Oh my this is going to be good. As in, terrible. The list of Y games is… minimal.
Y
Let us begin with the two Yu Yu Hakusho games, as we’re pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel before we even start. There’s one called Gaiden, and one called Makyo Toitsusen, and they’re both terrible one-on-one fighting games. Maykyo Toitsusen is even made by Treasure and manages to be awful. Avoid both of these.
That’s it. That’s all the games begining with Y. Well, except Yogi Bear: Cartoon Capers which is not being included for obvious reasons, and the shortest shortlist I’ve done so far. Which is:
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys is a side-on platform role playing game, similar in style to Zelda II and Wonder Boy in Monster Land, with some Castlevania similarities. It’s pretty good too, if nothing outstanding. Better than Zelda II, anyway. There’s a remake for the PC and some Playstation platforms now, which is probably the best way to play it. Also, I have no idea how you say “Ys”. “Wise”? “Eees”? “Why-Ess”? “Is”? Who knows.
And the Alphabest?
Let’s not beat around the bush here. There’s only one option and it sure as hell isn’t going to be Yogi Sodding Bear.
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys wins by default, and although it isn’t as good as most of the other winners it certainly is far from terrible.
Next time: Z! Finally! Then I can sto–what do you mean I haven’t done numbers? Geez.
I think it’s supposed to be something like “eece”. Or “ice” in a comedy French accent, if you like. (It is actually a “real” city in Breton mythology, so they should know.) But I wouldn’t blame anyone who just pronounced it the same way as the initials of the pinnacle of human literary achievement, since Falcom were obviously hoping some of its magnificence would rub off on their games. Stands to reason.
I can never help remembering that when I was at school we called our pants “Y”s, short for Y-fronts, though. Having never played the games, I can only imagine what they’re about. The real legend of Ys gets rather saucy, involving orgies and other shady gallic practices, so anything’s possible…
I think you’ll find they’re called Gammapants.