Ys III: Wanderers from Ys

"A great game, lost to the gaming world..."

It saddens me to think that almost everyone out in the gaming world will never see the anime elegance of Ys 3. The first of the Ys series released in America, it is a Hack n' Slash adventure game. The RPG mix is throw in with level gaining, but this is one of the true Adventure games of the SNES. Let's get started.

Gameplay 8- This side scrolling adventure mixes Mystic Quest type looks with Mario/Zelda movement. The game pits Adol, the main character, against many monsters through several dungeons on his quest to save the land.

Graphics 7- Although not superb, they get the point across. The foreground graphics resemble any other early SNES game, the old little midget guys running around doing stuff (i.e. Mario, Link, FF guys, and now Adol), but the backgrounds are stunning. Volcanoes, ancient castles, lush forest... they are all there. What also beefs up this game are the beginning and ending cinematics. Purely anime, these are what adventure games are all about.

Music and Sound 7- Repetitive music... yes. Catchy repetitive music... YES. I love these themes. Whether it's the peaceful town, with it's lively music, or the darkest dungeon, with the horror of fear. Sound hurts though. While the music is great, the sound takes from it. The sound effects are not that great, but they are not horrible either.

Replay Value 2- This game was $3 at my local Funco Land. You be the judge.

Story 7- Nothing spectacular, but good all the way. Adol follows his friend, Dogi (pronounced Dough-Gee, not Doggy),
back home and finds that an evil Wizard is plotting to take over the land. Adol takes it upon himself to go find some miners trapped in the nearby quarry, only to find himself on a heroic quest to stop the Dark Wizard.

Overall 7- Complete with the mighty hero, the fearsome monsters, the occasional plot twist, and tough bosses, this game is an adventurers dream. Hey, for $3, it was a great game, and even if it was more, I would seriously recommend picking it up.

Finding the game- Surprisingly, this game is very hard to find, even though it being $3. I have only seen two copies in my life. One at a video game shop long ago, and the one I have now. The reason it is so cheap is almost nobody knows of the games existence.

Guide- If you actually do find the game, and are stuck, I will be shortly posting a guide, which will be found here on Gamefaqs.com, and will only be on the previous listed site. Thanks for reading...

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/02, Updated 09/08/02