It's always towers in Ys.

I accidentally beat the game.

The Clock Tower is a one way path, and we're going up. We do that by climbing on various moving platforms. Some are blade looking things, others are cogs, and there are a few up-and-down hammers. Mobs are plentiful, especially slimes, so be careful not to accidentally fall off when swinging your sword. As we climb, we'll need to make a few leaps of faith or falls because the four statues are scattered throughout. Picking one up opens the door forward. At the top is a castle ramparts. You can get an amazing view of north Felghana and Genos Island, but it's clear it wasn't meant for such a widescreen display. Look at the void!

In the Clock Tower proper is a dispute between Chester and Count McGuire. Chester is telling his boss he's turning on him by condemning the Count's actions. Mark is trying to apologize, but his voice actor does an amazing job of making us wonder if he's repenting out of guilt or fear of Chester. It doesn't matter because Chester sees us. He's annoyed we've disobeyed again, so he attacks us. At level 47 ish, Chester couldn't harm me. I just tanked his attacks and spammed my own. Sorry, I can't give a strategy. I tried to be better with that.

Chester remarks on how we've gotten stronger, but this distraction allowed the Count to leave. He can only climb up, so we make our way there.

After a similar scene as before, Elena shows up. Rather than flee, she's somehow made all those complicated jumps. Elena doesn't care for revenge and assumes her family wouldn't either. They just want to rest. McGuire peeks up to inform us that he never planned for any of this. He only did what was told. Before he can answer who his boss is, we hear a voice. Bishop Nikolas!

It turns out the holy man has been pulling the strings for a long time. His devotion to god is actually Galbalon! Chester is still seeking vengeance and goes to attack, but Nik throws up a shield. Chester pulls out a special sword that breaks it, but Dularn teleports in to attack, totally disabling him. Adol, always the noble, tries his hand. It plays out better, but you'll notice that Nik lacks a health bar and beats us in time. Knowing we're weak and pathetic, he plans to kidnap Chester. Even with the statues, he needs the blood of Genos to break the final seal. Elena loves her brother and knows he can't go. She pleads to be the sacrifice instead, which Nik obliges.

Everyone returns to Redmont. Bernhardt shows up to take control of defending the town from the undead, and Adol quickly decides to go to Genos Island. Chester is resting in the mayor's guesthouse, and he gives us Geno's Sword before passing out. Dogi is waiting for him at the docks but collapses as we get there. Welcome to the Beginning of the End.

Waiting for us is our long time nemesis, Dularn. The fight plays out similarly to the first one, but they can clone themselves to cast energy waves at us. The real one isn't glowing purple and throws fire at us. But something interesting happens afterwards. Behind the mask is Sister Nell. Something happened at Illburn some years ago between her and Nikolas, which changed her views on god. She's been working on the shadows ever since. Before leaving, though, her sentiments change again, and she wants us to save the world.

Dark Shrine is very straightforward, and I appreciate that. Ys usually has overly long final dungeons, but this one is manageable. It can feel hard to navigate when you reach the area with the immortal beings, but it makes sense once you've gone through the circle. When you get to the floor with the pits, land on the raised area after you fall. Either fall through the hole or wind spin to get there. The Ravel Armor is at the end f that path. You can't kill the zombies without the Silver Chimes. It's down here in an obvious chest somewhere. As is the Lotus Hammer. After the giant werewolves is the final save point. Return to town and speak to Adonis, the blacksmith. With the Lotus Hammet and 1000 ravel, he'll construct the Ravel Shield. After a few minutes of grinding at the aforementioned werewolves, you'll have enough ore to fully maximize your armor. With them and level fifty or higher, it's time to end this.

In the room behind the save point is Nikolas Garland. He's evil because of something at Illburn, so he attacks. I tried to ignore most of his attacks, but you should jump when he pulls out a scythe. The only other thing to watch out for is when he turns into a spaceship. Go figure. With him dead, we can descend to the final battle. Save before going down.

Elena is tied up and begs us to leave. Eventually, Chester shows up to save her, which annoys Galbalon in the background. He wakes up and speaks. He talks of things we're not supposed to know about yet, so I won't spoil anything about the winged ones or the black ore.

Galbalon is a bit of a puzzle boss inside a bullet hell. To damage him, you'll need to throw fire at his purple head. It reveals a purple core, which we can attack with our sword for a moment. Use his ice platforms to get up there. Once the core is revealed, it pulls out a sword to squish you. Avoid it while continuing to spam fire. Eventually, Galbalon summons laser beams across the battlefield, and his arms come to smash us. Time their attacks right to get some shots in. At about 700 Hp, everything sucks. You'll have to play tennis with the core while avoiding a black hole that'll suck your HP if caught. The move has a long cinematic cutscene that sucks. I hated this part, and I'm reminded why I played on very easy. Try to get the black hold in a corner. But I won in two attempts once I realized why the ice blocks float.

Chester and Elena are with us, but Chester knows Galbalon is already recovering. He asks us to come to the elevator. And then things get heavy. Through tears, Chester tells Elena, "Farewell." He apologizes for everything but knows what to do. Elena is confused, so Chester continues. He knows a way to destroy the entire island, which should take Galbalon with it. With the statues and sword, it can be done. But he has to stay behind for it to work. Elena pleads for another way, but Chester thinks this is the only way he can repent. With no option, he punches his sister in the stomach, knocking yer out. Adol understands and takes Elena to safety. Chester sets stuff up as Galbalok begins to stir again. As it does, Chester raises the sword!

We jump to town and see everyone defending it from zombies. The earth shakes, and an anime cutscene shows a beam of light erupting from Genos Island. The zombie outside town turns to dust...

Some days later, Abel is preparing to leave. He's trying to speak to Elena, but she's locked in her hut out of grief. Dogi joins us to say it's no use, so let's say goodbye to everyone else.
The mine is about to open again, so most people are preparing to clean that.
Father Pierre is sad his friends are gone, but he's ready to be the head holy man for the town.
McGuire's kids have become good friends with Redmont's kids.
The parents are remorseful and ready to help repair Felghana. But diplomatically, this time.
All the other foreigners are pretty thrilled to be in Redmont.
Bernhardt is going to retire and become a boring townsfolk now.
Mayor Edgar has chosen to believe that Chester acted for the sake of the town.
After speaking to everyone, it's time to return to the docks and begin a new adventure. As we cross the bridge, Dogi stops. He wishes us well on our journey, but he can't come with us this time. Dogi's gonna help rebuild, so we're on our own again.
As Adol leaves and Dogi enters the inn, Elena recognizes that it's time to be brave as her brother wanted. Dogi tells her Adol left, so she runs after him. She catches up just as he's about to leave. Elena apologizes for taking so long, but she needs to see Adol off, or she'll regret it. She promises to be stronger and live for her brother.

The ending credits roll as we see more images of this beautiful country. We were only here for a few hours, but this quickly became one of my favorite cities ever. The final scene is of Elena waving us goodbye, but everyone made it seem like we'll come back one day. Falcom hasn't sent us back yet, but maybe that'll be Ys XI? Either way, the final image is of a sword sitting in rubble at the bottom of the ocean.

"Thank you for playing."

Ya know, I made a mistake during these writings. Officially, all the Ys games are retellings of Adol's adventures. What I should have done was write an actual travel log/book. But there are more Ys games, and I have declared this the summer of Ys, so...