4/5 ★ – Matt_TooFast4U's review of Ys I & II Chronicles+.

At their core, Ys I and II are 30+ year old games covered in layers and layers of paint, having been remade and remastered countless times while remaining completely true to the original vision in every sensible way. As such, it's worth going into these knowing that. That said, I had a great time playing through these. You're thrown into a tightly packed, yet still very explorable world that encourages you to look everywhere and do everything, while grinding experience out of demons to some kickass music. Both games have a similar setup, but II has significantly expanded mechanics and a much tighter story that pushes you deep into the world. Combat has been greatly criticized, but I don't see the issue. To kill enemies, you need simply run into them at an off center angle; it's easy to understand, it takes practice to master getting the right trajectory. But when you get it down, there's great satisfaction to be found in mastering the combat, as it makes grinding even easier. Ys II makes it easier by introducing diagonal attacks and ranged fire magic. The plot is simple, but the story goes very deep, and to even have a hope of accomplishing anything you need to embrace it. As a result, these games may be best played with a guide on standby, as the levels of cryptic (especially in Ys I) get positively insane. The music absolutely makes this experience what it is, and who else but the legendary Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage series, Revenge of Shinobi) to compose the soundtrack? From hauntingly beautiful to adrenaline pumping, his compositions have lasted through every single remake of these games, brought to Chronicles in glorious orchestral form by Yukihiro Jindo. Ys Chronicles is the start of a long series, and while not necessary to play the later games, and get very cryptic, these two are epic experiences I fully recommend, especially at their current prices on Steam these days.