Download Episode 97: “The Music of Ys – Volume I” here!
Nihon Falcom’s Ys series follows the adventures of Adol Christin as he battles the forces of evil across countless lands. As fantastic as the games are, the music (in typical Falcom fashion) is famous across the world for it’s amazing music. Meiko Ishikawa and Yuzo Koshiro joined forces when the series was young to delight the ears of gamers everywhere, and the soundtrack quality hasn’t faltered since. Join the PTR guys as they pick some prime examples of Ys music from the first four games in the series, from a vast variety of consoles and soundchips!
Thanks to Niko the WiiGuy, Chris Murray, and The Diad for submitting PixelChat questions. Send YOUR questions for us to answer at pixeltunesradio@gmail.com!
Special thanks to Dan Kelly for the Nick Carney musical jingle!!
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The Tracklist:
Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished (1987)
Composed by Yuzo Koshiro, Mieko Ishikawa, Masaya Hashimoto, and Takahito Abe
TG-CD Arrangement: Ryo Yonemitsu
1 – “The Morning Grow” – (PC-88, 1987)
2 – “Tower of the Shadow of Death” – (TG-CD, 1990)
3 – “First Step Towards Wars” – (SMS, 1988)
Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter (1988)
Composed by Yuzo Koshiro, Mieko Ishikawa, and Hideya Nagata
TG-CD Arrangement: Ryo Yonemitsu
4 – ”To Make The End of Battle” (FC, 1988)
5 – “Moat of Burnedbless” (TG-CD, 1990)
6 – “Palace of Solomon” (TG-CD, 1990)
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (1989)
Composed by Mieko Ishikawa
TG-CD Arrangement: Ryo Yonemitsu and Keita Hoshi
SNES Arrangement: Michiharu Hasuya, Masaaki Harada, and Osamu Kasai
Genesis/ MD Arrangement: Yoshiaki Kubotera and Noriyuki Iwadare
7 – “Trading Town of Redmont” (TGCD, 1991)
8 – “Welcome!” – (SNES,1992)
9 – “Ruins of Ilverns” (Genesis, 1991)
Ys IV: Dawn of Ys (1993)
Composed by Atsushi Shirakawa, Naoki Kaneda, Takahiro Tsunashima, and Masaru Nakajima
10 – “A Great Ordeal”- (PC Engine CD, 1993)
Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (1993)
Composed by Yoshiaki Kubodera, Masanori Hikichi, Miyoko Takaoka, Naoyuki Ito, Tomohiro Endo, and Hiroo Tengenji
11 – “Minea Port” (SFC, 1993)
12 – “Field” – (SFC, 1993)
PixelTunes Radio VGM Podcast 
Great fun, guys! As a real-life version of Nick Carney, I’m going to have to insist that you pronounce the SMS version of Y’s: The Vanished Omens as “eyes”, since the pronunciation guide on the title screen labels it as such. Or we can just go with the Mike version and pronounce it “Ee-su: Hard Corpse”.
Speaking of the SMS, thanks for throwing us Master System nerds a bone. Not only was that my first(and primary) exposure to Y’s, but it was my first experience with an adventure game, and some of my first formative VGM experiences altogether. I thought the track you picked was a strong track no matter what system, but I recognize I’ve got nostalgia-colored lenses on. The thing you can’t accurately represent with a digital file is the buzz of the CRT mixed with the hum of the crappy TV speaker softening and compressing those square waves. It somehow adds a tension to the quieter tracks, especially with that game.
The rest of the tracks were also great, but of course you knew that. Ed, I’m with you on not liking the Mega Man X-style guitars. The detuned sound of SOME Super NES music really turns me off, particularly that tinny MMX vibe. In short, I liked the Y’s III SNES stuff quite a bit more than its sequel. In fact, back when Y’s III came out, I was really turned off at the idea of a side-scrolling action adventure……but given both your glowing recommendations of the game, I might just check the SNES version out!
Thanks, Utopianemo! I’m really curious about your thoughts on the SNES version… I know it’s a hotly-contested argument about which is best, usually based on which version the player tried out first. Also, if you have the means to check out the Ys I X68000 version in any capacity, i recommend it. It’s so… weird! In a good way! LOL
-Ed