Developer: Tonkin House Publisher: Tonkin House Release: 11/19/93 Genre: Action RPG
Ys IV was an interesting project. Falcom tried to remedy the issues fans had with Ys III by making it a side scrolling action game a la Zelda II. But it was not taken very well. The problems with that game were more than just the change in viewpoint in my opinion but I digress. So for the fourth installment they went back to what worked initially but could not make it themselves. Tonkin House would create Ys IV: Mask of the Sun for the SNES and stick closer to Falcom’s design document. While the game is a solid effort it is clear that it was rushed and suffers in the process.
Despite being the fourth game Ys IV takes place between Ys II and III. After the events in Esteria Adol begins to relax. However he comes across a message in a bottle from the distant land of Celceta asking for aid. Always seeking adventure Adol immediately sets off to find whoever sent the message and to learn what is going on in Celceta.
Ys IV returns to the overhead view and bump system of combat from the first two games. You must run into enemies off center to inflict damage. Once you are a level or two higher than an enemy you can simply crash in to them and kill them immediately. Unfortunately Mask of the Sun is a bit of a regression. Ys II added magic which was a nice compromise to those who did not want to play Madden with enemies. Magic still exists but in the form of elemental swords. However you do not receive these until mid-game and the attacks are so weak it is not worth it. Dawn of the Sun has 8-way movement which makes combat smoother. Its absence here is notable as beyond its sister title this had become standard in the genre at the time.
The pace in Mask of the Sun is fairly brisk. Adol and the enemies move quickly which makes combat a bit frustrating. The monsters move so fast that by the time you line up to attack they will shift causing you to take damage. At least there are various ways to heal damage. The leveling pace is fairly fast and even ten minutes or so of grinding in each area will cause you to become overpowered. You receive new weapons and armor so fast it almost is not worth buying anything in shops as they become obsolete in minutes.
The rush to release first hurts Ys IV in its dungeons the most. The dungeons are not short but they are mostly straightforward and boring. There are many dead ends and paths that serve to waste time more than create an interesting space to explore. Puzzles are rare and outside of the two final dungeons not the least bit creative. Apparently someone wanted to drag out the play time as there is a lot of needless backtracking that grates on the nerves. It becomes bearable once you can teleport but that is not until the last third of the game.
It is hard not to compare Mask of the Sun to Dawn of Ys but it is unavoidable. On nearly every level Dawn of Ys is the superior game. The dungeons are fun to explore, the quest is longer and more interesting, and combat is more satisfying. The boss battles are especially better from an aesthetic and mechanical standpoint. Because the two games were made from the same loose blueprint they share locations and plot points. The character portraits, voice acting, and cutscenes in Dawn of Ys do wonders to help flesh out the plot. This is not because the game is on a CD; outside of maybe the voice acting there is nothing that could not have been replicated on a cartridge. Mask of the Sun could have been much better with more time in the oven.
At the very least playing through it is a painless process. I would not go so far as to say it is easy but more measured in its difficulty. The leveling pace is brisk meaning grinding is kept to a minimum. You receive equipment upgrades so frequently that it is not worth grinding gold. The dungeons can be long but always have one or two areas that allow you to regenerate health. Later in the game you receive the hero sword that can restore health and in combination with the various healing items the only points that may pose a challenge are the boss battles. Since you can save anywhere it is little impediment to die and try again. So even though I have issues with various aspects of the game it is still fun, it just had the potential to be more.
In Closing
Ys IV: Mask of the Sun is decent overall. But the rush to release first has hurt it. Most of its gameplay ideas fall flat but at least its core makes up for it. In a vacuum it is solid if flawed. But compared to its counterpart Dawn of Ys it is lacking. That game is superior in almost every way and the one I would go to first. perhaps that is what is most disappointing; you can see the game it could have been with more effort. Mask of the Sun is still worth playing but only after the many better action RPGs on the SNES.
