This game is the first Ys, to come to north America, and it landed on the master system which allowed it to have a great non censored story.  I played this game a couple of times as a kid, I think I was around 8 or 9 years old.  I would walk out to battle the enemies, and I could not figure out how to attack, and I would run into enemies with no equipment on and die right away.  I knew nothing of buying equipment and equipping them back then, and running into enemies to kill them, I could never figure it out as a kid.  So I hated the game and buried it in the backyard, never to be seen again as I moved out 5 years later (I wonder if its still there.)  I picked up Ys 3, years later and I loved it, so as an adult I decided to play this game again, and I would have to say this game rocks.  The game came out in 1987 and it was different compared to most game at that time.  You have to buy and equip items and weapons, the running into bad guys was, and still is a bit weird, as I know they could have put in a swinging animation.  But still in the end its a pretty good game and I would recommend playing it.  Well here are the ranking by the Master of the Wolf.  The ultimate rankings.

Graphics: 7.  I gave this game a 7 in the graphics department, because the graphics in 1987 were alright.  At the time there were better graphics out there, but this game did not have bad graphics either.  Just a little above average.

Sound: 5.  The sound was not the worst nor the best in 1987.  The sound was kind of boring at times, but the final battle and ending music made up for it, so I rated it right smack in the middle.

Addictiveness: 9.  I have now beaten this game 3 times in 5 months period.  Twice on the Sega master system and once on the turbografx-16.  The game is short and easy but has a good story as I will explain in the next section.  With those elements it makes the game very addictive.

Story: 10.  The game has a great story for its time.  It may just set you down in a town at the beginning, but as you progress through the game you start understanding what is going on, through the towns people and books, and later the ending ties it all together in the end.  The story is great especially if you play Ys 2 to see what happens right after you beat Ys 1.  Ys 1 and 2 were actually supposed to be one game, but in the end they decided to make it two games.

Depth: 2.  The game does not get much for depth as the game is very short for that style of game, even in 1987.  You can beat the game in 3 hours if you know what you are doing and about 7 hours if not.  Most the length of the game is grinding levels.

Difficulty: 2.  This game is extremely easy to beat.  If you are having trouble with most the game just level up and you will have no problem.  In the tower, leveling won't help you anymore as you will have maxed out your level by that time.  The game is still easy though even in the tower.

Overall: 10.  I rated this game a 10 overall because, this game even with some draw backs is great somehow.  Story is great, very addictive, and just all around fun.  If you do not want much challenge, but a great story especially if you play the continuation of the game Ys 2, then you will love this game.

I don't think I have rose tinted glasses on, as I hated this game as a kid, and love it as an adult.  If you like Zelda 1, and/or final fantasy 1 you will like this game, so stop reading this review and play it now.

Review and ranking by the Master of the Wolf.  howl.