Falcom Details New Ys Games

March 31st, 2009, 00:05 Posted By: wraggster

Ys is making a major return on the PSP later this year. We (as in the royal we) have known that much for the last couple of weeks. Today, Falcom at long last shared the specifics, complete with screens and artwork.

As peviously detailed, the classic franchise, which tells the story of red-haired Adol Christin and his exploits in the surroundings of the ancient land of Ys, will hit the Japanese PSP through two titles this year. First up is Ys I&II Chronicles, which arrives in July. This will be followed by Ys Seven in September.

Ys I&II Chronicles is a remake of a remake of the first two Ys games. The original remake which it remakes was released on Japanese Windows machines in 2001 (all of this has nothing to do with Ys Book I&II, which was developed by Hudson for the Turbo Grafx CD).

The remade PSP version adds a number of features. Players have access to four selectable difficulties, ranging from "easy" to "nightmare." Those who love their Ys combat can take part in a Boss Rush Mode which puts you up against a sequence of bosses.

Presentation is also seeing some changes for the PSP, with the ability to select between the Windows version's artwork for character dialog cut-ins or newly drawn PSP artwork. The options are even greater for music, as the game includes the very original PC-8801 tunes, the 2001 Windows version tunes, and all new PSP arrangements. These can be freely switched around as you play.

Despite all the changes, Ys I&II Chronicles will probably be familiar ground for Ys fans. For something completely new, we turn to Ys Seven, an all new entry in the series.

Adol is, of course, the main character once again, only he's now six year's older since his exploits in Ys I&II (yes, RPG heroes do age!). Adol and his friend Dogi travel to the Kingdom of Altago, which serves as the setting for their latest adventure.

Ys Seven is different from past Ys in that it uses a "party-based" battle system. Adol fights alongside two other characters who are controlled by the AI. Falcom hasn't mentioned anything about multiplayer.

Those other characters include Dogi and a new comer, Aisha, who happens to be a princess of the Altigo Kingdom but also happens to be good with a bow and arrow. There will be other playable characters beyond these two, but Falcom isn't talking.

As part of the game's story, though, Falcom has introduced Tia, a girl who sells herbs in Altigo City; Maya, a girl who lost her family in her childhood and went silent due to shock; and Scias, a legendary swordsman. They all sound like pretty nice candidates for battle partners. That includes Maya, who's apparently learned to swing her hands and body around in order to make up for her lack of words.

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/967/967618p1.html

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