There are plenty of long-running roleplaying game series out there, but one that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year isn’t super well-known to American audiences. Do you know which series this is?
Ys (pronounced “ees”) is a series that first debuted in 1987 and now contains more than a dozen entries. Created by Masaya Hashimoto and Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, the story follows a man named Adol Christin on numerous adventures. Unlike many other RPGs (especially of that era of gaming), Ys did not use a turn-based combat system, instead having Adol automatically attack upon running into an enemy on screen.
The first game in the franchise, Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished, was made for the Japanese PC-8801 home computer, and was later ported to more widely accessible game consoles like the Sega Master System and TurboGrafx-16. It introduced players to Adol, who must find the six Books of Ys, which will allow him to defeat a great evil that is taking over the land. It was received rather favorably at the time, particularly for its rich graphics, and was compared to the original Legend of Zelda in a positive light as well.
Since then, there have been seven direct sequels to the original Ys, as well as a handful of spinoffs and side games as well. Many titles, especially the earlier entries, have been remade and upgraded for more contemporary systems, too. The most recent entry, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, released in Japan in July 2016 and is due for a North American release later in 2017.
Unlike many other long-running JRPGs, Ys didn’t have much of an audience in America until the last decade or so. This is because most of the games simply didn’t make their way to the U.S. until then; before 2005, only ports of the first three Ys titles were released stateside. A number of fan translations of later titles were made in the early aughts, helping to create some steam for the series.
In a completely unprecedented move, Xseed Games actually purchased a fan-translated script for Ys: The Oath in Felghana (a remake of the third game) from the fan who did the translation in 2010. As fan translations are unlicensed and generally considered illegal, this move was pretty significant. Xseed actually purchased three more fan-translated scripts in order to expedite bringing more of the Ys series to North America.
While the Ys series certainly has its core fanbase in the U.S., the fact that it took so long for most of the series to cross the ocean means that it’s still pretty niche – especially compared to the likes of similarly long-running series like Final Fantasy and Tales. However, it’s more accessible than ever, and might be one of the best RPG series people haven’t played.
