Which Ys games are the best or worth playing?

[mormapope]

Was thinking of getting Ys Seven, seems like a great starting point.

[Great Rumbler]

Ys Origin and Oath in Felghana are both pretty good.

Ys Seven is a bit different from the older games, I think?

[mormapope]

Ys Seven has a party system and no platforming. Oath is considered to be the best according to people online, but it is a lot shorter than Seven.

[archnemesis]

Rumbler is right. Ys Origin or Oath in Felghana are great games to start with. The original two games are also really good.

Ys Seven is pretty good, but it suffers from bloated dialogue, an unnecessary crafting system, and uninteresting side characters.

[tiesto]

Best games:

-Ys: Oath in Felghana (PC) - probably most peoples' pics for favorite Ys game
-Ys Origin (PC) - one of my absolute favorites in the series, a precursor to Adol's adventures (it doesn't even star him) all confined to Darm Tower, but it's the ultimate distellation of all that makes Ys good
-Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (Turbo Duo) - the best of the oldskool run-into-the-enemies games, spectacular soundtrack too, probably my all time favorite Turbo game

Good games:

-Ys 6 (PC/PS2) - the first game to use the engine seen in Origin and Oath in Felghana. Not as polished as those games but still really good
-Ys 7 (PSP) - takes away the jumping and replaces with a roll, game seems a bit more drawn out compared to other Ys games, and it has lots of talky dialogue
-Ys Oath in Felghana (PSP) - not as good as the PC port since the visuals are much more difficult to make out on the small screen
-Ys I and II (Turbo Duo)/Ys I and II Eternal (PC) - you can't go wrong with either version, the PC one isn't as fast and responsive as the Turbo, but has better graphics. I do prefer the Turbo soundtrack since it's a bit more 80's synth and less orchestral than the arrangements on the PC version.
-Ys Memories of Celceta (Vita) - has some issue with slowdown and pacing due to its large, maze-like areas and wordy story. Not to mention it expands on the crafting and loot gathering that got its start in Ys VII. Not a bad game but it lacks the brevity that makes the Ys series so attractive

Meh:

-Ys III (Turbo Duo/SNES/PS2) - incredible soundtrack, gameplay has been replaced by simple side scrolling
-Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (SNES) - a completely different game from Dawn of Ys and Memories of Celceta, and the weakest out of all of them. Forgettable soundtrack, gameplay doesn't feel as refined as the others.
-Ys I and II (SMS/NES/DOS) - certainly playable, but if you want oldskool Ys you're much better off with the Turbo version
-Ys V (SNES) - brought jumping and sword-swinging into the overhead Ys template, but visuals/story/music feel more like a forgettable SNES action RPG than a Ys game. Pretty short, sluggish movement, and lacking in the feel of adventure or the great boss fights of Ys.
-Ys VI (PSP) - extremely slow loading times, maybe if you pirate it it won't be so bad

Haven't Played:

-Ys I and II (X68000) - what's interesting is the art style in this version, it looks like a western RPG and has digitized actor portraits in lieu of anime art
-Ys I and II (Saturn) - seems more of the same but replaces the vivid colors of the other versions with a more reserved, grittier color palette
-Ys III (Genesis) - not sure how this differs from the Turbo or SNES versions, but I'd assume it has the worst music of the 3 at the very least. The rarest of all the Ys III games, too.
-Ys VIII (Vita/PS4) - initial Japanese reviews seem to be fantastic, but it's also the longest and most story-heavy game in the series by far (that Kiseki influence...)

[archnemesis]

That's a great summary. I only want to add that the PSP remakes of Ys I and II are great.

[Joe Molotov]

I played Ys: Ark of Napishtim and it was p. good.

[demi]

All of them