Nihon Falcom’s Ys Origin is an JRPG gem for lovers of action RPGs

Team Asano’s new project, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, is marked by its action-based combat, exploration, and beautifully nostalgic fantasy setting. There’s still some time before Elliot’s adventure begins, but an older tale offers a similar experience. 20 years ago, Ys Origin was released by Nihon Falcom with the goal of serving as the ideal starting point of the company’s long-running series of games, and it ended up becoming an all-time gem.

Since last year with the release of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, Nihon Falcom has expanded its presence outside Japan. What new fans of JRPGs may not know is that Falcom is a long-established developer, having been founded by Masayuki Kato in 1981. Ys Origin was released in 2006 for Windows PC, 19 years after the first game in the series, Ys 1 — The Vanished Omens. It took another six years for XSEED Games to localize Ys Origin and release it in the West, where it can now be played on every major platform.

As the name implies, Ys Origin tells the series’ origin story. It’s set 700 years before the events in Ys 1, when the magical land of Ys was under attack by demons. The goddesses and rulers of Ys, Reah and Feena, used the power of the Black Pearl, an artifact from which all magic originates, to raise a shrine into the sky to protect the people of Ys. However, this was not enough to make the demons abandon their pursuit. To reach the floating shrine, the demons constructed a tower so tall that it can be seen from a vast distance.

Your mission in Ys Origin is to go through all 25 floors of the demons’ tower to search for the goddesses who disappeared from Solomon Shrine. You’re part of a task force sent back to the surface to search for them. Initially, you must choose between two characters to play as: Yunica Tovah and Hugo Fact.

Both are searching for Reah and Feena, but each character’s motivation for joining the mission differs. Yunica fights to find her place in the world of Ys as someone who can’t use magic while she grieves for her father. Unlike the happy-go-lucky girl, Hugo is a magic-user genius and the heir of one of the most powerful families in Ys society, and for much of his route, a certified ass.

Image: Nihon Falcom/XSEED Games via Polygon

Unlike how it might seem, these two routes aren’t complementary. They instead work as parallel realities, where you see both characters experiencing the same events and fighting the same bosses. Each route helps you deepen your understanding of the game’s backstory, Ys society, and foundational elements that later entries in the series expand upon. They also lay the ground for the third, secret route: where the true Ys Origin‘s story is revealed.

Ys Origin‘s captivating story is your run-of-the-mill type of fantasy. However, the combat and exploration make the experience special.More often than not, whatever is happening to the characters becomes secondary to the feeling of intensely pressing the attack button and annihilating every enemy on the screen; or platforming your way to a hidden room on the map where treasure awaits. The rhythm of progression is dictated by the flow of magical explosions and flurry of fire swords, instead of long dialogues and cinematic cutscenes. The cute, chibi visuals of characters might make you think otherwise, but Ys Origin is intense, even on normal difficulty.

Combat in the game revolves around using a mix of normal and magical attacks, both of which can be charged to unleash more powerful versions. The lack of combos or intricate abilities might seem to be a limitation, but I believe it works in the game’s favor. Combat here is simple but smooth, where your mastery with the character’s abilities is what determines your success.

Image: Nihon Falcom/XSEED Games via Polygon

As you pursue the two goddesses up the tower, you’ll discover each floor is designed as a distinct biome, with its own theme and enemies. Along the way, there are quick puzzles to solve and unique items to help you traverse the areas, like an amulet that helps you hold your breath for longer periods under water.

At the end of each biome, you’ll face memorable boss fights that make this game even more special. We are talking about a giant metallic centipede, a robot coming out of lava, and, of course, devils and evil mages. They all feature more than one phase and mechanics that can’t be ignored. Otherwise, you will be facing certain death.

Although Ys Origin features a somber tone and a more intense gameplay from what we’ve seen of The Adventures of Elliot so far, it is a great option to enjoy your time while you wait for Square Enix’s new game. Even after all these years since its official release, Ys Origin‘s combat and exploration make it one of the best action RPGs you can find — and it will make you eager for more Ys. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Windows PC, and Xbox.