So I finished Ys 1 and I found it to be fun and charming. I read some random reviews at work and couldn't believe the IGN one. It's miserable. Check this out:
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As an example, Ys I's biggest dungeon, the Darm Tower, includes a malevolent hallway that immediately drains away all your health when you step inside its walls. The only way to turn off that instant-death effect is to find a hammer, then go back to a different, unrelated previous portion of the dungeon to locate one particular stone column out of dozens of similar-looking ones and smash a hole into it. What? Exactly. It's the kind of nonsensical disconnect that was totally common over 20 years ago, but in a "modern" product feels very out of place and just confusing.
Yeah, that puzzle is so obscure and archaic! It's especially confusing when an NPC trapped in the life-draining tunnel itself tells you that you're losing health because of the Devil Noise caused by the tower's structure, and that they must be using the columns outside like wind instruments. He then tells you to try and break one to set him free. I walked outside and used the hammer I had just received in the previous floor on each column in turn until one broke. THIS GAME IS SO HARD TO PLAY YOU GUYS!
So this is the person that modern Zelda games are made for, then. Indescribable.