To say that Ys VIII has had some trouble with one of its ports would be a bit of an understatement. As you may recall, we got the game on PC when it launched, but were unable to adequately review it because of the bugs the game held. Getting to chapter 1 after the first fight was impossible, as the game would freeze or close out. NIS was great about patching the game for the month following, and while I was able to get past the initial issue, the game continued to provide technical roadblocks for me. It seems most people can now play it on their computers, which is great news, but in my experience you’re better off playing a console/handheld version, like the newly ported Switch version.

Ys first launched back in the late 1980s, with its last numbered entry coming to PS4 and Vita in 2017, but prior to that the seventh entry came out nearly a decade ago on PSP. That’s practically as long as the time between Persona 4 and Persona 5, albeit for a very different type of RPG with a large assortment of releases in between. Booting it up, you may wonder what generation this game is from. The character models all look decent enough, but the environments look like they may be from as early as the PS2, and could easily be rendered on the PS3. Playing through on the Switch, parts of the environment actually hurt my eyes at times, although this was less of an issue when played in the handheld format. Amusingly, this was a welcome change from the norm of most games available. I’ve always found a certain charm to the graphics of the PS1 and PS2 when they weren’t attempting to be photo realistic.

It may just be me, but I really miss the style of older JRPGs. Having grown up on them, they’re a sort of comfort food for me. As much as I enjoy modern RPGs and all the new mechanics they’ve brought about, I love to venture back to the olden days of the genre, typically by replaying games from decades past, but this manages to bring a lot of what those games had while still keeping things a bit up-to-date. The dialogue and characters are very reminiscent of older games, and similarly, the dialogue options selected don’t affect the gameplay, so you don’t have to worry about what you’re selecting. This is obvious should you choose to pause during a section of dialogue and see the option of skipping it. Yes, if you feel like RPGs have too much dialogue and you’d rather just swing your sword, you are more than welcome to do that in this. While a strange feature to include, it was very welcome in the prologue having played through it just recently on PC. Should something happen for you to lose your progress, like the power going out, this will undoubtedly save you time if you were in the middle of a narrative heavy section.

Once you get past the fact that this game won’t be winning any visual awards, you can focus on the fact that the game plays wonderfully. Ys has always been great for combat, and the latest game is no exception. Falcom didn’t sacrifice gameplay for graphics in the way that Final Fantasy XIII did. It could be argued they did the opposite in lieu of not only showing a great game is not dependent on its visuals, but also to spend more time with the mechanics they implemented into this. Combat with any of the characters you acquire throughout is fluid, with three of your party members being a button press away at any given moment – in battle or out. This is important not only for the types of eclectic battles you’ll face, but for the skills each one has for exploration. Battles are mainly hack and slash, with dodges, blocks, and skills to use. It’s a fairly simple system, but it can’t be overstated how well it works. You’ll be faced with using weaknesses on enemies, forcing you to strategize with the different cast members you acquire.

While certainly not something that’s alien to the series, I can’t think of many RPGs that make use of the Metroidvania level design which taunts you with areas you can’t access until you gain abilities later on. And yet, it’s one of the things that make this so enjoyable. One of the other large portions of the game you’ll be introduced to fairly early on is building your base and recruiting people into it. Having just recently played through Ni no Kuni 2, this was a familiar yet very welcome addition to the rest of the game. Building up your base with differently skilled denizens while defending them from external threats will undoubtedly take up a major portion of your time.

One of the more notably weak portions of the game will be dependent on your experience with the genre. If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate the story despite its shortcomings. If you’ve never seen anything like this, it can go either way – it can be seen as shallow or it may serve as an introduction to many tropes. As mentioned previously, should you really hate it, you can always skip it altogether. Did I mention there are dinosaurs in this game? You wash up on an island where boats are known to crash if they come within a certain distance of it for reasons unknown (sort of a Bermuda Triangle deal). Do note that if you’re not familiar with the series at all, that’s not a reason to skip out on this, as very little from the other games will help or hinder your experience with this. The one thing you don’t have to worry about is the localization, as this comes with the newly updated script that came out several months after its initial release.

While this review started off rocky with the PC port, I believe the game is playable for most people there now. Should you not have a console, you would probably be safe nabbing it there. However, I definitely recommend the PS4, Vita, or Switch versions for the reassurance of it working properly. The Switch has that wonderful little feature that doesn’t tie you to a TV, and I enjoyed my time in the recliner with the screen a few inches from my face more than on the 4K TV across the room. This is especially true considering the fact that the game appears better on a smaller screen when played on Switch. I can honestly say this is probably the best Ys game I’ve played on all fronts, and am happy to see it make out of the PlayStation ecosystem, as it’s a game and series that deserves much more love than it gets.

9 out of 10

Pros

• Base Building
• Fluid Combat
• Narrative

Cons

• Narrative
• Environmental Textures

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA was developed by Falcom and published by NIS America. It launched on PS4 and Vita in 2017, PC in April 2018, and NS on June 26th, 2018 for $59.99. The game was provided to us for review on PC and NS. If you’d like to see more of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, check out the official site.

 

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