Players are itching to try out Nihon Falcom's upcoming "Ys Viii: Lacrimosa of Dana," which will be released on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows over the next few weeks. In anticipation of the first mainline addition to the franchise in eight years, the developers decided there is no time like the present to port "Ys Seven" to Windows. In 2009, the action RPG was originally released in Japan on the PlayStation Portable, before receiving a western release a year later.
A PC port has existed for awhile, as China received it in 2012, but Nihon Falcom and XSEED seemed uninterested in bringing it to the rest of the world.
Thankfully, a resurgence in the franchise's popularity has provided enough motivation for the developers to rectify that mistake.
How does it hold up?
Honestly, not much has changed from the portable version, as this is a straight port. It runs at 60 fps and supports a number of resolutions, although the textures are still relatively ugly. In terms of graphics, the "Ys" franchise has always been behind the times; "Ys Seven" looks like an early PlayStation 2 game, especially when experienced on a big screen.
Still, combat is what the series has always been about. We are happy to confirm that it is still as smooth as butter, and runs brilliantly. Everything feels responsive and extremely quick paced.
What we are trying to say is that "Ys Seven" is a blast to play through.
Still, it might be worth holding off until "Ys VIII" is released, since this port will set you back $24.99. That is not to say it is not worth the money, as "Ys Seven" offers a good 20+ hours of gameplay, but the new release appears to be a sizeable leap forward in quality.
Story
Adol and Dogi are sent on a mission to locate five legendary dragons, whose powers are needed by Adol to prevent an upcoming disaster. The plot is cliche, there is no way around it, but "Ys" has always been able to elevate that which is mundane. "Ys Seven" is earnest in its delivery, which is aided by the loveable cast.
The title includes multiple boss fights, and they are frankly amazing. Watching a quick gameplay video on Youtube might make it seem like the combat requires no thought, but this could not be further from the truth. Running in gung-ho is a sure fire way to get yourself killed. There is a range of abilities to unlock and master, same which are needed to be able to defeat a few of the later challenges.
It might not be a must buy, but none-the-less, we are glad to have it on PC.
