Ys III: Wanderers from Ys
It's pronounced like "Ease", but I'll always say it like its the pluralization of the letter Y.
I recently learned the game was originally developed for the NES in the late 80's, but, from what I understand, was completely remade (Kishi, help?) for the SNES and Genesis some years later. It's this version which I discovered for the Genesis at a friend's house that led to me getting it for SNES not long after. Ys III is an Action/RPG with similar design and physics to Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. There are 16 experience levels, and the funnest way I've found to play it is to completely level Adol - the main character - up to level 16 at the start of the second dungeon (takes a few hours, but there's not as much of the monotony found in turn-based levelling) and purchase the second best armor and sword in the game (the best of each can only be found in one of the last dungeons). I should mention the ring system, which is a nifty gameplay feature that allows you to equip to Adol magic rings which are found throughout the game's various dungeons. These rings all offer their own unique support which is in effect until your MP, which is slowly depleted while the ring is equipped, reaches zero. The game can be difficult even with the extra support, and Galbalan is one of the hardest final bosses I've ever fought. I still find it to be incredibly fun, and I've beaten it a few times over the years.
I was just skimming through the July 2005 issue of EGM and came across some news in the International section that brought a smile to my face. Taito is rereleasing an updated version of Ys III and IV in Japan, this time with prettier graphics (2D PS1 quality; better than even late-SNES era, I'd say).
http://tim.digitalfault.com/hosted/ysIII1.jpg
http://tim.digitalfault.com/hosted/ysIII2.jpg
http://tim.digitalfault.com/hosted/ysIII3.jpg
I had to start a new game and burn through the first dungeon to get the old screens (sorry about the image sizes).
It's always nice to see a developer paying attention to old favorite titles, even if this particular game might not see a release outside Japan. Has anyone else played any of the Ys' series games? If not, any old favorites you want to see updated or receive a makeover (fallback cliche topic) ?
I spelled Wanderers wrong in the thread title.
