Ys I & II Chronicles

Ys I & II Chronicles for PSP brings together the opening two adventures of Nihon Falcom's long-running action RPG series. Falcom released this PlayStation Portable remake collection in Japan on July 16, 2009, and XSEED Games published the English-language North American edition in 2011. It follows the red-haired traveler Adol Christin through Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished and Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter, preserving their connected story while presenting them as a single portable package.

The first game begins when Adol reaches Esteria, an island cut off by a supernatural storm and increasingly threatened by monsters. His search for the six Books of Ys leads through villages, caves, mines, shrines, and the imposing Darm Tower. Those books reveal the history of an ancient kingdom and point toward the source of the danger. Finishing the first quest carries the story directly into Ys II, where Adol arrives on the floating land of Ys and pursues the mystery behind its vanished civilization, its twin goddesses, and the evil threatening both worlds.

At its core, Ys I & II Chronicles uses the series' early real-time contact combat. Adol attacks by moving into enemies, so positioning matters: approaching at an angle or from the side is safer than charging head-on. Defeated foes provide experience and money, letting players improve Adol's abilities and buy stronger gear as new areas and more demanding bosses open up. The simple controls keep exploration immediate, while townspeople, item clues, equipment choices, and dungeon routes supply the role-playing structure around the action.

The two halves share a foundation but do not play identically. Ys II expands Adol's options with magic, which supports combat as well as exploration and puzzle solving. Spells can light dark places, return the player to previously visited locations, and affect how Adol interacts with the world. One notable transformation allows him to communicate with monsters, opening up conversations and hints that would otherwise be unavailable. Together, the games move from Esteria's grounded towns and ruins to the more fantastical setting of the floating Ys, with the second chapter building on the first game's premise.

This PSP edition is based on Falcom's later Windows remakes rather than the earlier PC Engine CD compilation that also paired the first two Ys games. Chronicles adds a PSP-specific presentation choice alongside the artwork used by the Windows version, allowing players to choose their preferred character-art style. It also includes three selectable musical approaches: a mode modeled on the original PC-8801 music, arrangements associated with the Windows Complete release, and a new Chronicles arrangement. These options make the collection a version-conscious revisit of the series' beginning instead of a straightforward copy of one older release.

Ys I & II Chronicles is a single-player introduction to the characters, places, and lore that underpin much of the Ys series. Its compact maps, direct combat system, steady equipment progression, and two-part narrative reflect the design of the original 1980s games, while the remake visuals and soundtrack choices tailor that foundation to the PSP. For players exploring Adol Christin's earliest journey, the collection offers both the quest for the Books of Ys and its immediate sequel in one continuous action RPG adventure.