So first of all a giant thanks to my buddy Brandon for gifting this to me. Realistically if this doesn't get gifted to me I never play this game. The trails game (falcom other series) burnt me out. I had zero desire to play any more of their games. However this game was a delightful surprise in so many ways and fixes so many issues I have with the trails series.

First of all the comabt is way more fun for me. Just simple hack and slash and dodging around but super quick and easy to pick up. The story is really solid hear, it takes a while to cook (like all falcom stuff) but once it does it cooks hard. The characters are all great here. There's real consequence and meaning and sadness to the plot here, and at times reminded me of a final fantasy like story in that regard.

Being able to explore just a giant island and feel like a pirate was pretty cool. Finding all the people that had washed ashore kept it interesting.

I do wish the story got going sooner or some hours were cut here, and the map was finnicky and I wish was stronger.

There's some falcom jank here too (the slow pan introductions/the presentations/cheesy dialogue/everyone way too happy)

But overall this was a great game and one I can easily reccomened. Can't wait to check out ys ix at some point!

Joguei 8 Ys antes deste e nenhum deles me conectou tanto a ponto de eu pensar que é um dos meus jogos favoritos da vida. Bom, uma hora isso tinha que mudar.

É uma evolução em vários aspectos: Gameplay e exploração muito mais refinada que seu antecessor; a interação entre os náufragos, o senso de sobrevivência, de vínculo para sair daquela situação é algo que me cativou muito. Adorava ver os diálogos com TODOS os náufragos sempre que possível, criei um certo carinho com a maioria deles e ver a evolução de cada é reconfortante.

Mas o ponto chave é totalmente a Dana, ela é uma personagem tão bem escrita, tão bem valorizada na obra, que é impossível tu não criar um vínculo com ela. Gosto muito das sessões do passado dela e como entrelaçaram isso com o presente.

Um jogo incrível, acerto absurdo da Falcom.

My first Ys game, and i have to say i really liked it.
There are definitely some problems of polishing in gameplay and graphics, but the story and characters are so good that compensate every flaws this game has.
The ingredient farming formula is really annoying IMO. But in some games can be relaxing... like this one, also the fishing is easy too which i like it.
I would say this is a good entry game to the series, but as i stated it's the first one i've played so idk.. I was introduced to this universe and discovered that all Ys games has the same protagonist and that's why i don't understand some connections he has with some of the castaways, of course you can deduce it by the context so is not a problem at all... but none of them actually picked my attention like the main 6 cast or even other castaways... which brings me to the main rant: WHY CAN'T I DATE LAXIA GAME WHY?....

Overall, a good game.

This probably jumps half a star up if I wasn't playing the vita version. The framerate is pretty rough for the action combat. And I liked the action combat. It's pretty fun! And simple. Also some new content in other versions that I can't comment on too much.

I like premises like this, and in ys it's executed pretty nicely. Just some cliched anime cringe to detract from it. And a mixed bag of the character cast. At least they tried and I did like a handful of characters by the end.

Music is so epicccccccccccc damn

When I heard that you are a castaway on a mysterious island, it had me intrigued. The plot had a 'Lost' TV show vibe, along with being an ARPG I had to get it.
I found the music to be stellar and only judging by the music I would award a 10/10. Not my favourite type of music but enjoyed it as the guitarist seemed to have a blast jamming at times.
Without going through details, the plot is well illustrated and makes you invested in every character. There is some plot twists and interesting ideas to keep you motivated. However, I feel the plot later sways to the JRPG cliché which loses a unique identity.
The combat is deep yet straight forward and changing characters within the team add variety as they each have different moves and attributes.
The button mapping is unsatisfactory, however you can customise this in the menu options. The upgrade system is easy to understand making it less of a chore to get into the action.
A few issues I encountered on the Switch version I played are:
- Enemies in the far background have a terrible framerate (like single digits) and is comical in a way. When approaching the enemy, the frame rate increases. I am not a FPS snob but something to notice if you are.
- Graphics look strongly like an early PS3 game. Great attempt on their first 3D game but did disappoint me given the framerate issue above.
- Some scenes seem to stretch too for and the characters seems to blurt out the obvious. There are moment I am not playing the game at for for over 20minutes and get me impatient to play the game
- Some scenes jump from full voice audio to just text boxes and seem to be quite random when this happens. Wasn't a major complaint as file size and cost of voice actors, but was it was the inconsistent nature that was jarring.
- The game is riddled with invisible walls that break immersion for me. The game seems more open-world in the images then what is actually happening also. The game is not fully linear but could be more open to explore this wonderful island.
The game took me around 70 hours to finish on hard mode and I got the true ending. Some parts could be streamlined to make it a 60hour experience for me. I recommend playing but cannot say I will play again due to the investment made and long cut scenes in certain areas.