Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter Review

I was roped into starting the Ys series by my younger brother, who had binged the first couple games late last year. And it's been a fun time to explore these games! Ys is one of the most foundational action RPG series: a series that helped kick off decades of fantastic games. However, does Ys II hold up? Is it as good as the first game, or even a good action RPG? That's what I'll be delving into in today's Ys II review.

Story - 3

This game's story, like the first game, is interspersed throughout the manual and the thoughts of random NPCs. The story is quite minimal and scattershot, even for an older game. While not the worst of this time or anything, there's simply not enough substance for me to cling onto here to truly rate this category any higher.

Battle System - 7.5

While the combat in Ys II doesn't add much depth compared to the first in terms of its systems, the addition of Magic goes a very long way in making this game's battles truly entertaining. Building on top of the Bump System established by the first game, Fire Magic is loads of fun to eviscerate enemies with in this game. Ranged combat does make fighting enemies in this game much easier and more brainless, sure. Yet being able to launch a barrage of supercharged fireballs at enemies while running and seamlessly exploring was a lot of fun. Combat gets a whole lot more fun when you obtain the Hawk and Falcon Idols. These cause your Fire Magic to home onto enemies, immolating them with little to no effort. While gained far later in the game, the Time and Shield spells are fun to use, freezing time and halving damage taken, respectively. Or, you can avoid combat altogether by turning into a monster using the Alter spell! While the combat here has fun, seamless swordplay and sorcery, it still struggles to do anything interesting enough to justify a higher score. The bosses are the best part of the game's combat, but I'd say they're a solid step down from the first game's. While not an all-time classic RPG battle system, this combat gets the job done.

Customization System - 4

While there is still not much to customize in this game, compared to the last game, there's still a lot more to mess around with here. With different magic spells to switch between, accessories that are actually useful during boss fights and are worth switching between often amidst different circumstances, and actually helpful consumable items? It's almost like the Ys series is trying to be more of an actual RPG this time around. Throw in the fact that 55 is the max level instead of 10 this time around, and you've got a game with much better customization than the first, even if it's still quite weak compared to most RPGs.

Locations - 4

Ys II practically removes the world map from the first game, and the game is made far more linear and straightforward because of that removal. However, while losing the world map is a tragedy, I still think Ys II offers a better array of locations than the first, thanks to a greater variety of dungeons and towns. While the first game only has a mine, a tower, and a shrine, this game has a mine, a lavafield, a snowfield, and an enormous shrine. Not much more, but it's still better. While most of the game is nothing too special, the Solomon Shrine at the end of the game has become one of my new favorite final dungeons due to its sprawling design, unique boss fights, tons of intricate areas, et cetera. This dungeon is legendary enough to give this game a slightly above-average score.

Characters - 4

Honestly, the majority of NPCs in this game aren't too memorable. NPCs are meant to add spice to the main character's story, amplifying Adol's emotional journey... not replace the qualities the main character is supposed to have. And, since Adol is uninteresting and the NPCs are forgettable, part of me wants to give this an even lower score because there's nothing to grasp on to. However, the Alter magic comes in to raise this score a bit because of its interesting nature: it allows you to talk to every enemy in the game! While most of the dialogue is nothing all that special, I love the concept and the sheer amount of dialogue written for this game compared to its predecessor. While the characters in this game aren't much, there's enough fun in the dialogue to not score a lower score.

Art & Graphics - 7

Like the last game, this one has solid pixel art and a couple of good cutscenes, but it isn't distinct or pretty enough to warrant a higher score from me. However, the game still looks solid, the boss designs and characters look cool, and the UI grew on me, even though I didn't love it in the first game. A 7 is as fitting score as any for Ys II.

Music - 8

Falcom continues to push the envelope with the awesome, innovative style and sound design of Ys II. The instrumentation is bombastic, and the energy is tangible. The music's style amplifies even the most generic areas of the game; it's seriously ridiculous how much better the music in these first few Ys games sounded on the PSP compared to its contemporaries. While the melodies themselves aren't my favorite, the execution of said melodies is so superb that this soundtrack is memorable and awesome.

Sidequests - 2

While Ys II has a couple of funny easter eggs that could be considered sidequests, their charm doesn't really go any further than maybe providing the odd laugh. At least the first game had gold chalices to find... This game also has an NPC trading mechanic, but it doesn't amount to anything more than upgrading your healing items. Unfortunately, there's simply too little substance to this game's side content.

Quality of Life - 9

While this game is a whole lot more balanced than the last game, it still has some odd difficulty spikes and drops that are particularly noticeable on greater difficulties. However, unlike the first game, the slight imbalance didn't truly affect my experience; it's just something worth noting.

The Verdict

Fun Factor - 7
Overall Score - 57%
Letter Rating - C

While it was a significant step up from the original, Ys II still feels like a demo for what a truly fantastic Ys game could be. While the Solomon Shrine and Falcon Idol fireballs will live rent-free in my head, unfortunately, the rest of this game isn't really memorable or unique enough to ever think about it again.

Primary Version: Ys I & II (Steam)