Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

Excellent story, Excellent characterisation, Excellent music, Excellent art style. Good combat.

I wouldn't be surprised if the the entire comment section is lamenting the separation of Dana with Ado and co. but I would genuinely consider Laxia to be the most suitable and regrettable lady for Adol. She had a lot of character growth thanks to Adol as she starts as a helpless yet fixated ex-noble girl trying to shield her fragile self with a misandristic facade and tsundere attitude, and blames her uncertainties in life on her father to escape her past. As she gets more interactions with Adol and the other castaways she acknowledges that her noble past means nothing in the present and begins to doubt her way of life and coping mechanism. She questions how she can become useful to the village as other skilled ladies i.e. Alison and Kathleen join the villages and eventually confesses to Adol about her past to make herself comfortable to face those events and the question of who she actually is. Eventually she acknowledges that it is also an innate part of her to have admired her father and his work as an archaeologist as well as her aspiration of using her knowledge for the good and becoming a scholar of archaeology to trace her father's footsteps. Finally she also manages to be an essential intellectual support in Adol's attempt to stop the Lacrimosa and firmly asserts her own wish to live in her own way with Adol and co. against the Wardens' arguments. In the epilogue she vows to Adol for them to meet again when they have successfully made their breakthroughs as an archaeologist and an adventurer respectively. Unlike the other human girls e.g. Lilia, Elena, Leeza, she has gained the spirit of an adventurer through the events of the game and has a passion and profession specifically in making useful discoveries, similar to Adol, as well as the will to travel and learn more about the world because it is a fundamental part of her work, even though the motive is different from the explorers e.g. Thanatos and Ricotta, to be able to embark on an endless journey with Adol occasionally or permanently.

Amazing action Rpg..simple but addictive combat,flashy skill,fast paced...this game work well on steam deck too..recommended for people who like hack and slash..story quite long for action game standard

My first Ys game, really quite good. Surprisingly compelling story, fun combat and great party. Searching for castaways feels meaningful and the side activities are really trimmed down so that none of the game feels like a ubisoft collect-a-thon.
Great JRPG overall.

I absolutely loved the setting and exploring the island while trying to find the next castaway. I adored all of the main characters and most of the NPCs, and the story gripped me until the rolling credits. The combat was good too, but it's not the main thing I look for in my games. 10/10.

This is peak action RPG

Great game, fun combat.

Mandatory spamming the block button for slowmo

I decided to play this after hearing so many....and I mean SOOOO MANY....reviewers and YouTubers say this is one of the best action RPGs out there.

And honestly...it's definitely very good.

Combat is snappy, quick and responsive....but if I'm honest, I never really used much of the skills until later on the in the game. Basically, I spammed attack with the occasional block and dodge until I defeated most enemies.

As for characters and story, it's not bad on this end. The characters are actually very well done: each have likable personalities and have enough differences in them to want to switch every character and try them out.

I haven't completed the "true ending" (likely never will), but the ending is fine enough though I felt like in the last quarter of the game it extended it more than it needed.

I also wish there was more depth in some of the mini games: Hunt is basically trying to kill a specific monster and raid is killing waves of monsters. They are a fine diversion to the rest of the game, but that's it.

I definitely enjoyed my time playing this game but if this is considered the best of the Ys series, I think I'll wait to play other titles in the series. But it's definitely fun if you like simple combat with timing dodge rolls.

7/10 raids and "fall off the ledge" end areas, and a few of the boss designs are where the point deductions are from. I also played this with JP interface and audio so I can't speak on English VA/localization quality.

WARNING: while the game advertises a dual protagonist setting it's not like the multiple play through system in Origin. Instead you swap between Adol and Dana.

= Camera =

I'd say one of the more favorable camera systems in the Ys series. Didn't really have any complaints.

= Battle =

I'd say the battle was fairly solid. The only qualm which I really wish Falcom would get straight is animation canceling to prioritize guards. The game utilizes flash move and flash guard as the two main defense mechanics, much like Memories of Celceta. I will say the timing can be odd on a few enemies / bosses but I think it's much more reliable than Celceta's version.

Also like Celceta there is an weakness system. There are 3 types of weaknesses and you'll have a male and female character which handles each. This means you can have an all female / male party once you've obtained all possible party members. I also like the diversity in skills. Laxia is great for just zooming around all over the place. Ricotta was a favorite for when you just wanted that raw power playstyle.

But one of my favorites was Dana's stance system. Please Falcom I'm **begging** you keep that system in future games and give Adol the ability to use it even. The Gratika form was amazing as someone who is a big fan of "cute girl deletes enemies with large bulky weapon" type characters. The Luminious form was a gameplay style favorite. It felt like someone put her into a Devil May Cry game and said "go combo ham". PLEAAASE Falcom make that a regular thing.

= Bosses =

All and all not too bad. Though there were a few bosses with terrible amounts of downtime while trying to dodge mechanics.

= Story =

I was very addicted to the story. There was a nice balance of mystique with plot twists. The one thing I would say is that it was actually my first Ys installment but it didn't feel like I missed much okay except the Griselda reference. That said, at the minimum you'll probably want to play it before IX at least, and maybe even seven.

= Characters =

I feel like the characters were average at best (except Dana and her crew). They didn't seem to match the effort put into the overall arching storyline. I was also kind of sad that Dogi wasn't made a playable character. Unlike Ys X I didn't feel like lore limitations were preventing anything. Ricotta was fun as far as the playable characters go personality wise. Miralda was interesting for uh... dangerous reasons.

= Exploration =

Exploration felt great, and they did a good job for the most part in keeping backtracking to a minimum. That said you have to obtain certain tools to progress through certain content. One of the nice things is you can store multiple adventurer tools which you can increase the number of equippable ones through key items. Much like Origin if you're having trouble with an area/enemy you probably don't have the tool for it.

Night exploration was kind of weird. I liked the concept on a basic level, but sometimes it was like "I just need this one item and don't want to deal with a bunch of cursed back tracking". Kind of wish bailing out of it was easier.

Now one huge issue I had was some of the late game areas where you could fall off ledges (which applied a pretty notable chunk of fall damage). It made it so even simple combo chains could make you fall off. One part was so bad because it was an ocean area you could fall to despite literally having an item that let you breathe underwater. Really Falcom??? It also nerfed Laxia's gap closer attack which made me sad.

= Items =

The way that weapon upgrades were handled was really great. I kind of wish Ys X learned from it... Characters have the same weapon and a key item is used to unlock tiers of weapon upgrades. One thing to note is that swapping to Dana's solo world uses a different power system via stances. Weapon upgrades are available, but are not as straightforward as the other upgrades.

That said, there's a lot of accessory bloat. So much that I didn't bother with the "all items" achievement. I think part of it was you had certain accessories with 4 individual tiers.

= Fishing =

Normal fish were fine, but some of those master fish holy cow I thought my wrist was going to fall off. Especially annoying was the ones where you had to rotate the controller movement sticks either clockwise or counter clockwise while spamming A. There's also a few annoying cases where if you're too close to a barrier it refuses to let you fish until you back up a bit.

Not usually a fan of action JRPGs, more of a turn based guy, but there’s something about the formula of this game that clicked with me and kept me coming back.

Combat isn’t made overly complicated, but that’s a good thing in my eyes, it’s fast and looks/feels cool af. Exploration is really nice, lots of hidden treasure chests, materials and other goodies to find. Alot of back tracking though which might annoy some.

Enjoyed it so much that I just downloaded the demo for the next game in the series to spend 5-10 mins in it to see what it was like in comparison, and ended up playing for over an hour and completing it (and on hard instead of normal, which again is unlike me).

Certainly an Ys fan now.

Very fun game and fantastic soundtrack.

Very fun and comfy Action JRPG. Story is great after the first few hours

amazing game with a amazing story, this series never disappoints

You get to use skills.

beauteefool <3

WARNING this game has the most terrible map layout I've ever seen. I love the game for the most part, but the map and chapter 2's story really urk me. I almost always get a headache trying to find where to go sometimes because the outer map and the inner one are so drastically different and then the mini map is also insanely different idk what was going on when they made it, but this frustrates me to no end.

great music. slick gameplay. great story. there is so much game in this game. 10/10 would recommend.

6h played and nothing has happened.

It COULD be a great game. Three things utterly ruin it.

(1)This need to warp you back to the main village every single time something happens ending your exploration. It's needless and frustrating as hell since the damn map is so convoluted it's hard to tell where you are or were.

(2) The CONSTANT interruptions. Literally every 30 seconds the game is stopping you, taking control, and playing some idiotic dialog scene that is completely unnecessary. I have never seen a game not want you to actually play it like this one. The gameplay is so good too and just when you start really getting into a flow it will stop you. Over and over and over and over and over. The worst part is it gets worse and worse the further you get in the game. This game would be 10 hours shorter without it.

(3)The map and travel system is ATROCIOUS. It's very hard sometimes to figure out where you are and where to go even when there is a map marker. It's just lazy development.

Got on sale for $13. Great deal at that price, lots of fun. $40 is a bit steep unless you love this kind of game. It is very relaxing to play.

I was under the initial impression that Ys is basically just Trails but without a strong focus on narrative, and more about the gameplay. While It's true that the gameplay is the core of this game, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the story & characters, particularly in the latter parts of the game.

Will definitely be trying some of the other titles out, and would certainly recommend this game to anybody. Solid combat, story, writing and characters. Considering the entire game takes place on a deserted island, it never bored me once.

P.S - Little Paro best bird

Favorite Ys game so far, having played them in order. Combat is really fun, the story is entertaining, bosses are really nice. Doesn't really require any grinding to get through it.

An absolutely amazing action JRPG. This was my first Ys game and I now fully appreciate why so many people recommend it as your first Ys game. I love that it's a simple game that's not bogged down by multiple system mechanics and a slew of different stats to consider. The action is fast and responsive and the music get's you hyped to continue to jump into battles. I could go on and on, but I'll just say this: Buy this game and start your Ys journey.

Damn, what a story! I found this game randomly on Steam and decided to give it a chance... Truly an awesome game with a dynamic combat system, great exploration, an amazing story, and compelling side quests. I’m now eager to learn more about the Ys series, this was my first one, and it was breathtaking!

This is literally the best game made. You should feel shame if you haven't played it yet

Many say this is the best Ys game. It certainly takes a step up in terms of scale. At the time of release this was the biggest/longest Ys game, more than twice as long as the previous title.

The game uses a lot of the same exploratory systems of the previous game and adds some more, like fishing and having roadblocks all over the map which require you to have rescued x number of castaways to be able to clear the rubble for you to pass through.

I did have a lot of fun exploring the island, though as always with Ys games, the gameplay is constantly interrupted by its story. Even though it was told pretty nicely, I would have liked to be left alone and to explore. This Ys game isn't quit open enough that I would call it an open world game, but it has certainly edged closer to that.

I still prefer the single character, different weapon combat system of the Napishtim era of games, but the party combat here was pretty fun (albeit button spammy) on Normal difficulty. I used to play these games on a harder setting and enjoyed the added challenge, but I'm just less excited to persevere or grind when its with this party system that I don't enjoy quite as much.

There is a bug that sometimes occurs during combo's when in slow-down mode, where you will hit an enemy many times in a second, melting bosses from 100% to zero hp instantly. I honestly didn't mind this because again, I'm less hooked on this system.

This might be the best Ys game, it at least makes a good case with its extra features and grander scale. There were times where my enjoyment was lukewarm and I wondered if I was going to drop the game, moreso than previous Ys games, but I warmed to everything more in the latter half of the game.

The music is great as always, though I don't recall hearing a guitar solo anywhere (something that's been less frequent with the series over the years). I'd be more disappointed about this if the soundtrack wasn't as good as it is.

It's obvious from looking at the screenshots, but the game looks great visually; the best looking Ys game thus far (IMO anyway).

Not sure what else to add. I was feeling very take it or leave it at times with the game but I did end up feeling very connected to the story, exploration and all the side tasks and it eventually won me over. I think I do prefer the games of the Napishtim era, albeit only slightly. Ys is a bit different now, but it's a good different.

Bought this after watching a random YouTube review on it while I was bored and it looked interesting. Turns out it is now my favorite game of 2024. It's fun, the combat is a blast, and I just love the characters - they're so charming. Especially Adol. I love him.

Unable to setup the Controller to play this game

There is a problem with the mouse every time i open the game my mouse is like freezing for 5 sec on the screen and then it will work for like 5-8 sec i don't know if the problem is on my computer or in the game.
I hope if the problem is on the game please fix it because i really wanna play this game
I will change it when the bug is fix

假如现实世界真的有陨涕日，那么这个故事就是抵抗超越人类智慧且无法违抗的命运的证明——我们并非神的道具，而是有生命有意志的存在

Good Action JRPG with a surprisingly hard-hitting story, fun characters, and a nice sense of exploration and discovery. I found the combat to be a little bit button mashy and repetitive (on hard difficulty at least), but it was still satisfying and controlled well, and the other good aspects of the game kept things interesting.

I often don't manage to finish JRPGs, so the fact that I completed this one with the true ending despite it taking me over 70 hours must say something!

Okay, yeah, this game is amazing. Easily my favorite Falcom game of all time and I don't think anything's topping it, and tied with Heart of the Woods as the best game I've played in 2024.

The gameplay was fun and satisfying. I had a ton of fun trying out everyone's different play styles, and I was actively encouraged to use everyone. Flash Moving and Flash Guarding took a while to master but it made the combat more fun once I got the hang of it. Also, keep in mind that I played through the game from start to finish on Nightmare difficulty, so I was sufficiently challenged throughout and it was so much fun.

And outside of combat, I loved the exploration aspect. The Isle of Seiren actively encouraged me to explore its every nook and cranny, and going back to previously inaccessible areas once I got the appropriate Adventuring Gear was always a treat.

The OST is an absolute banger. Probably in my top 3 Falcom OSTs of all time. When Sunshine Coastline first played, little did I know that it was only a preview to an absolutely banging soundtrack. Hope Alive in particular is my favorite Falcom boss theme now.

As for the setting, apart from what I already mentioned above about exploration I quite liked the feel of the island. As a Monster Hunter fan, the Isle of Seiren gave me a similar vibe to the Deserted Island/Moga Woods from Monster Hunter Tri, which added to my enjoyment. And I loved Castaway Village, and each castaway endeared me in their own ways. I actively searched for castaways to rescue and maxed out their approvals, I was that endeared to them.

The core party was also a joy to be with. Laxia, Sahad, Hummel, and Ricotta all were very fun and endearing characters in their own ways and I was attached to them all, and Adol, while a (largely) silent protagonist, was cool too.

But the real star of the show has to be Dana herself. She's such a well-written character, her struggles and suffering were heartwrenching to watch, and her unyielding determination despite the odds being stacked against her was downright inspiring to see, and give me a lot of inspiration and hope to carry on. Dana has become one of my absolute favorite characters in fiction, easily top 4 (only surpassed by Tohru Honda, the 12th Doctor, and Touko Nanami), and has officially surpassed Estelle as my favorite Falcom character.

So yeah. Ys VIII was great and I enjoyed my time with it quite a lot.

DANA FOREVER!!!

Didn't really know what to expect, as my first Ys game, but it's a great entry point with a cool story that kinda just keeps unravelling the more you play. Like, I was discovering new aspects of the story 3 hours before it ends, makes for a pretty gripping game if you can get past the slow and (imo) rocky start.

Gameplay is really fluid and fun, with some stellar music.

It was a good and sad story. Really enjoyed it.

Super cool Action RPG with amazing soundtrack, cool history and sense of humor. I got completely surprised by how much I actually liked it.
Doing side quests were not a chore and they implemented a travel system that works really well.

Recommended!

One of the best Action RPGs ever made! The plot's really good, and the gameplay and combat is super TOP NOTCH.

One of the best games I've ever played, but damn that true ending final boss was a really frustrating kind of damage sponge.

Adol did you know the Isle of Seiren? . . . no?
actually you can see it in the distance from where we are right now~
also did you know its dangerous for Ships to go near it for mysterious reasons?
would be bad if some huge monster will attack our ship and sink it~ Haha!
[they got attacked]

--
the Party and its Attack Styles Mechanic, the combat, the perfect block/dodge improved a lot. way better than YS7 and YS Memories of Celceta. added for being hack n slash its more faster.
and they gave back our JUMP ability lmao
this game has a lot of content also
the money is gone but instead you get a crafting since youre stranded and currency is non existent.
everything needs materials.
they improved the map and the fog of war completion. since the Ys Memories of Celceta is unforgiving with it. they add percentage and even a checklist of where is missing. and you have 3 version of the map too.
the Island has a lot of discovering and its nice. its not empty space. a lot of roaming enemies to fight. the bosses are good.
and theres a unique mechanic for Adol and Dana which is a main plot device for the game.
they add Fishing in this game and Laxia is sucks at it.
we can cook too.
we can force a kid to work on vegetables~
we can spar with Huge Monkey.
we can beat up an old woman.

not that kind of beating but

ehem. anyway
i enjoyed it.
the game i mean. i enjoyed the game.

Glad I finished it. Totally should have done more side quests tho.

Honestly, I won't write a review this time. This game is so beautiful I want everyone who sees this review to go in blind.

Also, Ricotta is a perfect daughter

A whirlwind of flawless Action RPG fun from start to finish. I have nothing negative to say, except perhaps that I wish it were longer. I can already tell this'll be a title I'll revisit periodically for years to come.

Pura fantasía pulp. Como meter en una batidora media docena de novelas de fantasía aleatorias de los años 40 junto a varias convenciones actuales de los jrpg y que la mezcla salga bien.
¿Quieres islas desiertas? ¿Naufragios? ¿Dinosaurios? ¿Paradojas espaciotemporales? ¿Barcos fantasma? ¿Referencias ucrónicas a nuestra antigüedad? Todo eso y mucho más está aquí. Pero también acción frenética, exploración satisfactoria, una jugabilidad de hierro, una banda sonora inolvidable y una historia que, si bien arranca despacio y a veces parece que progresa de manera simplista, te agarra cuando menos te lo esperas y no te suelta hasta su precioso final.
Si sólo fueses a jugar un action-rpg... que sea este.

Fun gameplay
Enjoyable fast paced and skill based combat
Beautiful characters
Great music with many different, good tracks so that it doesn't become repetitive
Interesting island to explore
Funny character interactions
Cool anime intro cinematic
Good story (ending could have been a little better though)
Long play time with minimal amount of required bloat (with plenty of extra stuff to do for those so inclined)
Difficulty is selected by the player

This game is a winning formula and should be studied by modern game devs on how to make a good game. The only caution would be that this is a JRPG, so there will be dialogue boxes and scenes that take you out of the action somewhat regularly, but the dialogue and scenes are usually enjoyable. I also wish that my character could dodge at any time, but you are locked into attack animations. Maybe it would make the game too easy to dodge at any time, so it's not unforgivable.

Fantastic action RPG, really nails the stranded on a deserted island feel.
Great characters
Awesome soundtrack, as expected from Falcom.
Well told, exciting story. With a few twists.
Combat is fun (from a person that does NOT normally like ARPG's)
All in all, a wonderfully done ARPG, hats off to Falcom, they knocked it out the park with this one. 10/10

Oh & did I mention: Adol the Red is in it, so that automatically makes it even better :P

has some of the best feeling action combat ive ever played

My first Ys game, like it very much, million times better than Dragon Age Veilguard. Women look like women, not like Laura Kate Dale (thank godness)

One of the best action jrpg i ever played.

It's great. If you like action RPGs this is a must buy.

There ins't a single thing i can find to complain about this game. Story and combat are top-notch.

Incredible game, absolute cinema.

Lacrimosa of Dana evolves the Ys gameplay to another level, the gameplay is incredible, the story is also one of the best ones yet in the Ys franchise it feels rewarding all the way through. Highly recommended give it a try, a bit of a slow start but as soon as you have 3 characters the game just becomes a joy.

I never heard of this series. I just saw it on sale and thought " hey, this looks interesting. Let me try it" . Man that turned out to be a great decision. This game is so much fun. The gameplay feels nice and had me immediatly hooked even tho towards the end i started spamming 1 skill.

The story for me was interesting with some great characters. I really liked the mystery of the island and how more of the island you discovered the more of its mystery got unfolded.

Also a huge plus is the soundtrack. Something i will defenitly be adding to my playlist.


My only gripes with this game is that it does feel like a ps3 game with its graphics.
Also towards the end it felt like it dragged a bit to long maybe cutting like 5 hours would have made this the perfect length.

8 out of 10