Of demons, goddesses, and dark spires. Let's play Ys Origin!

[Crooked Bee]

Here we go, reposting the last update in better quality, with a couple of additional battle screenshots.

2: Yunica: Introduction

In which our heroine engages in tree diplomacy, enters the dark spire, and lots of blah blah plus some basic fighting ensues.

We must have fallen to the surface... I wonder what happened? I remember a really big impact or something...

What's that...?

The camera descends to show a majestic tree.

Yunica runs up to it.

And the tree starts talking back.

So you're finally awake...

My name's Yunica Tovah!

In Hebrew, "tova(h)" means "good", "calm". Which means our heroine is called Yunica the Good. Good in the eyes of the Goddesses, no doubt.

W-well, yeah... But I'm no good at magic at all. ... You're the elder Roda tree, right? Is your little brother okay, too?

Yes, he is all right...

It grows exceedingly boring... with only him to talk to...

Haha... you still love to talk, don't you? I've been worried about you two ever since the Shrine was raised.

The power of the Goddesses keeps us alive and healthy...

These noxious fumes will not sever our bond with them so easily...

When was it...? I recently saw a man, alone and surrounded by demons...

...!!

Was he also of your line...?

He... he stayed behind to buy time for the raising ritual to work... My grandpa says there's no way he could still be alive...

He was engulfed in that haze and disappeared...

I did not witness his death... but I do not doubt his fate...

Oh... I see...

...

...O...okay! If that's true, then I just have to try even harder!

Yes, we came to search for Lady Reah and Lady Feena. The two of them vanished from the Shrine a few days ago...

Ah... the Goddesses. I saw them... about three days ago...

Wha... you have?!

So it's just like the Reverend said... Where did they go?

They are likely in that tower, at the foot of Mt. Prosis...

You'll find the loathsome thing near Solomon Shrine...

The camera pans out, and we are presented with my favourite image in the game so far:

Though it is faint, I sense the Goddesses' essence there...

...Oh, no...

But... why didn't you stop them?

I assumed they had business there...

Perhaps I should have tried... you think?

Hm, I sense others near there, as well...

I would imagine... they are your companions...

Huh... I wonder who's there...

(Shouldn't Yunica, like, know who she descended down here with? )

You are going?

Yes... I need to meet up with everyone again, so we can bring the Goddesses back...

...The... world outside...

Your voice...

That poison around here must be getting stronger... I don't understand magic, so I don't really get it...

Lady Reah... Lady Feena...

With that, Yunica runs off in the direction of the dark tower, the screen fades to black, and another cutscene kicks in, introducing the Darm Tower.

We witness the ruined landscape again.

Smoke, lightning, and fallen stones. Sure is dangerous around here.

A raven takes off the cliff.

Flying to and around the spire with its brethren.

The tower is huge. Hopefully that means a lot of dungeon crawling!

The cutscene ends, and we are back with Yunica, who's already made it to the entrance.

...

Oh...!

The camera moves forward, focusing on a group of three characters surrounded by a number of horned demons. They must be the ones the elder tree mentioned.

If only the knights and sorcerors were with us...

(Which is meant to remind us the rescue group was scattered.)

I'm trying to maintain the barrier... I just hope it holds!

If we open it a little, maybe you can strike through the gap. Reverend...!

(So Syon is the Reverend Yunica spoke of earlier. No wonder, with a name like that.)

...It would seem that there is no other way.

Suddenly, the Reverend notices Yunica.

Yunica Tovah, apprentice knight! I'm here to provide assistance, sir!

Now that's the spirit.
It doesn't look like the Reverend expected to see our heroine here, though.

Thanks for the help! We will handle the demons over here! You take care of the ones near you!

Understood!

Dino? Eolia? Now is the time!

Yes, sir...

Yes, sir!

And we are left to face three demons.

I hope you're ready to pay for that!

Tutorial battle, hey!

The game is nice enough to explain the basic attacks to us: basic physical strike, jump slash (attack while ascending), downward thrust (attack while descending), upward thrust (attack while keeping the jump button pressed and ascending), and special DEF-lowering attack (attack right after pressing and releasing a direction button or double-clicking).

This is a tutorial battle, and so the demons are really slow. We're playing on Hard, however, so even their frontal strikes deal 10 points of damage each:

One thing I must tell you, is that it isn't easy fighting in real-time (on Hard) and taking screenshots...

We mostly use downward and upward thrusts, as well as the special DEF-lowering attack (pictured above), smashing the demons to pieces.

Another group of demons appear.

And we are presented with another tutorial, this time dealing with Boost Gauge:

We deal with the demons easily:

As I said, the starting enemies are slow, just so you could get somewhat used to the controls, which are very intuitive, I think.

It looks like you've acquitted yourself admirably.

Reverend... and, um... I don't think I know these folks with you...

I'm Dino, acolyte of Solomon Shrine.

And I am Eolia... also an acolyte.

Tovah... then you must be Commander Saul's daughter, right...?

Yes, that's right.

Well, it's no surprise that you're so brave in combat, then. If we tried to swing a battle axe like yours, we'd probably wind up killing ourselves.

(Yup, our heroine's a true knight sis.)

Ahh, I see...

She volunteered to be a member of the search party. So, let us fulfill Saul's last wish, and bring the Goddesses safely back to the Shrine.

Thank you... so much, Reverend.

(So let me get this straight: Yunica did volunteer to be a part of the rescue party, but it didn't seem like the Reverend expected her at first, so she probably wasn't taken on board and went along by herself, right? That would explain why she's so thankful to the Reverend now.)

By the way... have the other knights and the sorcerors not arrived yet?

No, unfortunately not... Just as we were preparing to land, we had some kind of interference.

(You saw that in the intro.)

So that was the impact we felt...?

Yes... and it caused to lose control of the transport shell. I'm pretty sure that everyone was scattered and thrown to the surface. We were all encased in multiple protection spells, so everyone should have landed safely...

We're fairly certain that the interference came from this tower.

(You remember the sorcerer atop the tower in the intro, don't you?)

And so here we are...

On that note, Miss Yunica, what brings you to this place by yourself?

Uh, well...

Yunica tells the others what she learned from the tree.

Is... is that true?

Why would they come to such a dreadful place...?

I can't even begin to imagine... Reverend, we must find them quickly!

Yes, you are correct. It is obvious that we need to search the tower thoroughly, but we are sorely lacking in manpower at the moment.

(How 'bout some womanpower, then? )

We need to reassemble the search party before we can begin in earnest.

Y-yes, sir...

Would you please attend to this task, Dino?

I will, sir. I'll use the Roda Trees as central points to search from, with another transport spell.

With that, Dino leaves.

S-sir?

I do not wish to see you suffer the same fate as your father. Would you please wait here with us, until the other squad members are found?

(You kidding, right?)

Oh... yes, sir...

...

What's wrong?

Um... Would it be okay if I just started searching around nearby? I don't want to get in anyone's way, and I could stand to get some more real combat experience.

I can't use magic, and I'm still only a knight's apprentice...

Hmm... well, I understand how you feel...

Maybe... maybe I can gather some information about the tower in the process. So... please, sir!

...Very well. I will explain the situation to Captain Galleon when he arrives.

Re... really?

Yes, but in exchange, you must take this with you.

What's this?

Come over here, please.

Well, just observe.

...

...

Wow... it turned into a Goddess statue!

In a manner of speaking... but it would be more aptly put to say it has been restored to its true form. It seems that all of the Goddess statues left on the surface have undergone such a transformation.

(Spooky!)

I only wish I knew the reason why...

I... I see...

I'm sorry that I said that an image of the Goddesses was ghastly...

There is the possibility that more of these statues have been brought to the tower. You should be able to use that Crystal to purify them, just as I have done with this one.

I understand... So I should be able to obtain the Goddesses' blessings, even inside the tower.

(As you may have guessed already, the statues, scattered around the place, serve as checkpoints where you can save and receive healing.)

Yes, but there is more to tell. That Crystal has the power to instantly teleport you to any purified Goddess statue.

(That should come in handy.)

I hope it will prove useful in your search.

I'm sure it will... thank you very much, sir!

Take this as well, Miss Yunica.

A shell...?

Yes... it is a magical item to enable long-distance communication. With it, you'll be able to maintain contact with us, even when we're separated. If you should happen across anything unusual, please use it to get in touch with me.

All right... I'll do that.

Oh, and by the way, Reverend? You too, Miss Eolia...

What is it?

I... I know I wasn't originally intended to be part of the search party... and it was selfish of me to try and worm my way into the group...

...but I feel like I have to help... even though I know I'll never measure up to my father's example. Thank you for allowing me to be here!

Haha... oh, it's nothing you need to concern yourself over.

We will be here, so come back to see us if you learn anything useful. And use the Crystal if you find yourself in trouble.

Next time: dungeon crawling begins!

 

[spekkio]

*Edit - what do you need FrameSkip=5 for?

No clue, it's just the default option when clicking "High".

Should be set to 0 IMO... Or maybe in nippon '5'='disabled'.

 

[lightbane]

So, she wants to be a knight to protect a freaking Goddess and yet she doesn't know anything at all about magic? Oh well, at least she doesn't seem to use oversized weapons nor chainmail bikini, good for her.

 

[Black Bart Charley]

kotz

 

[Mrowak]

So, she wants to be a knight to protect a freaking Goddes and yet she doesn't know anything at all about magic?

She might know about it. She just can't use it (for some arbitrary reason).

Oh well, at least she doesn't seem to use oversized weapons nor chainmail bikini, good for her.

Pretty much from the very start.

@Bee
You really needn't have reposted the whole first update just for better image quality. Anyways, carry on

 

[Crooked Bee]

Breaking news: I've just recorded a short gameplay video for you to get a taste of how this game looks in action. (Bear in mind that this is still a very early stage of the game, so nothing really exciting happens here.) I simply loaded my last save and started from there, without retries/reloads -- it's still the first level of the dungeon, so things have been fairly easy so far. I'm playing on Hard, but I haven't yet really mastered all the combat options. I thought maybe I'd be able to do a no-hit vid and started out playing carefully, but got a bit carried away by my new Whirlwind ability and then it struck me I'm too lazy for that kind of thing anyway, so I took a couple of hits in the end. Oh, and I only recorded two minutes of gameplay so it wouldn't get boring to watch. I plan on doing videos for boss fights -- maybe, if I don't suck too much.

Anyway, here's the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl5nvGnh3xU

Think of it as a teaser for the next update, which will most probably come in a couple of days.

 

[spekkio]

So, somebody else is able to record and upload videos?

 

[Crooked Bee]

3: The Roo

In which we face more demons, as well as yellow knights and evil shamans, and fail our lore check in an encounter with a sacred kangaroo animal.

Now that we've gained control over Yunica, we can choose to chat with Eolia a bit.

I will aid in looking for the others. If you need advice on anything, please get in touch with me. I will try to help as best I can.

Ask about the Lila Shell

Just use the Lila Shell to reach me. I'll always be available. If anything troubles or confuses you in your search, just let me know.

That's basically a built-in hint device (or a mobile phone ).

Ask about the Crystals

The Crystals were created by Priest Dabbie combining his power over light with Priest Hadal's power over earth. Its power will enable you to purify any cursed Goddess statues you find in the tower. The statues will heal your wounds when you touch them, and may also confer their divine blessing upon you. Also, you can use the Crystal to teleport to any purified Goddess statue. Should you find yourself in mortal danger, it would be best to escape to safety.

Ask about the Goddess statues' blessings

You can also make an offering of fragments of spiritual power (SP) to the statues and receive many kinds of divine protection. The demons are apt to drop these fragments, so be certain to pick them up.

Spiritual Power is this game's currency. Personally, I like the idea of trading in spiritual power. We'll be sure to try the blessings out at some point.

We can also interact with Syon.

Since the demons built this tower, there's no way of knowing what awaits us here. If you feel you're in danger, use the Crystal to return to us.

The in-game manual has a few basic entries unlocked, including the one on consumables:

Stat-enhancing items are cool, but they're only effective for a short amount of time.

I have to look for them.

We can try leaving the tower, but naturally the game won't let us.

So we ascend the stairs and begin the dungeon crawling.

The first dungeon is called The Wailing Blue, 'cause it's, you know, blue!

It has lots of demons and some shooting thingies.

We only seem to have one weapon at the moment -- the axe.

Some chests are enemy-locked: they only become available once we've defeated the red-glowing enemy (or group of enemies).

Inside the chest, we obtain a consumable: Celceta Medicine. The description says it "raises maximum HP", but I don't know if that's permanent or temporary, so I guess we'd better save it for later.

We head east, bash some more demons, and reach the next section of the dungeon.

There's a group of three red-glowing enemies in here, which we must defeat to unlock the magic chest.

They stand no chance, and we're free to open the chest.

Wow... this looks like an artifact from Ys. Why would the demons have it...?

Power begins to flow outward...

The Wing has conferred upon Yunica the magical skill of Whirlwind.

We unlock our first skill, Whirlwind!

We get a tutorial on skills, learning they can be used for some non-combat puzzle-solving situations; cool.

As well as one on Whirlwind; looks fancy.

Whoa! It gave me new powers...?

It's not really magic like the sorcerors cast, but I guess it'll be pretty useful. I'll have to test it out!

Oh, we'll be sure to.

As we ascend the stairs, we meet the new kind of enemy -- yellow knights. These can be deadly, at least on Hard and until we gain a couple more levels, especially if you let them hit you too many times, which you shouldn't. Ideally, they shouldn't hit you at all. Still, they have that nasty Charge ability they tend to use sometimes, which you should beware. They're also faster than regular demons and tend to attack in groups, as we're going to witness a bit later.

Hmm, a room with demons and some kind of platforms.

We exterminate the demons and climb the large stairs to the northeast.

Then we hop from cube to cube in order to push that really attractive button above, just begging to be pushed.

The platforms ascend into the air, and we can now reach---

--oh well, almost. The final gap is too wide to simply jump over it. And this is where we should use our freshly learned Whirlwind skill.

Behind the door, there are lots of demons, yellow knights, and things shooting beams at us. Taking screens is a pain in the butt.

We pick up a Max HP boost here; looks like it's permanent.

Yunica ascends the stairs, when SUDDENLY

Wh-what the...?!

It's a trap!

Yunica gets sucked into the red smoke pillar, and the screen fades to black.

Where am I...?

It looks like a different room entirely...

I guess that weird magic thing must have teleported me here. Guess I really should've been expecting the demons to lay traps...

Yeah, demons are cunning like that.

Since we've found ourselves in a room with a cursed Goddess statue; naturally, the first thing we do is purify it.
The save game description tells us we're on 4F now, whoa.

Atop the stairs is some kind of contraption. It seems to be missing a crest, so I guess we're supposed to find one. Let's get onto that.

Here comes the section I showed off in the video I already posted. Here it is:

Ys Origin gameplay video #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl5nvGnh3xU

In here, there are new enemies -- shamans, throwing weird magic disk thingies at us:

They're really slow, though, and therefore aren't much of a threat... until they start attacking us in groups, backed up by those beam-shooting devices. Ugh.

Hey, we're level 4 already.

We find another button, push it, and a platform appears:

It allows us to access a chest with a Roda Fruit:

We're going to need one really soon.

Hmm, an intersection. First we head to the left.

This is a really funny jumping device: step onto the circle, and you immediately soar up high into the air. Like a bird!

Oooh, shiny!

Whirlwind skill has been strengthened.

Turns out it's a skill jewel.

Our Whirlwind skill is lvl2 now.

Hey, another button to push!

And the hitherto closed off path is now open!

A bit of running... no enemies in sight.

Hey, it's a crest! Just what we've been looking for. :D

Huh?

A little fluffy demon (?) appears!

You look kinda like a demon, but there's something different about you...

Oh, I know... are you one of the sacred animals? You're a Roo, right?

(So it's like a kangaroo without the kango.)

My grandpa told me about you little guys. Those vapors outside turned you into demons.

S-so... what am I supposed to do now? I'll bet Priest Gemma would be able to understand you...

I'm sorry... I don't know how to help you. House Tovah doesn't even have the ability to speak with demons...

(Oh my, we chose to play as a really clueless character, didn't we? Well, at least it's a break from the usual super-duper good-at-everything kind of hero...)

...Ah-ha. Are you hungry?

The Roo jumps happily.

Yep, I guess I was right.

Hmm... would you like this?

We give the animal the Roda fruit we found earlier. Because why not?

That makes no sense.

SUDDENLY

Yunica's axe gained greater attack power.

The Roo has upgraded Yunica's axe!

Oh, cool...

Haha! I never would've guessed you could do that.

Thank you!

There seems to be nothing else we can do here, so we go back to the Goddess statue.

Time to put that crest to use...

Next time: our first boss battle! I'm so excited!

 

[Black Cat]

And this is where we should use our freshly learned Whirlwind skill.

Evil trembles before the might of helicopter loli.

 

[Kz3r0]

And this is where we should use our freshly learned Whirlwind skill.

Evil trembles before the might of helicopter loli.

A LOLiCOPTER.

 

[spekkio]

That looks damn sweet.

Except kawaii fluffy monster and distinct lack of rape (so far).

Oh well, no game except DA2 and ARMA is perfect, I guess...

 

[lightbane]

(Oh my, we chose to play as a really clueless character, didn't we? Well, at least it's a break from the usual super-duper good-at-everything kind of hero...)

What?? I'm think you're mistaken, lately too many (j)rpg heroes are clueless dumbfucks, or even worse: angsty emo-faggots that pretend to be good at everything but instead constantly commit even worse mistakes (example: Squall Emo-heart). So, nowadays it's a surprise when a character is supposed to be a professional and *actually* behaves as one (such as Radiant Historia's Stocke). And silent main characters don't count, they don't have any personality at all.

In any case, continue it


PS: What happened with the other princess?? The one that wanted to conquer the world??

 

[Haba]

What is this damn newfaggotry? :z

This is how it is supposed to be: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivnPX9dcDfE

 

[Crooked Bee]

^ That's a classic, true dat.

PS: What happened with the other princess?? The one that wanted to conquer the world??

She's on vacation! Sorta. We'll get back to her in due time.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Hey, you know what, I even managed to record a boss fight video for this update! So that all of you can see just how much I suck at action games!

4: Winged Demon, or, Searching for the search party

In which we meet a highly mysterious and no less suspicious couple and defeat a scary winged demon. Also, bats!

Time to put that Blue Moon Crest we found to good use.

A trapdoor opens:

And we jump right in!

We land on some kind of platform; the only way to proceed from here is north, so north we go. When suddenly...

Huh...?

Yunica spots two person on the other side of the room.

Bah. Well, he's good at runnin' away, anyhow. I doubt he coulda gotten far, though.

Sorry, but I've lost what little interest I had. I don't see much point in chasing after some sorry excuse for a sorceror who breaks ranks at the first sign of trouble.

E-excuse me...

You two aren't members of the search party, are you?

...Oh, brother.

Heh...

Haha! That's pretty damn funny! Check out the dumpy little girl mouthin' off!

D... dumpy?

Who are you, girl? Are you a friend of that sorceror?

Sorceror...? My name's Yunica Tovah. I'm an apprentice Holy Knight!

Yunica... Tovah?

Ys must be pretty short on decent folk, huh?

Just... just who are you two?

You weren't left behind on the surface when the shrine was raised, were you...?

Yeah, she probably ain't worth botherin' with.

Hey, maybe we oughta try out one of those demons that Zava let us use.

It doesn't matter to me.

What... what are you talking about?

It's just business.

The Goddesses... you mean Lady Reah and Lady Feena?!

Wh-what are you thinking...

Heh... okay, enough talking.

The girl starts casting some kind of nasty spell:

...

And an evil-looking flying monster appears!

A... a demon?!

Say bye-bye, y'dumb hick.

The girl walks away. The strong-looking man stays there for a moment...

...

...and then walks away as well.

Which means, our first boss battle begins here!


This boss is fairly easy even on Hard; I beat him on my second try, as soon as I figured out his pattern of attacks and the required timing.
I've recorded a video of this fight; you can find the link below, at the end of the update. First, here's a screenshot version.

The first thing the demon does is transform into a pack of bats who pursue Yunica, trying to bite her from behind. (There was a similar boss in Ys I, but less advanced, as we're going to witness when the demon enters his second phase.) You can't hurt the boss when he's in his bat form, only when back in the demon form. Which means a lot of running away from the bloody bats, made harder by other tricks the demon has in his disposal. The bats tend to fly in Yunica's direction first and chase her around the screen a bit, then head off to somewhere to transform back into the demon -- who stays motionless, and vulnerable, for a few second before launching his extremely powerful claw strike if Yunica remains too close to him (hence the importance of being careful, especially on Hard, where a claw attack hits for 28 HP), or a wall of fire or some purple beams if she is already far away by then. Sometimes, however, the bats suddenly start glowing and pursuing Yunica instead of transforming back into the monster form; shit is sudden and scary! That also means we shouldn't be running up close to the monster before he takes back his demonic appearance, or else he might change his mind and some sudden bat-hurt would ensue.

We start off with lowering the demon's Defense with Yunica's special attack.

Regular attacks are good in that they let us build up our Boost Gauge faster.

Whirlwind is faster, but it doesn't seem to deal more damage than regular strikes overall.

It does, however, allow us to quicker jump away from the demon using the jump + skill combo, which is really useful given the demon's incredibly long reach and the importance of timing.

Sometimes, one of the bats gets separated from the group to, well, pursue Yunica separately. Horrible creatures. We try to avoid them best we can.

The demon breathes fire at us, which lingers on the battlefield for some time.

Everything goes swift and nice and predictable until the demon is at half HP. When that happens, the boss fight enters into its second phase.

Then, the bats divide themselves into two groups to pursue Yunica separately.

Furthermore, each group turns into the demon form on its own! We are now facing two demons instead of just one, each of them doing nasty things to Yunica, as well as two bat packs. Good thing we can hurt either of the two demons.
Also, surprise bat-sex!

Now we must manoeuvre around the room trying to hit one of the demons while avoiding being hit by the other one.

Naturally, we must also avoid the walls of fire, more frequent now.

Another mean thing the demon can do is let out some nasty purple beams, covering a pretty wide area.

At one point I get too careless and impatient and make a horrible timing mistake! I get a bit carried away with hacking at the demon, and the evil foe claws Yunica for whopping 28 points of damage. Stand up and fight, sis!

Hell yeah, we prevail! That wasn't as hard as I expected, but that was only the first boss fight.

Fireworks!
The battle finished, Yunica stays pensive for a moment.

But who in the world were those two? And why would they be hanging around with demons? Plus, why would they want to capture Lady Reah and Lady Feena...?

It is a mystery for sure!
And here's the video of the first boss fight:

Ys Origin gameplay video #2: Summoned Winged Demon boss fight:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqZBwF5PVac

Next time: more crawling!

 

[Mrowak]

Well done Bee. You surely are up to the task

Quite a fun little game from what I see. I will probably not remove it from inventory just to test it out.

The boss battle, seemed a little bit too static to my tastes, though - but you usually get that in initial stages. However, to its credit, it seemed that if you get too cocky, you can easily die.

Carry on, noble Bee!

 

[spekkio]

Fucking female summoners!

Game looks great, I have to give it a try sometime.

 

[Crooked Bee]

So who of you guys is posing as Andhaira on Youtube?

AWESOME! Thanks for bringing my attention to this Crooked Bee. I have always wanted to play a Y's game, either on console or otherwise. Since this is in english and for the pc and relatively recent, it should not be too hard to track it down. Will definately give it a shot.

Oh and btw: What's your bra size?

 

[riptide]

Is it normal that the in-game options menu and text in the intro movie remain Japanese even after the english patch?

 

[Crooked Bee]

No, it's not. You're messing up the installation in some way.

The most obvious catch would be... you're running the game from config, right? In that case, renaming the currect YSO_WIN.exe (Japanese) to something like YSO_WINold.exe and YSO_WINnew.exe (English version) to YSO_WIN.exe may help, since config.exe launches YSO_WIN.exe.

If that doesn't help, a minimal (i.e., without the most recent patches) clean installation should:

1. Install the game (say, to "...\FALCOM\") -- if you have the original disk, it should install the 1.000 version (to check, right-click YSO_WIN.exe and check its properties)
2. Open the extra disk folder
3. Copy everything in the extra disk folder over to YS Origin install folder (NB: make sure to copy it over to the YSO_WIN subdir, so that the relevant files get overwritten -- it should update the exe to 1.100 and add the data_1100.na archive)
4. Install the English translation -- again, make sure to choose the YSO_WIN subdir as destination folder
5. Play the game (the above renaming may be required)

If all that doesn't help, refer to this thread: http://www.seldane.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=yso&action=print&thread=5939 and scroll down to doppiapunta's post (just bear in mind he means "extra disk" whenever he says "data disk").

Hope that helps.

 

[Mrowak]

No, it's not. You're messing up the installation in some way.

The most obvious catch would be... you're running the game from config, right? In that case, renaming the currect YSO_WIN.exe (Japanese) to something like YSO_WINold.exe and YSO_WINnew.exe (English version) to YSO_WIN.exe may help, since config.exe launches YSO_WIN.exe.

If that doesn't help, a minimal (i.e., without the most recent patches) clean installation should:

1. Install the game (say, to "...\FALCOM") -- if you have the original disk, it should install the 1.000 version (to check, right-click YSO_WIN.exe and check its properties)
2. Open the extra disk folder
3. Copy everything in the extra disk folder over to YS Origin install folder (NB: make sure to copy it over to the YSO_WIN subdir, so that the relevant files get overwritten -- it should update the exe to 1.100 and add the data_1100.na archive)
4. Install the English translation -- again, make sure to choose the YSO_WIN subdir as destination folder
5. Play the game (the above renaming may be required)

If all that doesn't help, refer to this thread: http://www.seldane.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=yso&action=print&thread=5939 and scroll down to doppiapunta's post (just bear in mind he means "extra disk" whenever he says "data disk").

Hope that helps.

Same problem here, though your solution does not work. The thing is most texts are in English, only a few places are in Japanese. That wouldn't be very bothersome, but I fear that it mey be the reason the game crashes on hitting Esc key. Please don't tell me you need to use it to save your progress.

Edit: @riptide

Problem partially solved. I don't know about the crashes (I'm not watching that 10 min long unskippable intro again... today), but I managed to fix the issue with fonts. Just download this YSO_WIN file and swap it with the one in the game's directory (assuming that the game is already patched to English).

http://www.mediafire.com/?0x8dj5540kx4p8s

Edit 2: Still, how does one save in the game?

 

[Crooked Bee]

Edit 2: Still, how does one save in the game?

At the Goddess statues. Interact with the statue by pressing Z, and choose "Save".

 

[Mrowak]

Edit 2: Still, how does one save in the game?

At the Goddess statues. Interact with the statue by pressing Z, and choose "Save".

Yeah... After patching the game statues started reacting to my inputs. Thx, anyway.

 

[Crooked Bee]

6: It's a trap!

Two traps in one update! Also, a new video!

Previously on this LP, we encountered an evil duo and slew the summoned winged demon.

Now that the demon has been defeated, a trap door has opened to the north, so down we jump.

That allows us to reach two previously inaccessible treasure chests. In one of them, we discover a Bronze Key.

The second chest contains Mask of Eyes, a mysterious item that, when equipped, makes the world go black-and-white yet allows you to see secret passages and stuff like that. The trade-off is that, while the mask is equipped, you cannot see the enemies! At all. They are still there, and are attacking you, but you can't see them. Shit is scary.

With the help of the key, we unlock the door we had to skip previously.

Lots of bats in here. One thing we should beware is when a bat starts glowing white; that means it's about to rush at you for some damage.

That wall looks... different, somehow.

I wonder if we should equip the mask.

Hell yeah, a secret passage!

We enter it. When SUDDENLY

A boy's voice: Oh, I know. You're Yunica, of House Tovah!

Huh...?

Who's there? Where are you?

(Stupid, isn't she? )

A boy's voice: Haha... just calm down. Try taking off that mask.

Yunica removed the Mask of Eyes

A boy appears!

Oh! You're part of the search party...

I'm Rico Gemma... a sorceror. It's nice to meet you.

Oh, you must be Priest Gemma's grandson... What are you doing here?

When I landed, I realized that I was close to the tower. Once I got a look at the situation in here, I thought I caught a glimpse of a man's shadow.

I figured it had to be someone from the search party, so I followed it, but...

Oh... are you hurt?

Yeah, a little while ago. But don't worry... I have healing magic, so I'll be okay. I should be able to walk again soon.

I see...

So, the shadow turned out to be a couple of criminal-looking types, right?

You know them?

Well, sort of... you could say I had a run-in with them.

Ahh... well, I'm glad you're okay, then.

They sent some demons after me, so I wound up in a lot of trouble.

Yeah... same here.

I don't know... but you'd better be careful. The more I think about it, the less I like this situation.

... ...Oh, no!!

Huh...? What's wrong?

Those two said they were trying to capture Lady Reah and Lady Feena!

You... you can't be serious! Who would even think of doing such a thing...?

Yunica explained about the Roda Tree telling her where the Goddesses were.

I see... well, this is even more serious than we thought, then. If they're here, then those two actually might have a chance of capturing the Goddesses.

We have to hurry and find them before they ca--OW!

If you can stay out of sight of the demons for a while, you should be okay. I'm going to investigate some more.

All right. I'm going to just rest here until I can walk again.

...By the way, take this with you.

What's this?

It's a protective talisman, handed down through House Gemma. It has the power to weaken evil energies, so it should come in handy while you search.

Got it... thank you.

Take care, then.

You do remember the teleport trap, don't you?

The talisman should help us deal with it. We shouldn't forget to equip it, of course.

The magical field is weakened thanks to the necklace, and we can now destroy the four evil generator devices located in the corners of the room. No getting careless there, though: the field may be weakened, but it's still there, and we're still being pulled towards the teleporter in the centre. Plus, the devices emit destructive beams that may deal damage to Yunica if we're not being careful.

We destroy them all, and the magic field disappears. The barrier disappears with it, and the path is now unlocked.

Still, I wonder if it was those two who set that trap... They did seem pretty powerful, but they really couldn't be that good with magic...

Heh, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.



SUDDENLY

A young man's voice: ...Yunica?!

Oh... Roy?

A woman's voice: Did you find her, Roy?

Ramona... Praise the Goddesses. I was worried about you two.

...You were worried about US? I swear... do you even know how much danger you were in?!

Hey... why are you so mad?

Just let me finish!

...so what in the world made you think it was okay to go wandering around the demons' stronghold like this?

I... I was trying to get some combat experience! And I even got permission from the Reverend.

...Lady Reah and Lady Feena are apparently somewhere in the tower.

...

Whenever the subject of them comes up, you completely lose sight of reality. You shouldn't worry Commander Galleon and Ramona so.

An apprentice should behave like an apprentice.

H... hey... Roy, you're barely any more experienced than I am! You're only one year older than me, so when are you going to stop treating me like a little kid?

When you stop acting like one.

I know the only reason you're even here is because you love Lady Reah and Lady Feena.

Oh, shut up!

:sisfist:

(sigh) ...All right, that's enough out of both of you!

We... we're not that close.

I need the particulars of your story, Yunica. For now, we need to get back in touch with the rest of the search party. We'll do a better job of finding the Goddesses if all we work together, as was planned.

Ah... I'm sorry...

Something you said before has been bugging me, though.

Something about those two setting some kind of magical trap...

Ah, well...

Yunica told Ramona everything that had happened since her arrival.

That's bizarre... why would anyone else be looking for the Goddesses?

If this is true, then we've got bigger problems on our hands than we expected. We should inform Reverend Syon of this at once.

I'm kind of worried about Rico... isn't he still injured?

Yes... you and I will go and find him.

(In your dreams, duh.)

...

Once we find Rico, we'll be right behind you. Then, we can get all our facts straight and figure out a plan.

Y-yes, ma'am...

Don't get sidetracked on your way back to base.

I know that!

Roy and Ramona walk away.

(sigh)...

(I don't want to go back yet... maybe I'll just look around a little bit more first.)

:sisfist:

So north we go.

More bats here.

As well as some slimes. Beware when they're trying to reach their tentacles at Yunica (as pictured above), else she could be poisoned!

A little platform jumping gets us to a pair of leather boots.

They are DEF +6 boots, so we equip 'em.

Below is a pit with several heavy-armoured knights. Let's call them Heavy knights.

Heavy knights can be annoying as they hit for an ungodly amount of damage and can completely block Yunica's attacks, even the Whirlwind, with their shields. They are, however, slow and clumsy, so once you've figured out the timing you can easily dispatch them by striking them from behind right after they try attacking you.

See, the knight above is still attacking the spot where Yunica previously was, and we're already behind him!

The next area is nasty. It has not only Heavy knights, but also Shamans.

Shamans have several tricks up their sleeve. First, they can easily teleport here and there, so that you can almost never finish them off in one go. Next, they have that freakin' explosion! attack pictured above, so you shouldn't be just standing around them carelessly.

Finally, they can throw three magic disks at you that you should avoid. Beware the knights, too!

The left set of stairs takes us to a button guarded by a Heavy knight. We dispatch the guard and press the button.

Somewhere, a door has opened. Good going.

Hmm, I wonder what's in there...

A chest, hey!

What in the world is this thing...? What a creepy medallion... Maybe it's supposed to be put somewhere.

WHEN SUDDENLY

A magical barrier appears! It's another trap!

Three red-glowing armoured knights! We're in for a fight...

Ys Origin gameplay video #3: Beast Medallion fight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usGjXGqGilo

Naturally, glowing Heavy knights are tougher than regular ones. Plus, the room for manoeuvre is really tiny in this battle. One important trick in this fight is to time Yunica's actions in such a manner as not only to avoid being hit, but also to make the knights pursue her as a group, which makes it easier to time the attacks. Do NOT let the knights act separately, as that'd leave too little room for attacking them.

We emerge victorious (and unharmed, as you can see in the video), and the barrier dissipates.

That creature looks scary! I wonder if we're going to be fighting it...

We take the right set of stairs next and enter the door we opened earlier.

And make it through a narrow corridor.

Some red-glowing bats in here!

Per usual, we must kill all the red-glowing foes to make the barrier disappear. Then we purify the Goddess statue and save the game.

"The Beast Chamber", huh? That doesn't bode well.

We can also use the Lila Shell to get in touch with Eolia.

Yunica used the Lila Shell, and heard Eolia's voice.

Eolia's voice: If this is actually the case...

Eolia's voice: ...Well, just be prepared for anything.

Next time: uh oh

P.S. VIDEOS IN THIS UPDATE:

Ys Origin gameplay video #3: Beast Medallion fight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usGjXGqGilo

 

[spekkio]

^Potential rapist detected.

^Lethermail bikins FTW!