Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished/Minea and Zepik

Town of Minea
You arrive in Minea with 1000 gold to your name. Minea is fairly large, with many people to meet with, and a number of buildings to investigate. Of particular interest are the weapons and armor shop in the lower right corner of the town, as well as Sara's Fortunetelling business in the lower left corner of town. You may also be interested in Pim's pawn shop (around the middle of the left side), the bar (near the center of town), the clinic (to the right of the bar), and Reah who simply stands in the upper right corner of town.

Shopping
You will need to head down to the weapon shop and armor shop in the southern portion of the city. It looks like a building with two doors; the one to the left is the weapon shop, and the one to the right is the armor shop. The weapon shop only sells swords, but the armor shop sells both armor and shields. A Short Sword is 500 gold, Chain Mail is 400 gold, and a Small Shield is the most expensive at 700 gold. With your initial 1000 gold, you will clearly not be able to buy all three. You should start with a Short Sword and Chain Mail, and then save up for the Small Shield. Even if you are playing one of the remakes and obtained a free Short Sword, you will still have to save up for the shield. Only if you first perform the good deed described below, and obtain the free sword in the remake, is it possible to fully equip yourself without leaving town.

A good deed
If you visit Pim's pawn shop, you will find a few useful items like the Wing and the Mirror. But you may also notice that he has a Sapphire Ring for sale for 1000 gold. You might be reluctant to spend all that you have on a ring when there are swords and armor to purchase, but go ahead and purchase it.

Later on as you explore the town, you may stumble upon the bar and its patrons. Near the bartender are two men. The shorter one with the eye-patch is particularly upset over the loss of a ring that he purchased for his wife. If you speak with him again, he'll notice that you have it, and he'll ask you to return it to him. If you agree, he'll be so overjoyed, that he'll give you 1500 gold in return, netting you a nice 500 gold profit. You'll also earn a small amount of experience points (150 in most versions).

It should be noted that in the remakes, it's possible to haggle with Pim and make him lower his asking price (or raise his offer price). To do this, you must consider buying (or selling) an item nine times, but canceling the transaction just before you agree. On the tenth time, he will agree to a lower final sale price, or a higher offer to purchase what you have to sell.

Sara
You are free to visit and speak with people in any order you like, but ultimately you must go visit the fortune teller Sara. If you are not yet completely armed with a sword, armor, and a shield, Sara will tell you to come back when you are fully prepared.

Once you are outfitted with each piece of equipment, visit her again, and she will ask you if you know about the Books of Ys. If you say that you do not, she will explain that they contain the history of a land that mysteriously vanished, and they possess great power. If you say that you do know about them, she will tell you that she thinks one of the books is located in the Shrine north of Zepik Village. She will ask you if you are willing to help her retrieve it. If you agree, she will thank you can give you Sara's Crystal, which will serve as a key to the interior of the shrine. You will also earn a small amount of experience points (100 in most version). She will also tell you to visit Jeba Tovah in Zepik Village for more information about the Shrine.

Reah
There's not much you can do to help Reah at this time, but she will tell you about the loss of her Silver Harmonica. In fact, if you were thorough about speaking with people, you will begin to see that most items made of silver seem to be in scarce supply. Make a note of Reah's location, as it will be some time before you have a reason to speak with her again.

Original
In the original version, Minea is located in the south west corner of the plains. A river effectively cuts through the center of the plains, separating the west side from the east side, and the only bridge that connects them is far to the north. One large Roda tree can be found near the bridge, while a second one can only be reached by traveling south through the east side and crossing back over to a small island that is inaccessible from the west side. The entrance to Zepik Village can be found near the upper right corner of the Plains, and the entrance to the Abandoned Mine can be found along a short path above the entrance to Zepik.

Remake
In the remake, the Plains are divided into 8 sections (the lower left section is entirely submerged and inaccessible.) Leaving Minea deposits you in the center of the southern region of the Plains. Like the original, the only means of accessing the east portion of the plains is to travel all the way to the north until you find a bridge that lets you cross over some water. However, there are new regions to explore to the west. In addition to the monsters that you find throughout the Plains, you will also encounter wild Pikkards, cousins of the small furry creatures that are being raised in Barbado Port. In this version, the first Roda tree is actually found in the north west corner of the Plains, and the entrance to the Abandoned Mine is found directly north of the entrance to Minea, as opposed to being located close to Zepik.

There are two new items that can only be found in the remake versions. One is the Bestiary Potion which gives Adol the ability to learn statistics about the monsters that he fights. It takes about five kills to learn one of the five possible statistics. Three are shown on the screen as you fight (HP, STR, and DEF) while the last two (EXP and Gold) can only be seen through the Notes selection on the pause menu. The other item is the Parchment. The words written on this parchment are in a language that Adol does not understand. Ultimately, you should give this item to Reah, but only when you have the item she is actually looking for.

Exploration
As you travel north along the west side, you will encounter the two weakest enemies in the game, the Curloids and the Oakrots. Stay in this area, close to Minea, as you practice fighting enemies and learn the combat system. Remember that you will automatically regenerate lost hit points when you stand still. Just make sure that you find a safe spot to stand in first.

Once you have reached level 2, you may want to venture further from Minea. If you cross over the bridge to the east half of the Plains, you will begin to encounter the dog-like Rhebolls. They are stronger and faster than the other two enemies, but fighting them is no different. If you position yourself correctly, you should be able to defeat without taking any damage.

There's little else of interest in the Plains at this time. There is one place worth investigating. South of the entrance to Zepik Village, you will find a pond. If you search all around the edge of the pond, you should eventually notice something flashing in the water. Upon investigating the flash, you will discover the Golden Vase. This vase has no actual gameplay purpose, it's only use is to be sold at Pim's pawn shop for (at least) 2000 gold. If you do this early on, you can upgrade to one of the second tier pieces of equipment, including the Long Sword, Plate Mail, or Medium Shield. Early on in the game, you'd be wise to improve your defense before you increase your offense.

Zepik Village
When you explore Zepik Village, its citizens will appear to be quite a bit older. As a result, there's much wisdom to learn here, but also much speculation. Many of the occupants put much faith in their village's prized possession, the Silver Bells, to keep monsters from entering and attacking. However, all it takes is one trip to the mayor of the village, and agreeing to keep his secret, to discover that the bells no longer reside in Zepik. He suspects that the thieves who live high along the mountain path are responsible, and he will ask if you would be willing to negotiate with the thieves. If you agree, he will ask you not to share this information with the villagers.

Another important resident of Zepik is Jeba Tovah, the woman that Sara told you to visit. She will recognize the crystal that Sara gave to you. She will provide you with the Shrine Key which you need to physically enter the Shrine. She will give you some advice, and then send you on your way. To reach the Shrine, you must travel along the mountain path, whose entrance is located in the upper right corner of the village. However, it's a good idea to ensure that you are at least level 3 before you attempt to enter the path.