The History of it All.

Ancient Ys Vanished Omens is the full title of the original game in the series from 1987. Ys tells the story of Adol Christin, a redheaded swordsman with a lust for adventure. The original game finds Adol washing ashore in a strange country called Esteria somewhere off the continent of Eresia. He's nursed back to health in the city of Minea. He soon learns that he's in a land of legend. One which floats in the sky, as to seal off a great evil from the rest of the world. He learns about the two goddesses and the six priests who created six books of Ys. Reuniting those six books is the key to the secrets of Ys. His thirst for adventure sets him on a path to collect the six books of Ys and to the very top of Darm Tower itself for a confrontation with evil. Along the way traveling through monster infested plains, forests, and mines, solving puzzle laden palaces, and surviving trap filled towers. The next game in the series came out in 1988 and held the full title of Ys II: The Final Chapter. Ys 2 picks up immediately where Ys left off. It opens with Adol defeating Dark Fact atop the Tower of Darm and collecting the sixth book of Ys, the Book of Fact. The game has you climbing down the now crumbling tower. You make it out by utilizing a different path than the one you used to reach the top. The geography of the land of Esteria is such that you come out on the other side of the base of the tower which rests in a giant crater into a different section of the land. You're cut off from the land of Ys 1. Adol continues to explore the land, learning more about the six priests and the two goddesses of Ys. He travels through subterranean canals, volcanoes, and icy plains to eventually reach and confront the true evil sealed away in the land of Esteria. The next title in the series came in 1989 and was called Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. In the original Ys, Adol met a bandit name Dogi and they became fast friends. Ys 3 tells the story of what happens after the events of Ys 1 & 2 when Adol decides to visit Dogi's homeland, leaving Esteria behind. They reach Dogi's hometown of Redmond to find something amiss. That's all Adol needs and he's off seeking adventure. You're led through a story having nothing to do with the previous games at all. Ys 4 was called Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys and it was from 1993. There were two versions of Ys 4. The Dawn of Ys was for the PC Engine Super CD and was created by Falcom / Hudson. They also released Ys IV: Mask of the Sun for the Super Famicom which was created by Tonkin House. They share locations, characters, and even a lot of the same music, but beyond that are entirely different. Dawn of Ys is considered canon. Dawn of Ys has Adol returning to Esteria years later. Revisiting a few old locations such as Minea and Darm Tower before heading off to the land of Selceta where the Romun Empire is causing trouble. Ys 5 was released in 1995 on the Super Famicom under the title of Ys V: The Lost Desert Kingdom of Kefin. This game actually takes place between Ys 3 and 4 chronologically. It tells the story of Adol's time in Afroca. The city of Kefin vanished five-hundred years ago. The problem comes in the fact that it seems to be reappearing, much to the chagrin of the inhabitants of the new cities now standing in its place. Once again Adol is there and off to find the answers. That brings us to Ys 6 which was released for Windows in 2003 under the title of Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim. Ys 6 picks up sometime after Ys 4 with Adol and Dogi on the western side of Eresia where he happens to run in to Terra and her pirate father from Ys 4. They're going to investigate the Great Vortex of Canaan. Adol and Dogi come along.  While nearing the Great Vortex the Romun Empire who has been pursuing the pirates catch up and attack. In the naval assault, Adol is knocked overboard and once again finds himself washed up on a beach in a strange land. So begins a quest to figure out how to get off of Canaan which is surrounded by the Great Vortex and is impassible by any ship.  Ys is not Final Fantasy obviously. It is one long story. No retelling the same story over and over here. Throughout the entire series the storytelling and characterization has been first rate. The Japanese can tell great stories. Tight, well told stories. Falcom, Game Arts, Natsume, SEGA and a few others have such an ability. There isn't any metaphysical mumbo-jumbo here. No teenage angst. Just old-fashioned rollicking good time adventures. Ys 6 is no exception, in fact it's the best of the entire series. The characterization is surprisingly deep for the NPCs, especially for an ARPG. The game features "only" two towns and every last NPC is named. You get to know them. They have an amazing amount of things to say. After each event in the game, no matter how minor, every last NPC has something new to say. This results in going around and talking to every last person in the game after you do anything. You're rewarded with deep characterization and a very rich story. I am thoroughly impressed with the storytelling in this series and especially Ys 6. Not to mention how tied to the original game this chapter is. From returning characters also washed up on Canaan to allusions to the very nature of the goddesses of Ys. This is truly great stuff. I will be crushed if the next Ys title once again never reaches the Western market.

Next time should be about the nostalgia of it all.