A Doink from the past [Ys books 1 and 2]
In the years that have gone by I've gone through quite a few consoles and games, most followed me into my adulthood and some are lost to time. When I look back fondly I find myself mostly lingering on those times and the things instilled on me by those virtual interactions.
Now onto what this is all about. I wish to share some of my more favorite titles and their massively enjoying characters/stories/and feels that had me in my younger and even later years still fondly smiling, generally cursing, or admiring those I had met in those fabricated landscapes we traveled together.
For that I being with one of my biggest Doinks from my past. A game simply known as Ys.
Ys (pronounced Eas [just say east without the T]) was a action RPG realeased by Nihon Falcom in 1987 for the Sega system. Unfortunately that is not the first experiance I had with though as my experience comes from the much later 1989 release on the Turbo Duo. Most of you will probably know of the Turbo Duo system by another name, the PC Engine.
Ys books 1 and 2 were made to emphasize on storytelling more then combat generally associated with RPG and action games by limiting the ways players could deal with fights to a bump system.
Explanation of the bump System
(SPOILER)The system worked like thus, player X would see Monster Y and rush at it, X must bump into Y to cause damage and depending on armor/attack/position he may do one of the following; Deal damage, be damaged, or both. on damage player or monster would be knocked backwards, repeat until death.
The game opens with Adol, a young swordsman, making your way to the continent of Esteria which has been cut off from the world by a large phenomenon called a Stormwall. Regular RPG elements ensue as you are enlisted to vanquish evil and find out what evil may be lurking in the shadows of the land.
While you deal with the evil's you encounter three very important characters, the first is Sara a Fortune teller in the town of Minea. Seeing your coming she gives you your task of collecting six books of ancient lore, and directs you to her mother in the nearby village. The second is a girl held in the dungeons beneath the first dungeon. Orginally amnesiac she soon remembers her name to be Feena, but not why or how she arrived in the shine's dungeons. Finally my favorite character is Lyre (or Reah in recent translations) a bard whom composes using a silver harmonica that was stolen recently. In fact all silver has been stolen, every bit in the region had simply vanished overnight it seems.
The first game ends with you vanquishing a sorcerer named Dark Fact, who's body is impervious any attacks save those from weapons blessed in silver. Recovering all six ancient books of a long lost land called Ys, and reading the final days of the lost civilaization. Bright light forms around you and you lose consciousness as your body is thrust headlong into the sky high above Esteria to the floating land of Ys.
The second game works uch like first, as you recover in the bed of the young village girl who brought you in from the fields around her town. This is Lillia, a resident of Lance (Rance) Village here on Ys. Needless to say she is very curious of you, after all you did fall from the sky nearly in front of her, and her curiosity turns into a bit more as the story continues. Form here on you learn the truth of everything.
Story of Ys
(SPOILER)
700 years ago the people of Ys endeavored to build a more perfect society then they already believed themselves to have. Using their knowledge of magic they created a powerful artifact called The Black Pearl, and placed it in the heart of the sacred temple of Ys. This soon proved folly as the pearl grew in power through the years and gained sentience, using it power to summon forth demons and abominations to plague the land. It was through the powers of the twin goddesses of Ys, Feena and Lyre,and their six priests that the pearl was sealed deep under the temple itself. Ys rose into the sky, hoping to spare those below from their own arrogance and folly.
With the Evil Darm, as it called itself now, Adol encounter both the now reborn goddesses and the descendants of the six priests whom you had met on your journey. With Ys now losing it's power to stay afloat it slowly begins it's descent back to the surface. Although he could have easily stayed, Adol leaves for new adventures before the next morning, leaving behind quite a few pining hearts in his wake.
Alright so the basic fluff out of the way now to tell you why this Doinks me hard in the chest area. Due to the minimal combat in system in Ys it was much easier to focus on the overall characters rather then remembering tactics and strategies needed for monster X as opposed to monster Z. The game felt more like a book in this way, the NPCs had new dialogue for every part of the story and would sometimes even notice when things changed in their world, such as deaths to certain enemies and changes in the immediate vicinity of them.
One of the Doinkiest times for me was near the end of the second game. A girl whom you met earlier is kidnapped and taken to a place called the Tower of sacrifice (subtle much?). There are no enemies anywhere in the tower, the girl is instead trapped in a cage made of lightning that will close on her once the bell on the tower rings six times. What's a hero to do but race to the top, each ring comes with a somber note detailing how little time you have left until the fifth ring. You arrive just in time to stop the bell from ringing a sixth time. Unfortunately your relief is cut short as the bell is struck on it's outside by a man named Dalles (Darres), who mockingly apologizes to you for making you waste you time with false hope. He disappears before you can lay a hand on him, laughing as he vanishes and leaves you to walk back down the tower to see the body of the dead girl on the sacrificial platform.
This was a big moment for me in a few ways. It was the first time I had ever played a game where as the hero I had failed in saving someone (that couldn't be loaded back to life and succeed in saving later). I suppose it might be akin to how most poeple felt when Aerith (Aeris) died in FFVII, the shock I felt had me saving and doing other things for a bit to recollect myself. It was very satisfying when Darres was finally defeated, even more so then the final boss in a way.
Other Doinks were mainly associated with other quests; saving the bridge guards son from the lava prison, talking with Feena and Lyre as they come to grips with themselves and their shared past, the letter Sara leaves you before the guards arrest her, and Lyre's song that she plays/sings for you when she recovers her harmonica.
The game was been remastered and redone in many different platforms, most recently on the PC and available on Steam. I still prefer my first experience to the newer versions though as I think the let you level far to quickly in the newer version making you miss out on much of the story as you simply rush from quest to quest.
Anyway this has been my first of what I hope are many Doinks from the past that I can bring to you. Thank you for your patience and you reading, and hope to see you again later on.
Until then, remember to always be wary of those times in your past that lurk deep in the shadows of your memory. Sooner or later they may slowly approach, and Doink you again.
