BONUS CHAPTERS

Ys has given birth to a few spin-offs over the years – let’s take a look at them

YS STRATEGY 2006

Released exclusively for the Nintendo DS in Japan and Europe, this game brings real-time strategy to the Ys series. On the surface this isn’t a bad idea, but problems soon arise – the touchscreen interface works well in place of a mouse, but the hardware struggles with large battle scenes and the game generally lacks the pace required of a portable game. It’s a decent RTS game for the format, but that’s largely due to lack of competition.

YS ONLINE 2007

This relatively standard MMORPG was launched at a time when every RPG franchise with any heritage was being snapped up for the MMO treatment. Korean developer CJ Internet tackled development and turned in a game rich in Ys lore but short on distinguishing features. The game never made it out of beta in Europe, and by 2012 the last remaining servers in Taiwan were shut down for good, making this a dead game.

YS VS SORA NO KISEKI: ALTERNATIVE SAGA 2010

This spin-off pits the heroes of Ys Seven (and older characters, as assistants) against the characters of Falcom’s popular Trails series of RPGS. Combat is based on Ys Seven and though it’s often described as being similar to Super Smash Bros, it’s closer in style to Capcom’s Power Stone series. This is the best of the Ys spin-offs, but it was only released in Japan.