Introduction
Today we are going to jump straight into the Ys series, but instead of starting with Ys 1, we are going to start with Ys 8 Lacrimosa of Dana! For simplification, we will call this game Lacrimosa of Dana in this review! In this review, We are going to find out, if this game is a good entry point for newcomers! This is a role playing game with a small survival element since you are stranded on an island without a civilization, thus there is no gold in this game! However, there is trading, but only after you have saved other people that washed ashore.
What did I think before playing Lacrimosa of Dana?
My wife and I were very interested in playing this game, a great role playing game where you grind on an island with no other life! There is also the fact that you play as Dana, however playing as Dana takes place in a different era! In the current era, you play as Adol Christin, and it seems to be your job to save as many people as possible after the ship wreck! It seemed like a very fun game, however for more information we checked out the Steam page, despite checking the Steam page, we played this game on the Nintendo Switch!
The Steam Page
https://store.steampowered.com/app/579180/Ys_VIII_Lacrimosa_of_DANA/
While the Steam page is not big or has a boatload of information, the information is short but powerful! You will need to build a village for the shipwrecked people that you rescue! If you think that is all, just you wait till dinosaurs come knocking on your village’s door, it will take all of your villagers to keep the village save while also constructing a boat to escape this cursed island! Meanwhile, you will also need to uncover the secret behind the blue haired woman that is named Dana!
Rating
I rate Lacrimosa of Dana with an 8.8 before playing.
I was very interested in building a village while also grinding levels!
Story
The story starts with Adol Christin, an adventurer, on the Lombardia helping with tasks while sailing to another continent to look for yet another adventure, however, a Kraken like monster appears and attacks the ship! It seems that adventure came looking for Adol Christin, together with his friend Dogi, he tried to fend off the Kraken but the Lombardia sinks near the island of Seiren, a deserted and cursed island. Guess what, that is the island where you will wash ashore and start your adventure!
Rating
I rate the story of Lacrimosa of Dana with a 10.
While it seems simple, adventurer washes ashore and builds a village, it not that simple, many twists and turns await you on this grand adventure that spans not one but two eras, whom also collide with each other! This story was very good, and both my wife and I were regularly sitting on the edges of our seats as the story was unfolding!
Gameplay
Lacrimosa of Dana is a role playing game at heart, you gather a party which seems to get bigger as the game continues on, and you will grind for level ups! Learning new skills comes randomly when fighting strong monsters! As you also need to survive on an island, you also need to look for other survivors while building a village where everyone is kind of safe, as dinosaurs that are called Primordials come knocking on your door!
When these Primordials find your village, a raid will take place where everyone bands together to drive them back! Depending on how well you did in the raid, you will also get a ranking which increases your reputation, which is needed for the true ending! Reputation can also be gained by completing quests, these usually consist of gathering materials for the village or taking down a threat!
While it seems you already have your hands full, you will also need to map the whole island, which is going to take the full game! For every 10% you will also get a reward! You might see a lot of pathways in the beginning that you can not visit yet, places with mud, maybe you need to jump higher, or even climb an ivy wall! This is where a Metroidvania element comes in! As you will find adventure gear that you can use in the game which allows you to backtrack and find more paths, thus completing more of the map! You will need the full map to get the last adventure gear item!
There will also be paths where you will need the help of other villagers to clear that path, some of these villagers allow you to trade items or even craft better weapons! Since there is no gold, you usually only need to pay with some materials! While traversing the cursed island, you will also switch to another era at times when you will play as Dana, the maiden of the great tree, but it is in another Era, the past! Your actions in the past may unlock new paths in the current era! Can you unlock all the secrets of the island of Seiren while surviving the threat of Primordials?
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Lacrimosa of Dana with a 10.
There is so much to do and uncover in this game, there is also a new game+ and a lot of postgame content to explore!
Also, dinosaurs, we love dinosaurs, even if they are all trying to kill us! You might need a special weapon to cut into their scales, though, otherwise they might just see you as a nuisance and a snack!
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
While this is a game that is quite is from 2016, the graphics amazed me quite a bit! The characters all have different looks, except for some non-playable characters in the other era. There is a huge variety of monsters that you will face, the huge island to explore with all kinds of different biomes! We both loved to complete the map for 100%, however, you might need to backtrack a lot for this accomplishment!
Sound
There are a lot of different soundtracks in Lacrimosa of Dana, the sound effects are also good and not annoying. Since this is a role playing game, there is also a lot of voice acting! However, there is a small issue with the voice acting, sometimes they stop in the middle of a scene with voice acting and then start with voice acting a few sentences later, despite that, the voice acting was great!
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Lacrimosa of Dana with a 9.2
There are a few small issues, but most of them can be overlooked with ease!
What did I think after playing Lacrimosa of Dana?
There is also a fishing mini-game, these can give some rare items that you will need for cooking, these meals can give you a great buff, for example more regeneration for spamming skills! Or maybe even allow you to use your special attack faster! To learn recipes, you must find them in chests washed ashore, backtrack for special chests or even quests!
While you can choose some options when in a cutscene, it only has a minor impact, this is mostly a moral question and how you are as a person. Will you be a caring person that wants to help others, or will you be cold towards others and only care for your own survival? Your choices will not make a huge impact on the story!
Rating
I rate Lacrimosa of Dana with a 9.8 after playing.
This is one awesome game that will easily net you over fifty hours of gameplay if you are going to collect everything!
What are my personal thoughts about Lacrimosa of Dana?
We really needed to play this earlier, this was one hell of a ride, and we had an amazing time with this game! Lacrimosa of Dana has a great ending, make sure to get the true ending! You can watch the true ending below, but beware,
SPOILERS!!!!!
Rating
My personal Rating of Lacrimosa of Dana is a 9.9
It is fantastic, go play this game already, what are you waiting for?
Last Words
Pros
- Unlock the secrets of the Island of Seiren, play in two different eras!
- Amazing trading system without gold!
- Great graphics and soundtracks!
- Enjoy metroidvania elements as you gather new abilities and backtrack to new areas!
- Learn new skills as you take down strong foes!
- Protect your village from Primordials!
- Upgrade your weapons without paying gold!
- There are a lot of different enemies that you will encounter!
- Make your own choices in this adventure!
- This game is a great entry point for newcomers to the YS series!
- Fight epic bosses and take them down a notch from their pedestal!
- Fish up some humongous extinct fishes for amazing loot!
- Cook your own meals for great benefits!
- Lacrimosa of Dana has a new game+ mode and postgame content!
Cons
- Choices are mostly for showing your own way of thinking instead of impacting the story
- Not clear when the characters stop voice acting
This was our first Ys game, and it did not feel like that at all! This is a great entry point for newcomers to this franchise, however we are looking to playing some older Ys games for lore purposes!
Final Rating
9.6
Let me know what you think of Lacrimosa of Dana in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
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never heard before. Good!
i like it, it looks good! I’ve added it to my wishlist 🙂 thanks for the review!
Good review!
Highly rated and well deserved, great review sven! Would you say for a JRPG, this game is a lot grindy? its a usual pattern for these games
Not a lot of grinding actually, it was smooth sailing, that is if you explore every nook and cranny!
Didn’t know about this game and looks great
Awesome review. Thank you for the review Sven!
Now I really don’t regret paying for the two first Ys game.
Everything about this game seems to kick ass. The graphics, the music, the atmosphere, the hack n slash action, I swear I will get this game when I have the chance.
You really should!
Got me hooked with the review
Get playing!
I usually don’t like jrpg, but this looks cool.
Good review, as usual.
40 hours of pure fun 🙂
Not including post game content or new game +!
I’ve always loved the Ys series and one day I’ll have the time to play this one as well. Well done review!
We really need to play older Ys games!
I didn’t know too much about this game, or the Ys series as a whole, but I’ve always wanted to get into it. Thanks for the review, the game sounds awesome!
You should really play the Ys games!
nice review, amazing game
Indeed, we had a lot of fun!