Y's book 1 and 2: I don't expect you to relate
RPG's were a relatively new thing at the time I played this game on the Turbographics 16 - a system that went in and out in USA, i would guess in about a year or so. At that point int time Nintendo was still king and Sega was grasping for a spot and Sony hadn't even seriously considered coming into the gaming market that as far as I know they kind of dominate today.
these are the sort of graphics that we got excited about in the 80's
The thing that made Y's legendary back "in the day" so to speak is that there was a good chance that people you know had never heard of it unless they were Japanese and well, unless you live in Asia, there is a good chance that this was a not a huge portion of your friend-mix.
Y's is special because their story is incredible and the music is second-to-none (perhaps it is a matter of perspective.)
Gameplay was second fiddle to storyline and music because in the first book of Y's you simply ran into stuff to attack it, there was not sword button or defend button, you either could kill it or it would kill you. All boss battles were based on your ability to dodge the many dots dancing around the screen and simply touch the boss enough times to win. (consequently, i can't find any clips to show you about gameplay because all of them are gameplay about the entire game, which is too long to waste Steemit's servers on)
It seems dumb, but i suppose you will have to put yourself in the shoes of the people making the games back then. The consoles had a maximum of 2 buttons and nintendo wanted nothing to do with you. So let's make an incredible story that has exceptional music and the best graphics we can muster? ok?
That's what they did and Y's still carries on as a franchise to this day. If you don't believe me have a look on STEAM right now and search for Y's, they have games that were made in the past year.
I'm currently playing Y's Origin, and yeah, the graphics look like they are from the early 90's at best but If you are like me there is a chance that you might feel as though over the years we have sacrificed storyline and gameply for graphics, and I would prefer the opposite.
Here is a boss battle from the game I am currently playing on PS4 (available on PC too)
Awesome memories of Y's. Well, of wanting it but not being able to afford it due to this version only hitting the Turbo Grafx-16 CD-ROM.
That certainly did not help the adoption rate of this fantastic franchise. I have played later entries and loved them for the most part.
The Turbo Grafx-16 actually lasted a lot longer than a year or two. It came out in, what, 1988/1989? In 1992 NEC USA merged with Hudson Soft to form Turbo Technologies Incorporated.
The first product from TTI was the Turbo Duo console which was supported in the United States till around 1994 or so (could have been 1995 even).
The problem TTI had, and NEC before them, was penetrating the market with games that fans wanted to play. They simply could not secure the big name titles like Street Fighter II, Gradius, Salamander, Castlevania, etc.
Strangley, all of those franchises/titles saw a release in Japan on the PC Engine.
We have to remember though, NEC USA, and even TTI later, did not have 100% choice on what they released here. The Japanese headquarters kept a tight grip on the USA and Europe branches. Though with TTI that grip was loosened a bit, still not enough though.
Such a great console and so many great games.
Thanks for sharing my noggin loose with your article. I love the TG-16 and love discussing it whenever possible.
Thanks for elaborating on what i wrote. I just have fond memories of Y's and especially the music. Yes it was only on the TGx16 cd which one day me and my pal accidentally disconnected the CD drive from the unit while a game was going on only to discover that it was only playing the music, no data was being transferred from the CD unit as far as gameplay was concerned at all (what a sham!)... but it remains a great game from my childhood and I have fond memories of it. I am happy that you remembered it as well. :)
OMG. I would have flipped if I had dropped $400+ in late 80's money on a CD attachment only to find out that it was only used to really play music, even if only for that portion of the game. I am sure it loaded other areas as you progressed but who among us knew then that CD games "streamed" the data to the internal RAM?
I would have completely felt gypped had that been me.
I remember wanting a CD-ROM attachment bad but I held off because I did not have the TG-16 yet. I got one around 1993 or so - after the Duo was released. By then the CD attachment was long gone from store shelves.
Have you tried Neutopia I and II yet? They are very, very, reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda I on NES.
Shockman is very much a Mega Man clone as well if you are in the mood for something like that.
There are a ton of exclusives on the TG-16 that make the console more than worth collecting for. Too bad Konami, holder of those titles today, is not doing anything with them.
Wow I've never played this one. I've played the one on PS Vita and it was fantastic, although the open world aspect could be quite confusing (where do i go next, lol i need linear!)... although this one reminds me more of some of the classic looks to all the killer RPGs of the SNES and Sega Days (Yay phantasy star II - IV! which ironically enough is what I'm reminded of at the character art, it looks almost exactly the same as Phantasy Star IV) I really do prefer turn based combat in RPGs but the youtube video from the PS4 version looks a lot of fun.... looks more Zelda: Link to the Past with RPG elements over dumb Final Fantasy XV where you just hold a button down til you win. I think I'll give it a go.. I don't have a turbo grafx 16, but I guess I can get an emulator.
oh Phatasy Star! now you got me all nostaligic! I loved those game and of course Phatasy Star II on Genesis was so tragic and wonderful (I miss you Nei!)
Link to the past is one of my favorite games of all time and I think i may have to get an emulator up and running because well, that game was awesome.
Surely you have played Phantasy Star IV. I think that was the epitome of Sega's RPG skills.
Another good one to watch for is the Saturn exclusive, Shining the Holy Ark - man that game was fun - though those pre-rendered CGI characters are not aging all that well.
If you like A Link to the Past then give Crusader of Centy a chance. It was released on Genesis by Atlus after Sega turned their backs on localizing it themselves in order to go with Beyond Oasis - another, similar, action RPG, also on Sega's Genesis.
I've been playing Crusader of Centy for an hour now and absolutely love it.. at first I thought okay this is totally a Link to the Past clone but after playing it some its definitely more than that.. I'll try Beyond Oasis after this one... haven't had this much fun with this type of game since Hyper Light Drifter.
I will have to check out Hyper Light Drifter. Never heard of that one.
You're right about the last statement. I remember the 'sunset riders'game on Sega for its amazing storyline and stages. You don't get a lot of that these days, just awesome graphics.
I'll still give these games a shot if I come across them
I wonder why Konami has not released Sunset Riders on any modern compilation of titles? It would seem to be an easy cash run for them and fans would probably love the opportunity to play some good classics. I know I would.
Sincerely I can't relate. The graphics of the 80's, I was probably trying to find my way to my mum's stomach. In the 90's, I played alot of Nintendo games and the one I love best was Aladin. The graphics was crazy and am still looking for the Aladin game, the nintendo version. Saw that of sega but not as cool as that of Nintendo
think you missed the point pal. It wasn't about the graphics. We didn't have much to go on at the time but the makers of Y's went for story and music because that is the tools they had at the time
Okay I get now.thanks
I played the T16 version as my first Falcom game two years ago. It was really frustrating, but that was less the platform and it's accomplishments and more the mazes and dungeon design. I ultimately gave up at the Solomon Shrine, but I can't say I didn't have fun, and there's definitely a lot of charm to the presentation and voice acting. Need to play it again on PC, I hear the layouts are different, maybe that'll help. Still, nothing beats Palace of Destruction on the Turbo CD, that extended bridge and Eastern vibe are too good
Awesome, with every pleasure you were able to enjoy in your youthful age, you left no stone unturned, I'm sure you had nothing to regret.
I've never tried the game, but i love the clip you shared already, see how that little thing is giving the boss a very tough time... Hahaha
It's not by size... You have the skills already, I think that's why it looked ordinary.... Smile
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Quite possibly my favorite video game music of all time. I bough this game for the TG Duo system a few years ago but I don't even own the console. haha, purly for the music, in the hopes of one day playing it. I've been a fan of the music since as long as I can remember, 20 years maybe. I only recently actually played the game on a cracked wii via emulation. It was sublime to finally put the two together.
I've played a few of the later Y's games but got stuck or lost interest. Like the one you have pictured. I never made it past that centipede boss. It was too difficult. Music was good though : )
Check out the few Turbo Grafx-16 emulators available. Magic Engine, while probably no longer supported, is one of the best. The demo version gives you like 5 minutes or so of unlimited play. Just use a save state, and restart the game and you get another 5 minutes (may be 15, it has been a while since I used it).
The point is, there are options available to play your legally purcahsed CD games today.
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Love the Ys series, I've never played the original one but I played Ys 1 remake on my PSP and it was so hard and I even searched on Google how to attack on it but realized later that bumping the enemies is its way of attacking. I was able to get to the big tower thingy when my PSP broke, sad life but finished Ys 7 on my ps vita :-)