I had hoped to try and get back to this game today. Unfortunately for any hopes I had of finishing Y's II, I recently picked up a handful of great games. FTL is freaking amazing, Terraria is a great little time killer, and Thomas is Alone is a funny and pretty interesting platformer. The nail in the coffin for Y's, however, was the fact that Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was delivered today. Also, Harmoknight is released tomorrow.
In other words, this will likely be the last thing I have to say about Y's.
Y's Book I & II is exactly why I love Retroactive so much. It's a really interesting game, both historically and on it's own terms.
Historically, Y's I & II is significant because it embodies a time when video games were still embryonic as far as genres went. When Y's was released, video game mechanics and the genres with which they became associated were not as solidified as they would later become. This is both what makes these two games so interesting and unique, but I suspect it is also what contributes to them being so confusing and at times frustrating.
On it's own terms though, I feel Y's I & II works. The primary feedback loop of 'kill enemies, level up, unlock upgrades, fight stronger enemies' really worked for me. Much like Faxanadu before it and Zelda II after it, Y's I & II are immensely satisfying.
With all that said, Y's I & II can also be pretty obtuse. No where was this more apparent to me than in the level design, which was without a doubt the biggest issue I had with both games. For each area which was comprehensible and fun to navigate there was one which was decidedly not.
For every Burnland (good)
There was a Mine (bad)
or a Solomon Shrine (also bad)
Y's I & II is a game that I feel better for having played, but not one which I necessarily always felt good about while playing. I certainly did have some fun, but towards what I suspect was the latter half of Y's II (I don't intend on finishing the game and therefore may never know) the convoluted and tortuous labyrinthine designs of the areas finally wore me down. Y's I & II are interesting games, perhaps even good ones, but they are also very flawed ones.