Ys III (Wanderers from Ys) Genesis Playthrough
1After playing the PC Engine CD version of Ys III and being surprised at how I was able to breeze through it, I turned to the Genesis version, which I have never played, but seems to often be compared favorably directly against the SNES version. This version certainly evoked a few memories of what I remember from SNES as a kid.
There are still plenty of similarities between this version and the PC Engine CD version: the levels and plot (and even names) seem identical. There are two notable differences, however.
The first is that EXP grinding is far more frequently mandatory in this version, as level-ups are fewer and farther between, and you seem to be expected to gain one level ahead of each subsequent boss on average. This felt most problematic in the very early and very late parts of the game - as the difference was particularly felt with the first couple of bosses, and there are no levels left to grind for the endgame to soften the final boss. I made one concession to make retrying that fight more bearable, but I fortunately did not need to resort to debug mode, the way I did with SNES as a kid.
The second notable difference is that the translation is far lower quality in this version, with a ton of grammatical issues.
I was wondering how the OST turned out in this version, as Genesis game music tends to either be excellent or abysmal depending on whether any effort and skill was applied. Fortunately, this is very much in the former camp, and the OST is a worthy contender. I do think some arrangements fall short in this version, though. I was particularly disappointed by the arrangement of The Boy Who Had Wings, but investigating further, I realize this may actually have the most faithful rendition when compared to the PC-88; there are just some aspects I think don't turn out well in the mix in this version.
At any rate, this version seems solid enough, but it's definitely more difficult than the PC Engine CD version, and I am not a fan of how picky the final boss's hitbox is. I suspect SNES will be very similar; hopefully this prepares me well enough to revisit the version from my childhood next.