Maybe if I were higher or played in VR I would be able to achieve harmony with the worldmind through factory-pressed 2010s EDM and themed lightshows. I'm sure multiplayer transforms the experience substantially, but I generally don't come to Tetris for a multiplayer experience, and so all I am left holding is a cynical attempt to present the perfect simplicity of Tetris as a kind of digital godhead, or a series of aesthetic entreaties to enter a flow state that are paradoxically incredibly distracting. Four stars for the game, two for the radical positivity Soundcloud kid gift tissue it's wrapped in.

After how disappointing V was, it wouldn’t be hard to top it, but VI makes a true effort to try something new. Ys VI is a great start to possibly the best era of the Ys series, taking elements of older games and bringing them in a new fun direction.

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VI has a larger story focus than the past several entries, with several returning characters, the dialogue of all the NPCs in both towns is updating very regularly (fitting that Trails in the Sky would release so soon after this game), and an attempt to tie parts of previous games together into a larger backstory. I feel that this works quite well, the story and NPCs are charming and fun, and the localization is strong too, with a lot of personality.

The gameplay is still the first attempt at a style they would refine more in the next two games, but it’s already a very solid foundation. It retains the feeling of being fairly fast paced, and sort of feels like another approach to what V was trying, with an emphasis on platforming and actually needing to consider your sword techniques alongside movement. Down thrusts, upward swings, and the interesting but too-difficult dash jump (though thankfully nearly completely optional). The level design is mostly pretty basic, but the moments of tricky platforming while dealing with rooms of enemies is always fun.

Overworld areas are fairly short, and dungeons are quite long, some of them getting fairly labyrinthine layouts, which works well in some and less in others, but overall I enjoyed them.

The game also retains the early-series concepts of levels dramatically affecting your damage + survivability, and the area balancing being hard at the start of the area and easy by the end as you level up.

The music is a significant improvement from V, and while I wouldn’t say it’s the best in the series, I enjoyed basically everything in it to some extent, and there are some really great songs in there too. I think it's a soundtrack that grows on you with repeated listens, or at least it made a lot more of an impression on me this second time around.

(Also, the credits song going for the early-Ys-style super upbeat sound was very cute.)

Overall I was really happy to revisit this game, and had a great time!

Selected song: The Ruined City 'Kishgal'