Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

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

Ys is a series of JRPG.

This one is from 2016 and it shows. The musics are pretty nice though, especially the one from the title.

Combat is real time but isn't very good. I didn't like the controls very much: it's way too easy to trigger a special attack by mistake.

The characters are your usual forgettable caricatures. Some of the NPCs are insufferable and you can't do anything about it. I already don't remember most of them.

I've never liked any Ys game but this one has the reputation to be the best of the series so I bought it during a sale.
It's true it's the best one: I've managed to go to the end, which is more that I can say for the others.
But what a disappointing waste of time it turned out to be.

The plot started nicely: a simple story that only asked to be developed a bit though the exploration of the cursed island and the search of other survivors. Finding the ruins from an ancient civilization was promising too.

And for a while it was interesting: about the first ten or so hours.
The next twenty hours were more of the same: explore, kill monsters, farm (so much farming), improve gear ...
... and bit by bit get more info about the mysteries of the past. I was already bored but there was more to explore so I kept playing.
And here is the second positive thing in this game: you can skip almost all scenes. I've thoroughly used that feature once I was to bored by the story to care if anybody lives or dies.

I've explored 100% of the island, I don't believe I've missed a quest, I've bought all gifts but apparently I've missed something because I've "only" managed to get 194 reputation. Too bad: 198 is required to get the "true" ending.

I've checked what it is and there is not much of a difference compared to the one I got, and it's certainly not worth wasting more time getting.

The story ends with a common trope, and not a very good one at that. Had I know, I would never have bothered to fight the last boss (or to play this game at all)

When I think this is the best Ys, I'm not about to by another one anytime soon.

fun game, except for that one fish

One of the best gameplays I've ever tried, I loved every single second of it, AMAZING SOUNDTRACK, great characters and great story, I couldn't ask for anything else. I simply loved it. <3 <3 <3

12/10

Man did this game ever exceed every expectation I had. This game deserves much more recognition than it has. Combat is fun, strategic, and fast paced. Music is absolutely incredible with some all time greats of any RPG [Sunshine Coastline!!!!!!]. And that is saying something as Y's is known for its epic soundtracks. Story starts slow and builds through the course of the game. The cast of characters in the game are charming and you will grow to love the main characters, especially Dana and Adol. This is an absolute gem by Falcom

Do you want to know why I'm giving this a negative review?

When your first 15hrs ( 8hrs in game ) is just running around, saving people and no story progression ( i.e havent seen Dana yet ), its pretty f*cking boring. I can accept for the first 5 hrs or maybe 10 but w*f is this game? Go around, level up, kill mini bosses, protect base from raid, find people, open new path areas, repeat 10x + ? ( started out with 4 ppl, I got 12 so far, thats 8 people gathering so far ).

I know the game can be great, I know the game mechanics could be good later on but when you cant captivate people in the first 5hrs, thats bad and even worse, 10+ hrs later.

Negative review not because its a bad game but because it cant captivate anyone early on

I'm surprised this game doesn't have more recognition. It was overall a pretty enjoyable time.

I'd say the story and dialogues feel too long or predictable in some cases, especially the beggining, which was to me very slow and generic, but I have no complaints about anything else.

The plot is intriguing, the characters and their interactions are fun and diverse, the map is varied and doesn't get repetitive, the combat has many playable characters, isn't turn based and requires parries and good timing.

But the music was the best part. All over the course of the game, it has some of the best tracks I have ever listened to, with a really good mix of rock, violin, piano and synthesizer.

The game isn't very hard by default either and I didn't find myself lost much often, so I easily recommend this one to anyone slightly interested, you won't regret it. More so considering its studio has only around 50 people, and it holds up fairly well compared to similar games like Persona.

The game is an absolute masterpiece. The only thing I hate about this game is that it doesn't have a story sequel. I NEED YS VIII: LACRIMOSA OF DANA 2!

gameplay good, music good, story good
not much more to say

I now understand why the character Dana, as well as the Ys VIII in general, is so celebrated by the community. I can't really say whether the reputation that this is the best part of the series is true, because I've only played “IX: Monstrum Nox” for comparison, but IMO Ys VIII still blows its successor easily out of the water.

Of course, this game also has its weaknesses. You can tell from the graphics that it's not a AAA title. Technically, the Ys games are not necessarily up to date at the time of release and VIII is already 8 years old. The title also suffers from some well-known general JRPG issues with some sections of the game are simply stretched out far too much, both in the pacing of the story and through overlong sections where you only ever fight the same enemies. At least you don't have to grind in the game (on normal anyway) as long as you take most of the enemies along the way - because there are way too plenty of them. The trope of the overlong final dungeon, a popular criticism in many of my JRPG reviews, is once again fulfilled here too, which is simply a long gauntlet corridor with lots of mobs on the way, elite monsters/mini-bosses as gatekeepers at the end of each section and several bosses before the final fight.

That being said, it's a good thing that the combat system is a lot of fun and never gets boring during those many battles. Ys is an Action-RPG, you have to dodge and parry - which rewards you for good timing - and manage your skills with SP (which recharge with normal attacks). The island itself has larger, open areas from time to time, but is ultimately not an open world but really rather linear: further sections only open up when the story demands it, when you have collected the necessary number of camp members/broken ships to clear obstacles or when you get new Metroidvania-style items that, for example, allow you to run over mud, climb up hedges or breathe under water. Backtracking is part of the game, as the story and side-quests send you through the same areas several times.

At certain story points you are also called back to the camp, either to expand it and/or defend it against attacking hordes of monsters. You then have to defeat all the enemies running towards the gate in several waves. However, the camp also defends itself and you can invest collected items not only in your own weapon/armor-upgrades but also in barricades, traps and/or catapults to fend off the waves more effectively during those raids. On other times you can also plan your own raids against monster nests, which then run the other way round and you have to destroy a certain number of targets to win.

The strongest point, however, is the story and its characters. I have been told that the Ys series are not really known for their story, but part 8 can fortunately sing a different tune: The story is both touching and exciting, spinning a compelling construct across multiple timelines. The tragic figure of Dana is not an absolute community favorite for nothing, as mentioned at the beginning.

Now that my time on Ys VIII Island has come to an end, I will definitely miss that character deeply, along with the other members of the cast like the Tsundere Laxia or the simple but funny fisherman Sahad who made the camp always felt like home during my stay.

Played on Vita. Played on Switch. Now playing on PC with cool graphics. Its a masterpiece. One of the best.

Best Ys? Not quite, but damn it's great. Falcom does it again.

It's a fun game, but the default ending is bad and the true ending basically requires you to 100% the game, which is disappointing. Had I known ahead of time I might have done it, but I had no way of knowing since I didn't use a guide.

I have played six Ys games (Ys 1, Ys V, Ys VI, Oath in Felghana, Ys VII and this game). Each has its own charm. This is the best in the series. Thanks to the co-op mode. It was super fun!
I highly recommend this game to all Ys fans out there.

Best game of the series (bar Nordics I haven't played yet). Dana has the best story of them all.

It's a great action adventure game. Based from other YS games I've played (Not all of them by the way. I only played the PSP titles.), it is definitely a much more polished game when it comes to the mechanics and exploration.
Extra events and items are not that hard to achieve. The item exchange instead of cash is cool as it perfectly fits the setting and also made the items feel more relevant as they can be converted to higher tiers leaving no waste. The combat is smooth and I like the flash guard/move system. The exploration is also fairly easy to complete. Best of all, it isn't too grindy. I like that a lot.
The story is overall great in my opinion but the start can be jarring as I believe it could be handled better thematically. I'm not sharing any details but there is one character that should be removed in the story as his/her presence does not contribute to the thematic narrative. Without him/her, the story would be perfect in my opinion. I rate this game 9.99/10. Please try it. It's great.

Gotta stop the Lacrimosa! this was super fun and exciting, totally different than other JRPGs but I could see some influence from other series in here (like Final Fantasy X with the plot). In terms of overall design though it is super unique even within the Ys franchise. I preferred this to Ys 6 and what I've played of Ys 10 so far (up to middle of Chater 3). Did a full play-through and still found fun things to do afterwards (like "New Game Plus", completing side quests, etc). It took a few hours for the story to really get interesting, so be patient and have fun!

Barely a recommendation, I mean the game is still fun but.. one heavy caveat

I don't like the survival/crafting game elements. Like I get that that was a new and hot genre when this was made, but not a fan of that genre.

At least there isn't a food meter.

"This is one of my favorite games ever."

Very few times I got myself thinking that halfway through a game. I think the last time it happened to me was with Suikoden 2 (which I played for the first time about 4 years ago).

Here, it happened when I reached Mt. Gendarme's summit. During the climb, I realized that, from a game design perspective, a significant portion of the isle had to be hidden behind this mountain. Hence, I was always trying to somehow get a look at the Northern part of the isle while climbing it. When I got to the summit, I stayed like 5 minutes looking at the view and thinking about the implications of all those new landmarks for the plot.

Btw, though I've read elsewhere that that the plot is pretty basic here, I must say that I absolutely LOVED IT. I'm still shook to my core by the last Eternia flashback. It is excruciatingly painful to see that thriving kingdom reduced to a few people, slowly starving and freezing to death in the corridor of the temple that was a place of so many happy memories for Dana and her friends.

I would be remiss if i did not highlight how much I loved Dana as a character/co-protagonist. Such a beautifully written character. She is clearly the highlight of the game for me, but I've loved the characters and their (mini) arcs in general. The cutscenes when you max their affinity are the icing on the cake.

The fact that a fair deal of sidequests end up adding something to your settlement also helps you to grow attached to the place. One of the best examples of this is Sahad's wishing tree sidequest. It's a fun, heartwarming moment that also gets you to know a little more about each and every castaway.

To sum it up, I will carry this game with me for a long time. The mix of adventure, wholesomeness and tragedy is incredible. Amazing ost and art direction, well-written characters and fun gameplay. I could rant a little about the map system, but i won't. It is not enough of an issue for me to taint my review on this game.

This was my first Falcom game, which I thoroughly recommend. I'm getting started on the Trails series, so hopefully i'll be able experience other masterpieces from the studio soon enough. Nevertheless, I'll still miss my adventures on the Isle of Seiren.

It's your quintessential action JRPG -- if you like the genre, you'll like Ys VIII, though if you like the genre you've probably already played it.

This is my second time through the game, the first of which occurred on Switch, and I must say it's nice to actually have some frames this time around -- the game occasionally resembled a slide show during combat on the Switch lol

Amazing game with a plot that keeps you interested all the way through. I haven't played or finished every Ys game but this one definitely tops.

I originally just wanted to pick a random jrpg game to play with a controller, but I didn’t expect the game to be this good. Especially the story and soundtrack, they’re incredible, the combat is also pretty good


and that damn bittersweet ending..
now I want to try other Ys games

little paro is the goat

The story is interesting enough. You are stranded on an island and roam through a set of connected areas while searching for survivors of a shipwreck. Every time you find one, you unlock a new area and some QOL feature. I feel like it is fine, but nothing really new. Far from the "materpiece" that reviews are raving about all the time.
Game came out in 2018. No idea why it has to have PS2 era graphics, especially given the price tag (though there always is the next deep sale right around the corner). They could have used some of the excess energy they put into modelling and animating Laxia's posterior to improve the rough polygons and textures of the environment as well as the rather cumbersome UI. Seriously, "Ys VIII: Laxia's Butt" would have been a more adequate title for the game - that thing gets more screen time than her face. I understand why they went with the actual title, though.

10/10

I was a little apprehensive before starting this game, but it really clicked with me after I gave it a shot - the music, the exploration, the blazing fast paced action rpg, the story, everything! The game has given me so much joy throughout my entire journey with it. I'd say it's now one of my favourite JRPGs of all time and this game turned me into a pretty crazy Ys fan.

Falcom is definitely NOT a high budget studio so you won't find any jaw-droppingly amazing looking graphics from this game or this series. Graphics wise they'll always feel "kinda last gen", but artistically everything is charming and easy to look at. Definitely get the free HQ texture pack DLC with this though! Makes everything look much cleaner.

Best. JRPG. EVER!

8.5/10 -- There were a couple of pretty bad crashes though

Excellent game. Right up there with Ys of Felghana as the best of Ys

Another great entry in Adol Chistin's travelogues.

I love video games

With over 40 hours logged and all side content completed, I can confidently say this game is worth every penny—especially since it’s currently on sale. You start your adventure as Adol and his best friend, Dogi, are aboard a ship headed to a destination when, suddenly, it’s attacked, causing the ship to sink. Adol washes up on a mysterious island, where it’s up to you to find the missing crew members and uncover the island’s secrets. The story is captivating, constantly motivating you to push forward. The characters you encounter develop beautifully over the course of the story, and it’s rewarding to see the village grow as you complete both main and side missions. Ultimately, if you’re a fan of JRPGs, this game should definitely be on your list!

Fun Game

Awesome game, really enjoyed this one. Much to explore and much to grind.

Приятная игра с линейным сюжетом.

Even with Y's X out...this one still is the GOAT

Dana <3

One of the most unique and best games ever made. Exploring Jurassic Park as an anime swordsman is an experience I reckon little else could replicate. Falcom really did a good job with this one.

As an Ys fan I am extremely disappointed. I also question why so many people put this game as if it's the best Ys ever.

It's just a mediocre, bloated, plain, generic, boring game. There are much better AND cheaper Ys games out there.

This game was more fun than I expected it to be.

This game is way too underrated. It deserves more audience.
I'm glad I didn't buy it during sale and I'm a bit sad I met this game too late.
Overall, the game is very polished. Extremely fun as an action game, as well as, fun as RPG.
Above all, the music is FANTASTIC! Fantastically charming and catchy since the beginning to the end.