Review for . I play for,
Despite the bets on the imminent death of Sony's portable Playstation Vita, the little girl has no intention of giving up without a fight. Perhaps on the relaunch of portable consoles, of which part of the success is due to the novel Switch, also Sony decides to play it all by finally importing into the West all those titles that until now were for the exclusive use and consumption of the Japanese. So finally, thanks to developers like DotEmu, come small pearls like Ys Origin and even translated, at least verbatim, into Spanish
Ys Origin is an action-oriented JRPG with a pleasant surprise. In fact, it offers both versions in a bundle for the cost of one, so, by purchasing the version for the flagship, you can enjoy the title even on the small laptop. This, combined with the Spanish translation and the scarcity of titles of the genre present on European territory, alone is worth the low price of the game. But that's not all: the depth of the plot and the frenetic gameplay with roguelike nuances are definitely other strengths of Ys Origin.
The story itself is engaging and exciting, and for once it does not follow something already seen, despite Ys Origin being the seventh installment of the series and in fact the prequel of all. The land of YS is a wonderful place to live, thanks to the kindness and benevolence of the twin goddesses Feena and Reah, and to the artifact in their possession: the black pearl. This mysterious talisman gives everyone the power of magic allowing the inhabitants of Ys to obtain blessings, which are small and large spells extremely useful in daily life.
Unfortunately, the artifact tempts the demons who, in an attempt to invade Ys, push the Goddesses to raise the land of Ys high into the skies thanks to the power of the pearl: unfortunately this will not discourage the demons who will begin to erect a tower to conquer the desired destination.
This is just the beginning of the plot that will see you involved: the adventures of our hero or our heroine, depending on whether you choose Hugo Fact or Yunica Tovah, begin when the goddesses mysteriously disappear and with them the pearl too. A search party uses a spell to descend to the base of the tower, but is disturbed by a spell cast by the towering, demonic building. The lost and divided heroes will scramble to reach the tower and proceed to rescue the goddesses.
There are many twists that will accompany you, and they will be different depending on the character you control, as well as the approach to combat will be different, but we don't want to spoil your taste for discovery.
The gameplay is effective, especially on the laptop. The isometric view and the items that can be equipped, in addition to the level up, are deeply reminiscent of a classic RPG, while the frenzy of a shooter combat recalls a vaguely roguelike style with sudden deaths and recovery from the save point. The total of these combos of genres is heavily reminiscent of a Metroidvania, with abilities that increase and that in fact make areas of the tower that were previously closed accessible.
A button for the jump, which increases the range with the advancement of the skills, a button for fire, one to activate the special ability which can be different depending on the item equipped. Finally, clothing and accessories will affect both statistics and will be useful for activating particular skills of the character.
An honorable mention also goes to the playing territory. In fact, it is not easy to make the game floors different in a tower whose floors all look alike, yet the guys at DotEmu do it great with Ys Origin: Mobile platforms, secret switches and environmental puzzles are all elements that manage to characterize and differentiate each level, making each floor different from the other. Even the bosses at the end of the level always turn out to be different and well characterized, with different patterns and a well-balanced level of difficulty.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the enemies that will meet along the way: to defeat the latter, in fact, no particular strategy will be necessary, but it will be enough to shoot at full blast against anything that moves. The only hesitation will come from some alleys, apparently blind, which will leave you blown away without knowing what to do. A series of major clues in solving these "puzzles" would have been welcome, although perhaps it would have further simplified an already simple gameplay of its own.
Porting to PS4 and PS Vita is a pretty rough job that adds nothing to the 2012 version of Steam, other than a few sporadic bugs. Graphically on the laptop the work is fine and the graphics are captivating, while perhaps on the flagship the defects jump out more to the eye. However, it must be said that this kind of titles goes beautifully with Vita. In fact, the games are fast and enjoyable, and allow you to experience undisputed delight in the long run.
Ys Origin is the prequel and final chapter in a series of titles that boast a deep storyline and fast-paced gameplay. Finally the title has been translated and made available also on consoles, in a bundle of two for the price of one. With a nice combat system, a neat RPG component and an immersive soundtrack, Ys Origin is a pleasant and recommended purchase.
