Has anyone played the Japanese version of Y's I & II ?

[stargate]

I was looking to pick this game up for the Duo. The Japanese version seems to be a little easier to find than the US version, but I was wondering if it is too difficult to play, like would I have to learn Japanese to play.

[chadtower]

I beat the Japanese version of this back in the day. You could probably get through it though it would take a lot of hunting and pecking. There are numerous very extensive walkthroughs on the net that can help you out.

[stargate]

I beat the Japanese version of this back in the day. You could probably get through it though it would take a lot of hunting and pecking. There are numerous very extensive walkthroughs on the net that can help you out.

So am I safer going with the US version? Is there a lot of Japanese text and stuff?

[chadtower]

It's one of those RPGs where if you don't talk to the right person or open the right door the next stage of the game will never present itself. that can be frustrating if you don't know what anyone is talking about.

[maxlords]

Actually the Jp one is much rarer than the US one. US one is pretty common.

[chadtower]

My experience is the exact opposite. During my years as a TG only collector I would see the Japanese versions of a lot of games far more commonly than the US versions. Remember, that was a huge system over there with many more millions of users... here it was an afterthought months after release and they didn't make nearly as many copies of anything.

[Kid Fenris]

Bear in mind that Ys Book I and II was bundled with the American version of the TurboDuo. Though the system was hardly a widespread success, its pack-ins are nonetheless easier to find than other Turbo CD titles. Ys was quite popular in Japan, but I don't believe it was ever included with any model of the PC-Engine or Duo.

I'd suggest the American version of Ys Book I and II over the Japanese one. Not only is it easier to play, but there's something pleasantly nostalgic about the game's English voice acting, which includes Michael Bell, Alan Oppenheimer, and other stars from popular 1980s cartoons.

[Jorpho]

There's a translation project afoot for the enhanced PC remake (2001) of Ys I & II. Looks darn shiny:

http://rigg.servegame.com/translations/yseternal/index.html

[GaijinPunch]

I played teh JPN version on the Saturn. Basically the same layout, and does rely on you talking to the right people. I think with a walkthru you'd be fine though.

PS: The Japanese release is by no means rare.

[maxlords]

PS: The Japanese release is by no means rare.

Really? I was under the impression that the Jp Duo one was a $30+ game...

Either way, as a pack-in in the US, an English one should be muhc easier to find.

[chadtower]

PS: The Japanese release is by no means rare.

Really? I was under the impression that the Jp Duo one was a $30+ game...

Either way, as a pack-in in the US, an English one should be muhc easier to find.

It used to be a $30 game, back when every TGCD was a $30 game. The TG prices have dropped pretty dramatically over the past couple of years. There aren't many $30 games left for that system. I don't think counting the fact that it was a Packin for the Duo would really help its rarity issue. The Duo sold only a fraction of the units that even the TG or TGCD sold. The Duo was like $400 and came out late in the life of the TG...

[Kid Fenris]

I don't think counting the fact that it was a Packin for the Duo would really help its rarity issue. The Duo sold only a fraction of the units that even the TG or TGCD sold. The Duo was like $400 and came out late in the life of the TG...

Yes, but the Gate of Thunder 3-in-1 disc, which was bundled with every Duo, is fairly easy to find as Turbo CD games go. (It has an R3 score in the DP guide, while the majority of Turbo CD listings lie above that.) Ys Book I and II was a pack-in throughout the Duo's short life, so it stands to reason that the game was produced in the same quantities as Gate of Thunder. When one takes into account the game's original 1990 production run, it's safe to assume that Ys Book I and II is among the more common Turbo CD releases in terms of available copies.

If Ys Book I and II is hard to find, it’s probably in the same class as the SNES version of Final Fantasy III (FFVI); there are many copies out there, but the game's too popular to stick around for long in the wild. Perhaps that's why Ys is an R4 instead of an R3.

On a related note, there's a rumor that NEC removed all of the pack-in titles from TurboDuo boxes after the system failed. I have no idea why they'd do this, or what they did with the loose games.