Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Released on June 26, 2018 for the Nintendo Switch by NIS America, and developed by Nihon Falcom, third person action RPG Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana features elements of exploration, combat, and survival on a desert island full of mysteries

I'm still processing my emotions after 80 hours on the isle of Serein. Ys VIII is my first Ys game, and while that roman numeral would imply I've missed seven games in this series, I'm not sure how many have even been available to play in my country, that country being the United States of America. I remember some snobby importers telling teenage me that my then favorite game, A Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was far inferior to whatever Ys game had just come out in Japan for the Super Nintendo. I doubt that snobby importer was correct, but if that Ys game for SNES is half as good as Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, I need to give it a try. Well, maybe not...that would give it a 4.95/10...cuz I am giving Lacrimosa of Dana a 9.9/10.

You're on the Nintendo Switch, dude! What took you so long?

But why am I raving about a game with such a laboriously wacky name, with graphics that look straight out of a PS2 launch title, that once, I kid you not, froze completely on me to where I had to restart my Switch and start over from where I had last saved?

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is my favorite game I've played since Breath of the Wild, and that includes Celeste, which I have to admit is actually a better game, being that it's flawless and all. Ys VIII has the flaws I listed above, and yet still, it's almost perfect. The player takes the role of Adol, an adventurer who's traveling on a ship with his buddy Dogi, when the craft is attacked by an enormous squid monster. Adol takes the squid on mano y tentacle, and ends up going down with the rest of the ship, only to wake up soggy on a deserted island beach. Turns out it's the much feared island of Serein, where from no adventurer has returned.

Have I mentioned yet that there are dinosaurs in this game? Dinosaurs!

Thankfully, Adol isn't alone. Not only has Dogi washed up on the island, but the ship's captain, and a vast host of survivors have been scattered around Serein's shores, as well. It's up to Adol to find them, and get them back to the blossoming camp the captain has built, while Dogi works diligently on a new ship to get them off the island. There's a problem, though: not only are the survivors trapped on the island by the patrolling giant squid, but a serial killer seems to have stowed away on the ship and washed ashore, as well, and also the island is populated by ferocious primordial creatures, ghosts, and also Adol is having these dreams...

Woah, I can see my house from here!

Okay, so there's a lot going on here. Rather then try to sum up the story, which ends up being akin to the 00's classic television show Lost, in that the survivors, while not nearly as psychically damaged as Lost's losers, have to band together to survive on an island that is actually an ancient center for a supernatural power that can destroy the whole world, I'll just write this lazy comparison sentence to Lost. Rather then try to sum up the game's sunny, optimistic, pre-9/11 Dreamcast vibe, which is extremely similar to the equally nautical (except in the air), adventure-centered, turn-based RPG Skies of Arcadia...well, I think you get my gist.

The Dream of the early 00's is alive in Ys VIII.

So you've got an intriguing environment, an enveloping story that in contrast to Lost, I don't think anyone is going to say doesn't pay off (said by someone who loves Lost), and a general vibe that makes you feel like you just conquered a mountain no one has ever climbed, and are enjoying the fragrance of the beautiful flowers that only grow on its peak underneath a clear sky. You've also got an island populated by (like Lost), a bunch of fully-rounded, well-drawn, and mostly incredibly likable characters (and the voice-acting for them is top notch!), five of whom join your battle party, and are usable in your three-characters-at-a-time aggressive indigenous animal-slaughtering squad.

You guys are the most delightful crew of indigenous animal slaughterers I've ever known, and might I say, alarmingly competent for computer AI.

Battles are both satisfyingly chaotic, and perfectly logical for someone who's played for a couple of hours.

You can mix-and-match your fighting crew, which ranges from a slow, but massively strong and burly, anchor-welding bruiser, to a quick and nimble, agile fencer. All of the fighting is in real-time, and unlike many games of this nature in the past, where AI-controlled members of your party just sort of fart around aimlessly, the two members of your squad you're not controlling kick ass. In fact, at first, you might be struggling to keep up with them. Thankfully, Ys VIII's combat system is incredibly intuitive, featuring upgradeable, easily-triggered, button-specific combos, available when you've landed enough regular attacks and filled up a gauge. Land enough attacks and combos in general, and then you can unleash an antagonist-smashing super-move. It's awesome, highly satisfying, and never gets old.

For those reading who've already played through: I made an "A Team" with the first three, with Adol as leader, and a "B Team" with Dana as the leader. So awesome.

The game also presents a series of increasingly awesome bosses for the player to test their mettle against, and rolling around and unleashing combos on stunned foes will make even the meekest player feel like a badass. Wait, did I just say roll and stunned in the same sentence? That must be because I am thinking about how great it feels in when you perfectly execute a dodge-roll, which momentarily stun foes, and allows you to get a bunch of extra hits in. This also happens with a perfectly-executed block. It's the rare combat system that's both complex AND intuitive.

Sometimes you'll have to go it alone with the mysterious Dana, who can change between three different forms--normal, light and fast, and super-buff and lumbering, or in football speak, linebacker, cornerback, and William the Refrigerator Perry.

Put em in a body bag, Fridge!

Okay, so the graphics are throwback, and sometimes it somehow seems like the game engine can't even handle them. Not only do the characters and environments, despite a colorful attention to detail, feel low-res, but during intense combat, things seem to get even more pixelated. However, this all seems to serve the function of gameplay and combat smoothness. While my Switch did freeze that one time, the game itself never slowed down otherwise, meaning I was rolling around,getting in a thousand sword hits a minute, without any lag or framerate slowdown screwing up my timing.

For reference, this is the moment my game froze. The game's later hunts are insanely intense, and between the game keeping track of the hundreds of monsters in the arena, and the scores and actions of all 20 people in my camp (all participate in raids and hunts), it just couldn't deal.

Did I just mention my sword? One of the shipwrecked is a blacksmith who can upgrade your weapons with the materials you find on the island. Did I say materials? The island is stocked full of them, and there's also a castaway who can mix healing and status potions, and one who tailors clothes (everyone even gets an optional bathing suit), and one who makes armor, and one who makes magical amulets, and one who trades goods, and on and on and on.

 

Your Swiss Family Robinson-like camp is a thing to behold.

And not only will your weapons and armor be getting stronger. Keep fighting and taking down bad guys, and you'll earn experience points to level up your attack power, defense and hit-points. Finish a fight with a combo, and you'll gain additional experience points. This game never forgets the RPG in action-RPG.
Really, it forgets nothing. You can farm vegetables, fish. You can do missions and errands for the other castaways and give them gifts to increase your reputation with them to get a better game ending. Did I mention you can fish?

Just like the cover of one of my dad's old Louisiana Sportsman magazines! Equal opportunity: Dogi, in particular, seems to hate shirts, as do Dana's male compatriots. I guess it is a tropical island. 

There are also village raids, which are specific missions where you protect the camp from waves of enemies, and raid hunts, where you take out nests of enemies. The game has a direct story you can follow and complete, but with everything feeling so fun and right, you'll want to explore, and complete everything. I haven't 100 percented a game in years, but I couldn't put Ys VIII down until I did so.

It helps that the game is soundtracked perfectly, with optimistic, upbeat music that makes you feel like you could take on the world, or achieve world peace, which don't feel mutually exclusive at all. After all, this game throws together so many disparate elements and makes them work, why not?

Dammit, Ricotta, you're gonna make me cry.

What a game, what a game, what a great, great game.

Hey, did I mention there are anime-drawn cutscenes? Did I mention how detailed and helpful the in-game map is? Did I mention how satisfying it is to explore the island and fill in the blank areas of that map? Did I mention just how huge the island is? How easy it is to fast travel when you've already been to a location, and how easy it is to save at any moment, how balanced the difficulty is on normal mode, how the player can ridiculously ramp up the difficulty if they find the game too easy?

Bring on Ys IX, and bring it on the Switch. It's a crime to land-lock it on the PS4!

SCORE: 9.9/10