History VideoGame / YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen

The game differentiates itself from other {{Eastern RPG}}s of the time by shying away from traditional TurnBasedCombat. Instead, it features a rock-paper-scissors style of fighting colloquially called the "Bump Attack" system where combat and its results happen automatically upon making contact with an enemy. To add an extra degree of strategy, ''Ys'' allows the player to manipulate the outcomes of each battle based on what direction they approach opponents in. To offset this, Adol has RegeneratingHealth that automatically activates between fights, a mechanic that would become a staple of the series and would see wider adoption throughout games in the 21st century.

''Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen'' was originally released for the [[UsefulNotes/{{PC88}} PC-8801]]. In the years since, it was ported to a number of other computers and home consoles: in order, it saw ports for the [=X1=], UsefulNotes/{{PC98}}, [[Platform/FMTowns FM-7]], UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2, [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, MS-DOS, UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}}gs, and UsefulNotes/SharpX68000. While most of these versions were exclusive to Japan, the Master System, DOS, and [=IIgs=] ports did see release in North America, with the former also receiving a European release, all in 1989.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The English UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version repositions the title on the [[https://tcrf.net/images/e/ee/Ys1sms_title_en.png title screen]] to obscure the nude goddess's body. Compare to the [[https://tcrf.net/images/5/56/Ys1sms_title_jp.png Japanese title screen]].

** In most English versions, Dalk Fukt has been changed to "Dark Fact". The exceptions are the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version, which calls him "Dulk Dekt", and the MS-DOS version, which calls him "Malificus".
** Adol himself got this treatment in the English UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version, in which he is called "Aron" instead, presumably because "Adol" is too close to "[[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Adolf]]". The MS-DOS version follows suit, renaming him "Arick".

* EarlyBirdBoss: Jenocres, the first boss in the game, is a teleporting wizard who uses mounted flamethrowers on the sides of the boss arena, is this in the UsefulNotes/{{Android|Games}}, UsefulNotes/{{iOS|Games}}, UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} versions for players who are at level four or below. If players decide to LevelGrind to level five and has bought mid-level equipment in the shops, the boss will fall after taking three hits. The primary reason most players for the Android and [=iOS=] versions do the grind is they can earn the "God Mode On" achievement, which require [[NoDamageRun beating Jenocres without taking any damage whatsoever]].

* TyopOnTheCover: The English UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version's [[https://www.smspower.org/uploads/Scans/Ys-SMS-US.jpg box]] misspells the game's title as "Y's", with an apostrophe, leading to it being widely mispronounced as "wise".

''Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen'' was originally released for the [[UsefulNotes/{{PC88}} PC-8801]]. In the years since, it was ported to a number of other computers and home consoles: in order, it saw ports for the [=X1=], UsefulNotes/{{PC98}}, [[UsefulNotes/FMTowns FM-7]], UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2, [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, MS-DOS, UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}}gs, and UsefulNotes/SharpX68000. While most of these versions were exclusive to Japan, the Master System, DOS, and [=IIgs=] ports did see release in North America, with the former also receiving a European release, all in 1989.

** There are two puzzles in ''Ys I'' that are not solvable unless you TalkToEveryone, consult a walkthrough, or remember the solution from another game with the same puzzle.

* BarrageOfBats: Vagullion is a large winged monster that is fought in the the subterranean mines in ''VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen'' (and its remake). In both games, he can disperse himself as a swarm of bats that trails behind the player character.

* TyopOnTheCover: The English UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version's [[https://www.smspower.org/uploads/Scans/Ys-SMS-US.jpg box]] misspells the game's title as "Y's", with an apostrophe, leading to it being widely mispronounced as "wise".

* NoPronunciationGuide: {{Averted}} by the title screen of the English UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version, which adds an [[https://tcrf.net/images/e/ee/Ys1sms_title_en.png IPA guide]] next to the title. However, if you didn't notice the guide was there (it's easy to miss), or didn't realize that it was a guide, or didn't know how IPA pronunciation works, then you'd still be out of luck. Exacerbating the problem, the [[https://www.smspower.org/uploads/Scans/Ys-SMS-US.jpg rear description]] spells the game's title as "Y's" with an apostrophe, leading to it being widely mispronounced as "wise".

** There's a very basic plot, a small handful of notable characters you go back to repeatedly, and Dogi is just some notable bandit stuck in the Darm Tower that [[RunningGag crushes walls.]] You also have no magic or extra features beyond the Rings that can't be used in boss fights, leaving players with only the classic Bump Combat as their way of fighting. Even its own sequel would expand upon these things, and most subsequent games in the series would add new features or gimmicks on top of the series eventually hitting LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Adol's artwork in the PC-88 version's [[https://archive.org/details/ys-i-ancient-ys-vanished-manual-jp-pc-88/Ys%201%20Backstory%20%28Manual%29%28Translated%29%28PC-88%29/mode/2up manual]] looks totally different from his usual appearance, being brown-haired and dressed in blue, among other things. All future artwork of Adol, starting with the manual for ''Ys II'', use his more familiar appearance.
%%* EvilSorceror: Dark Fact

* FinalDungeonPreview: In the first game, the AbandonedMine has a seemingly redundant room behind the boss chamber, which turns out to be part of the FinalDungeon of the ''second'' game, after the eponymous FloatingContinent returns to Earth.

* WeakSauceWeakness: Apparently, silver is the only thing that can bypass the protection of Dark Fact's otherwise-impervious Cleria cape, which is why he, prior to the start of the game, steals and hoards every silver object he can get his hands on.

** Getting certain secrets (and corresponding achievements) in ''Chronicles'' requires going out of your way to do implausible things the average player would never even dream of. Barbado Port has two free swords, for example, but while the first Short Sword is easy enough and saves you early money, the second requires ignoring the current plot progression to run all the way back to talk to one specific character for a Talwar, something you get [[MoneyForNothing more than enough gold to buy]] and can find in the Darm Tower anyway.

** Getting certain secrets (and corresponding achievements) in ''Chronicles'' requires going out of your way to do implausible things the average player would never even dream of. Barbado Port has two free swords, for example, but while the first is easy enough and saves you early money, the second requires ignoring the current plot progression to run all the way back to talk to one specific character for [[PowerUpLetdown a Talwar that'll be replaced soon enough and has nothing to really be flexed on.]]

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Adol's artwork in the PC-88 version's [[https://archive.org/details/ys-i-ancient-ys-vanished-manual-jp-pc-88/Ys%201%20Backstory%20%28Manual%29%28Translated%29%28PC-88%29/ manual]] looks totally different from his usual appearance, being brown-haired and dressed in blue, among other things. All future artwork of Adol, starting with the manual for ''Ys II'', use his more familiar appearance.

* {{Bowdlerise}}:
** The English UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version repositions the title on the [[https://tcrf.net/images/e/ee/Ys1sms_title_en.png title screen]] to obscure the nude goddess's body. Compare to the [[https://tcrf.net/images/5/56/Ys1sms_title_jp.png Japanese title screen]].
** In the North American [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboGrafx-CD]], the fortuneteller Sarah was strongly implied to have died as the antagonists discovered [[HeKnowsTooMuch she knew too much about their plans]], so she writes a letter to tell Adol the details before she's found. In the localization, she was said to be kidnapped, leading to a WhatHappenedToTheMouse situation as she's still never accounted for in any enemy strongholds.

** Goban tells you that the Mask of Eyes allows you to see hidden passages. In the [=TurboGrafx-CD=] version, there are the hints of [[spoiler:"I saw that blue statue's eyes glow" and the outline of a doorway]], but in other versions, there's nothing remotely hinting at the hidden doorway in the shrine basement. The Steam, PSP, iOS, and Android versions will draw [[GlamourFailure slight defects in the lighting of the illusionary walls]] in the mountain shrine, but those defects are so subtle that they could be easily overlooked and could probably be completely lost if the display in use is of poor quality like a monitor that uses a 6 bit per color channel panel. The illusory wall in Darm Tower is has no visual defects, but Dogi will give Adol a clue to look for Raba in the hallway next to where he is hiding when he breaks Adol out of the dungeon cell.

* HealthDamageAsymmetry: Averted with the bosses, who all adhere to the HitPoint cap of 255 and deal similar levels of damage as Adol. They make up for it by being designed so that Adol has fewer opportunities to damage them.

* IgnoredExpert: According to the official ''World of Ys'' website, Dark Fact's parents opposed mining Cleria because of old teachings that warned against it. [[spoiler:Sure enough, mining the Cleria weakened the seal on the Black Pearl, Darm, and the demons.]]

* KatanasAreJustBetter: The [=TurboGrafx-16=] version of ''Ys I'' called the Talwarl the Katana. It's the best weapon that money can buy (though there are still two better swords that money ''can't'' buy).

* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Sara and Goban Tovah share their ancestor Yunica's hair color (and Jeba presumably had the same hair color before her hair turned gray), and Dark Fact had the same color hair as Hugo Fact before he ended up becoming more demonic (as seen in the artwork of him on XSEED's site for ''Chronicles'', in which he is fully human).

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

''Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen'' was originally released for the PC-8801. In the years since, it was ported to a number of other computers and home consoles: in order, it saw ports for the [=X1=], UsefulNotes/{{PC98}}, [[UsefulNotes/FMTowns FM-7]], UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2, [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, MS-DOS, UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}}gs, and Sharp [=X68000=]. While most of these versions were exclusive to Japan, the Master System, DOS, and [=IIgs=] ports did see release in North America, with the former also receiving a European release, all in 1989.

* CanonImmigrant: Several characters and locations hinted at in manuals or introduced in the OVA made their way into the games proper with the release of ''Ys Eternal''.

* EarlyBirdBoss: Jenocres, the first boss in ''Ys I'', a teleporting wizard who uses mounted flamethrowers on the sides of the boss arena, is this in the UsefulNotes/{{Android|Games}}, UsefulNotes/{{iOS|Games}}, UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} versions for players who are at level four or below. If players decide to LevelGrind to level five and has bought mid-level equipment in the shops, the boss will fall after taking three hits. The primary reason most players for the Android and [=iOS=] versions do the grind is they can earn the "God Mode On" achievement, which require [[NoDamageRun beating Jenocres without taking any damage whatsoever]].
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The American TG-16 release of ''Ys I & II'' referred to Dogi as "Colin". Subsequent US releases of the franchise ignored the change.

* FantasticRacism:
** In ''Ys II Chronicles'', most people are scared of Adol when he is transformed into a roo because roos are intelligent nonhuman beings. A few older people recognize roos as not demons and treat him nicely when he is a roo.
** This trope is inverted by demons. They (with one notable exception, Keith Fact) do not hesitate to kill all humans, but most demons except for Dalles mistake Adol in roo form for a demon, talk to him, and will not attack him.

** The smartphone versions of ''Ys I'' shows you a couple of pictures that vaguely suggest that you must run into enemies' sides or back to land clean hits. There is nothing to let you know that you can also get clean hits by running into the sides of their fronts. The smartphone version of ''Ys II'' is even worse by not providing any tutorial whatsoever on how to physically attack enemies, so someone who did not buy ''Ys I'' would be clueless on how to attack enemies.

*** Another puzzle is how to pass the Devil's Corridor. You would not know how to solve this puzzle unless you talked to Raba twice when he is trapped in the cell adjacent to the Devil's Corridor, remember the solution from Hugo Fact's route in ''Ys: Origin'', or consulted a walkthrough.
* HealthDamageAsymmetry: Averted with the bosses in ''Ys 1'', who all adhere to the HP cap of 255 and deal similar levels of damage as Adol. They make up for it by being designed so that Adol has fewer opportunities to damage them.

* HitboxDissonance: In ''Ys I'', Vagullion and Dark Fact have deceptively small hitboxes (centering on their feet) despite their large sprites.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Flame Sword in ''Ys I'' it's the strongest weapon in the game and is entirely optional. But attempting to use it against the final boss will result in you seeing the Game Over screen.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Silver Sword/Armor/Shield in ''Ys I''. You can get all of them by around the halfway point of the game, and even ''scratching'' Dark Fact requires you to equip the full set.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Averted by the title screen of the English UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version, which adds an [[https://tcrf.net/images/e/ee/Ys1sms_title_en.png IPA guide]] next to the title. However, if you didn't notice the guide was there (it's easy to miss), or didn't realize that it was a guide, or didn't know how IPA pronunciation works, then you'd still be out of luck. Exacerbating the problem, the [[https://www.smspower.org/uploads/Scans/Ys-SMS-US.jpg box]] spells the game's title as "Y's", with an apostrophe, leading to it being widely mispronounced as "wise".
* PointOfNoReturn: The Darm Tower in ''I'' (with another one after defeating Dark Fact in the [=TurboGrafx-16=] version that ends up with Adol in Ys and no way to get back to Darm Tower, as that game merges ''I'' and ''II'' into one game). It's impossible to be underleveled.
* PowerGlows: In ''Ys Eternal'', chests containing Silver items had a distinct blue glow around them.
* RedHerring: In ''I'', [[spoiler:the Battle gear. Sure it's better than the Silver gear, but why does the trap insist on stealing the latter from you? Because it's the only effective equipment against the final boss, that's why.]]
* SadlyMythtaken: Ys is supposed to be an city swallowed by the ocean. It's the floating island in the game.
* SequenceBreaking: In ''Ys Eternal'' (but not in later versions) it was possible to get the Silver Armor while you were still at Level 1 by entering the Mine, running away from everything and hoping you could get to the chest and back before something killed you. As the second best armor in the game, it made the beginning much easier. Later versions removed this by requiring the Treasure Box Key to be obtained in the Shrine Depths before you could open the chest.
* ShoutOut: In the ''Ys I Chronicles'' version, using the Rod (for the Darm Tower mirrors) as an item will result in Adol attempting to short-circuit the rest of the game by chanting "[[Literature/HarryPotter Accio]] Books of Ys". It doesn't work.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Between fan translations, multiple official translations, and Falcom's own official English names, there are few characters or places that ''don't'' fit this trope. An example would be the name of the crater in Esteria where Ys used to be before it rose into the sky. In Creator/{{Atlus}}'s translation, it has the [[ForeignSoundingGibberish vaguely French-sounding]] name Vageux-Vardette, but Creator/{{XSEED Games}}'s translation gives it the more unusual-sounding name Bagyu Ba'dead. Also see BlindIdiotTranslation above. The English TG-16 version, on the other hand, refers to the crater as "Clifton's Cliff".

* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: The Silver Sword in I requires a sidequest (GuideDangIt!) to obtain and the game won't let you into Darm Tower until you have it and the accompanying shield and armor.
* TranshumanTreachery: Dark Fact in ''Ys I'', who became a demon and Ys I's BigBad after [[spoiler:[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds his father's death at the hands of miners]].]] This is explained in ''Origin'', which shows that [[spoiler:his ancestor, Hugo Fact, is fused with demon seeds, thus showing the origin of "bad genes" in the family.]]

* VideoGamePerversityPotential: In the Steam version of ''Ys I'' there are two achievements for sexually molesting Feena while rescuing her from the Shrine. The first ("Hey Baby, What's Your Width?") is done by crowding her into a narrow dead-end corridor on the way out so she can't get past you and pushing her up against the wall at the end until she complains you're scaring her. The second ("I Can't See You, But I Can Feel You", with the description '"Measure" Feena in the creepiest way possible') requires you to do so while wearing the Mask of Eyes (which lets you see secrets at the cost of hiding all [=NPCs=] and monsters). The achievement icons are pretty perverse too.
* WeakSauceWeakness: Apparently, silver is the only thing that can bypass the protection of Dark Fact's otherwise-impervious Cleria cape in ''Ys I'', which is why he, prior to the start of the game, steals and hoards every silver object he can get his hands on.
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: If Feena were to die while being escorted in ''Eternal'' and all its remakes? That's it, you're done, [[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero great job Adol, you just got a goddess killed]], no way to win now]].
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Dark Fact in ''Ys I'', who [[TranshumanTreachery became a demon]] and the game's BigBad after [[spoiler:his father's death at the hands of miners]]. This is explained in ''Origin'', which shows that [[spoiler:his ancestor, Hugo Fact, is fused with demon seeds, thus showing the origin of "bad genes" in the family.]]

In 1988, it received the {{Sequel}} ''VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter'', which resolves the {{Cliffhanger}} ending of this game. The following year, both titles were ported to the [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboGrafx-CD]] as ''[[CompilationRerelease Ys I & II]]'', featuring improved graphics, animated cutscenes, and a Redbook audio soundtrack. This iteration would be released in North America in 1990, becoming one of the first Japanese video games to be dubbed into English in the process.

[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ys1sms_title_en_8.png]]
[[caption-width-right:256:Title screen for the Master System port.]]

''Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen'', released in 1987, is the first installment of the ActionRPG series ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}''. Set in the land of Esteria, the game follows the adventures of Adol Christin, a swordsman tasked with fighting a malevolent force attacking the world. To do so, he has to seek out the six ancient Books of Ys, which detail the history of the titular ancient land and give clues on how to defeat the attacking forces.

The game differentiates itself from other [=RPGs=] of the time by shying away from traditional turn-based combat. Instead, it features rock-paper-scissors style fights where combat and its results happen automatically upon making contact. To add an extra degree of strategy, the game allows the player to manipulate the outcomes of each battle based on what direction they approach opponents in. To offset this, Adol's health recharges automatically between fights, a mechanic that would become a staple of the series and would see wider adoption throughout games in the 21st century.

''Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen'' was originally released for the PC-8801. In the years since, it was ported to a number of other computers and home consoles: in order, it saw ports for the [=X1=], PC-9801, FM-7, [=MSX2=], [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, and [=X68000=]. While most of these versions were exclusive to Japan, the Master System, DOS, and IIGS ports did see release in North America, with the former also receiving a European release, all in 1989.

In 1988, it received a sequel in the form of ''VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter'', which resolves the {{cliffhanger}} ending of this game. The following year, both titles were ported to the [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboGrafx-CD]] as ''[[CompilationRerelease Ys I & II]]'', featuring improved graphics, animated cutscenes, and a Redbook audio soundtrack. This iteration would be released in North America in 1990, becoming one of the first Japanese video games to be dubbed into English in the process.

!!This game contains examples of...

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ys1pc88_title.png]]

''Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen'' was originally released for the PC-8801. In the years since, it was ported to a number of other computers and home consoles: in order, it saw ports for the [=X1=], PC-9801, FM-7, [=MSX2=], [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, and [=X68000=].

In 1988, it received a sequel in the form of ''VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter''. The following year, both titles were ported to the [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboGrafx-CD]] as ''[[CompilationRerelease Ys I & II]]'', featuring improved graphics, animated cutscenes, and a Redbook audio soundtrack. This iteration would be released in North America in 1990, becoming one of the first Japanese video games to be dubbed into English in the process.

''Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen'' was originally released for the PC-8801. In the years since, it was ported to a number of other computers and home consoles: in order, it saw ports for the [=X1=], PC-9801, FM-7, [=MSX2=], [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, UsefulNotes/{{MSDOS}}, Apple IIGS, and [=X68000=].

* KatanasAreJustBetter: The [=TurboGrafx-16=] version of ''Ys I'' called the Talwarl the Katana.