The Ys games, primarily developed by Nihon Falcom and published by various companies over the years, have been brought to a wide range of platforms when they’ve been released in the United States. Modern Ys titles are typically published by Nippon Ichi Software’s American branch, which is headquartered in Santa Ana, California. With Nordics releasing next week and a remake of another title coming next year, let’s take a look at all the different platforms you can play the Ys games on.
Ancient Ys Vanished
The first Ys game, Ancient Ys Vanished, was originally released in Japan in 1987. In 1989, it was brought to North America for the Sega Master System, MS-DOS, and Apple IIGS. It was ported to Nintendo Switch earlier this year, by D4 Enterprise, as part of their Eggconsole line of classic PC game ports.
Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter
This immediate sequel to the first game was originally released in Japan in 1988. It wasn’t made available in the US until compilations of Ys 1 and Ys 2 started being sold, often developed by studios outside of Falcom. However, like Ys 1, D4 Enterprise has brought the PC-8801 version of Ys 2 to the Nintendo Switch.
Wanderers From Ys
Wanderers From Ys was released in Japan in 1989. In North America, it was released for SNES and TurboGrafx-CD in 1991, and for SNES in 1992. D4 Enterprise ported the PC-8801 version of Wanderers From Ys to the Nintendo Switch in May of this year. This game eventually saw a remake in the form of Oath in Felghana.
Ys 1 & 2
Starting in 1989, Ys 1 and Ys 2 started to be sold together. In 1990, it was released in North America for the PC Engine and TurboGrafx-CD by NEC Technologies. 2009 saw a Nintendo DS port of Ys 1 & 2 by Atlus, and in 2011 Xseed Games brought the game to PlayStation Portable. Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles+ was released worldwide on Steam and GOG in 2013, and Dotemu released mobile ports (for Android and iOS) of Ys Chronicles I in 2015 and Ys Chronicles II in 2016.
The Ark of Napishtim
The sixth game in the series, The Ark of Napishtim, was released in Japan in 2003. It was released in North America for the PlayStation 2 in 2005, followed by a PlayStation Portable release in 2006. Xseed Games released the Steam and GOG versions worldwide in 2015, and in 2022 Taito Corporation released worldwide mobile ports for Android and iOS.
The Oath in Felghana
The Oath in Felghana is a remake of Wanderers From Ys, using the same engine as The Ark of Napishtim. It was released in Japan in 2005. In 2010, Xseed released the North American PlayStation Portable port. They also released the worldwide Steam and GOG ports in 2012. This game is also set to receive a remake next year, which will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
Ys Origin
Ys Origin, a prequel to the main Ys games, was released in Japan in 2006. Xseed released the worldwide Steam and GOG ports in 2012. Dotemu released the console ports of Ys Origin – PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2017, Xbox One in 2018, and Nintendo Switch in 2020.
Ys Seven
Ys Seven was released in Japan in 2009 for the PlayStation Portable. In 2010, Xseed released the North American localization of the PlayStation Portable version, followed by a worldwide release for Steam and GOG in 2017. As of now, these are the only platforms the game is available on.
Memories of Celceta
Memories of Celceta is the canonical version of Ys 4, which was originally developed by two studios outside of Falcom. Falcom released Memories of Celceta for the PlayStation Vita in 2012. The following year, Xseed released the North American version of the PlayStation Vita game. 2018 saw the worldwide release of the Steam and GOG versions, and in 2020 Xseed brought the game to PlayStation 4.
Lacrimosa of Dana
Lacrimosa of Dana was released in Japan in 2016 for the PlayStation Vita. It was the first of the mainline Ys games to be localized by NIS America. NISA’s initial localization of the game, released for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 in 2017, was plagued by performance issues and poor localization. These problems led to the Steam and GOG version being delayed until 2018, followed by the Nintendo Switch port. 2020 saw Lacrimosa of Dana brought to Amazon Luna, though the game is no longer available on that platform. In 2021, it was also brought to Stadia, though Stadia shut down last year. The game was brought to PlayStation 5 in 2022, and a mobile port has been announced.
Monstrum Nox
Monstrum Nox was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 in 2019. Like Lacrimosa of Dana, it was published by NIS America outside of Japan and its Japanese Nintendo Switch port was released by NIS. It was released in North America for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and GOG in 2021, followed by a PlayStation 5 release in 2023.
Nordics
Nordics released in Japan last year, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. It is likely to be the first of the Ys games to have been developed natively for the Nintendo Switch, rather than having a Switch port developed by the publisher. Next week, it will be released by NIS America on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and GOG. On Monday, NIS America released a free demo for Nordics that is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.
Final Thoughts
Of the mainline Ys games, only 3 have never seen a North American release. Tonkin House’s Mask of the Sun and Hudson Soft’s The Dawn of Ys, both released in 1993, were never released outside of Japan as they were eventually superseded by Memories of Celceta. Likewise, 1995’s Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand was never released outside of Japan. However, Falcom’s current president said in an interview last year that he wants to remake the game before he retires.
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