Seven hundred years before Ys I & II, demons drove the people of Ys into a sanctuary above the clouds, then built a tower to follow them. When the twin Goddesses who protect the land vanish in the night, a search party of knights and sorcerers descends to the surface, because there is only one place they could have gone: the Devil's Tower. Ys Origin is Nihon Falcom's prequel to the entire Ys saga, and one of the finest action RPGs the studio has ever made.
Two Climbers, One Truth
Story mode follows two members of the search party. Yunica Tovah is an apprentice knight who fights up close with axe and sword, while Hugo Fact is a prodigy sorcerer who controls the battlefield from range. Each has their own reasons for climbing, their own scenes, and their own memory of what happened on the way up. Finishing a story doesn't end the game either — further playthroughs unlock additional variations and characters, and the full truth of the ascent only comes together once you have seen it from more than one side.
A Dungeon That Never Lets Go
Ys Origin plays out entirely inside the tower, and Falcom makes that single dungeon feel enormous. Sand waterfalls pour through torch-lit sanctums, flooded halls give way to burning shrines, and every few floors the rules change: platforming stretches, spike traps, puzzles built around each character's abilities, and Metroidvania-style progression that turns new skills into keys for floors you have already passed. It is best described as an arcade-like platformer RPG, and the mix of action, exploration and story stays in balance the whole way up.
Boss Battles Worth the Climb
The screen-filling bosses are where Ys Origin earns its reputation. Their attack patterns are elaborate, their AI adapts, and beating them on the higher of the five difficulty levels — from Very Easy all the way to Nightmare — is the kind of challenge Ys veterans measure themselves against. Unlockable Time Attack and Boss Rush modes distill the game down to those fights, and Arena Mode pits you against massive hordes of enemies for unique rewards.
Made to Be Replayed
- Three unique playable characters in story mode, with additional variations and characters unlockable through other modes, so every clear opens up a genuinely different way to climb.
- Over 40 Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud support and hundreds of highly competitive leaderboards keep the Time Attack and Boss Rush communities honest years after release.
- Minutely configurable high-resolution graphics with true widescreen support, plus fully adjustable controls that work as well on a gamepad as on keyboard and mouse.
The Goddesses are waiting at the top, and the tower does not get easier the longer you stand at the door. Pick your climber and start the ascent.
