You know I honestly forgot why I even played Ys III again but this time on the PC Engine CD. I have no segway for this. Honestly there isn’t much to add to this review that wasn’t said when I reviewed the PC-88 version via the Eggconsole release. I’m kind of surprised just how similar the two are.
The game does have a few cinematics that are new, I even like how it tries to connect with Ys II. I am surprised they kept the intro cutscene where Adol walks in an endless room that looks like one of the last rooms in the game. This version is also based off the PC-88 version meaning it’s not too challenging and the final boss is still shockingly easy. The music was given CD quality and it sounds amazing, this is hands down the version you should play if you want the best soundtrack. The background scrolling is kind of bad in this version due to system limitations. There’s also voice acting and while it’s fine, I think it ends up dragging the game’s pace and it can’t even be skipped. Adol also doesn’t have voiced lines for some reason despite still having his controversial dialogue. I’d also recommend playing the Japanese version as the dub for this game is horrible, I don’t know why it’s so much worse than Book I & II but it just is.
In the end it’s just Ys III, if you liked it before then you’ll like it here but if you didn’t well this isn’t going to change your mind. I’d argue this could be the best version I’ve played just because of that music and plus if you’re using an emulator, you could just speed up the slow paced dialogue. There doesn’t seem to be difficulty options like the PC-88 version so I’m sorry for you hard mode lovers out there. The game ends on a to be continued screen which makes me question if Ys IV will even connect to this game. Well that’s all I have to say, see you in a month or two when I play Ys III for a fourth time…maybe.
The game does have a few cinematics that are new, I even like how it tries to connect with Ys II. I am surprised they kept the intro cutscene where Adol walks in an endless room that looks like one of the last rooms in the game. This version is also based off the PC-88 version meaning it’s not too challenging and the final boss is still shockingly easy. The music was given CD quality and it sounds amazing, this is hands down the version you should play if you want the best soundtrack. The background scrolling is kind of bad in this version due to system limitations. There’s also voice acting and while it’s fine, I think it ends up dragging the game’s pace and it can’t even be skipped. Adol also doesn’t have voiced lines for some reason despite still having his controversial dialogue. I’d also recommend playing the Japanese version as the dub for this game is horrible, I don’t know why it’s so much worse than Book I & II but it just is.
In the end it’s just Ys III, if you liked it before then you’ll like it here but if you didn’t well this isn’t going to change your mind. I’d argue this could be the best version I’ve played just because of that music and plus if you’re using an emulator, you could just speed up the slow paced dialogue. There doesn’t seem to be difficulty options like the PC-88 version so I’m sorry for you hard mode lovers out there. The game ends on a to be continued screen which makes me question if Ys IV will even connect to this game. Well that’s all I have to say, see you in a month or two when I play Ys III for a fourth time…maybe.
Definitely prefer the overhead view to the side view for Ys games but this was still a quick and fun game. The parallax scrolling is jank and the voice acting is lackluster compared to the first two titles yet the soundtrack is outstanding. It's also not the hardest version of Ys III due to the unbalanced leveling but I enjoyed mostly breezing through the game and getting hit with a section or a boss that took me a few tries. It somehow made for a well paced adventure.
Now this is the actual page for my favorite version of my favorite Ys game! It got mixed up with so many other ports and due to me searching it with the Wanderers from Ys subtitle I couldn't find this one. Anyways, Ys III Wanderers from Ys on the Turbografx16-CD / PCE-CD has what is, in my opinion: THE BEST SOUNDTRACK OF ALL THE 80s! "This port was released on 91" DON'T CARE, THIS OST's ESSENCE IS ROOTED IN THE 80S AND IS THE GREATEST REPRESENTATION OF ALL 80s MUSIC! Is such a fantastic soundtrack it turned a game with mid gameplay and just decent story into ONE OF MY FAVORITE GAMES EVER! I love this version's ost so much it somehow made The Oath In Felghana's remixes to feel like a downgrade somehow. THE OATH IN FELGHANA, calling yourself better than The Oath in f*cking Felghana is not something many games can be proud of.
weird game! it's got incredible music (easily in contention for the best version of this soundtrack), weird difficulty balancing, a pretty fun presentation and aesthetic, and its about as short as ys 1 too.
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they make the bizarre choice to have adol talk but only in text boxes, but its still strange to see him have a voice, and mostly he just says variations of "elena you are too much of an innocent girl to go into danger you must flee" which is a choice alright. most of the rest of the game gets actual VA, and it's charmingly awkward and feels very of its time in a way i enjoyed.
the difficulty of the game is strange, half the bosses melt instantly when you find the right spot to stand and the other half are kind of annoying and take a bit to figure out how best to approach. the regular stage enemies are the same, with most posing no threat but an occasional one who can do a ton of damage with just one touch.
despite the weirdness i had fun with this game, despite shifting to a zelda 2-ish side-scrolling platformer, this game maintains the feeling of speed that ys 1 and 2 have, and the game is quite short overall, so it really doesn't overstay it welcome. definitely recommended if you have an afternoon to kill and are curious!
standout track: so hard to pick just one honestly, the whole thing is amazing, but here
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they make the bizarre choice to have adol talk but only in text boxes, but its still strange to see him have a voice, and mostly he just says variations of "elena you are too much of an innocent girl to go into danger you must flee" which is a choice alright. most of the rest of the game gets actual VA, and it's charmingly awkward and feels very of its time in a way i enjoyed.
the difficulty of the game is strange, half the bosses melt instantly when you find the right spot to stand and the other half are kind of annoying and take a bit to figure out how best to approach. the regular stage enemies are the same, with most posing no threat but an occasional one who can do a ton of damage with just one touch.
despite the weirdness i had fun with this game, despite shifting to a zelda 2-ish side-scrolling platformer, this game maintains the feeling of speed that ys 1 and 2 have, and the game is quite short overall, so it really doesn't overstay it welcome. definitely recommended if you have an afternoon to kill and are curious!
standout track: so hard to pick just one honestly, the whole thing is amazing, but here
I played this after already playing the SNES version, which is significantly worse. So this feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison, with how much better balanced it is.
Absolutely love those red book audio arrangements of major selections in the soundtrack by Ryo Yonemitsu.
Absolutely love those red book audio arrangements of major selections in the soundtrack by Ryo Yonemitsu.
Eh? It's an interesting idea, but I just don't really vibe with it as a whole. Even as someone with a soft spot for games that radically switch up the formula like Zelda 2 I don't have much to say about it. I do think it's interesting, but oh my god if the bosses aren't just being nothing and dying they're being actively frustrating. I absolutely loathe the abandoned mines second visit and it has maybe my least favorite boss in the series. The random warp is so jarring and it's just very very irritating.
That being said I love being quirky so I'll still call myself a real #WANDERER and hypebeast this game a little. It's got stuff worth checking out if you're really deep into the series and just wanna see what they worked off of for Oath in Felghana, cause seeing both close together made me appreciate both more!
That being said I love being quirky so I'll still call myself a real #WANDERER and hypebeast this game a little. It's got stuff worth checking out if you're really deep into the series and just wanna see what they worked off of for Oath in Felghana, cause seeing both close together made me appreciate both more!