For whatever reason, I've never been very good at spelling the word "Ys". Yes, I know it's only two letters, but there's something about the simple spelling that messes with my head. Watch the video to learn the awful truth about Ys Book I & II, and don't forget to subscribe to the Defunct Games YouTube channel for more great videos.


This word is pronounced Ys. Don't get too excited, I've know how to pronounce that since I was twelve. No, I didn't spend hours figuring it out; I simply listened to the game's brief introduction.

See, Ys. But as easy as it is to say, I've always had a hard time spelling it. Sure, it's only two letters and much easier to spell than, say, Daedalian Opus, Nobunaga's Ambition or SSX. But as it turns out, I've been spelling Ys incorrectly for most of my life. And you know who I blame?

Okay, so it's not just GamePro's fault, but I do blame shoddy games journalism for my problems with Ys. This is how the game spells it, capital "Y," small "S" and no apostrophe. As it turns out, the logo has never had an apostrophe. So why is it that I always want to add the extra punctuation?

Maybe it's because that's how Electronic Gaming Monthly spelled it. And not just EGM, but also Die Hard Game Fan. In fact, just about every magazine at the time spelled it with the inappropriate apostrophe. And it didn't just stop with Books I and II, game critics continued to misspell the name even after Wanderers From Ys hit store shelves.

Believe it or not, it took until 2010's Ys Seven to break this bad habit. I had been spelling Ys wrong for two decades and didn't even realize it. I was floored. I felt like Bruce Willis in that one movie where he was dead the whole time. Die Hard, I think. How could this be? Why would EGM do me like that?

Even to this day, I have desires to add the unnecessary apostrophe. That's why I'm finally speaking out. I'm somebody who has been hurt by shoddy games journalism. I'm not just a number. Together we can work to overcome this plight on society. We can finally take the apostrophe out of Ys. Won't you stand with me?