In his never ending quest for power, the Shadow King has released his evil minions on a peaceful land. As young Merlin, it is your job (with a little help from the Lady of the Lake) to destroy the king's forces and restore order and peace.

As you travel throughout the land, you can pick up items and weapons such as matches, combs, shooting stars, lightning bolts, silver stars, snow flakes, air bubbles, balloons, bubble wands, flowers, and lanterns. These and other items help you do such things as fly, attack the enemies, clone your image, and beautify yourself to distract the enemies. With an assist from the Lady of the Lake, you can use gems to create magical items. Flowers can also be used to create magic.

The good guys in this game include: mermaids, who can provide you with air, an elf, who can give you a new rune for your staff, and Melody, a fair maiden who Merlin is most taken with. The Shadow King's minions include: the dumb, but brutal Oinkmers, the hooded Shroom Goons, the man-eating Vile-Ettes, the thorny Snarl Shoots, and the overly fertile Spyder. At the end of the game, you must defeat the Shadow King himself.

This is the second game in the long-running Ys action RPG series. A bright light shot up from Dahm Tower in the end of the first game, and our hero Adol Christian is awakened by a young girl who finds him lying on the ground. She introduces herself as Lilia and tells Adol he is in the land of Ys. Finally he was able to establish a connection between his world and this mysterious land! But finding the gateway to Ys is not enough: Adol must stop the evil entity that his archenemy Dark Fact served. And his foes already know where he is...

This game is a direct sequel to what PC players know as Ancient Land of Ys (of which the original NES version was simply called Ys), and is also the same game (story-wise) as the second part of Ys Book I & II for TurboDuo. The game play utilizes an unusual action RPG combat style, where you don't press any attack button, but run into your enemies in order to cause damage. You should choose the angles and the measure of contact with the enemy carefully, otherwise you'll be dead. You can (and should) level up, perform quests for village people, gather money, and upgrade your weapons and inventory, like in any other RPG.

The third installment in the popular Ys series of RPGs (and the only one for the Genesis) finds our heroes traveling to the town of Kenai, where a mysterious evil has taken root.

Great graphics, great sound, good gameplay, and an intriguing plot (albeit a gawdawful long intro to wade through - good thing you can skip it). This is one of the all-time best Genesis RPGs, and is a heckuva lot better than that laughable SNES version....

Wanderers From Ys is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom Corporation. It is the third game in the Ys series.

Plot:
The opening scene informs the player that it has been three years since the events of Ys I and Ys II. Adol Christin and his friend Dogi are on a journey to Dogi's hometown of Redmont. Upon arriving, they learn that the townspeople are being threatened by men from nearby Valestein Castle. Always ready for adventure, Adol decides to assume the task of helping them out.

Gameplay:
The gameplay of Ys III is a sharp departure from the previous two games. Instead of the previously used top-down camera view, Ys III has become a side-scrolling platform-action styled game. The combat has also changed: the player must push a button to make Adol swing his sword and attack enemies.

The RPG-style statistics and experience system still exists in Ys III, however. A new addition to this area is the "ring" system: Adol can acquire and equip rings that provide special effects while equipped. A new attribute, "Ring Power", is consumed while rings are active.

Ys IV: Mask of the Sun is an action role-playing game developed for the Super Famicom, and is the fourth game in the Ys video game series.

Plot:
Ys IV is an interquel which takes place in between the events of Ys II and Ys III: Wanderers from Ys.

After returning to the town of Minea, Adol comes across a message in a bottle. The message is from the far-off land of Celceta, asking for help. Adol decides to take the offer and boards a ship to the land of Celceta.

Gameplay:
Ys IV returns to the style of play used in Ys I and II. Adol is viewed from a top-down perspective, and he attacks enemies by running into them to cause damage. Adol gains experience from defeating enemies, and gaining experience serves to raise his strength, as in the previous games. A new Magic system is introduced as well, in which Adol can equip elemental swords to cast various types of attack spells.

You are Adol Christian, a red-haired adventurer and expert swordsman. One day you encounter a fortuneteller who sends you on a quest to find information about the six books of Ys. It appears that there was once an ancient land called Ys, whose secret was sealed in those six books. Before long you learn that the six books were all stolen by the evil wizard Dark Fact (Malificus in PC version). It is your task to defeat the villain and to discover the secret of Ys!

"Ys" is an action RPG with original combat: instead of pressing the "attack" button, you simply run into the enemies you encounter. You do more damage if you run into them from the back or from the sides - a head-to-head collision might result in Adol's death if the monster is stronger than him. You gain gold and experience points for defeating your foes; once you have gained enough experience, you level up and become stronger. You can buy and equip swords, armor, shields, and other accessories.

You are Adol Christian, a red-haired adventurer and expert swordsman. One day you encounter a fortuneteller who sends you on a quest to find information about the six books of Ys. It appears that there was once an ancient land called Ys, whose secret was sealed in those six books. Before long you learn that the six books were all stolen by the evil wizard Dark Fact (Malificus in PC version). It is your task to defeat the villain and to discover the secret of Ys!

Ys is an action RPG with original combat: instead of pressing the "attack" button, you simply run into the enemies you encounter. You do more damage if you run into them from the back or from the sides - a head-to-head collision might result in Adol's death if the monster is stronger than him. You gain gold and experience points for defeating your foes; once you have gained enough experience, you level up and become stronger. You can buy and equip swords, armor, shields, and other accessories.

An excellent RPG, but doesn't have the playability of Ultima, Phantasy Star and Spellcaster. Even so, it's a real puzzler.