
Many a gamer will never forget hearing those magical words spoken, in a video game, for the very first time back in 1990.
Today we are looking back at the TurboGrafx CD Nihon Falcom classic Ys Book I & II! Have you ever joined Adol Christin in his journey to discover the secrets of the vanished land of Ys? Well, join us as we venture through some Esterian history!
Ys Book I & II left an indelible mark on gamers in the early 90s. Being one of the earliest home console CD-Rom video games (released in late 1989 in Japan and 1990 in North America), this game displayed incredible animated cutscenes, Red Book CD audio, and voice acting that really showcased what the next generation of video games of the time had to offer.
The TurboGrafx CD version of Ys Book I & II combines enhanced versions of the singularly released original Ancient Ys Vanished games for the PC-8801 home computer in Japan. Ys Book I & II is a landmark title in the vast gaming history landscape that continues to be remembered fondly for introducing many gamers of the era to the magic of CD-based video gaming. Games such as Ys, which took advantage of the expanded memory capabilities CDâs had to offer, helped pave the way for the incredibly expansive, cinematic games we all enjoy today.
The soundtrack for Ys Book I & II is extraordinary. Originally composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Mieko Ishikawa, the sweeping melodies and galloping rhythms perfectly match Adolâs adventures in Esteria, and really enhance the games overall atmosphere. Yuzo Koshiro fans especially, will delight in hearing these early compositions from an industry legend. (If interested in hearing more incredible music from the Ys series, the soundtracks can be found on both Apple Music and Spotify by searching for âFalcom Sound Team JDKâ.)
There have been several remakes of Ys Book I & II over the years that have released for various platforms, including Windows, Nintendo DS, PS2, PlayStation Portable, and more recently iOS and Android. These versions all have different visual, audio, cutscene, and character enhancements and or changes. There is much to choose from in the Ys Book I & II timeline!
However, if itâs the original 1988/89 CD-based Action / RPG classic youâre interested in experiencing (either for the first time, or once again), you are in luck, as both the original Japanese and English versions of Ys Book I & II can be found on the TurboGrafx / CoreGrafx / PC Engine Mini consoles! (Since the original CD game for the TG-16 can be rather costly on eBay (around $150-200 at the time of this writing), the TurboGrafx Mini console is a great alternative at only $99, which also includes a total of 57 combined TG-16 / PC Engine classics!)
(* Bonus Stage: Also included in the picture above are the first two DVDs from the Ys anime series. Books One and Two of the animated series cover the storyline of Book I from the video game.)
#retrogaming #retrogames #hucardhuesday #turbografx #turbografx16 #turbografxcd #turbografxtuesday #coregrafx #pcengine #turboduo #ys
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