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[ranmafan]

Picked up my SE from GEO this morning. I think Ranma's impressions are spot on. Digging the music a lot so far myself.

I'm playing on the old Vita and I think it looks quite nice as well. Frame rate stuff isn't distracting to me either, but I'm an old man and have spent a lot of time building up an immunity to that kind of stuff.

Oh yeah this game looks great on the old vita. The colors really shine on the original screen for sure. And yeah frame rate is really fine. I've still not run into any problems with that at all (although that never bugs me either).

Really the game works so well on the vita. Pretty much a perfect fit for it.

 

[Voliko]

Theres a lot to do it seems and all. Also, lots of dialogue that goes on and on

Appreciate the impressions. It sounds like more of the same, and that the series is still headed in the wrong direction. I think Falcom had an amazing action game series on their hands. The need to put in more (pointless) dialogue, more questing, more openness etc. makes me sad. Well, at least jumping is back.

Is there a difficulty select like there has been for a while? What are you playing on?

 

[black070]

Sounds great so far, here's hoping the PS4 version eliminates any framerate issues.

 

[vladisaac]

Thanks for the feedbacks!
I have a question about healing items: can you store only a limited quantity (like in Seven), or you have an unlimited storage (like in Celceta)?

 

[ranmafan]

Appreciate the impressions. It sounds like more of the same, and that the series is still headed in the wrong direction. I think Falcom had an amazing action game series on their hands. The need to put in more (pointless) dialogue, more questing, more openness etc. makes me sad. Well, at least jumping is back.

Is there a difficulty select like there has been for a while? What are you playing on?

Yeah it has all those things in there, and it will make some people disappointed if they don't like that. I like those things but yeah sometimes regarding the dialogue I wish the presentation was a little tighter. I hate the whole 20 second camera swinging around the characters moments where you have to wait for them to start talking. Other than that Im ok with everything.

There is a difficulty setting choice at the beginning. Easy, normal, hard, and nightmare for certain I see on the menu. I chose Normal mainly cause I just want to enjoy the game and don't have a lot of time to play right now so I don't want to be bogged down on hard difficulty. Family life and the next two months of games to get through kinda prevent me from playing a harder level at the moment. But so far Im loving this game enough that Ill probably go back and play at a higher level eventually.

Thanks for the feedbacks!
I have a question about healing items: can you store only a limited quantity (like in Seven), or you have an unlimited storage (like in Celceta)?

So far haven't hit any limits on items so its probably like Celceta's

Sounds great so far, here's hoping the PS4 version eliminates any framerate issues.

Im sure they will. Like I said so far nothing major bad regarding that area but who knows what will happen later in the game. However frame rates never bug me so Ill probably not even care if it does end up having problems.

 

[kubricks]

...

Is the flash dodge and flash guard still in the game?
The skill layout seems exactly the same as 7 and MoC, so I am assuming they play the same? Do they add any combo restriction or it's just same old spam all you got?

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Yeah it has all those things in there, and it will make some people disappointed if they don't like that. I like those things but yeah sometimes regarding the dialogue I wish the presentation was a little tighter. I hate the whole 20 second camera swinging around the characters moments where you have to wait for them to start talking. Other than that Im ok with everything.

There is a difficulty setting choice at the beginning. Easy, normal, hard, and nightmare for certain I see on the menu. I chose Normal mainly cause I just want to enjoy the game and don't have a lot of time to play right now so I don't want to be bogged down on hard difficulty. Family life and the next two months of games to get through kinda prevent me from playing a harder level at the moment. But so far Im loving this game enough that Ill probably go back and play at a higher level eventually.

Subbed. Your taste in Ys seems to line up pretty closely with mine.(I also enjoy the RPG and story elements)

So looking forward to your overall impressions once you complete the game.

 

[ranmafan]

Is the flash dodge and flash guard still in the game?
The skill layout seems exactly the same as 7 and MoC, so I am assuming they play the same? Do they add any combo restriction or it's just same old spam all you got?

Flash guard is in. As for combos basically I've just been able to spam all my skills until I run out of energy for them, quickly build them back up and back to spamming and all.

 

[ranmafan]

Subbed. Your taste in Ys seems to line up pretty closely with mine.(I also enjoy the RPG and story elements)

So looking forward to your overall impressions once you complete the game.

Hopefully I can finish it sooner than later. Game is huge, and I gotta finish it before the next batch of big games comes out in three weeks. Its going to be one heck of a gaming summer the next three months.

 

[Parakeetman]

Gonna check bic camera on the way back if they still got copies available. Yodobashi usually understocks so not gonna bother with them lol

If they do have it will kill the amazon order.

 

[EricB]

Against my (wallet's) better judgement, I impulse bought the game on PSN. Probably a bad idea since Falcom games have been getting early Korean translations lately, and I could probably just wait a few months to play it slightly more comfortably that way-as opposed to waiting perhaps a year or two to play in English. But damn, I adore Ys and was looking for a new game to sink into after I finish up I Am Setsuna.

I'll be looking to this thread for help because my Japanese is non-existent. I've never really played Ys for the story, but I guess it'll give me a good excuse to double dip on the English version in (hopefully) 2017. I've been playing this series since at least the SNES period, though my love for it really blossomed the first time I saw the PC version of VI in action. Loved the VI-Felghana-Origins trilogy, liked VII and Celceta reasonably enough (though thought those two were quite inferior to the aforementioned trilogy, not to mention I, II, and Dawn of Ys which I also love). I'll give my impressions with that in mind.

 

[jb1234]

Also, lots of dialogue that goes on and on. Some might like that others won't. I didn't mind, but sometimes I really did want to get back into the action.

Goddamnit, Falcom. I'd be okay with it if the Ys stories were interesting but they never are. Still looking forward to the game, of course but it's disappointing they're doubling down on this.

 

[CrazyArcadia]

Thanks for the impressions. Can't wait to play this! Since it has lots of story, it's probably not really easy to play if I can't read or understand much Japanese? Keeping my fingers crossed we hear frm XSeed soon. I am a bit taken back by... how little people talk about YsVIII :/ How's the new characters, gameplay-wise?

 

[ranmafan]

Thanks for the impressions. Can't wait to play this! Since it has lots of story, it's probably not really easy to play if I can't read or understand much Japanese? Keeping my fingers crossed we hear frm XSeed soon. I am a bit taken back by... how little people talk about YsVIII :/ How's the new characters, gameplay-wise?

Well you could get by the game without the Japanese ability but I wouldn't recommend it. You would certainly miss out on the story. It might also be hard to know what items you need to find for upgrading weapons and creating things and such.

Haven't really played around with the other characters yet. Mostly just playing as Adol at the moment.

 

[CrazyArcadia]

Well you could get by the game without the Japanese ability but I wouldn't recommend it. You would certainly miss out on the story. It might also be hard to know what items you need to find for upgrading weapons and creating things and such.

Haven't really played around with the other characters yet. Mostly just playing as Adol at the moment.

Well thanks. Waiting it is then. Enjoy the game! It's one of my most wanted games currently and I am looking forward to more impressions (especially as a fan of both old AND newschool Ys games. I like the Arcade approach of the old Ys games, but the new ones - Seven and Celceta - really scratch an itch in a way no other action RPG currently does for me).

 

[Parakeetman]

Still not home yet but at least managed to find a copy looking forward to messing with it later.

 

[PsihoPerihelion]

When is PS4 version coming to America?

 

[Aeana]

When is PS4 version coming to America?

The PS4 version isn't even coming out in Japan until next year.

 

[Hasemo]

I tried for 10 minutes before I fell asleep (unrelated to the game). Now that I woken from my evening nap, I'm going to play for a few hours.

 

[PixyJunket]

Ys fans are going to love it.

Also, lots of dialogue that goes on and on.

.

 

[mattiewheels]

The Amazon.co.jp copy ships globally, but $60 for a vita game......crap, I guess I can wait for the $31 US version.

 

[ranmafan]

Well Ive been playing off and on. Still on chapter 2. Spending my time exploring the map, building up my levels. Just enjoying it and all.

For those asking about platforming and such before, heres a little bit more info from what Ive played.

Spoiler

Im into a dungeon now on chapter 2 and it involves a little bit of platforming aspects. There was one room at the beginning for instance that had basically bridge like structures covered with enemies that are shooting at you. You can fall off the bridges until a lower floor, and thus must make your way back up to the second floor. Around that area were lots of small rock like structures you could jump up on and use as ways to fight enemies. Gain the high ground and attack from the air and all and such. Very cool way to fight enemies.

As for where Im at at the moment,

Spoiler

I just finished a mini boss battle with a creature called Serpentus. Nice design but a bit easy. The first level boss named Avalodrgil was much more interesting.

Overall having a blast still. Nice point PixyJunket on my comments. Yeah a lot of people who like Ys aren't big fans of the amount of dialogue, but gotta say the action part is really going to make Ys fans happy. Story and dialogue isn't bugging me too much, even if it goes on a bit at times. I like a nice story in my game. But like I said before I really wish some of the pacing of the cut scenes were slightly altered a bit. Still its Falcom style, and I like Falcom style.

One thing Ive noticed, and maybe its just cause Im having so much fun playing it and not being able to put it down, but this game drains my vita's battery pretty quickly. Not surprising since its seems to be using the vitas power to its fullest. But I just gotta remember to keep it plugged in a lot.

Hoping to get some more play time in tonight but I gotta a busy morning tomorrow so not sure how much more I can play, but its really got me hooked. Also I just love a game that has a parrot as a character. Little Paro is cool!

 

[Hasemo]

Overall having a blast still. Nice point PixyJunket on my comments. Yeah a lot of people who like Ys aren't big fans of the amount of dialogue, but gotta say the action part is really going to make Ys fans happy.

I agree with the above. I just started chapter 1, but the prologue didn't really get me interested... until the first fight started and the amazing Ys music kicked in. Same with the beginning of the first chapter - once I was free to explore, I got extremely excited.

 

[ranmafan]

I agree with the above. I just started chapter 1, but the prologue didn't really get me interested... until the first fight started and the amazing Ys music kicked in. Same with the beginning of the first chapter - once I was free to explore, I got extremely excited.

Yeah I think lots of people will be bored with the prologue and will be wishing for the action part to start up much quicker. But once that first chapter starts going, its gets real good. And the second chapter is even better so far.

 

[NesFe]

Damn you vita, I started the download and went to the gym. I come back, download is paused at 60%. This issue always seem to happen randomly while downloading even when I have the vita awake (set sleep to 30 minutes, and I checked to use wifi while asleep and no power saving). It happens with both my old oled and my new slim.

Anyways, i should be able to start playing in about 10/15 minutes ^^

 

[Glitter and Gold]

These impressions are getting me excited

One thing Ive noticed, and maybe its just cause Im having so much fun playing it and not being able to put it down, but this game drains my vita's battery pretty quickly. Not surprising since its seems to be using the vitas power to its fullest. But I just gotta remember to keep it plugged in a lot.

Not sure if it's directly related, but apparently the file size of the download version is larger than both Sen games and Tokyo Xanadu, so they're doing something with this game

 

[Augemitbutter]

thanks for the impressions. i know niche jp games are in decline around here but i still love reading about them.

i'll wait for the loc. version. if the vita version comes out earlier around here then i'm not sure if i'm able to resist. could always get the ps4 game at a later date! tempted to spoil a bit of the ost, but better not eh.

 

[Kresnik258]

Literally cannot wait for this. Impressions sound awesome to me at least.

 

[Aeana]

The Amazon.co.jp copy ships globally, but $60 for a vita game......crap, I guess I can wait for the $31 US version.

I spent $120 after shipping on the premium box. $60 is fine!

 

[Dragonslayer_023]

Damn you vita, I started the download and went to the gym. I come back, download is paused at 60%. This issue always seem to happen randomly while downloading even when I have the vita awake (set sleep to 30 minutes, and I checked to use wifi while asleep and no power saving). It happens with both my old oled and my new slim.

Anyways, i should be able to start playing in about 10/15 minutes ^^

Isn't that the one you want to have unchecked?

 

[PixyJunket]

Nice point PixyJunket on my comments. Yeah a lot of people who like Ys aren't big fans of the amount of dialogue, but gotta say the action part is really going to make Ys fans happy.

Yeah, overall that's the most important part, it's why I still (sort of) liked Seven and Celceta despite all the nonsense and bloat.

 

[Hasemo]

So far I'm an hour into the game and aside from it still holding my hand (I just want to explore and level up!), which I hope will end soon, my main problem with the game is the size of the areas. They feel really small and loadings between them are longer than in previous Ys games iirc. Hopefully it will get better later.

 

[ranmafan]

So far I'm an hour into the game and aside from it still holding my hand (I just want to explore and level up!), which I hope will end soon, my main problem with the game is the size of the areas. They feel really small and loadings between them are longer than in previous Ys games iirc. Hopefully it will get better later.

Areas have gotten bigger a bit as Ive played but the loading has stayed about the same. Not terrible long but noticeable.

 

[Hasemo]

3 hours in, just reached the dungeon in chapter 2 which looks like it'll have a lot of platforming. Since it's late, I'll get to it tomorrow.

As for early impressions:
+ The core Ys 7/Celceta gameplay is there. Flash guards/dodges, skills etc. Feels like home.
+ Definitely the best looking Ys game to date.
+ Music is great as usual.
+ Quests, fishing, upgrading your home base - now I believe Falcom's "it's a 40 hour game". I think I saw someone in an earlier thread saying that the base expansion part has no impact on anything. That is wrong. By doing quests, you unlock more things, like additional materials for item exchange etc.
+ Some dialogue choices lead to funny reactions.

- I wish there the PS4 version wasn't delayed. The performance, while not terrible, doesn't feel "smooth", which makes exploration and fighting feel less fluid than 7 and Celceta.
- People wanting the "pure" gameplay-heavy pre-7 is will be disappointed. There's a ton of talking and cutscenes in the game, I think the most in the series so far.
- "Map making" again. While I try to explore every nook and cranny anyway in search for secrets, I don't enjoy sticking to all walls in all areas just to have 100% of each zone complete on the map.
- Small-ish areas. Maybe it's because the camera angle is different than in previous games (haven't played Celceta in a while, but it had a camera angle similar to 7, right?), but zones feel a bit constrained.
- Loading times between areas. Not extremely long, but still a bit annoying when you're dashing like crazy between groups of enemies and have to wait again and again.

I'm enjoying the game, but I really wish it was a bit lighter on the story and the performance was a bit better.
More to come later!

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

I think I saw someone in an earlier thread saying that the base expansion part has no impact on anything. That is wrong. By doing quests, you unlock more things, like additional materials for item exchange etc.

How essential is base expansion to simply keeping up to date with gear? I've been hearing the bosses hit harder in this game (and you defeat them quicker too), but being forced to do some base stuff just to stand a chance would suck.

Apparently you get less materials from spawns occurring around the world itself, which is a change from how Seven/Celceta threw a lot of materials at you outside beating enemies.

 

[Hasemo]

How essential is base expansion to simply keeping up to date with gear? I've been hearing the bosses hit harder in this game (and you defeat them quicker too), but being forced to do some base stuff just to stand a chance would suck.

Apparently you get less materials from spawns occurring around the world itself, which is a change from how Seven/Celceta threw a lot of materials at you outside beating enemies.

Hard to tell yet, since the only of the expansion I did had an effect on those gameplay features and it was the item exchange. I don't know about later materials but I have a ton of early ones. This is where the exchange comes in handy, because it allows you to get higher tier materials from the low ones.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

Thanks for the impressions guys! Shame about this bit though

- People wanting the "pure" gameplay-heavy pre-7 is will be disappointed. There's a ton of talking and cutscenes in the game, I think the most in the series so far.

Though I still plan on buying it day one when it makes it to our shores. Hopefully we get some kind of announcement soon about it's NA release. I know the Japanese PS4 version isn't out till next year but maybe we can get that and the Vita version releasing at or much closer in time here. I think I'll definitely want the PS4 version but will be tempted by the Vita one.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Just curious as I'm playing through Cold Steel right now and imported Ys VIII; does Falcom lead development on Vita and then port to consoles?

Cold Steel runs really on Vita and then plays even better on PS3. Now we see they've release VIII on Vita with PS4 coming in 2017.

 

[gdt]

Is this game coming out for something non Vita? Preferably PC?

 

[Aters]

Is this game coming out for something non Vita? Preferably PC?

PS4 next year. PC eventually.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

PS4 next year. PC eventually.

Don't know where you heard that. There are no PC plans at all.

 

[chaosblade]

PS4 next year. PC eventually.

The only Falcom game to get a PC port is Tokyo Xanadu, which was only recently announced. And not published by XSEED, who typically localizes Falcom games.

I mentioned in partial jest that I'd kind of prefer Aksys to pick up Ys too if it meant we got a PC version.

 

[Nyoro SF]

I think he was being facetious guys. lol

Who knows what could happen.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I was leaning towards waiting for the PS4 version and I think now I'm fully decided that's what I want to do.

 

[Shin-chan]

This reminds me I need to get back to Celceta. Looking forward to the PS4 release of this, even if it ends up like a high res PS2 game.

 

[Hasemo]

PSA: In the second chapter, there is a moment where you have to get resources for the base (I'm being as vague as possible . While doing that, you'll find a huge T-rex like monster which is level 42 and can kill you with one hit.

The thing is, there's a hill nearby and the monster is stupid enough to charge at the wall infinitely, if you stand on top of it. It can only hit you with one huge aoe stomp which will 1 hit kill the character you're controlling (and probably reduce the HP of the 2 others to 1).
You can spend a lot of time (I think it took me 10-20 minutes) and kill him by dealing 7-40 damage to the head. DO NOT DO THIS unless you want to farm your skills. He will be resurrected on the stop and gives 0 exp. Don't waste time like I did, ha ha.

 

[Usobuko]

Love Ys, can't wait for this to come over.

 

[DangerMouse]

Nice. Can't wait for the US PS4 release of this.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

PSA: In the second chapter, there is a moment where you have to get resources for the base (I'm being as vague as possible . While doing that, you'll find a huge T-rex like monster which is level 42 and can kill you with one hit.

The thing is, there's a hill nearby and the monster is stupid enough to charge at the wall infinitely, if you stand on top of it. It can only hit you with one huge aoe stomp which will 1 hit kill the character you're controlling (and probably reduce the HP of the 2 others to 1).
You can spend a lot of time (I think it took me 10-20 minutes) and kill him by dealing 7-40 damage to the head. DO NOT DO THIS unless you want to farm your skills. He will be resurrected on the stop and gives 0 exp. Don't waste time like I did, ha ha.

Another reminder that Ys is indeed not Dark Souls lol

 

[duckroll]

PSA: In the second chapter, there is a moment where you have to get resources for the base (I'm being as vague as possible . While doing that, you'll find a huge T-rex like monster which is level 42 and can kill you with one hit.

The thing is, there's a hill nearby and the monster is stupid enough to charge at the wall infinitely, if you stand on top of it. It can only hit you with one huge aoe stomp which will 1 hit kill the character you're controlling (and probably reduce the HP of the 2 others to 1).
You can spend a lot of time (I think it took me 10-20 minutes) and kill him by dealing 7-40 damage to the head. DO NOT DO THIS unless you want to farm your skills. He will be resurrected on the stop and gives 0 exp. Don't waste time like I did, ha ha.

So now you can finally jump again, but the T-rex can't jump? Sounds like racism to me.