Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (PC Engine CD + Fan Translation/Dub) First Playthrough, Part 2
1What's old is suddenly new again, midway through The Dawn of Ys...
This has to be the weakest, most awkward and ham-fisted part of the game, IMO. Apparently Hudson Soft felt the need to retread ground through a whole bunch of locations originally seen in Ys I, with nearly-identical layouts but new graphics. On top of that, we even get what essentially come down to rearrangements of the final boss fights from both Ys I and II. (Fortunately the Ys II final boss redux isn't impossible this time.)
Just when I began to wonder what the heck the developers were thinking, the game finally gets back on course and becomes more interesting again - in the form of possibly the game's most interesting dungeon, The Ruins of No Return. This dungeon is full of shitposts, but also features the most surprisingly metal boss intro of the entire game. What's even more interesting about this dungeon, however, is how it's cleverly featured as a backtrack location much later - and fortunately, too, as I completely overlooked an item there the first time.
After that point, we have more freedom to explore the full extent game world than ever before, involving some really interesting exploration that includes some fascinating backtracks for further progression.
As we near the endgame, we start to see some vague plot parallels between The Dawn of Ys and Memories of Celceta - but there are certainly more differences than similarities. The final boss in this version is completely unique - and it seems Hudson tried to make it almost as unreasonable as in Ys II, but I still consider this one not as bad. The final phase is unnecessary garbage that only exists to waste the player's time, though, which ends things on a pretty sour note.
In retrospect, I have a feeling that I completely misinterpreted the ending cutscene - partly due to my brain correlating it to cutscenes in Memories of Celceta, and partly because what the ending is truly insinuating just seems completely ludicrous in the overall scheme of the Ys universe today. But I guess if Hudson was approaching this as the completion of a trilogy (with I and II), I could see why they would go that direction.
I'm really glad I was able to experience this game. It's certainly not perfect, but it was extremely interesting. (And I think this game's version of Harlequin's Temptation has to be my favorite.)