So since my last post I finished Oath in Felghana, Ys Origin, Ark of Napishtim, and Ys Seven.
Just some quick thoughts for now:
Napishtim was probably the most disappointing. I can give it some concessions knowing it's the first of its style, but I wasn't too fond of the three sword system, it probably has the most tedious platforming, bosses weren't too interesting, and the enemy balance felt 'off'. Still not a bad game, but certainly outclassed by the titles that came later
Oath in Felghana on the other hand might be my favorite game in the series. A number of fun boss battles, especially the final one which might be my favorite battle in the series. Platforming was a little better - tricky enough not to be trivial but not too much to be frustrating. Narrative stays concise and works to drive the game forward. OiF also added a small but appropriate level of 'backtracking' in using new abilities to reach chests in old area, mostly for ore. Kinda wish there were more Ys games like this one.
Ys Origin is definitely up there too. Storywise, it's the most interesting in seeing how everything sets up for Ys Chronicles. Like Oath in Felghana, fun and fast-paced but still easy to get into. Challenging enough at certain points (boss battles or otherwise) to keep things interesting. Some really great music too. Yunica > Toal > Hugo btw. (random note, I didn't know how to properly fight the sand boss until the third time through)
I wrote this about Ys Seven in another thread
The story in Ys7 was super duper generic. A few decent characters though otherwise.
Anyways, bring on Ys 8.