Asteka II - Tombs & Treasure (PC-88 Paradise) The 1986 Falcom PC and NES game that became Ys

[@BasementBrothers]

Huge thanks again to my special guest, F_T_B ( @f_t_b2238 ) He was the perfect person to read the quotes from Tsuneyuki Miyamoto in both of these Asteka videos! www.youtube.com/@f_t_b2238

[@f_t_b2238]

Always a pleasure to help out :)

[@ctomfaith]

@@f_t_b2238 We love you FTB!

[@briansilva3765]

@@f_t_b2238 Blessed collaboration, you both are some of the best channels on KZbin.

[@jitensha5231]

Just heard it’s coming for Switch on Oct. 11!

[@mousebetr]

You boys be excavating ruins down there!

[@murasamex]

小学5年生の時に買ってもらって、初めて自力でエンディングまで行けたゲームです。懐かしい。

[@BasementBrothers]

すごいです！小5の自分は絶対このゲームをクリアまでできなかったと思います。

[@murasamex]

@@BasementBrothers I was living in the United States at that time, so there was no way for me to get hints from Japanese game magazines. I still don't know how I made it to the end.

[@marcellosilva9286]

I'll probably never get tired of hearing Mr. Jakes' soothing voice calmly talk about PC-88/98 games, always a good time.

[@Conan_the_Based]

"What does Asteka mean?" *Samurai Cop* : "It means Japanese Aztec."

[@outlawlaw]

man the thought of someone searching every bush and crevice over 200 + screens, what a headache

[@barry-allenthe-flash8396]

Seeing a new PC-88 Paradise drop _5 seconds ago_ is a great feeling 😄

[@Agent789_0]

We were here.

[@MoJaKF]

Real

[@Wyrdwad]

Yoooooo! So cool to learn about the connections between Asteka II and Ys -- I honestly had no idea. And really cool to hear F_T_B's voice in here, too! I watch every video both he and you upload, always, and they're honestly some of my favorite contents on the internet. I actually had Tombs & Treasure as a kid, and absolutely adored it! At the time, my basis of comparison for it was another computer game turned NES classic: Shadowgate. To me, Tombs & Treasure was like Shadowgate, but Mayan-themed, and with an overworld and battle scenes -- I thought it was super-duper cool, and did actually play through the whole thing and beat it as a kid, I THINK without help (though maybe there were tips in Nintendo Power? I'm not really sure!). I liked the big plot twist in the NES version. It was... unexpected, but kind of cool. ;) I briefly owned the MSX version, but just couldn't get into it, and wound up selling it to BEEP and buying something else instead. After the NES version, it's hard to go back to any other, when it comes to Asteka II. I had no idea the original had that many screens, though! That's... extremely cruel. But I guess when you consider how player-hostile games like Xanadu and especially Romancia were, it makes sense that they'd see nothing wrong with pulling a mean trick like that. ;) (Speaking of Romancia, I assume that's coming in this series sometime, and can't wait to hear your take on that one -- I only recently got into it myself, and was kind of blown away by just how utterly heartless the design is in that game! It's almost impressive how mean and cryptic it is -- but it's weirdly addictive, as well, and I love some of the bonuses, like the secret code to play as the princess!)

[@fazares]

ur dedition to japanese home computer gaming is commendable

[@Nukle0n]

You say that Asteka would be a weird name so many years later but Ys is also quite an artifact of a title, the city of Ys is only in the first two games :D

[@igodreamer7096]

"These trips to the past are like we're exploring ruins in a distant land". Keep up the good work, Basement man! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@statesminds]

A “Falcom Paradise” video lol let’s goooo

[@Clesarie]

Probably my favorite KZbin content. Literally feels like you're covering something that no one else is. Finding unique quality content is rare

[@lhfirex]

My sunday is complete now that I have a new PC-88 Paradise to watch!

[@americanmeowth3336]

Thanks for the video! Tombs and Treasures was a game that I never played personally, but always saw in random "How to Beat/Finish/Complete Nintendo Games" tier of books back in the day. They always made it sounds much more RPG than it actually was. That aside, it's always wild hearing how random circumstances and obstinate decisions back in the day continue to reverberate throughout the games industry even to this day.

[@jacethomas5562]

Watching this feels like an episode of Legend of the Hidden Temple and advanced math class at the same time

[@eightbitminiboss]

The ending having a link with Atlantis is neat. Reminds me of the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis point and click adventure game from LucasArts having you go to Tikal to explore a pyramid there and you find one of the keys needed to enter Atlantis.

[@piotyrholbion]

God lately I'm learning of new nes games I've never heard of! Thanks for that

[@lampdevil]

I loved this game on the NES! I was one of those weirdos that enjoyed solving tricky puzzles, and I managed to struggle my way to the end eventually. (Hot tip: There's a spot on the map where you can push into what should be impassable forest tiles, but instead there's a secret path. If you keep at it, you end up going through a secret entrance to the Nunnery, where a mystical voice will then give you a clue on how to proceed! The clues constantly update throughout the playthrough, in case a player gets stuck at all sorts of different points. That sure helped my playthrough go smoother.) I'd always wanted to learn more about the earlier and other versions! Thank you so much for this.

[@cyxceven]

I did not know about those little Ys-ter eggs that came from Asteka. Always learn new things from the Basement Brothers. :)

[@kevinochsner6155]

This is great! I finally understand the story behind the golden pedestal. I wish I could see the chickens collecting / selling game. Maybe in another 30 years, the dev will offer a tour 🤣

[@TheSocialGamer]

Such amazing games for the classic computer. I appreciate the presentation and overview of Asteka II. I always enjoy the channels content. Thank you for providing us with such great story telling.

[@ShinoSarna]

Ah yes, the oldschool style of making adventure games. When they were designed less as series of challenges, and more as bizarre puzzleboxes that were meant to be cracked in their entirety at once over dozens of hours. It's sort of a catch 22 - the game was so obtuse so it could still last you hours of entertainment even if the actual game is max 1 hour long if you know what to do... but it can't be any longer than an hour because you need to restart from very beginning often. Closest we get to this kind of design nowadays is some of the 'time loop' adventure games like 12 Minutes or Outer Wilds.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

I truly enjoy your videos in a different way that I enjoy others. That deep interest in strange games that few people really care about isn't something you find often. The packaging, the disks, the games in action... I can't tell you how many Japanese games I've fumbled my way through, only understanding what little I can glean from context. It's cool to hear about these from someone who actually can read, understand, and appreciate them. I have the NES Tombs & Treasures and the Saturn port. I've yet to really try the Saturn one at length, as I'd bought it originally for the Ys Book II port, but it's always there in the back of my mind!

[@DKarkarov]

Wonderful video and a pleasant surprise to see this sequel get covered. Keep up the good work Basement Bro's love your videos!

[@BasementBrothers]

Oh, of course. I've been meaning to get to this one since I covered the first one a year ago!

[@JBurtonPCExpress]

Ya! Was hoping for a new one today and I got what I wanted. Thank you!

[@Nemo2342]

I'm just kind of amused that, instead of fixing the softlocks, they just added a note to your save file to let you know you're screwed.

[@BasementBrothers]

Well, the softlocks in the original game weren't put there by accident. It was intended to be part of the game, so it does make sense to leave them in in the remake. Letting you know when your game is softlocked is nice though.

[@TheTransientOne1]

Wait, there's a game based on Kimagure Orange Road? Holy cow.

[@Mamiya645]

Oh heck naw I am not equipping an ancient mysterious mask found in a temple, my blood is cursed enough as is. Great vid and piece of gaming history!

[@Big_Dai]

@22:21 That's exactly the sort of thing I like about content such as this. When a person heavily invested in something can point out such obscure references to someone that isn't. I really appreciate such golden nuggets of useless knowledge.

[@0x44_]

Sir, thank you again! If I had the spare income, I'd support you and fully plan to do so when I can. I'm making a game, so I research as much as possible, and there were so many great ideas in the past that may have been poorly executed and have been forgotten. This channel provides an incredible wealth of knowledge (and your jokes never miss.)

[@darktetsuya]

Didn't know about the FTB cameo, love his work as well! I do remember seeing this one on NES randomly, don't think I figured much of it out back in the day but I'm definitely thinking of finding that version one of these days. also appreciate explaining the Azteka 2 easter eggs in Ys, I had no idea!

[@chazmaru9583]

More like Based-ment Brothers. Great video as always.

[@Unquestionable]

Definitely know what you mean about not this being something you're into but it was still a cool and interesting topic if only to see how it was a stepping stone towards a classic of the era. And super excited to check out F_T_B's channel, love learning about the Japanese PC scene from decades past.

[@alanbalan3539]

"Darling, what shall we name our newly born boy and girl." "How about `Basement` and `Brothers`?" "Perfect!" Then the parents wonder why both kids ran away to risk their lives searching for ancient tombs once they grew up...

[@ggbetz]

Cant believe its been over a year! Ive never heard of Tombs and Treasures

[@astrades2601]

Ah, old adventure games, where is very little adventure, but a lot of recreating what creators were thinking xD As always interesting video, especial how this game is linked to creation of Ys series.

[@joseignaciofarias2617]

I was JUST talking about how i was wxpecting an update on this channel. Thank youuuu

[@drowningin]

Yay! I was missing these, and I always love to learn more about Falcoms history

[@KLegyyn]

Nice to see another Falcom classic with F_T_B as a special guest! . .

[@MagmaMKII]

What, the ancient aztec mask doesn't turn you into a vampire?

[@TearyEyesAndersonReacts]

This game is like a travel log adventure in the style of "The Mysterious Cities of Gold" style. Where many of the locations are real, but the adventure is fantasy. I always loved that show, and enjoyed the brief 2 minute documentary segments at the end of each episode. I hope the Season 3, and Season 4, from 1018-2020 will be released on English DVD soon. I couldn't wait, and got the French versions on DVD as soon as I found out about them. I thought "Tombs & Treasures" was a fun NES game, and also liked "Swords and Serpents". I'm also excited to see the new "Beyond Shadowgate" (2024) NES style game that will be released soon.

[@zorroazulapex]

Love this series!

[@realmchat6665]

Yes! A new basement bros video!

[@superdeadite]

The 88 version was also officially ported to X68000 as part of the Falcom Early Collection in 2022.

[@BasementBrothers]

Oh yeah. Forgot about that one. (That whole Falcom Early Collection was such a weird idea.)

[@superdeadite]

@@BasementBrothers Aye, but its very nicely done, all games on one floppy, proper HDD install option, no copy protection, original 24khz option, and even Mercury Unit (real ym2203) support. Proud to say I actually finished Dragon Slayer stage 1. Stage 2 with all the warps can f off though lol.

[@BasementBrothers]

If someone had added the Falcom Early Collection version to the Japanese 太陽の神殿 wikipedia page, then I would have remembered to add it to the video. :)

[@superdeadite]

@@BasementBrothers lol. Japanese websites are still very much in the 90s imo. I've been on a quest to complete my Giga Team Baldrhead collection, and it's become a real pain, as I can't find a confirmed full release list anywhere. Especially their comiket only mini-games like "Final Justice" and "Tsundere Wars." I have no idea how many games they made, and don't get me started on their store exclusive DLC bonus discs.... XD.

[@BasementBrothers]

In defense of Japanese wikipedia, the Japanese page for many of these rare Japanese titles (like this one) is more complete than the English page is.

[@willkelmanpenapena3551]

Basement Brothers sundays lets goooo

[@TevorTheThird]

I think there's probably a mountain of canon by this point that makes it irreconcilable but I kind of like the idea that the world of Ys is a future Earth. Tens of thousands of years after modern society has turned to dust and the remaining humans have managed to only just reprogress back to the middle ages technologically after going all but extinct in the fall. There's just so much about that world that is Earth with the serial numbers filled off already. Like maybe the reason Rom is so much just Rome is because its founders found some ancient textbook and used it as a secret holy text to build their kingdom around. It'd at best still only be the second wildest plot point in that series :p

[@axelprino]

Making the map so large when only a small portion of it contains the buildings relevant to the gameplay and story is kinda evil, they really wanted players to get lost XD

[@gianlucacassetta6610]

The hidden tune vaguely reminds me of a melody in La fiesta de san benito by Inti-illimani, an old chilean folk group

[@somethingbenign]

A wonderful surprise to hear F_T_B's voice pop up in this video.

[@starlightrevenant]

I remember the NES version (published by Infocom, the Zork people), and I didn't know it was a PC-88 game at first, and the NES version is the superior version, though.

[@L-kun]

I recently played through 'Ys: Memories of Celceta' on PS4 and there's an item called the 'Gold Pedestal' that looks suspiciously like the Gold Stand, haha.

[@lancelnce]

What a difficult game. 😮

[@richardtorruellas2370]

I personally love how Falcom references older or separate titles in their games. I just got the dragon king and Drasle Family reference in Cold Steel and Sky.

[@Fennekinkid257]

As someone who has written several small gamebooks, seeing something without several death traps is interesting

[@BasementBrothers]

Yeah, you can't die in the original version. Still, a softlock is a much worse fate in my opinion. :)

[@EdmondDantes224]

So I was with a friend group last week and someone told a joke I think you would appreciate. We were watching the Slayers anime, and in Episode 9 Lina explains that her famous Dragon Slave spell was originally called Dragon Slayer, but the name changed over time. So one of us pipes up and says "Yeah, first it was Dragon Slayer, then it was Legend of Heroes, then it was Trails in the Sky..."

[@RockerDanM]

Love the videos, though don't just tease me about a Tenchi Muyo game let's see a full video

[@mediaglitch]

Wow I never knew any of this , Thanks

[@ksenolog]

Great episode, thanks!

[@lhfirex]

Now that Ys 10 is finally out in English, I'm just thinking: It'd be cool to retroactively tie Asteka to the Ys series for real by having Adol visit a mesoamerican themed part of the Ys world that's called Asteka.

[@chaoticdragon723]

please do a video about last amergedon please?

[@raziyatheseeker]

Interesting that the NES / Famicom version is the best one. I can see light RPG elements being used to gate and guide the player, almost like a visual novel or something. And yeah, I'd have never guessed that the mask and stand were Asteka 2 reference in Ys. :o The treasure room early on reminds me of Shadowgate, where getting a few useful items for the game was locked behind an early puzzle and a "door". In this case, a locker holding a sword and a sling. Not long after, there's also a pouch with three gemstones. Not the closest resemblance to the treasure room, but it's what it reminded me of. Many items right off the bat, and most of them being useful later on. It is interesting that some parts of the remake give you a Game Over, but not all. I'd hope they warn you in-game when you get the Dead Lock, because seeing something like that out of nowhere when I went to load up a save would've spooked me as a kid.

[@fiskburk2908]

Came across with this game because I was looking for cheap saturn japanese games, and found out about the saturn port and was lead to a rabbit hole

[@Chan_Prado]

Amazing, well-researched video as always, Mr. Jakes! One question: I can't figure out what to look for regarding the 'hidden' Asteka II title on the 'Tombs & Treasures' title screen you're referring to at 17:10.

[@BasementBrothers]

It's hard to see! It's written in all white letters at the very bottom of the screen in the middle... among the little heads.

[@Chan_Prado]

@@BasementBrothers Ah, now I see it! 😁

[@NIMPAK1]

A part of me can appreciate wanting to punish players for blind guessing, I think games like Final Fantasy 2 probably had the right idea of having you "learn" keywords. Even then, I actually think oldschool parser systems are a bit overlooked in modern times. I think with today's technology and using modern discovery-based games like Tunic and Animal Well as inspiration, you could probably make a really interesting modern adventure game with a parser system. Heck, even for how old Ultima 4 and 5 are, I think that element of discovering new words and repeating them to get hints is still really interesting.

[@JoshuaJaeger]

Another great vid bruv. Thank you for sharing! I love the easter eggs connecting this to Ys Book I & II! But, I'm curious, in those images you shared of the Ys prototypes, did they actually have 'Y's' written on the floppys? That's been a lifelong debate! Is it Ys or Y's?

[@BasementBrothers]

The image of the floppies shown on the blog post shown in the video originally come from the twitter feed of the scenario writer for Ys IV The Dawn of Ys. twitter.com/y_nagayama/status/928419247717466112 The disk labels have the Hudson Bee on them, and he says the copies were made at Hudson. So, it may have not said "Y's" on the original proto. It also may not be a coincidence that it also says "Y's" on the disk for Ys IV The Dawn of Ys.

[@analogmoz]

"More like ass-techa, if you ask me." -AVGN, _if he played cool video games_

[@BasementBrothers]

I made that joke already in the Asteka 1 video.

[@analogmoz]

Now I gotta watch that video now! ​@@BasementBrothers

[@BF-Gator]

This is my fav NES game

[@MrNoobed]

Babe wake up there's a new pc88

[@krono5el]

Lot of Mayan ruins in games back then same with Pitfall.

[@mateusbertolaccini2224]

My fear that the today's video wansn't be here dont happening. I'm so glad

[@almeidachannel7121]

Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! And Love Retro Games !

[@ketzer9999]

Should have been called Maya, all of those ruins are Mayan not Aztec.

[@goranisacson2502]

Man, they were wary of licenses even back then? Wonder if there was ever a time when someone just went "nah this is fine people buy stuff they're familiar with, I do it all the time". Anyway- this game seems WAY too obtuse for me. I was introduced to adventure games with Lucasarts games like Sam & Max. There was always a solution and no game over state possible, and if I had tried to play this even if I did know Japanese, I doubt I'd have understood and appreciated it. Also definitely checking out F_T's channel, if only to see what things were like on the non-console side of the Japanese industry.

[@BasementBrothers]

I think Tsuneyuki Miyamoto's opinion on license games was probably the minority at the time. He was personally all-in on making original adventure games and probably felt like it was "cheating" when other companies just made a game based on Fist of the North Star or whatever and automatically sold even more copies than his games. Thanks for your comment! I definitely agree on the game being way too obtuse.

[@NOIDEDU]

Its theme of MIHO an original song or is it a rendition of some folk song? Its a really nice tune

[@owlbear4928]

Man, that joypad is _tiny_

[@gamogm8234]

22:05 where i can find this ost ? :( anyone can give me key word ?

[@BasementBrothers]

I don't know if anyone has it on youtube, but the track is called "Templo Del Sol".

[@gamogm8234]

@@BasementBrothers tks 😁

[@v.m.9198]

Any game that has a "wash" option concerns me. In a pc88 game, that concern only increases with time

[@Retrokid1998]

You know son final fantasy msx 2 is cool

[@AzraelNewtype0079]

21:20 I mean, the Ys series spends exactly one game on Ys, two games near but not inside of it, and eight games (counting Memories of Celceta as IV here to avoid worrying about the non-canon versions) not particularly near it, so why not a whole mess of Astekas? Unless that was a joke in which case whoops.

[@BasementBrothers]

100% serious of course. "Ys" to most people is a nonsense word anyway. And even if fans know Ys is the name of the land in the first two games, it has come to be known as also the name of the series. "Asteka" on the other hand, would have always conjured up images of South American ruins, and would have created too big an incongruity in the minds of potential players throughout most of the series. It wouldn't have worked. It is ironic though that, yes, even the two Asteka games aren't even about the Aztec civilization....

[@LJW1912]

19:46 YuGiOh???

[@InfinityZwei]

First like!

[@statesminds]

Since this is a video of a Falcom game and your name has Zwei in it, was wondering is it related to Falcom’s game Zwei? Lmao

[@AriesFireTiger]

​@@statesmindszwei = two in German ;)

[@statesminds]

@@AriesFireTigerjust thought it was funny to see on a falcom vid

[@InfinityZwei]

@@statesminds Nope. The name's a holdover from my edgy teen years.

[@oziphantom9465]

best minds? not "top men"

[@AriesFireTiger]

Don't do drugs... or do. I'm not your dad 😛

[@zakuworks000]

I absolutely hate the first five seconds of your videos.