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Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Started by Dream of Omnimaga, August 24, 2016, 05:31:47 AM

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Dream of Omnimaga

Has anyone here with decent Japanese skills got the chance to try Ys VIII out? It came out last month on the PS Vita, but only in Japan. I am a big fan of the Ys series since the mid 90's and played the Turbografx-CD games, the SNES Ys III, PS2 Ys VI (ew at its intro, but we can fix that through cheats apparently) and a bit of Ys VII and Origin. Oh and of course Memories of Celceta.

What worries me right now, though, is that there has been no announced release for North America and Europe, although the PS4 version is supposed to come out in Japan in 2017. And if you remember Ys Origins and Oath in Felghana releases, it took 6 years before it gets localized in North America and they did it by purchasing fan translations. And in the case of Ys IV, it took 20 years before we get an English release and Ys V has yet to come out outside Japan. So I hope for Ys VIII we don't have to wait 6 more years before seeing an English release. D:

Anyway so far the OST is kinda cool, although I still miss the special touch that Ys I, II, III, IV and to a lesser extent VI had. Granted, it no longer abuses violin like every JRPG released between 2005 and 2015, and I'm happy about that because almost all JRPG music sounded the same for a while, but there was something special about songs like Release from the Far West Ocean, Ballacetine Castle or Dark Fact Final Battle extended theme.
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

gameblabla

There's nobody here with a PS Vita AND with japanese skills here,
sorry to break your dreams dj.

The only physical copies i can find are crazy expensive...
It's 65$ on Play-Asia and nobody rated it lower than 5/5 stars,
which is quite amazing but the so-called reviews are basically a sentence...

I plan on buying a Playstation tv and hack it to remove that whitelist bulls*** :
If i can get that game for cheap (that game doesn't require 6.61 so that should be good), i'll play it.

Man, i saw no one other than you mention it, this game rivals Limited Run games in terms of popularity.

Also, there is apparently a version with chinese subs.
Why they went all the trouble to translate it in chinese but not in english ? lol
  • Calculators owned: None (used to own an Nspire and TI-89)

Dream of Omnimaga

#2
I have the feeling that the lack of popularity is due to being for PS Vita only for the time being. In North America, most PS Vita games nowadays are JRPGs and the entire console seems more like a niche thing. I am surprised that the PS Vita is still being sold in North America and I wonder if that's even the case anymore for the Playstation TV (will the game even run on it anyway? I heard the PSTV has a very limited compatibility list). The PS4, on the other hand, is another story so it would be weird for XSeed to not localize the game (unless they decide to rely on fan translations again).

Also there are some stereotypes about Ys series in North America from Final Fantasy lovers: For some people, the fact that a Ys game didn't feature 200 different items, 50 skills, 150 enemies and 100 hours of gameplay like Final Fantasy or Secret of Mana/Evermore does makes it worthless. I love Ys series because it's fast-paced while you slash everything on your path, but in a JRPG setting with good music and not too many cutscenes/talking.

As for other reasons why no one else mentioned it, I have the feeling that it's because it has been so long since Ys VII came out that people probably thought that Ys series was dead, or they are simply used to having to wait half a decade before a newly-released Ys game gets localized and released stateside.
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

gameblabla

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on August 24, 2016, 07:39:11 AM
In North America, most PS Vita games nowadays are JRPGs and the entire console seems more like a niche thing. I am surprised that the PS Vita is still being sold in North America and I wonder if that's even the case anymore for the Playstation TV (will the game even run on it anyway? I heard the PSTV has a very limited compatibility list).
Yeah, the Playstation TV sold badly mainly because of the whitelist bulls*** and the fact it was advertised as a media box with no netflix support.
Thanks to HENkaku though, it is possible to extend the whitelist to include previously incompatible games.
Except Uncharted, which makes use of the PS Vita touchscreens, all the games turned out to run fine on it.
That, on a 30-60$ device with full DualShock support (wired and wireless), and HDMI out. (it has a slot for ps vita games as well)

Too bad Sony released an update to close the exploit but the device is no longer manufactured,
so no new Playstation TV will come with version 3.61.

As for the Vita, they said they didn't plan any sucessor to it so perhaps they want to keep it alive
as long as possible before they quit the portable market...

As for Ys VIII, i'm not sure if this will come to murica/europe and it would suck if it didn't.
It sure isn't a popular series in the west but it's not like they made an effort to release the games there...
XSEED buying fan translations, wasn't it for Ys IV ? Are they really strapped for cash ?

I know nothing about the game so that's how far we can go...
(until the game becomes cheaper or piracy becomes possible on Vita)
  • Calculators owned: None (used to own an Nspire and TI-89)

Dream of Omnimaga

At first I thought the whitelist was because some games required the touchscreen in order to be playable, but then I realized non-touchscreen games were not even whitelisted. I personally bought the PSTV only to hack it, although I got too busy to do that yet. My plans were to put plenty of emulators on there so I can do retro gaming. But now that there is a way to hack the whitelist, I might just use the console for PSVita stuff as replacement for my PSVita.

Oh and yeah, when I bought my PSTV, Target retailed it at $80, despite every other store selling it for $100. But Target went bankrupt and I got a 20% off the $80 (or maybe it was 30%?).

As for XSEED buying translations, I believe it's because they decided to do that instead of being cs like Nintendo, who instead would have sent a cease and desist letter to shut down translation projects. IIRC it was for Oath in Felghana, Origins and Seven. I wouldn't be surprised if they did it with Celceta too, though.


By the way, on the PSP there were cables to play on your TV too, but the problem is that it only filled 50% of the TV screen rather than being zoomed, so if you had no zoom feature on your TV then you were screwed.
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

gameblabla

#5
I finally got a chance to buy a Playstation TV for around 58€ and get my hands on the demo of Ys VIII.
I hacked my PSTV with Henkaku, modified the whitelist and i was able to play the game.
With the whitelist modification, it turns out it plays perfectly on my PSTV.

The game starts with you, Adol, on what appears to be a Pirate ship.
However, some tentacle monster appears and threaten to kill you, until you defeat it.
Or so you thought...
The tentacle thingy does not give up : it flips the ship and everyone falls to their presumed death.
Adol, even though he has a sword, he could have use it to dig inside the ship so he doesn't fall off.
Unfortunely, he's stupid and like everyone else, he falls into the water.
Some time later, you find yourself alone on an island with your sword.
It's your job to gather the whole crew and save the earth !

The graphics look nice, during cutscenes at least...
As soon as you are in-game, the virtual resolution is MUCH lower.
Like, as low as let's say a PSP game. As a result, it suffers from some not-so-great aliasing.
While it is definitively noticeable on an HDTV, it should be less noticeable on the Vita's screen, especially the OLED one.
It still holds up well but it's no PS3.
The framerate also likes to drop like crazy but strangely enough, it does not happen often during battles, thankfully.

The gameplay fares better, though.
It's your standard realtime RPG with ground attacks, aerial attacks, special attacks and items and all.
(So far, i still do not have any spell or $hit like that)
What can i say ? It's reponsive, it's fun, it makes me smile :
I'm lovin' it

The music is great, but it tends to get repetitive.
Also, i'm not sure if rock music fits well with fishing, hahaha.

The story... it might be the best story but since i can't understand japanese,
i can not say anything about it.
It still is playable though and there's some english here and there. (like the description for locations when you encounter them)

Interestingly enough, even though i own the demo, i spent like 2 hours on it and i have still not finished it !
So it's time to rate the game (starting from 10/10) :

  • Adol is cute... +1
  • But the captain (i presume his father?) is an ugly chubby -1
  • Adol likes to remove clotches from girls. +1
  • Adol has silver eyes, that's some RARE eyes there ! +1
  • He's a transvestite, from sailor to warrior, many costumes. +1
  • That virtual resolution is seriously low in-game ! -1
  • The framerate seriously likes to drop... -1
  • That music, even though it's great, it gets on your nerves -1
  • not enough sex -1
  • That beginning was so boring, i wanted to turn off the game. -1

8/10, gr8 g8me

You can download the demo here (from what i gather, it was from the JPN PSN) :
https://mega.co.nz/#!3U5gmQLL!QZ6boX-Ba9DtIzlja6TbsIjJWYj26Ty3fpY2lZWshlg
  • Calculators owned: None (used to own an Nspire and TI-89)

gameblabla

#6
I played the "demo" for 4 hours and so far so good.
Unfortunely, i came to a point where it seems i can't do any progress...


Anyone knows japanese here (or can use a translator) ?
This text box prevents me from going any further.
Does it say that since its a demo, i can't go there or maybe it is quest related ?
Speaking of quests, i finished them all and still nothing.

Oh well, apart from the huge wall of text i don't understand, it is a pretty good game.
  • Calculators owned: None (used to own an Nspire and TI-89)

Dream of Omnimaga

Hm maybe it's the end of the demo or you got stuck? Anyway glad you like it so far. I would definitively like to try it at some point.

Also I now know why this game is not released yet in North America. With such terrible PS Vita tales I am surprised this console hasn't been discontinued in North America yet.



They're probably better off releasing it in 2017 on the PS4 alongside the Japanese version. I bet the disc will include both languages.

As for the OST it's quite good definitively. I listen to some songs again sometimes. But the first songs in the OST takes a while to get used to it seems. Nonetheless, I'M still glad they no longer abuse violin. I started getting tired of hearing violin in fast songs in JRPGs as it got repetitive.
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

Dream of Omnimaga

So while I am waiting to see if Ys VIII is gonna be localized overseas, I started playing Ys IV: Memories of Celceta again on my Playstation TV (now that it's compatible). The game is quite fun although dungeons seems much longer than the SNES/Turbu game O.O. Also I am unsure but it seems like some stuff is not in the same order as the SNES game, despite people claiming that the story is closer to the SNES version early on. In any case, playing all 4 Ys IV games is kinda worth it because of how different they are from each others, to the point where the PSVita game feels like a brand new game.

Now I am kinda curious about when Ys VIII storyline will happen...
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

Dream of Omnimaga

#9
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! It's finally announced for North America in 2017!!!

http://gematsu.com/2017/02/ys-viii-lacrimosa-dana-ps4-ps-vita-pc-coming-west-2017

Only difference: It will be brought to us by NISA instead of XSEED, with the ability to switch between English and French text and Japanese and English audio. It will be released on PC, PS Vita and PS4 (probably gonna get PSVita version if a Whitelist hack gets released for Firmware 3.61 by then, else I'll get the PC version if my PC can run it, else I'll get the PS4 version)
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

gameblabla

I did not saw that. It's pretty cool actually :P

I'm not sure what i should pick between the new Tokyo Xanadu, this one and a GX4000.
We shall see
  • Calculators owned: None (used to own an Nspire and TI-89)

Dream of Omnimaga

My game purchases will be minimal this year, with only very cheap/discounted game purchases and the ones I really really want. So Ys and the new Zelda will most likely be my two biggest purchases unless something as interesting to me gets announced.
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

Dream of Omnimaga

So I got the game yesterday from many trade-in credits. I first considered getting the PS Vita version instead, as it works on PS TV and I was unsure if I would still get a PS4 of my own anymore next spring, but for now I got the PS4 version anyway.

The game looks much better in person on TV than it does on videos and it runs very smooth. I only played the demo so far, though (before buying the actual game), and I must say that even in easy mode it was much more difficult than the easy modes in Ys Ark of Napisthim, Memories of Celceta, Oath in Felghana, Complete/Chronicles, Origins and Seven. My only gripe about the game is that we cannot change the controls it seems (for example, I would have liked to map the attack button to Square and jump to X, as that's what I'm generally used to). I tend to not be fond of using a PS4 lately due to recent incidents (see safe-haven thread) but I can probably change my bro's PS4 settings to fix that.
  • Calculators owned: TI-82 Advanced Edition Python TI-84+ TI-84+CSE TI-84+CE TI-84+CEP TI-86 TI-89T cfx-9940GT fx-7400G+ fx 1.0+ fx-9750G+ fx-9860G fx-CG10 HP 49g+ HP 39g+ HP 39gs (bricked) HP 39gII HP Prime G1 HP Prime G2 Sharp EL-9600C
  • Consoles, mobile devices and vintage computers owned: Huawei P30 Lite, Moto G 5G, Nintendo 64 (broken), Playstation, Wii U

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