Probably my least favourite Ys game so far, but at the same time it's also cemented itself even further as one of my most beloved series. Because if I can still end up enjoying the worst as much as I did then thats a great deal more than I can say about a lot of other games. With Ys Seven you get the sense they were focused more on trying to set down the necessary foundations for something greater down the line, ideas that would be expanded upon in Memories of Celceta, but wouldn't be fully realised until Ys 8.

The gameplay loop is as addictive as ever, the heart of the game doesn't falter too much despite the slightly more than inane choice to remove the jump button making the combat feel that much more one-note in comparison to its predecessors. Character switching makes up for it though, I suppose.

Storywise? Yugh, talk about bloated... Ys games usually do quite well for themselves considering how lightly written they are, what you have here with this entry is gross overambition. A narrative slog, overwritten, utterly boring, clichéd and trope reliant to the bitter end, and just too damn long. I've got no shame in admitting I started skipped cutscenes, something I do so rarely I can't even recall the last game I did it with!

Slightly negative towards the end there, but I had my fun. In 2022 it's a game I'd struggle to recommend to anyone but avid Ys fans, and even then it's a tough sell when everything that came before and after demands so much more respect.