Ys Music History

 

Review by · January 20, 2010

This is a sample CD of music that came as a preorder bonus with Ys SEVEN for PSP. It covers music from Ys 1 through Ys 7 (including Ys Origin, the Felghana remake of Ys III, and multiple remakes of Ys I and II).

The CD serves as a great reminder of two things: first, that there have been a ton of remakes for the Ys series; second, that remakes for Ys IV and Ys V are notably lacking. There’s a sudden drop in musical quality when we reach the Ys IV and Ys V music (written between 1992 and 1995). There have never been true remakes created for either of these titles (as of this soundtrack review being written). As much as I’m happy to be playing new Ys games, it would be great to enjoy Felghana-quality versions of IV and V, and that goes for the quality of the music too. That said, it’s not all bad. “Celceta” sounds decent on this disc, after all.

The original and arranged music on this disc really is a fantastic sample of what makes Ys so great. If you pick up a copy of this album, but you aren’t feeling selfish enough to keep it (since you already own much of it), maybe give this CD to a friend that doesn’t know Falcom Sound Team JDK all that well. This CD could bring them into the fold!

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Patrick Gann

Patrick Gann

Therapist by day and gamer by night, Patrick has been offering semi-coherent ramblings about game music to RPGFan since its beginnings. From symphonic arrangements to rock bands to old-school synth OSTs, Patrick keeps the VGM pumping in his home, to the amusement and/or annoyance of his large family of humans and guinea pigs.