Y's vanished omen reviewHello there, I will be reviewing Y's vanished omen which is part of the Ys chronicles. I have the chronicle 2001 version on a rom on my computer and I thought it was awesome, so I stared playing the 88 version as well and although it was a different experience, it was still pretty good and this review just goes out to the game itself. I think this is a very good game and it is just like the one on my computer and it has the exact same plot but just much more defined and vastly improved graphics. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy my review. Now then, let's get to it, shall we?
Graphics: 7
I think the graphics of this game are pretty good for the most part considering it was made in the late 1980s, I think the graphics are pretty good. Compared to the newer version which I have that was made in 2001 has the exact same plot and storyline, but the only differences are some changes in the sound as well as in the graphics which I think are greatly enhanced. But as far as this game goes, i think the graphics are pretty good for its time period which is why I scored them a 7 overall.
Sound: 8
The sound of this game is simply awesome. The music really gets you in the mood for destroying some enemies and leveling up. I think for sure, that the great soundtracks are the best feature of this game, they are just simply amazing in my opinion. The Turbograx Cd version released in 2001 also has a lot of the same tracks, most of which are digitally edited and remastered, sound great and out of all the Ys games, I personally think that this version has the best music and sound to it. So overall, the music in this game is pretty good and I personally think it is one of the best features of the game and it is what makes it really great. So I scored them an 8 on the music. The music in this game just really gets you in the mood for battling. So I think they did a good job with that.
Addictiveness: 7
I think that this game is pretty addicting, I mean you have to level up and get more Exp with every enemy you beat and I generally think that is a pretty addicting feature for most games. I always destroyed several enemies just so I could level up faster and buy more cool items whenever I wanted to. The one thing I would stress that you do in this game is take your time, treat it like a pokemon game, take your leveling up seriously. You have to be strong and have plenty of experience in many parts in this game. For example, the mines area, I recommend that you are about a level 7 when you first enter there. You will gain a lot of experience while you are in the mine which will then boost you to a level 10 for some of the final bosses. So do not rush through this game because your training and the EXP you gain are very valuable. With that being said, i scored this game's addictiveness or re play-ability a 7 because although there is a lot to do here, I think that several features of the game make it very addicting, fun and open to being played again. So I think that a 7 is an appropriate score.
Story: 7
The story is pretty simple, you play as a quiet, young redheaded swordsman named Adol Christin. What you basically do is search for the 6 books of Ys which are long forgotten but they hold knowledge to defeat an ancient evil that is spreading across the land Of Esteria by the evil, sinister wizard Dark Dekt. So you collect the books in order to gain knowledge on how to defeat the evil spreading across the land and also defeating Dark Dekt. For the most part there isn't really that much of a complex story to the game, other than you just go through various parts of the game to collect the books in preparation to beating the evil wizard. So it is pretty simple actually which is why I scored the game a 7 for the story, although it has one, it is pretty simple and it is mostly the same in most of the games throughout the series in the aspect of collecting the 6 books of Ys.
Depth: 6
I think the game offers a decent amount of stuff to do and complete. There is a lot of back and forth traveling in the game as well as buying items and selling them. It took me about a week to beat this game and I think I could've beat it in less time. There is a decent amount of stuff you have to do in preparation for when you have to face the evil wizard at the end of the game. So I think it has a decent amount of content to it and I scored it a 6 for that.It isn't a game that you beat in 5 minutes but on the other hand it is not one that should span for weeks and weeks to beat either. So it is somewhere in the middle, depth wise, so that is why I scored it a 6 for depth.
Difficulty: 4
The game features a unique control for beating enemies, you do not need to press any buttons to do so, you simply move across the screen and you hit the enemy off centered which I think is cool because you don't tire out as fast if you had to repetitively press one button to beat an enemy, so I think this control ins unique and energy conservant. For the most part the controls are pretty easy aside from just moving and hitting the enemy off center there really aren't any more controls than that. Some of the enemies in the game area little tricky to beat, but with repetition, appropriate leveling and EXP, I think that you should eventually be able to get the hang of it without too much trouble. So every once in a while the enemies will be a little tricky, like Vagullion for example, or the 2 guards towards the end of the game. But just be sure to take your training seriously and you will do fine. So I scored it a 4 for difficulty overall. Some of the bosses in the game are best defeated if you have a technique to defeat them, like the long worm shaped boss, it chases you around a lot so the way to defeat it is to move around in the same motion and stab the body when it moves.
Gameplay and methods for beating the enemies in the game:
For the first enemy in the game when you are in the dungeon, he is pretty easy, the only dangers are the horizontal pillars of love that spew out from the wall, just stay in the center and come out to stab him when he is within your range. Then return to your main position. Repeat as necessary until he is defeated. Jenocres is not that hard other than the fire from the wall, that is your only real threat when fighting him and all you really need to do is watch your timing. If he is too hard for you at first, that probably means you need to level up more and try again. Once you level up you get more Exp and higher Hp which makes you last longer. That is why it is important to save before you go against him. Otherwise you will have to go back from where you last saved.
Nyghtigler, the 2nd boss is not that hard either, and it has no real strategy other than just chasing you around, it is kind of a disappointment in a way, but if you don't watch yourself, it can be hard to beat! It will run around in a clockwise motion and its body is long, so all you really need to do is stab it anywhere along the body until it is defeated, just don't let it catch you. I didn't find this boss that challenging and I beat it on the 1st try, so it isn't too difficult to beat.
Okay, the 3rd boss is a bit tricky, you need to be at least a level 10, and have obtained all of the silver armor in order to safely beat this boss, otherwise it is impossible to do so, you must have obtained all of the silver armor. Just a heads up, he is very fast and aside from that he disperses into a group of small bats which chase you around the stage in a clockwise motion. My method to defeat him is just stay ahead of the bats by about a step or 2. So basically every 3 steps stop because it will transform back into its normal form which is your opportunity to attack him. So you want to be ahead just enough so that you aren't being demolished by the small bats, but you don't want to be too far ahead because you might miss the transformation and your opportunity to attack him, which is very quick, so be alert. I would recommend experimenting with some of the rings in the game to see if they help make it easier. I used the timer ring because he is very fast moving so it slowed him down a bit making his transformations a but slower and his overall speed as well. The power ring helps dish out more damage, but he is still to fast, so I would try to lower his speed first and see how it goes. On a personal note, every time you successfully stab him, his transformations are faster and more frequent so watch out.
Pictimos, the last boss is a bit easier, it throws 3 sickle shaped blades at you which will follow you pretty well and they can do a decent amount of damage, even coming back to it. So be careful. You can only damage it by stabbing it in the belly, so out have to trick it into throwing the blades out further and then attacking and moving back in time to not get damaged. This tests you patience more than the actual difficulty
Dark Dekt all you have to do is watch your footing and make it so that every step you take makes a platform fall off the stage which will kill him. Pretty simple
Overall: 9.4
I think this is a great game overall, there are a lot of fun bosses and enemies in the game which make it a lot of fun to play. With the great depth, lots of stuff to cover and also a unique storyline and great plot, followed by awesome battle music, I think this makes for a very interesting and challenging game indeed. I recommend this to those who are fans of Ys games and those who like adventure and the medieval type of fighting games. This is the game for you. This game is tons of fun and I had a great time playing it. I hope you can enjoy it just as much!
So then, what did you think about my review, strategies for the bosses for this game? All comments, and feedback are always greatly appreciated, thank you! Hope you liked it!
Graphics
7 Sound
8 Addictive
7 Depth
6 Story
7 Difficulty
4
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-2.png "Ys - Ancient Ys Vanished Omen (english translation)"){kind=spacer}
