8/10

The playthrough was separated into 3 parts. The first two are alright, but the third one... phew someone from Falcom absolutely cooked up some good food there.

If this is the first Ys game you're playing; welcome to the Ys family, you're gonna love it here! Also, you should probably Google Digital Emelas and have at least a quick browse, especially if you're wondering what's the best order to play these games.

Graphics: Old school but charming. I really like the art for the character portraits even if it's probably a bit bland for some people.
Story: Good but basic. The lore is more what's interesting, especially if you play this after Ys I and II (which I recommend)
Gameplay: This is the meat of the Ys series and this one is no different. The timed bonuses you get from beating enemies really make the grinding fun and fast paced.
Controls: Definitely best with a controller. I had to change the button config because the default one wasn't great though.
Music: Another Ys staple. I couldn't tell you where I would rank this sountrack but the intro to this game is one of my favorite tracks in the whole series.

The only thing I would consider a downside in this game is that you have to beat the game three times if you want to experience the whole thing and play the three protagonists. It can get pretty repetitive as the environments aren't all that varied but then again it's pretty short as far as JRPGs go...

This is one of the best games in the Ys series in my opinion. The boss fights are a lot of fun; same with the dungeon layout and exploration. It was not at all a chore to play through the game three times to experience the three stories, and there is enough different about the the three characters, their stories and different boss fights to keep it interesting