The end of summer.

Ys Origin/s is a weird but fun gaiden story that takes place 700 years before the main continuity of the Ys saga. It's the only game that doesn't star Adol the Red, for obvious reasons, and it's the first with multiple characters. I don't know what fun little quip to add or further information, and I'm kinda burnt out, so let's skip it.

Plot: trifecta! Origin has three different, conflicting stories. They can't work at the same time, but important character elements seem to carry over across all three. Roy and Miuscha love their MCs no matter the arc, so there's always going to be a love triangle when Hugo is important... Regardless, though, all three of them are very fun and emotional. They're all about overcoming personal adversity through excessive trials and tribulations (if you play on normal difficulty). There's heartache and sorrow, climatic battles, and fitting endings. But those endings aren't simple "everyone is perfectly happy" nonsense. A few of the bosses are kinda just evil for the sake of evil, though. 9/10

Gameplay: could use variety. No matter who you play as, the world is exactly the same. Same enemies, bosses, and even plot points. Toal has differences, but the formula doesn't stray too far. It's all very fun, don't get me wrong. Yunica and Hugo are vastly different, and Toal's magic makes him stick out, but these twenty five floors get kinda boring after a while. 9/10

Sound: JDK Sound Team. Falcon doesn't mess around with its Ys soundtrack, and Origin fits in with the rest of the franchise. I love how the Wailing Blue is the Darm Tower theme from Ys I! It's a weirdly short OST, but everything fits, and there's enough to go around. 10/10

Art: perfect. I'm pretty sure every mob is unique, or at least there's nothing I could callback to. They're kinda small, though, but it works. It has the same "problems" as the other games in the engine in that aspect. All the magic spells are different, as are every sub level of the tower. 10/10

Charm: where it unravels. The entire game is in one location. It tries to vary it up, but it's still just a biome in a tower. It's gonna limit you. That also makes it feel like it's on rails, limiting exploration. There's nothing really hidden, even though there are several items that should make that a big thing. And because there's just so much repetition, it kinda kills any potential It Factor despite being such an amazing experience. 6/10

I called the game repetitive, but it's not tedious. It's fast paced to prevent that, unless you choose the harder difficulties or are achievement hunting. So there are no negatives, meaning Ys Origin gets a more than solid 44/50.

When I ranked Origin from memory, I tabbed it at about a 38, which is the Metacritic rating. I don't know if Origin as an introduction to Ys is good, but it's such a fun prequel to something I enjoyed. If you're a fan of the franchise, it's a must play. And it's got plenty of standards for the action-adventure, hack-and-slash genre. It seriously makes me want to play the first two games, but I can't. Summer is over, I'm kinda burnt out, and I need something different. I think my next game fulfills that...