i feel that time has been really kind to ys i, particularly thanks to this stellar remake. i played with the 2001 "complete" assets just due to it generally feeling and looking more suited to what i like out of this series aesthetically - so shoutout to this version for providing those options.

in returning to ys for the first time in around a decade, i was thrown back to the newgrounds-era "rpg" flash games you'd see around a lot; three towns, a dungeon, a few bosses, referential humor... it's really cozy. ys i complete is like a really, really polished version of that with some kickass tunes and memorable areas. having just come off of my first playthrough of ys origin, it was especially cool to revisit darm tower in its original state - i'd totally forgotten this connection to the original!

some backtracking and boss fights are a little nonsense, and i'd complain more about the whole level grinding thing if it didn't cap at 10. playing the steam version, i did need to fuck around with the settings to make the final boss actually palatable thanks to a still-unresolved glitch in that release... but all things considered, yeah, this was a fun ride. between this and origin, i'd consider myself a fan of ys thus far!