It’s been a while, Master Malstrom! I hope you are doing well. One of the last emailers mentioned Ys VIII. I’ve been playing that the last week or so now (I got a PS4 recently). I want to give my impressions of the game as someone that’s played the last few and remember your opinions on them.
The premise of the game is interesting although it’s happened several times during the series. You’re on a ship, your ship wrecks (gets attacked by a Kraken), and you end up stranded on a deserted/cursed island that holds some dark mysteries and secrets to discover.
The idea is cool, but I don’t think you’ll like how it is executed. In Breath of the Wild you have free reign to explore, whereas in this you’re basically locked on a linear path. You can branch out and explore but it’s contingent on story events to do so in several ways. Basically you start finding survivors that have made it to the island along with you, and you create a makeshift town on the island, with each person having their own job that they do, such as blacksmithing, or fishing, or cooking, etc. You also have areas of the island that are blocked off and can only be opened up by having help from your fellow survivors. This isn’t just for story stuff, but also for hidden things.
The island itself is actually pretty big and it’s easy for me to get lost in (there’s a fog-of-war aspect to it where you gradually uncover more of the map). There’s fast travel points you can unlock as you explore, and the island itself is filled with danger enemies, especially as you get deeper into the island you basically start coming across dinosaurs that are almost impossible to kill until later when you’re able to upgrade your weapons with ore that they are weak to. There are items you can get that let you explore areas that would normally be locked off to you, though this is somewhat similar to how Aonuma would use items in a Zelda title, though not really as annoying or contrived. We’re talking gloves that let you climb ivy, walk on mud, etc. Instead of solving a puzzle it’s really just letting you get around terrain that would block your progress. Fortunately you unlock slots that let you equip more of them at one time.
Combat wise the game is a hybrid of Ys 6 and Ys 7. Ys 7 removed jumping but added a dodging mechanic, added special moves, and also gave you party members you could change on the fly by pressing a button. The reason you would do this is that certain types of enemies are weak to certain types of weapons. Adol uses slashing sword, another character has a piercing bow, Dogi smashes things his fists, etc. That’s how it works in this except they brought jumping back. So you can platform the environment, plus you have the combat of 7 with switching characters and all. The combat is fine enough for what it is, and the enemies do present a challenge. You can use materials you gather from them to upgrade your armor and weapons, as well as craft healing items, along with gathering materials in the field. It does lend to the survival/scavenging feeling of the game’s setting.
The story so far is kind of predictable and I could anticipate you not liking because of it contributing to the game’s linearity (so far). Basically you’ll need to find something, so you gotta explore a new area, reach new area, camp, have a story scene, go to sleep and have visions of another character from the island’s past that gradually unveils more information about the island and what happened to make it the way that it is now. There’s also other cutscene stuff scattered across the game for various events that happen. I haven’t finished the game so that’s all I can say for now. My biggest problem story-wise so far isn’t even the story itself but with a game mechanic where-in your island may get randomly raided by monsters while you’re out exploring. You can choose to ignore these, but you do get extra things for doing them. But if you’re a completionist it can kind of suck to have your OCD kick in while you’re making headway in a new area.
I will say one of my own personal gripes with the game is that the artstyle changed from Ys 6 to be more modern-anime looking which I don’t care for. The art for 6/3/Origins was a lot better and had an older high-fantasy Record of Lodoss War vibe to it.
One thing I will say I like about these games are that they are all in the same world with the same continuity. Events from prior games are referenced, and in some instances characters in prior games show back up in newer ones. There’s also a common theme of Adol delving into the depth’s of various ancient civilizations and mythology.
Based off my own time playing it, I plan on finishing the game, and if the things I’ve mentioned aren’t a turn-off, then I would recommend checking it out.
Hmm….
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