Play Ys III: Wanderers from Ys Online

Summary

The TurboGrafx‑CD version of Ys III: Wanderers of Ys swaps the series’ classic top‑down view for a side‑scrolling platformer that feels oddly familiar if you’ve ever played Zelda II. Unlike its predecessors, you have to press a button for Adol to strike—there’s no auto‑attack, and neither he nor his foes enjoy a brief invincibility window after taking damage. All the familiar RPG trimmings survive the shift: experience points, equipment shops, and a magic system that now uses rings and calls MP “Ring Power.”

Mieko Ishikawa composed the original soundtrack, and for the CD‑based TurboGrafx‑CD release Masaaki Kawai arranged those tunes and added his own CD‑DA tracks, giving the game a richer audio palette. Critics responded well, with the TurboGrafx‑CD scoring an aggregate 80 % and individual reviews ranging from 6/10 to 8/10, confirming that the platforming experiment didn’t sacrifice the series’ core charm.

Storyline

Ys III: Wanderers from Ys drops you back into the world three years after the events of *Ys I* and *II*. Adol Christin and his longtime companion Dogi travel to Dogi’s hometown of Redmont, only to discover the village is under siege by the forces of Valestein Castle and the curse of the monster Demanicus. The mayor, Edgar, tasks Adol with rescuing him from a quarry and retrieving a mysterious statue that has drawn the attention of Lord MacGuire, the ruler of Felghana.

As Adol gathers the four ancient statues—each guarded by fierce foes such as a fire dragon and a mountain hermit’s guardian—he learns they were once used to seal the demon Galbalan. Chester, Elena’s brother, repeatedly clashes with Adol, but both are eventually saved from a cave‑in by Dogi. The statues become bargaining chips, prompting soldiers from Valestein to abduct Redmont’s citizens.

Adol confronts Bishop Garland and then MacGuire, who repents and offers reparations. When Elena is kidnapped by the weakened Galbalan, Adol is forced to bring the statues to the demon’s island fortress. After a tense negotiation, Galbalan is freed but quickly defeated by Adol.

The climax sees Chester sacrificing himself to sink the island and reseal Galbalan, while Elena and Adol escape. Back in Redmont, the heroes prepare for new adventures, and Elena confesses her love for Adol before they part at sunrise.