As most long-time Phenixx Gaming readers are aware, I’m a pretty big fan of Nihon Falcom’s work. Both the Legend of Heroes franchise and the Ys franchise are high on my list of favorites when it comes to JRPGs. Ys Origin, however, was a bit of a missed connection for me. When it originally released on PC in 2012 and on PS Vita and PS4 in 2017, it somehow went over my radar. Now it is available on Switch and it was definitely worth the wait.

Unlike the other games in the Ys series, Ys Origin does not star Adol Christin. Instead, you can play one of three characters. Two of these are unlocked at the start of the game and one is unlocked later. Regardless, each character plays differently. Yunica is a more melee-focused character, fighting with an ax. Hugo on the other hand is a ranged magic character, who fights at range but moves slower.

The circumstances for each character’s storyline are different, but the plot itself is pretty much the same. Two goddesses go missing from their shrine and a team of warriors is sent to the Devil’s Tower, where it seems the two goddesses may have gone. At the same time, demons have begun to grow in numbers, and it is up to this group of warriors to save the goddesses and stop the demons.

Unlike some of the Ys games, you do not have party members. Instead, you play as your chosen protagonist by themselves. You slowly traverse the tower, climbing floor by floor, gaining new abilities, artifacts, and equipment. By killing enemies, you collect SP (spirit points) which you can use at Goddess Statues (savepoints) to increase various attributes and acquire bonuses.

Artifacts and other items can give you new abilities, such as water-breathing, a higher jump, or any number of other abilities. Searching environments top to bottom is important because chests are hidden all over the place. This becomes a little difficult with no mini-map, but the areas are small enough that it isn’t too difficult to comb the place completely.

There are a variety of difficulty levels, but even on the easiest difficulty, the game can be somewhat challenging, specifically on boss fights. There are no healing items you can use in battle. The only way to heal is either at save points or by picking up items dropped by enemies. So boss fights are a bit trickier because you have to survive with no way to heal.

I am not going to go into a lot of detail on the various progression systems here, because a lot of them would contain spoilers. However, I can say that Ys Origin has a lot of gameplay in it. You can upgrade equipment, fight bosses, solve puzzles, and enjoy a great story. The Ys games always have a fantastic plot, so this is no exception.

The general gameplay loop is simple really. Progress through levels of the tower, fight enemies, solve puzzles, find treasure, and fight a boss. You then can go back to the base and upgrade your equipment, continue on, and so forth. It is simple to pick up, but there is a lot of depth in the gameplay itself. Plus, with multiple protagonists, you can play through the game multiple times and see the story from different angles.

Other than the difficulty of not having on-hand healing and the lack of a mini-map, if you want a solid dungeon-crawling RPG experience, then Ys Origin is definitely for you. It is great to play on Switch on the go or at home on your TV. If you’re a fan of the series, then this is definitely a must-play prequel, but if you’re new to the series, this is a great place to dive in.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Ys Origin was provided by XSEED Games for this review.

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Ys Origin

$19.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Smooth Controls
• Solid Combat and Gameplay
• Lots of Content
• Great Story and Characters
• Multiple Difficulty Options

Cons

• No Minimap
• No Way to Heal in Battle