This game was very enjoyable as it switched things up going full side view kind of like the second Zelda game. I enjoyed the game play a bit more than Ys Books I and II, which I played on the same system; however, that game has a better presentation. This one did not have the cut scenes, the voice acting was not top notch and the game felt a bit choppy. Still, I had a lot of fun swinging the sword; well, until I reached the final boss. He made me appreciate the bump battles of the previous two games. My fingers got sore trying to jump up to him and swing my sword!
The story has Adol and Dogi leaving Ys to set out on even more adventures. They soon head to Dogi's hometown due to rumors of things happening there. They find a town having an emergency at the mines and a plot by the nearby kingdom to try and awaken an evil demon to gain power. Adol must get the statues needed to bring forth this peril before the king so that this evil being will not be able to rule over the land!
The game play is quite different than Ys Books I and II as it is presented in a side scrolling style. In this one you swing your sword, but a lot of things are the same like the use of items and such. Adol also returns as it is so nice to have a recurring character in an RPG game. So often you either move forward or backward in time having a totally new set of warriors or in Final Fantasy you are often in a totally different world.
So, I liked this one; however, my guess this one may have been less enjoyed by those who did not care for the change of perspective. The game is not too long, I think the main reason I took as long as I did was due to me constantly backtracking to by more herbs and such. That last battle was so BS though as a boss kept reappearing meaning I could not enter the final battle at full power. Yeah, I did not like the final battle much! I look forward to playing more Ys games, they are very entertaining.