Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana Review (Alphanaught)
I've only played Ys Origin and Seven before. So far I can say that Lacrimosa of Dana met my expectations as a Ys game.
Sahad: *Sees anvil* What's this for?
Adol: To cook delicious meal.
Laxia: Not funny...
Edit; I've just finished the game, and I must say that this has to be the best Ys games and probably one of the best JRPGs I've ever played.
Gameplay
The combat mechanics in this game is pretty much what you'd expect from a Ys game. The Flash Skills however, are the mechanics that got me intrigued. There are two types of Flash Skills that you can perform during combat, the Flash Move and the Flash Guard. Both of which are very powerful skills that can help you turn the tide of an encounter. I prefer using Flash Guard rather than Flash Move but it's actually ideal if you can combine both skills. By the end of the game I've performed 2000+ Flash Guard (I dunno why they recorded this lol). It just feels so satisfying, though it might require a bit of practice and you'd need to be willing to take some risks when using them.
You'll fight enemies in real-time. Which means that every combat encounter will not send you to another dimension like the Tales series. Such as the nature of Ys games.
The exploration in this game never gets boring and very rarely I found myself getting lost (like I did with most other JRPG games). They did a very good job at designing the game environment and most of the time the game does a very good job of telling you where to go. This game kinda feels like a Metroidvania because a lot of the exploration mechanics require specific adventuring gears and the number of castaways that you'll find along the way. For instance, there are times where you'd need to go through an underwater environment but you can't breathe underwater so you'd have to proceed with the main story until you get an item that allows you to do just that.
Side quests are something that you'll need to look out for, as the ending of the game relies on it. Most side quests are unique and fun but some can be quite frustrating if you don't know what you're doing. This doesn't bother me that much as I referred to the wiki every time I got stuck on a quest.
Bossfights are super fun but not too challenging, especially when you've mastered the Flash skills, though there are some fights that got me frustrated but maybe that's just me relying too much on Flash skills and very little on strategy. Seriously though, I'm pretty glad they added Time Attack (like they did with other Ys games) at the end of the game cause I really wanted to revisit the bossfights without having to replay the game from the very beginning.
Story
Now this is the part where it gets interesting. Back in the days I rarely play JRPGs for the stories, it's only recently that I started investing my time with the stories in said genre (except for Monster Hunter cause they don't seem to take their stories that seriously).
I must say, this game has one of the best plot and characters in all of JRPGs alongside the Tales and Souls series. Yes the characters are as stiff as cardboards during every cutscene but if you can look past it like I did you'll find yourself entertained by it's powerful storytelling. Everything about this game is so well written. Characters are memorable and they all incorporate their own unique personalities which adds up to the story as the game progresses.
Dana has to be the most physically and mentally powerful female characters I've ever seen upon years of my gaming career. She deserves to be among my top waifu list of JRPGs. This is how you'd actually write a heroine in a story. Instead of making her look physically powerful, the game makes her look frail and weak but is strong in actuality. Everything she endured is the sole proof of that. We learn that she's strong not by her physical appearance, rather it is her story that makes us realise that she's no ordinary girl.
Summary
To be honest with you, this game starts off pretty weak but it gets better as you play. The game truly shines after you get past a certain point because that is when we'll find Dana and it is also where the story starts getting all the more serious. If you like Action RPG games like Dark Souls, Monster Hunter and the Tales series, you should give this game a try. It's so sad to see such a good game being underrated and ignored by most JRPG players because there are so much to love in Ys games. Give this game a chance to shine like Tales and Persona; it truly deserves it.