Lost Classics: Wanderers From Y’S (SNES, Genesis, Famicom, Turbografx CD)

Remember when Nintendo released Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? Its side scrolling gameplay was and still is a radical departure from the series. The most we would see of another 2-d Zelda are the crapfest CD-I entries, but the less said about them, the better. However, Y’s III, Wanderers from Y’s is pretty close to what another 2-D Zelda would be like. Ironically, Y’s III itself is a departure from its norm, as all prior and subsequent entries are from the top-down perspective (in fact, a 2005 Windows remake of the game is done with an over the top view with a 3-d graphics engine).

The game once again puts players in the role of series hero Adol Christin, as he and his friend Dogi visit Dogi’s hometown of Redmont. Seems some strange things are happening there, and Adol takes it upon himself to investigate. Before long, he gets mixed up in something involving monsters, demons, and such. Unlike the previous entries, this is a platformer with RPG elements. You now have to press a button to swing your sword (as opposed to just running into enemies like in the first two entries), and there is some typical platform jumping. Along with gaining levels, you can equip several rings which grant special powers. Cool boss battles, catchy music, large areas, and an interesting storyline round out the package. Y’s III was ported to several systems at the time of its release, but its most well known port in the United States is the Super Nintendo version, which was released shortly after the system’s launch. Hopefully this should show up on the virtual console in the near future, as Y’s Book I & II, (the Turbografx-16 port of the first two games) is already available on the service.