I randomly bought Ys 8 one day and it hooked me. I loved the blend of exploration and battle, though I agree the party mechanic takes away a bit. Since then I've finished Memories of Celceta and started pretty much everything else that's easily buy/emulatable. However, I also really suck at games so I regequit a few, the others I just keep getting distracted in the middle of playing them.
Only thing I have to add to your 1st and 3rd rating is that the 3d movement in areas where the game basically turns into a side scroller is a bit trippy. Heck that's what made me quit Napeshtim, it was really hard to coordinate the attacks on the stupid moth battle so it just ended up going on for ages and I kept dying because I couldn't find the thing's hitbox.

Me and my best friend started playing YS 6, because we recognized  olha from a picture we saw in the internet, when we were kids 😅. Years later and i bought lacrimosa of Dana, started playing and wondering why the "red-haired guy" was so familiar. Bought every YS game i could get my hands on ever since

The ark of Napishtim was my first Ys title back in middle school, I loved it. Currently playing origins, damn good!

Number 3 really shocked me, because people usually don't appreciate this game, which I'm grateful because it deserves all the love :)

Ys origins was the first I played in the series and to this day my favorite and most replayed entry in the series.  I really enjoy the no nonsense dungeon crawl.

my fav are the latest ones, ys lacrimosa of dana, monstrum nox and nordics, i also didnt have a good experience with origins, every time i tried that game i manage to get lost and have no idea were to go to continue the story

I'm not super familiar with most of the Ys games so I had to reference my steam playtimes to double check if I had played some of these.
Ys Origins was my first game of the series and I had a lot of fun with it, which lead to me playing Oath in Felghana which I also had a great time with. I do have Ys 1+2 with only an hour of playtime. I did not vibe with the combat system at all. The footage of Ark of Napishtim in this video looked really familiar to the point where I swear I've played it, but steam shows I only have 1 minute of playtime. I do remember my pc not wanting to run one of the games, so I'm guessing this is that game. All of these games I had played a long ass time ago.
More recently I got Ys 9 on playstation, got the platinum trophy and loved it. It's definitely my favorite. After that I got Ys 8 and was really liking that one too, but I got pretty far in and messed something up for the platinum trophy, didn't want to restart and gave up.  This is from the perspective of a person who is a "gameplay first, story never" type player.

Very nice ratings, I started playing ys when it came out on the Vita with Celceta and became a huge fan. Celceta, Ys 8, and Ys 7 have become my top 3 out of the series. Really fortunate that there's so many titles to play with the Vita and PSP entries.

Oath in Felghana is my first Ys game, after that I play everything except the Strategy, Mobile, and V (which was translated recently for PS2). I'd probably marathon this game again if I have time.

Quick note: Ys V Expert wasn't the PS2 version (which is a very different game), it was also a SFC game.... and came out three months after the original. Proud Nordics is positively generous by comparison! Also I'm not sure I'd say it was the first without bump combat, though  Ys III's weird combat behaves more like bump in practice than action despite having a sword swing button.

Ys VI I find way too annoying in places (platforming, Orjugan) to have that high on the list, but any other differences I have with your opinions are like single pair flops barely worth typing or reading.

i never played Ys series but i heard it was fun.. so my first game is Ys 8 lacrimosa of dana but i couldn't enjoy it all.. i felt bored while hacking and slashing my way through maps..
there is something isn't right about it for me.. maybe my history with playing many action rpg games in the past.. i felt the game didn't manage to stand out much to get me hooked..

but recently i bought Ys origin at winter sale.. i got hooked! it is well tight experience and it feels good despite it's simplicity.. i finished it! then went immediately and bought ark if napishtim +  oath in felghana!
now i understand why the top down versions of Ys games felt good to play..  i think the transition to totally 3d games similar to Ys 8 has lost some of the classical charm or feel from these top down games..
i might give the other 3d games a chance.. but for now i will enjoy these gems.

Ys is one of the most legendary RPG series from a legendary developer. I honestly feel like Falcom never misses...well except for Strategy but that's a different story. lol

As for favorite Ys game... I honestly don't know since they're all great. I'd probably would have to agree with Oath in Felghana, especially since I liked the original Ys 3. But I'm also one of those sickos who really liked Mask of the Sun despite its shortcomings. I spent an entire week last year on that game, on Christmas week no less, trying to beat it. I do hope you do that big all Ys versions review cause I'd like to hear what you'd think on the earlier versions of Ys games.

Great list. I absolutely agree with your top 2 picks but I still have Ys VI in my backlog. I'd put Ys: The Ancient Ys vanished a couple positions higher since it's incredibly fun and its PSP remake was my entry point to the series. And it requires player to actually pay attention to the story to put on the right set of armor for the final boss fight. It's very clever.

I'm new to your channel, but i like every video I've been seeing. Great work! Hyped!

First off, yes, I would love to see every version of every game ranked. Some of the ports of some of the entries -- most notably 1 and 4 -- are really different from each other.

My personal favorite is 2, followed closely by 1, because those are want the series "is" to me. I'm torn between Chronicles and the TurboGrafx, but if I had to pick, I'd say the Turbo. Behind that is Felghana, then 6, then the Genesis / Mega Drive version of 3, then Dawn, then 7 (and, by extension, the other "party system" games). I haven't played 5, 8, 9, 10, or the two spinoffs. I've had a ton of fun with 6, Felghana, and 1 and 2, though. I agree that Felghana's soundtrack is really good, but that's because 3's was so iconic. My favorite version of the soundtrack is the X68000 version, but the Genesis, PC-88, Felghana, and even PS2 each have their standouts. I do agree that Felghana's "Valestein Castle" is one of the best tracks in video games.

A man of good is you, my friend! I love Oath in Felghana. It is soooo good, and belongs in your #1 spot!

I still remember the ultimate enjoyment of playing Ys 1 on the Master System. It was so good. After ys 1 , 8, and 10 are fantastic, and Origins is a fun hack and slash.

Had a feeling you were making this video after the Star Ocean video. My ranking for the ones i've played would be:

1. Ys 8
2. Ys X
3. Ys 9
4. Origin
5. Felghana
6. Ys 7
7. Celceta
8. Ys 6
9. Ys 2
10. Ys 1

I think all of these games are good and can understand why someone would rank certain games over others. Honestly the only placings set in stone is my bottom 4 and my number 1 ranking. And I think that just shows how great this series is. Great list dude.

I played my first Ys game on the psp 6 months ago. It was the oath in felghana lol guess I know how to pick em because I had a blast and now I'm working my way through the switch titles. Good to know which ones to pick up on other platforms from this video though. I got origins for 5 bucks last week so playing that right now

I'm still an Ys newcomer, but I have played Oath in Felghana, Origins and Lacrimosa of Dana this year and liked them a lot. I'll probably play Ys IX next.