Jump to content
passwords have all been force reset. please recover password to reset ×
MFGamers

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana


DisturbedSwan
 Share

Recommended Posts

I started this earlier and haven’t exactly loved it, it’s decent enough with the combat being the standout, it definitely has promise and I want to dive further in but the presentation is just godawful all over the shop.

The menus, graphics, presentation, stilted animation, everything about it just looks like a PS2 game, I actually laughed quite a bit the first time I saw a wolf and they jerked awkwardly across the floor. All the aliasing buzzing about when you walk anywhere and the horrendous menus don’t help matters either.

The translation and voice work isn’t fantastic either but the latter I haven’t thought as bad as I originally thought it would be, it is sufficient and does the job but nothing more, there are the occasional bad delivery of lines and things like that bad nothing too egregious.

The combat is fantastic, maybe not quite as much strategy to it and more button mashy at this early stage but it’s so damn fun and very DMC/Bayonetta than typical JRPG.

It’s just a shame that the environs are so stilted otherwise they’d be beautiful, the island is a unique setting but there’s something about the way the game looks and runs that can’t help but turn me off it.

Still very early days though, once I acclimatise to the graphics I’m sure I’ll be fine if the game is good enough, playing handheld it won’t be as noticeable either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not hugely far in, I've got 3 characters, my main issue is getting my head around the controls. It's using every button but not always where you'd expect. I don't want to remap because I assume they're this way for a reason, but I might have to.

 

I think this probably started out as a Vita game. I know there's a Vita version, but the last one was intended solely as a Vita game, it wouldn't surprise me if they've not moved the bar even though it launched on the PS4 at the same time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I played 4 hours of this yesterday and it has definitely grown on me quite a bit now I have to say.

 

The issues I had with the graphics have predictably gone away as I’ve acclimatised to it already. 

 

Its just great exploring in this game, it feels rather unique in a JRPG that you don’t have some villain or some plot line introduced at the start of the game, instead in this your only objective so far is pretty much ‘explore the island’ and there’s just something cool about that.

 

The island has a character in itself, there’s piratey vibes and Swiss Family Robinson kind of vibes to it a as it is a deserted tropical island but it’s just such a cool, relaxed place to explore. Really jolly and filled with wonder, always piqueing your curiosity. The metroidvania elements I really didn’t expect either, you pick up items that enable you to climb vines and things like that that enable you to go back to previous areas and collect previously inaccessible treasure, it’s nothing new but it keeps the environment engaging 

 

The way the areas are laid out and the way the game rewards you for properly exploring areas is do compelling as well. When you look at your map and see one area you visited only has 85% completion you want to go back and explore some more to find out what you missed in a Ubisoft kind of way. I love that kind of stuff in games.

 

It introduced a new element towards the end of my session which I wasn’t wholly keen on though and that was the Raids. It’s just horde mode basically, I’ve only had to do it once and I believe it is optional going forward. It does make sense in the context of the game as you have a village with other people so it makes sense it may need defending going forward but it just felt a little crammed in and unneeded to me really.

 

Some pics:

 

 

E81211A8-67CE-41E0-BF9B-C6AF387ED5A3.jpeg

3FE43EDE-1EB8-4F7D-9262-A8585C34B546.jpeg

85898438-1363-4652-B46F-DA46CC160C99.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've put a whole lot more time into this since my last post, now up to about 16 hours in.

 

I do like it an awful lot, a lot of the characters are cool - albeit rather one note - and I like the jolly little side quests that actually do something meaningful for morale and enable you to put a new piece of equipment or something into your home base (Castaway Village). I did a side quest for this character Sahad involving a Wish Tree, I wasn't expecting much but this whole 5 minute cutscene played out where the entire village community made wishes on shells and put them on the tree hoping to come true, it was just so jolly and lovely, it is great to know and feel that side quests have a tangible impact on your community and its happiness.

 

I was getting a little tired of the gameplay loop a bit by the end of the second chapter though, I just thought things had got a tiny bit too predictable. You'd do a side quest or two, do some exploring in a new area, pick up chests/collectibles, then run out of quests (the side quests are petered out in threes it seems) and return to the main quest for it to lead you into a dungeon and up against a boss or two, at some point you'd get called back to the village for a raid and the whole thing just felt like you could see the puppet master behind the strings conducting a little too much and it broke the immersion a little at times and got a little too repetitive. 

 

Thankfully at the beginning of the third chapter things go fucking crazy with the overall plot and since then things have changed up quite a bit and the story has pulled me in that much more. The combat is still fantastic, but there has definitely been a step up in difficulty, I've been having to use health/revive items for the last few hours where I didn't use any in the first 10 or so hours of the game, one boss last night I had to retry about 5 times to be able to get through without using all my medical supplies up.

 

The party banter has been pretty cool and I definitely feel like I'm getting to know the first two party members you meet very well at this stage and all their nuances, characters and what other party members do that can push their buttons. I will say though that the third you pick up has been very disappointing, he's someone that barely says anything and is hard to like really, I'm hoping his story picks up soon, the fourth seems great though so far but I've only just met her in the game relatively recently so we'll see.

 

So yeah I'm liking it a lot without being particularly blown away, it definitely has potential to be great though if the story lives up to its potential, not sure how far in I am.

 

Another pic:

 

 

DhR4LMSV4AAWv66.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reached Chapter 5 earlier, probably around 28 hours into it now.

 

I'm really enjoying it, it has actually managed to take a step up in some regards, the plot has got a lot more intriguing and mysterious as it has gone on and has woven in some cool gameplay elements that let you play around with time into these which effects some puzzles, dungeons and collectibles you can get.

 

It's just so different which is what I like, I mean I guess it is a tad similar to Titanfall 2 but the two games are so different that even though the basic concept is the same it is still executed rather differently and the ramifications on the plot are rather different and more mysterious in Ys' case.

 

The Northern side of the island is so cool, different and contrasting to the surreal beachy vibes of the Southern side as well, I just love exploring the ruins and new areas the North has to offer and being like 'what the fuck went on here?' it is just innately cool and has such a foreboding mystery to it that you want to dive into and just find out more.

 

More pics:

 

 

Dh3gjF5W4AUKYvi.jpg

Dh3goy2W0AEimcl.jpg

Dh3guZgX4AIVXGt.jpg

Dh3gZnWW4AIQO-p.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm about 44 hours in now, just reached Chapter 6.

 

THIS GAME GUYS. Jesus, it just keeps getting better and better as it goes on, some JRPGs tend to peter out or begin to get long in the tooth at this point (Persona 5 I'm looking at you) but this just keeps getting more intriguing, throwing more elaborate dungeons, enemies and puzzles at you and introducing you to new mysterious locales.

 

The story is just masterful, I know I've touched on it before but the whole duel-era stuff is incredibly cool and not something that I've seen done in an awful lot of games before, that duality of the story, how mysterious, intriguing and engaging it is just pulls you in deeper and deeper, you just want to get to the next story point to find out what the fuck is going to happen next.

 

It's so incredibly addictive making sure you've got all the areas up to 100% discovered with all chests and harvest points collected along with discovering all the location points and what not, it appeals to my inner Ubisoft fan on almost every level. The island is such a cool place to explore with so many varied areas different from one another that it's a real delight as well. 

 

No idea how long I've got left but I would go so far as to say this is a masterpiece at this point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m playing this too, me, I am. 

 

I just got a twinkly feeling about about starting this over Octopath. Pleased with the choice.

 

Only on Chapter 2 which is a couple of hours in but it’s good fun. The combat is what I look for in an RPG, free flowing and fluid.

 

Agree with @Blakey, it can look a little poop at times, almost GameCube in style but I kinda like it.

 

Looking forward to giving it a few more hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finished this earlier, took me 58 hours in total according to the in-game clock.

 

Di54AZdVsAAEqSK.jpg

(For some reason there's a glitch that says you completed it on a lower difficulty - I finished it on Normal).

 

Such a fantastic game, loved it a hell of a lot. All the characters are cool, the island is a character in itself - so mysterious with lots of different locales to keep things interesting and engaging the whole way 58 hours through - picking up all the treasure chests and collectibles was incredibly compelling the whole way through (I ended up getting 99.84% completion) and even the side quests whilst maintaining a similar kind of pattern managed to stay fresh and interesting right up to the end, something which games very rarely achieve these days. The added raids and hunts kept things fresh throughout, whenever you just wanted to unwind or not want to go through another story/side quest dungeon you can fire up a raid or hunt and just slaughter some monsters and it feels so damn good to do so.

 

The story was incredible, I've not really played anything like it. It starts out a pretty simple story of a group of castaways trying to get off an island but then goes so many places I didn't expect with the whole duel era aspect coming into play and the way the narrative weaves through these two threads is really genius and executed with aplomb. Without spoiling anything I maybe would've liked it even more if they'd of kept it grounded and didn't go quite so grandiose in the final act of the game but nevertheless it is still excellent throughout - managed to get the True Ending without too much effort too.

 

I just loved being a part of this world, being back at camp felt like home hanging out with friends and the way it would get bigger and bigger adding new areas all the time whilst still managing to feel organic and grounded at every turn is just such a special feeling and very difficult to get right in a game of this size.

 

Overall it's a real gem. Despite it looking like ass, the story, characters and world really shine brightly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I absolutely adore this game. I played it back when it was first out on PS4 so haven't got to experience the new localisation and VO (if you thought the new stuff was bad you're lucky you didn't get it first time through). 

 

It was by first introduction to the Ys series despite seeing the name kicking around on Steam sales for years and oh man do I regret not giving the series a look sooner. I've played a few since VIII but VIII is hands down my favourites, and for my money the best action adventure/RPG on PS4. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Lacrimosa : Latin for "weeping", also a name that derives from Our Lady of Sorrows, a title given to Mary, mother of Jesus.

 

I just got to the end of Chapter 2 (I've only been playing a bit here and there, i'm like 12 hours in). By fucking Christ does this game shit on. They talk and talk and talk. Then you play for 30 seconds and hey! More talking.

 

Although shit just changed up Chapter 3...

 

Spoiler

I'm suddenly in control of Dana, now the title makes a little more sense!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...