Falcom Classics II

"A far better effort"

Following the disaster that was Falcom Classics, Falcom in its second offering of past games improves over the previous collection greatly with an excellent remake of Ys II: the Final Chapter. Yes, I know there is Asteka II: Temple of the Sun included in the pack, but I didn’t play it. Not so much because I feared it like the extra games in the previous volume, but because the heavy amount of Japanese gets in the way of playing. There’s an excellent FAQ on this site, and I suggest you check it out if you’re interested in playing the game, as I can offer no advice on whether it’s any good.

But I can talk about Ys II confidently, knowing that Falcom did a reasonably good job with it. It wasn’t that difficult a task considering the game itself. It’s greater in both the size of the playing field and in the storyline than the first entree. Ys I was no more than a couple towns, a couple dungeons, and Darm Tower with much of the story hidden above the clouds where Adol Christian finds himself at the beginning of the game. But even with all these things going for Falcom, they could just as easily screw it up as they did before by not including voice acting and cinemas.

Well, Falcom, right off the bat, tried to make amends for their previous effort. On the Ys II menu, you’re able to select the famous acted portions of Ys I, and they now have voice acting. Yay! Of course, this just draws attention to their earlier mistake, and it’s unusual watching these segments by themselves and not in the context of playing the game.

A sound menu is available as well, so you can listen to all the songs in the game right there. I was indifferent to this option, considering how I already received the bonus music CD in the limited edition, and that by playing the Ys II disk on your computer, you’ll find mp3 files of the songs (and some wallpaper too). Regardless, it indicates that Falcom wanted to get this volume right.

Animated cinemas are back. There’s even a new animated opening, recapping the events of the first game (just wait at the title screen). The art and animation quality is average (I’m being nice), not to mention grainy. I can’t understand why Falcom didn’t take advantage of the movie card for this one, since it was used so well in volume one’s fan disc. One major problem I have with the opening animation is that during Adol’s fight with Dark Fact, you see plenty of swords clashes, magic attacks, and explosions, but you don’t hear them, just the grunts of both characters. It’s really weird to watch and listen to, and it comes off as unprofessional. The cinemas for the rest of the game are of a similar quality, but they stay true to the Turbo CD scenes. For example, the first cinema you’ll see when you start the game is Dallas’ report to Darm.

Graphics/Presentation: 8

The game looks exactly the same as the Ys I remake, which isn’t a bad thing at all. No more of that Original or Saturn mode garbage that Falcom pulled in the first volume, it’s just one mode now and it’s more along the lines of the Saturn one. Text is now placed on a tablet so the words give an engraved effect. Very nice (even if I can’t read Japanese). Oh, and then there’s the character art. Superb. I might have my reservations about the quality of the FMV in this game, but I have nothing but praise for how everyone looks when you speak to them. And it’s not just a few characters who have their faces featured, almost everyone does. Keith, Lute Gemma, the guard outside the ice village whose name I can’t remember, and even that annoying girl being sacrificed are just some of them. Probably the pinnacle is when you first meet Lilia, that gorgeous, gorgeous girl. Ah, if only she could look that way in the FMV…

Music/Sound: 7

Well, I still don’t like the re-arranged music, but you’ll probably get used to it. It was great music to begin with, and some of it still sounds the same. Voice acting is nice to have back, and all of the featured faces have voices.

Gameplay/Control: 9

Nothing has really changed here, besides the dash button and the easier to bring up inventories added in the previous volume. Falcom decided to separate the equipment/item screen, pairing equipment with the status screen instead. For those of you who hate not having an attack button, you’re in luck, you get a magic button to shoot fire. Equip this with the Idol of Hawk or Falcon, and you’ll be racking up experience quickly with homing shots. You’re going to need it too, since Darm is much harder here than in the Turbo CD version, mainly because maxing out is harder. Trust me, around level 29 you’ll stop because even the toughest enemies will yield four experience points total, and it takes a long time to get to level 30, let alone the last two levels.

Replay/Lasting Value: 6

Replay value is hurt by the fact that it doesn’t feel right going through this game without playing Ys I first, meaning you have to go buy that awful first volume of Falcom Classics. I would've opted for making Ys Book I & II the first volume of the collection, and then perhaps putting Popful Mail and Ys IV on volume two, but that’s just me. Then again, it makes sense for Falcom to split them apart; they were originally released that way, and from the business side of things, Ys helps catch a lot of suckers (i.e. me) into playing their other ''classics.''

Overall Score: 7

You’ll have a much better time with this one, although you’re better off with the Turbo CD version of Ys I & II. That game mixed all the elements above flawlessly, not only delivering a fantastic, memorable playing experience, but revolutionized what the CD medium could do as well.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/29/04