Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana – PlayStation 5
Developed by Falcom, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana marks the return of the popular RPG series after an eight-year hiatus. Adol Christ’s boat was violently attacked by a sea creature when he and his friend Dogi had just left for the Lombardie. After the shipwreck, Adol regains consciousness on the cursed island of the famous Seiren. Together with other castaways, he creates a village to face the terrifying beasts and isolate himself from the island’s mysterious ruins. A young man begins to dream of Dana, a blue-haired, curious young woman from an unknown world. Although VIII is an abbreviation, this work of the Ys series actually takes place between episodes V and VI. The game takes place only in Seiren, but you should know that this island is very dense, it is almost a small continent and has several types of climates. A change in scenery is guaranteed, but it’s worth noting that not all areas are immediately accessible, and you’ll need to reach a certain number of rescued survivors to unlock access to the new destination.
Requires an RPG, battles will be particularly involved, but combos and special attacks are linked together at high speed and great fluidity (60 fps). It is possible to switch from one character to another with the press of a button to make the most of the opponent’s weaknesses, and the title relies on a very well-designed guard and dodge system. Of course, it is possible to upgrade crafting weapons, armor and accessories, but it is also allowed to cook, go fishing or serve your compatriots (via side quests). There are even Tower Defense-style camp defense stages, but with action/RPG sauce. Finally, this re-release of Ys 8 includes all previously released DLCs, including those exclusive to the Japanese release. Unfortunately, there are no upgrades or discounts for previous owners of the PS4 game, so there’s little to offer returning fans other than some cosmetic skins and slightly better performance.
Implementation from another time (always).
From a technical standpoint, Ys VIII: Dana Lacrimosa is unimpressive. The graphics are clearly years behind, of course Falcom is a very small team, but we would have hoped for better from the PS3 production. The characters show off successful character design, but everything from textures, animations, decorations, to a single lack of precision. A good point is on the side of very short loading times, while control remains quite easy. So what does the native PlayStation 5 version of Ys VIII bring compared to previous versions? Nothing too exciting, just a few minor improvements including better quality textures and an overhaul of the shadow system. The shooting distance has been extended, so the pop-in problems that still existed on PS4 are gone here. Moving on, this port has two graphics modes, one that continues to run at 60fps but boosts the visuals to 4K, and another that boosts the frame rate to 120fps but limits the resolution to 1080p. Thanks to the SSD, the loading time is significantly improved. The soundtrack is pure delight, combining symphonic compositions and more metal themes. Dubs are offered in English or Japanese.
Its lifespan provides at least forty hours of gameplay, a particularly decent average for this type of game, especially since it has a small management aspect with a village to develop. In a few hours, Dana will be able to be controlled, and then the two plots will be connected. In order to ensure the distribution of the RPG in Europe, the publisher NIS America promised to translate this production into French. When the PS4/Switch versions came out with understandable but often risky formulas, the results were very mixed. Faced with backlash from players, NIS promised to review the translation, and the latest patches were, of course, automatically integrated into the PS5. Interestingly, keyboard and mouse support has also been implemented, and key handling can also be changed. Owners of the Deluxe Edition can count on a five-track audio CD and an art book (but of average quality).
DOCTOR
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana clearly favors substance over form. This production presents a truly epic and exotic adventure and provides long hours of play in wonder. On the other hand, the technical realization is still far from impressing on the PS5, this port brings only the bare minimum (improved frame rate, higher resolution, accelerated downloads, etc.). Unless you’re a die-hard fan, these additions aren’t significant enough to warrant a full-price add-on purchase, because yes, PS4 owners won’t be able to update the game for free!
