The Very First Version of Ys (PC-88 Paradise)

[@deadturret4049]

I love how in the original its way too difficult to start a conversation, but in chronicles you can't get them to shut up because adol runs faster than an olympic sprinter and slams into every npc with the force of a train.

[@Dimensiom]

"These still smell great" -- someone who genuinely appreciates games on 5.25" floppy disks.

[@JohnnyUndaunted]

Akira Yamashita was a writer for Micom BASIC and author of the Challenge! RPG & AVG series of guidebooks and he was also a frequent co-host in Pasocom Sunday. He was also one of the founders of Studio Bentstuff, the company responsible for those elaborate Ultimania guides they do for Square-Enix games. He was something of a big deal back in the day. I first knew about him from a Snatcher demo disc for the PC Engine which features an introduction to the game with him.

[@Esteban_LeGrafx]

Splendid. I love all of the extra background information you included (wiring money for mail order, liner notes, the sleeves for the floppies, one save per floppy, unused music!, etc.)... Your commentary about the game itself is interesting because you make references to other trends/games that were contemporary to Ys I (for example, the fact that Ys was a "beginner ARPG")...Ha! Definitely continue pointing out the "little details" you notice whilst playing the game... y + s = yes

[@AstralPhnx]

The Japanese always take such good care of potential collectables my goodness

[@PaladinDusty]

Westerners are obsessed with the new,, so we view the past as disposable. The Japanese culturally just love what they love no matter the age.

[@sbeaber]

@@PaladinDusty conversely, Japanese people are often hoarders in my experience. Collecting carboard for instance.

[@Chelaxim]

That box was much higher quality than other systems game cases. It's not like the Japanese took great care of their GBA and N64 boxes either. The ONLY reason why many gaming boxes have value at all is because how many were destroyed. Also look at the GameCube Game Boy Player startup disc everybody in the world managed to lose the startup disks somehow.

[@Andronicus87]

You would think these discs would not have their data on them anymore.... I thought old school floppies lost their data after 15 to 20 years.. Since its magnetically stored the data just reverts back to a "blank state" after a certain amount of time has passed. I have VHS tapes from this era basically DIsney movies from when I was a small boy and they are all fuzz now. Like they are blank tapes.

[@RegalPixelKing]

@@PaladinDusty That's false. Every country, regardless of region, has collectors who deeply cares about maintaining the quality of their collection. Japan seems to be just as bad as everywhere else when it comes to boxed copies of games from the NES to N64 era were cardboard boxes were used rather than plastic cases.

[@DuwangKaizer]

The very first version of Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished is playable on the switch as part D4 Enterprise's EGGCONSOLE series of emulated ports. It's available to download on the Switch eShop worldwide. Important note before buying: This version of Ys 1 is the original, untranslated PC-88 version of the game. It does not come with an english translation and is only playable in Japanese. However, the EGGCONSOLE menus and the digital manual for the game are in English.

[@nathanpitones]

That would mean if D4 Enterprise plans to release Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes for the Switch in the West, it would get the same treatment as this. That can be a problem because most of the population in the US speak English.

[@Nukle0n]

This is an old video and maybe you've realized it by now, but as those disks are HD (High Density), the Double Density drives in the computer might not be able to properly delete all the data since they have different size tracks, so some data might get picked up still. Not entirely sure if this is the problem here, but i know there's various problems with using 2HD disks in 2DD drives.

[@bradyotter9109]

Popping in to say that its going on switch! Im amazed that we get a chance to play it. Ive played ys chronicles and the pc engine versions so i do know how it goes so the Japanese language won't be too much of a problem for me and navigate the menus.

[@mrwizard5012]

9:45 When you're almost done these games, opening the inventory screen is like opening a jewelry box full of really good pixel art. Not very many games do that any more.

[@phydeux]

For me, the TG-CD version will always be best. The transition between books was a technological marvel for it's time. Several minutes of cutscenes streamed from memory while the CD was busy playing audio? Unheard of!

[@Evilriku13]

It also had quite solid voice acting for its time when you compare it to stuff that came out 10 years after. Also the balancing was top notch for that version which is something I cannot say for Ys Chronicles aka the newest "most prominent" version of it and for example it's buggy final boss just because Falcom was lazy with their engine and used basically the windows 98 version from back then where the speed of your games were tied to the graphics card, hence why the final boss shoots twice as fast as originally intended which was never fixed till today!

[@Larry]

The SMS version went way too overboard with grinding, confused the hell out of me as a kid.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Nothings as bad as the SNES, Genesis or PS2 ports of Ys3. Those are dreadfully grindy and unfair

[@pappatrue4015]

The Ys games are among my all-time favorites, so what a great way to start the PC-88 Paradise series! :) I've played through the Ys I & II Chronicles on PSP, therefore it's really cool for me to see the game in all its original 8-bit glory. At least I can listen to the original soundtrack in that version, haha. I really appreciate all the effort and details you put in the video: showing the packaging, booting up, creating a save file, a mini walkthrough and comparing the different versions. Thanks so much for the video, see you on the next one!

[@Sergito800]

last year i fell in love with the Ys games. i started with Origin that i got on a steam sale some years ago but never played it and i loved it! got Lacrimos and that was an amazing action JRPG i was really immersed in the island setting hehe after that i played Monstrun Nox and it was good but i prefer Lacrimos and this year i finished Book 1 and The Ark of Napishitm (loved it so much i got all the achievs) ill be sure to play Book 2 and The Oath of Felghana soon and you bet ill got Nordics when it comes to the west

[@cmreinhart1987]

I fell in love with this series with the PC-Engine, I watched a KZbinr play though Books I & II and became a fan ever since. The sound is still incredible even for an older gen 80s computer.

[@ryanschrafel9576]

Believe it or not, The PC-8801 versions of Ys I & II are being officially ported to the Sharp X68000 by Falcom and Beep Akihabara! I think it’s in celebration of Falcom’s 40th anniversary. They’re taking advantage of the more advanced hardware, so the scrolling will be smoother and the game won’t require a Save disk anymore. It’s scheduled to come out on March 9th, 2021.

[@redfer8029]

Ya serious?

[@ChibiFighter]

That's my birthday =O

[@FarAwayTimesGames]

I just finished my replay of the steam version and stumbled onto this vid, great watch!! Just a really nice vibe and told me so much about the original game, I especially love the details about the packaging, save management, and disc switching!

[@luisalves1706]

The music is dying with me with love. Nobody knows how many times i have played ys 1 and 2 on pc engine. Im 60 years old now, lol. Thanks.

[@linklindlink]

You are doing gods work with this pc88 paradise series. I especially appreciate you recording the booting of the game.

[@KopeknKedi]

I was 7 years old when I played Ys back in 1987 on my dad's good old pc-88. I never knew about the silver sword after all these years. Not that I'm gonna play thru it again but kudos to you for finding this!

[@KNaore]

A friend of mine was explaining Ys to me and linked me here. I actually found this video to be pretty fascinating! Thanks!

[@Mappyman]

Just began my journey into PC-88 emulation so will be watching your entire Paradise series. I absolutely love the physical media this game came with, a true labor of love. Something like that is unheard of these days.

[@JRTIntervencion]

Thanks for the showcase :) I first discovered the Ys saga with VIII and I instantly fell in love with the game. I've since then played origins and the chronicles (all on Steam) but I'm still making progress with the rest 😅 I didn't grow up with 8 bit graphics but Gods they truly were beautifully drawn ❤

[@starlightwitch12]

Being a fan of the Ys series (the games and the music) since I played the PSP port of Ys VI, it's nice to see how the first version of Ancient Ys Vanished started on the PC-88.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

This video is a treasure. That packaging is INSANE!

[@Michirin9801]

Great video mate! I've been clamouring for some PC-88 content in English for a while now, keep it up!

[@gamerprince-tl5hg]

This is a fantastic video. Great job man. It's nice seeing the original packaging while hearing your insightful commentary on the game, its packaging, and the system its being played on.

[@cassandralyris4918]

Yo, I know I'm 5 years late to this party, but I clean a lot of old game cases up in my spare time. Have you tried the dry erase marker method on your marks before? Basically you go over the old permanent marker or ink with dry erase marker and it helps reactivate it allowing you to wipe more of it off. Sometimes the old marks still leave a bit of a "ghost" behind, but they're much less noticeable than they were before. Great video overall. I know KZbin likes to make users think no one watches videos over a week old, but some of us like to dig around.😉👍

[@Zeithri]

Ys on Sega Master System was my introduction to Ys and one of two games that introduced me to fantasy games in general. The other game was Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

[@Chris-yj2di]

Thanks for this. I'm currently playing through the Turbografx versions and have fallen in love with the series. Cool to see where it all started.

[@obake6290]

I'm satisfied with having played the Chronicles versions through a couple times on PSP and PC, so I don't plan to go back and play older versions such as this. But it's pretty amazing just how little it really seems to have changed since the original.

[@Viehzerrer]

I'm surprised that it looks so similar to the Master System version (which I first played). Particularly due to its sparse UI and slow speed, I thought there'd be more differences, but at least visually, the SMS version is pretty faithful.

[@sorazmasterofdoom]

Wow! I love those old Japanese PC systems. This box must have cost a fortune. I'd love to get into vintage Japanese PC collecting, but it seems like the most difficult thing possible to collect.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

I remember actually downloading a version of this on my old flip phone years ago. Sure it was a tiny screen and the controls were terrible but it played great!

[@mediaglitch]

Another banger. On to the next one.

[@MichaelBradt]

Great vid guys! I love Ys and it was really cool seeing the original version played as well as what a hassle it was playing games back then with all the different types of "home computers", disc swaps and separate save discs needed. It was great seeing the original packaging and how awesome they used to be such a bummer they don't do that anymore. Maybe pull out for a wider shot though, might keep the video from going in and out of focus.

[@Ryusennin]

The PC-88 is almost plug 'n' play compared to DOS games or even Western tape-based computers like the Spectrum!

[@MichaelBradt]

True! Before our Nintendo all we had was a Tandy with some educational games along with Chessmaster and a Ghostbusters game. All DOS prompt.

[@MichaelBradt]

Basement Brothers it's all good. I was just trying to be helpful. I'll check out that other video soon!

[@RockEsper]

Wow what awesome packaging. I just fell in love with Ys all over again

[@hellayeproductions6739]

You can get those permanent pen marks out of the case with some isopropyl alcohol

[@TheJorus]

This was awesome. Also, thanks to you I learned a few new things about the original, like the speed mode. I'm making a summary of my own about all versions of Ys I&II scheduled for upload on the 30th anniversary day. I was planning on redoing the PC-88 bit to add some details and this video taught me a bit more. Thank you very much. I look forward to more PC-88 videos, it's a very interesting platform.

[@beanbottler]

Really interesting. Cool to see how far the series has come, even with different versions of Ys 1

[@RyuHayabusa06]

I'm a huge Ys fan and own all the games released for the MSX2. Love the games and the huge boxes with all the artwork and extras. The MSX2 version came on a 3.5 floppy so it didn't come with those cool floppy sleeves. Funny thing is that Adol didn't even have red hair in the original manual, lol.

[@ikagura]

RyuHayabusa06 I have a question: was the MSX2 retrocompatible with MSX1 games?

[@RyuHayabusa06]

ikagura Yes, the MSX2 plays games for the original MSX.

[@ikagura]

Late answer because my notification system is cr*p but thanks for telling me!

[@aizengard]

If anyone wants to play this game, I just found out that on the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop they released the PC-88 version of both Ys 1 & 2.

[@ikagura]

What a timeline we're living in: We got the hellish first release before DotEmu or any other publishers ported the Chronicles+ version on the console.

[@MrTableDesk]

that catalogue had Azteka in it, we got that as Tombs and Treasures.

[@RekkaAlexiel]

This is such a crazy flashback to the past. Thanks so much for an awesome video!

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Still got my TG-CD versions of Ys 1&2 and Ys 3. I kept them for their Redbook audio, alone 👍. I STILL want a SuperGrafx, eventually!

[@JacobHalton]

Cool! The tune 'Theme of Adol' at 17:23 is almost the same as 'The Boy Who Had Wings' from the screens where you walk up to the entrance of the level

[@JRTIntervencion]

12:00 aaaaaaaaaa the item jingle ❤❤❤❤❤

[@FinalBaton]

Never subbed to a channel so fast. Great vid, keep the series up!

[@megagrey]

Wait, THAT was Dogi!? I only played the TurboGrafx-CD version via the Wii VC, so I had no idea. I watched this because I was curious about the original version and Japanese gaming PCs in general. Haha, a Framemeister! Those must be a necessity with these PCs.

[@ikagura]

Coming here after doing most Ys game once again, gotta love the 80's anime style of the character in the manual

[@billbill7187]

Starting at 7:46 you could make some haunted gaming creepy pasta out of it. Maybe it was bought from an old man for a single yen, but mysteriously his house wasn't there the next day and the game is haunted by some kid who has nothing better to do in the afterlife than haunt people who are into retro ganes

[@IkeSan]

I would love to see Ys 2 and maybe some other games like Dragon Slayer and Legend of Heroes. Old computers are so fascinating.

[@DariaPlaysRPGs]

Fascinating. Looking forward to more edited content like this video. (:

[@DrDelon]

I remember playing the series on the M88 emulator, only making to the end because previous knowledge of the other versions. I still need a PC-88 to play my copy of Legend of heroes, I already have a PC-98 and some Brandish games (I even got a few ones brand new). It's good to see some youtubers reviewing and talking about these games, but sadly if it gets mainstream the price of the games and systems are gonna rise by time, like it's happening now with console games.

[@BasementBrothers]

Yes, and X68000 prices have already gotten out of hand.

[@BlendyStick]

4:18 Those red print post office payment forms still exist here and look exactly the same nearly 40 years later! I can't remember the last time I actually used one myself but a few companies still rely on them. (Along with fax machines)

[@BasementBrothers]

Yeah they exist, but they don't come with games anymore, man! Thanks for watching.

[@alphadog6970]

Love your PC-88 videos,I really hope you continue making them.

[@Vulpas]

I couldn't get into Ys 8 for some reason, but I still like it. Ys 7 really stands out to me.

[@Arehexes]

Been enjoying your PC-88 vids and the Ys videos got me interested in pulling out some of the versions I own to finally try them out.

[@YayWalterSullivan]

Great video. I just beat the Turbografx CD version and loved it, so I was curious to see what the original version looked like.

[@jedgrahek1426]

I remember renting the SNES version as a kid... if I had known it was actually this short I would have tried to complete it, but because I had already played FF 1 and "2" and Zelda 1-3 by that point, I assumed that it must have been both much longer and more complicated than it actually was... it kind of broke my brain that the combat had as close to zero mechanics as was possible, and I thought I must be missing something lol. At least I can now grasp why it was special in the context of PC-88 games, which were not typically the most action oriented, so something with nice aesthetics and easily playable like this must have really stood out at the time.

[@BasementBrothers]

The SNES version is Ys 3, not Ys 1 though.

[@solidusgrcsnakegrc3322]

Im really a new admirer of the Ys series, ive finished only Ys 4 on the psvita and really want to try the rest of the series! For some reason i really want to find an emulator for the NEC 88 and try to play the game in this form!!!!

[@PixelReality1]

Ys обожаю данную серию. Многие игры на PC88 выглядят и играются очень необычно и интересно, не смотря на сегодняшние современные реалии мира. NEC BEST

[@eakalyrical1483]

minute 8:00 the origin of videogame creepypastes

[@JornadaGamer]

This level of care can't be found on current gen games.

[@ghostghost514]

Thanks for sharing this with us. I am a new fan of the series. In these two months I played YS Origin and Ys 1 and right now I am playing YS 2 In GOG. These games, so far, are really fun to play (More than the newly released games). Before I played the YS series, I had only it by its YS 1 intro. YS 1 dob Virsuon which honesty disappointed when I find out the Y 1 & 2 Chronical+ does not have voice acting. The soundtrack of the YS series is bountiful for example Sara's soundtrack 8:43.

[@retro-rock3067]

Ya also the controls on all Japanese Pc’s are mapped to windows computer within emulators and it’s not hard unless you just tap every button you do and you get it right

[@BasementBrothers]

Yeah, but if you're using original hardware like me, you have to use the original button layout. No way to change it. ;)

[@KillThad]

This is fascinating, especially compared to the TurboGrafx version.

[@___xyz___]

6:28 Is that a LATCHING caps lock key!? Wow. I want that.

[@Minersteev]

so the previous owner was thoughtful enough to preserve the seal, but also wrote on the fricking case

[@Domarius64]

My brothers and I grew up with the Master System version. Amazing to see the SMS version has better graphics, but this version has vastly superior music. Wow that crash was amazing :D How many game crashes do you get to play as a new character??

[@Pixel_Crusher]

7:45 Ys Creepypasta

[@CoreusSymphonia]

You can get those permanent markers off with some rubbing alcohol, for instance isopropanol or similar. Won't hurt the plastic either.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Only version I hate is the famicom one. It just misses the point, playing so monstrously slow when the speed of the gameplay was one of Ys' special pointz

[@mariowario5945]

7:47 ys from that guys garage sale edition (special creepypasta version)

[@neoturfmasterMVS]

I'm looking to ys my way into the series.

[@AstralPhnx]

God that start of the game was a total pain lmao. Grinding to get enough money for the remaining item was just... Oof

[@LIFEFORCEX]

the Nintendo DS version is also very different too.

[@ikagura]

LIFEFORCEX And not that good of a port

[@alumlovescake]

Aaaaaaaah run! It's called pc 88 paradise! !!

[@DragoonEnRegalia]

Complete Story doesn't have an English version, and why get Complete when Chronicles+ has that and more advancements? How are you recording game footage? The colors are definitely muted/low gamma, and I usually suffer from this when recording with OBS. So I hope you can find a fix for this soon. Good work on the video! I'd recommend making the LGR-style packaging footage easier to watch (wider shot angle, better quality video). And I'd like to see a variety of accessible PC-88 games depending on what disks you've got, maybe something like Thexder or Bouken Roman.

[@Ryusennin]

Eternal/Complete was fan-translated in English long ago. Chronicles is essentially an officially translated version of Complete, nothing more.

[@DragoonEnRegalia]

《J》 And Chronicles adds new art and music, plus 360-degree movement and an option to remove the window frame.

[@ikagura]

Why not talking about Chronicles? the last remake and port... Anyway I am doing the PC Engine CD version right now, i love it.

[@ikagura]

You're welcome and no problems, a quick research would lead to the steam page.

[@SuperNormalMan]

It really does look like an elaborate backstory. Shame we can't read it.

[@nicholasanthonyderusha]

Did you say those discs still smelled great!? :p I hope so! Because though I am not a big book guy, (I only read a few books in my life, besides some comic books!) but I will always smell a book! Haha! Especially a new one or a super old one! IDK why!? I just like the smell of new paper and old paper, I guess! 100% true story! Wooooo!

[@BasementBrothers]

5.25 inch floppy disks have a very particular smell to them that doesn't seem to go away even as they get old. Probably because of the particular type of vinyl they're made from. As they age they can also obtain a bit of an old and musty smell that I think compliments the initial smell quite nicely. Yes, it's very very similar to how books also have a particular smell to them... and how that changes depending on whether the books are new or old. Thanks for watching.

[@catsvsbats5257]

ty

[@Conan_the_Based]

7:06 - Anybody know what the disk says? I feel like we're missing out on a joke x)

[@BasementBrothers]

It says that it contains a font set. That was just the label that was on that particular disk when I bought it used. I had no qualms about overwriting a font disk to use for Ys 1 data.

[@MarginalSC]

Isopropyl alcohol should get that marker off the cover.

[@RodrigoGarciaCarmona]

Great video! One question, if I may. It seems that you've connected your PC-88 to a Framemeister. Which connection are you using? I'd love to buy a PC-88 system and already own a Framemeister, and don't have a clue if the "standard" output of a PC-88 will work with it or if I'd need to build a custom cable? Is it standard VGA at 24Hz? Thanks! And sorry for the question.

[@HistorysMysterys]

He sticks the seal on the inside, but then he fucking writes on it?

[@BasementBrothers]

Well... Maybe the person who used the case as a writing surface was a different person...

[@Moulinoski]

I’m surprised that you didn’t mention the bat boss from the mine. That guy has given so much trouble on the PC, mobile, and PC Engine versions! Definitely my least favorite boss in any game. The final boss is also a pain but the bat boss is worse since he isn’t fun. The rest of the game is great, though. I think the centipede boss is my favorite in this game.

[@cornsyruptrucker]

I’ve heard of Ys before but not played. Just from watching this I now have Ys Origin on my steam list!

[@BasementBrothers]

Starting with Ys Origin is not a good idea in my opinion. It's a prequel. That would be like watching the Star Wars prequels before the original. Start with Ys I & II Chronicles+. It's the best version of the original two games available on Steam. It's also a better game than Origin in my opinion. It's definitely more of a classic. Happy playing.

[@yahikovtutor2369]

For some reason on my M88 Emulator i can get to Darm tower i try replacing disc a with disc b and it doesn't work can anyone help?

[@xnamkcor]

The idea that you would save/write to a disk that was essentially part of the software seems like a bad idea to me, but I can understand wanting to simplify things. If it were up to me, I would ask the user to supply and extra disk that the software would write data to as the "save diskette". Maybe even occasionally redo the data at different points in the game to reflect what might most be accessed.

[@BasementBrothers]

Yes. That's what the game does. That's the userdisk I showed in the video. Thanks for watching.

[@xnamkcor]

@@BasementBrothers It took me until I watched another video where you mentioned games that let you make your own userdisk to realise that this game let you do that. I wasn't paying attention. PS: I'm still amazed this platform has 2 whole drives by default. When I was a kid, having one drive is all we had on out x86 computers.

[@I_Am_The_Social_Reject]

Weird you start out in the second city (remake) no story surprised me

[@BasementBrothers]

Haha. That whole area south of the town was added in Ys Eternal. There was nothing there in versions prior to that.

[@909crime]

What about Ys for MS-DOS

[@EdmondDantes224]

So, what was that floppy you overwrote to create the data disk? When you held it up to the camera and said "I'm sure this is nothing important" I figured the joke was that anyone who could read Japanese would be saying "no fool that's lost media!" or something.

[@aethix1986]

It says: Outline font basic set R1 JS Minchou No. 4 So probably some kind of font installation disk or something.

[@Chippon_]

@@aethix1986 Thanks, I was wondering this to! :D

[@G3E007]

the first arpg game and rpg game belong to nihon falcom

[@retro-rock3067]

Also How was I ever suppose to figure that out

[@desmonddies]

“Grinding never took me more than 5 minutes throughout the game” - standing at 1 level of Mines with 180 HP I don’t know why but I managed to level up to this hp amount only at Ys II when playing TurboGrafx version.

[@BasementBrothers]

The TurboGrafX version has the leveling readjusted in order to span two games instead of one.

[@retro-rock3067]

well I know how the ys 1 on nec pc-88 but I can't beat the whole game because some assholes had just cheated by using artmoney to add money in the game and thats way to unfair also im usin m88x5 and I was able to get useful with the controls

[@xnamkcor]

GameFAQs says a company called "BEEP Shop" published Ys I&II on the Sharp68k in 2021. Do you have any info on that?

[@BasementBrothers]

It's a quick port of the PC-88 versions. There's one for Ys 3 too.

[@xnamkcor]

@@BasementBrothers I hadn't watched your Ys II episode yet. Sorry.