Game:

Ys Seven (2009)

Duration: 5:43

10,475 views

18

Yup. I did this with God Eater before so I might as well do it with Ys 7. Pardon the quality/syncing, the computer has been giving me hell lately. Watch in HD/480p if possible.

First, about this video content: After arriving to the desert town of Segram, the party accompanies village elder Mustafa to an altar in a sacred temple nearby the village. Since it's Mustafa's duty to tend to matters involving the Flame Dragon, he agreed to take Adol and the gang to the altar after learning that Adol has heard the voices of other Dragons. In order to progress through the lava-filled temple, the party explores around until running into the Fire Eater, Stohl Bram.
-------------
Started in the late 80's, the Ys series is a popular A-RPG saga in Japan and is relatively well-known outside of Japan (well known in a "that-name-rings-a-bell" sense). It alongside the Sora no Kiseki (Legend of Heroes) series has brought Falcom recognition over the years, a main notion of quality in the games being the ahead-of-its-time CD quality compositions.

Ys Seven was originally released in Japan in September 2009, and only recently reached U.S. shores thanks to publisher XSEED (who have taken large projects at bringing over much of both the Ys and Sora no Kiseki series within the next year).

The gameplay, from what I understand, isn't too different from previous installments, except now the focus is on switching characters to take advantage of enemy weaknesses (slash, pierce, etc.). I personally find that the more you play, the more involving it gets.

In-battle controls are pretty simple: X for basic attacks, Circle to switch party members (up to 3 at a time), Square to dash/roll/dodge, and Triangle to open the menu. Where the strategy comes in is knowing how to balance the small amount of SP the party shares to use skills, and when to use the charge attack (holding X) or basic attacks to refill said gauge. Skills are learned by purchasing weapons that holds a certain skill, then equipping and using that skill until it is learned. Afterwards, you will no longer need the weapon to use it. As you continue to use skills, they level up and come with extra damage/reduced SP.

Characters also get Extra Skills (or "Hi-Ougis" for those who need it) that do immense damage and can be activated whenever a particular gauge is full. Of course that gauge refills faster when using skills, and like the SP gauge it is shared by the party. Extra Skills freeze the enemies in place, so the only real issue with them is if you accidentally fire one off while the enemy is across the screen *smh*. Despite how it looks (the game is MUCH more fun to play than watch, moreso than other games, imo), the system is very well thought out and addictive.

The progression of the story, while a tad linear, is very open to newcomers to the series, and only occasionally will you run into to something that would be slightly more pleasing as a long-time fan of the series (such as a certain dark mercenary). The minimal voice acting is actually pretty good, and the music also holds steady with the series norm, though fan opinions say it's a bit lackluster than previous installments. In my opinion, Falcom doesn't fail to deliver.

Buuuut there are a few small gripes I have with the game...SO FAR. The dialogue for the characters is, in all honesty, a bit dry compared to other games. I'm not sure if the original Japanese dialogue reflects this, but there have been few wow moments for me in the writing/translation. There's a chance this is a result of the cliche (that TERM is so cliche :@) storyline, but it seems like it could've been a bit more colorful.

Also, I have to mention Flash Guard. By pressing L and R at the exact moment an enemy attacks, you activate Flash Guard which negates all damage and refills some SP. Personally I enjoy it as a useful mechanic and use it when I can, but it CAN break the game if abused so I have to mention it as a gripe. "Oh but I have 1337 skills blablabla" shaddap it's not THAT big a deal. I would've kept playing on Nightmare instead of turning it down to Hard if I wasn't swayed early on by a certain person *shakes fist*.

Chances are I'll do a follow up to this video later down the line.

Other Statistics