Hey guys, it’s been a while but VGR here back with another review. Big thanks to my friend Tommy for keeping reviews going while I’ve been away; but from now on I’ll try and post a review once a month. With that out of the way, let’s get started.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Releases:
PlayStation Vita-
JP: July 21, 2016
NA: September 12, 2017
EU: September 15, 2017
PlayStation 4-
JP: May 25, 2017
NA: September 12, 2017
EU: September 15, 2017
It’s also on PC
Rating: Teen- blood, fantasy violence, language, suggestive themes, use of alcohol
Blood is shown in this game but not to an extreme extent, there’s a bleeding ailment that slows your character down and some of the enemy animations include blood when they are using attacks that cause bleeding. Language is very mild in this game and isn’t used often. There are only a few cut scenes that involve the use of harsh language. There are a few suggestive themes in this game but they aren’t very big and personally a few of them are unnecessary. Once again, they are very mild, and kids probably wouldn’t get them. At the beginning of the game the main character accidentally stumbles into a character who is taking a bath in a river, but the suggestive themes don’t stem past that. Yes, characters drink in this game when they party, and once again very mildly. I personally think that this game is suited for teens because kids would have a hard time understanding the story.
DLC: There’s different downloadable content for each of the platforms the game is on. You’ll get different outfits for characters depending on whether you buy it for ps4 or vita, if you buy it for pc they have free content you’ll be able to download in the future, such as a soundtrack for the game and a digital artbook. The rest of the DlC is just starter packs to help you throughout the game.
Story:
If you’ve played a handful of the Ys games, you’ll know that the main character in most of them is Adol Christin. He and his traveling companion Dogi have boarded a ship called the Lombardia, filled with many people from different backgrounds. While aboard, the ship passes the Isle of Seiren which is said to be a cursed island where no one has escaped from. A giant sea monster destroys the ship and the crew gets washed up on the island, now they must work together to escape.
Gameplay:
(I bought the game for PS4 so this review may differ from other versions) All difficulties are unlocked at the start of the game. I played through the hardest one. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re new to the Ys series. You’ll acquire six different characters in this game, each with their own abilities and strengths/weaknesses to certain enemies. Only three characters are allowed in your party at a time and can’t be switched during boss battles. If your characters are standing idle they will recover health. The longer you wait the faster you will recover. This mechanic does not take effect in dungeons. You will be able to do so if you manage to find a certain item in the game. Most of the NPCs (Non-Playable characters) are passengers from the Lombardia. As you progress through this game you will have the option to chat with them and learn more about them, most of the time it’s optional but if you refuse to do so then you will receive the bad ending of the game. The more you fight in this game the more you will level up. In its own way, this game is a hack and slash. You’ll level up quickly by just playing the game normally. Characters have two special abilities called flash move and flash guard. Right before an enemy attack if you evade at the right time you will activate a flash move which will slow down enemies and make you invincible for a short amount of time. If you guard right before an enemy attack you will perform a flash guard. While flash guard is active your character will do double damage to all enemies and is invincible. There are also various warp points you can use throughout the game. Health items are extremely important in this game. They are abundant but can be hard to acquire. I’ve only played on inferno so I don’t know if this information takes effect in other difficulties. You can only carry 9 of each health item at a time. ingredients can also heal you, but they don’t do very much. Ingredients can be used to make dishes, but to make a dish you have to find the recipe for it first and you can only carry one of each. Meals have different status effects to them and you cannot eat a meal while another’s status effect is in effect. Bottles are also important with them you can make varies different medicines. Ones that heal your characters, ones that revive them, and ones that can fill up your power move gage. However, once you’ve used a bottle in inferno mode you cannot get it back. You character three different type of attacks, normal attacks, skills, and a special move. Skills are more powerful moves that you need mana for, you get mana by damaging enemies. The first strike before a combination of attacks will give you a massive amount of mana if you hit an enemy. Special movies are heavy attacks that you can only do once your power gauge is filled. Once again you fill it buy attacking enemies and I think it also fills if you get attacked. It doesn’t take too long to fill, but you’ll find yourself saving it for hordes of enemies and bosses most of the time. Warp points can automatically fully heal all party members even dead ones.
Likes: One thing I did like about this game was that the PS4 achievements were easy to get and from what I’ve heard there are fewer conditions to getting them on the Vita.
Dislikes: The one thing I disliked was playing on inferno, it took forever but it was fun.
