The Plot Thickens

Adol was shoved into a bottomless pit by a friend of a friend. Good thing there's no fall damage in this franchise!

We now have to figure out if there's a way to the surface. Spoiler: there is. But we'll need to wade through a maze of lava, bees, and a horde of flees. Head left first. We'll end up exploring everywhere, but our goals start west and end east, so it's a natural counterclockwise formation. If I remember right, at least. If you reach a river of lava that you can walk in, don't bother yet. There's an accessory, the first of the game, that negates lava damage. From the first room, go north to find a new sword. Follow the path down and follow it until you reach another chest. This contains another magical bracelet: wind. Using this bracelet allows Adol to float in the air. He also spins on the ground if used there, but I'm more interested in floating. When you pick it up, Ol' Dularn shows up and says they'll need to stop us after all. As we return to the lava puddle, flames erupt behind us, and we'll need to flee. But we can't run for long as a skeleton lava dragon shows up.

Guilen reminds me of Zelda's Twinrova boss. The red one, at least. It jumps into and out of holes in the floor. It'll chase after you, making it hard to attack. You can only damage the guy by beating up its tail. It slowly loses body segments until only the head remains. It took me four times, but three of those tries were because I accidentally fell into a hole en route to the bracelet.

From there, you can leave via the east area, which you'll need to float to do. It's a bunch of platforming, and falling takes you to a room with deadly flees. Eventually, we'll reach a bridge and another boss, Gyalva.

This was the boss that made me put down the game after I just bought it. I couldn't read its attacks or even see why I was dying. I don't think using wind magic is wise. When it floats over the bridge, just jump and attack it. Or hope it knocks some platforms up (but not flipped). Five tries! The rest of the path returns us to the Illburn Ruins. Fall down the hole, but float across for an upgrade gem first.

Chester is waiting for us. He had a feeling Adol would survive, and now he wants the statues. This reminds me that we saw a scene between Chester and McGuire where they spoke about needing four such statues. We're halfway there! As Chester threatens us, we hear Elena's voice. Dogi escorted her here after he failed to find his master. The siblings argue because, while Elena wouldn't stand in any way of her brother, so long as it's with his heart, she simply wanted to know where and why? Chester states that he's bored with Elena. He's sick of babysitting and wants to do something with his life. Live in Remont was too dull and tedious for our slimy antagonist. Dogi also yells at him, but Chester counters by reminding our friend that he, too, left this country eight years ago. Regardless, Chester walks off, and we return to the mayor.

After a long talk that I don't recall, Dogi surmises we should learn about local legends. They may have a clue about the statues. There's a mural in the mines... We leave town, but Elena catches up to us. She gives us the ability to fast travel, so we can explore more! Ys 3 is a Metroidvania. The key item we need is in the mines. Float across a broken bridge to find Bob's Momento. Return that to his mom for a glow in the dark thingy. It'll help us in the new mine region.

This section is straightforward and a side scroller. But there are a few secrets to find. At the bottom is another ice boss, Isterseva. This bug has two forms. One's a worm that vomits crystal bugs at us, and the second form I killed before picking up on attack patterns. That part didn't even touch me. One shot!

Behind this guy is a giant mural. It speaks of an ancient warrior from the west named Genos. A monster called Galbalon was beaten by the warrior. Beaten but not defeated. The warrior could only seal it. He says more about the four statues and their locations, which explains everything. I'm passing out writing this, so I'll look for the final thingy...

...tomorrow!

Still dealing with sickness aftershocks, I guess. I'm falling in love with the franchise again and might be theming the summer!