Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys
~ YS IV: THE DAWN
OF YS ~
Falcom / Hudson Soft
Super CD-ROM
1993
Fans of Book I & II get a treat right off the bat here, as Adol's confrontation with Darm is recreated in a thrilling opening cinema.
They also get the
chance to romp through Esteria (the land that hosted
the events of Ys I), visiting familiar locations,
seeing familiar faces, and reveling in familiar
tunes. I got chills as I played through the revisitation
stretch for the first time. Ys IV will bring nostalgic
tears to the eyes of I & II veterans as it effectively
pays homage to its glorious predecessor, and it
deserves a lot of credit for that.
Of course, IV has
some money moments of its own, including fantastic
"history lesson" scenes that feature moody, dramatic
music and extremely cool artwork.
It also offers its
own take on old-school-Ys-style combat. You can't
simply have Adol lower his shoulders and bulldoze
through everything now; you have to pay a little
more attention to the impending collision spots
if you're going to avoid taking damage. Despite
the modifications, the bump-and-run method still
lends itself to speed and convenience, and the Samson
shoes (which turn Adol into a slow footed but nearly
invulnerable wrecking machine) make late-game leveling
a not-very-arduous task.
More impressive than
the combat tweaks are the puzzles and challenges
involving the environment, including a course of
shifting desert sands and a bizarre warp-tile trial.
The graphics received
the upgrade treatment and now flaunt slightly larger
sprites and more background detail. I wouldn't call
the visual improvements major, as I found Book I &
II nice looking to begin with, but they contribute
to the game's general appeal all the same.
The anime-style close-ups
of the characters benefit from a new refined style:
Lilia, for instance, looks much better here than
she does in I & II.
Of course, despite
Lilia's improved looks, Adol, as usual, finds a
few new ladies to cavort with.
While I'm fine with
the gameplay and graphical amendments, I'm not completely
satisfied with the soundtrack. Sure, there are some
brilliant tunes to be heard here, among which are
the new rendition of Adol's hook-laden theme, the
immensely catchy number featured during a late-game
tower stretch, and the appropriately odd-sounding
track that accompanies the warp-tile escapades.
There are some forgettable and even awful moments,
however: one of the field tunes, a repetitive electric-guitar-driven
number, is horribly grating; and I always want to
cover my ears when I hear the high-pitched shrieking
that goes on within the flood-gate labyrinth. There
are quite a few remarkable chip tunes included,
however.
The humdrum villains
constitute a greater concern than the hit-or-miss
music. I would've preferred foes more intriguing
than the cartoony lot we get here, as these miscreants
would be more at home in a Schbibin Man game and
seem particularly unfit when viewed as successors
to the legends that were Dark Fact, Dalles, and
Darm.
I don't like the fact
that Dark Fact's old chambers are occupied by a
chubby blonde oaf; and while the conniving girl
looks cool on occasion, she doesn't do much aside
from stealing a tactic from Dalles' old playbook.
Evil bladesman Guruda does earn his place in PCE
history with one shocking moment of treachery, but
he isn't very memorable design-wise; he's just a
generic blue-haired anime dude.
A lot of folks consider
Ys IV to be the Duo's greatest action-RPG. While
I do think it's very good, I don't agree with praise
of that sort. I believe the game is outmatched in
many respects by a number of its peers, even within
the Falcom fraternity: Book I & II has the greater
soundtrack and cooler villains, Legend of Xanadu
is more challenging and features superior puzzle
design, and Xanadu II boasts better visuals and
more-satisfying combat. However, Ys IV does indeed
offer up a fine overall package and stands as a
worthy successor to I & II (which is truly the
greatest PCE game of all time).
