Music from Ys

First of all, everyone should realize that this CD is not a music CD to the PC Engine Ys 1 & 2. This CD came out in 1987 and was before the PC Engine game. Therefore, it is very unfair to judge this disc by its PC Engine counterpart. Instead, this is the original soundtrack (they should have labeled it that way to avoid confusion and disappointment) to the Ys music on the personal computer.

The general perception on this disc is not good. I must admit that the first 34 tracks were recorded in such a way that rivals most of the MIDI files found on the net and would probably bring back the sweet memories of Ys on the Sega Master System. However, from track 35 on, you'll notice there is a diamond collection under this pile of dirt. So, take out the diamond and throw away the rocks. The very best songs in senses of composition and excitement (in fact all these tracks were later used in the Perfect Collection disc) are arranged in a way to rock the house down. As a bonus, they included the score sheet to all the used music in Ys. I really liked this disc.

I must have listened the last five tracks a million times before got rid of this CD (I bought Perfect Collection). So to those who don't want to spend $40 on Ys Perfect Collection, this Music from Ys is recommended.

Argh! Anyone expecting anything near the aural joy found on the Ys Book 1 and 2 CD soundtrack (as I was) is in for a rude awakening with Music From Ys 1 (and 2, for that matter). Tinny beeps, bops, and static percussion noises rule the first 35 or so minutes. It almost sounds like it was composed on... the PC Engine itself! In fact, when you first hear the new versions of the old PSG-generated songs on this disc, you'll swear they're the same as from the game. Upon further listening, however, the songs appear to have been slightly enhanced (the key word here is "slightly").

There are two bright spots to all this: 1) You finally get to know the names to all those great songs (well, great when they're performed with decent-sounding instruments), and 2) You'll finally know how Ys would have sounded had they released it on a chip rather than a CD. Joy.

The last batch of songs are, thankfully, fully arranged and do the Ys/Falcom legacy justice. In fact, a couple of them were later used on the "Perfect Collection" discs in slightly enhanced form. In summing up, if my 2 "reasons" for buying Music From Ys work for you, or if you really want the handful of almost Perfect Collection-quality tracks, these CDs are for you. Otherwise stay away.

Sad. First, you'll notice that a 53-minute CD has 39 tracks, averaging to about a minute and fifteen seconds each. Take that as fair warning. I expected to hear the excellent Turbo CD music, and was sorely disappointed. The music sounds, frankly, like it is being piped through the 8-bit Master System. Still, these do have a certain historical value, as Ys is widely considered to be, musically, the best series in the industry. Heck, the liner notes even have the sheet music from some of the pieces. However, the pieces are so simply done and miserable sounding that you probably won't need the music anyway.

The final five tracks are nice, as they are all remixes. They're extremely well done, and the list of synths these songs were done with is long and impressive, more like what we all expect from J.D.K. But frankly, you'd do better to download the MPEG sound files of the Turbo version from the net. In fact, MIDI versions *on a Soundblaster 16* would sound better than the majority of this recording.