Ys VIII: Lacrimosa Of DANA

[Sméagol]

A JRPG. Seems interesting, but with plenty of other games this Summer, I don't know if I have the time or money for it. Anyone going for it? I'd love to hear impressions.

 

[Grazza]

It's certainly on my radar.  Out soon too, so I hope there's a demo.

[ArtMediocre]

Yeah, seems to be quite a good summer for JRPGs with both this and Shining coming out. I've built up quite a backlog on Switch now, but i'll consider this if it gets good reviews

[Glen-i]

This is the one with that "Big Hole" isn't it?

[Ike]

45 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

This is the one with that "Big Hole" isn't it?

Yes, although they've updated the translation since it first released.

[Glen-i]

7 minutes ago, Ike said:

Yes, although they've updated the translation since it first released.

Ah, so they made it worse? That's a pity. I kinda liked the ropey translation.

[Hero-of-Time]

Quote

Thank you for your support and excitement for Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA for Nintendo Switch. We wanted to outline the schedule for the upcoming patches, which we previously had communicated were coming soon, to address known text refinements and other issues. Due to the worldwide release of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, optimization was the top priority during development, and continues to be our focus.

You can check back to this page anytime to see the current status on the following items below:

Patch v1.01
Short Description: Fixes include adjustment to Nintendo Switch auto-sleep function, incorrect icons displaying, and text refinements.
Current Status: Ready for Launch
Actual Live Date: June 26

Patch v1.02
Short Description: Addressing crash issues, some aesthetic issues, and text refinements.
Current Status: Testing Round 2
Expected Live Date: Launch week

Patch v1.03
Short Description: Text refinements.
Current Status: Testing Round 1
Expected Live Date: Week after launch

Patch v1.04
Short Description: Japanese Voice Implementation and aesthetic refinements during cutscenes.
Current Status: Testing Round 1
Expected Live Date: Mid July 2018

If you are unsure what the statuses mean, you can see the Status workflow written below: 

• Planning
• Development 
• Testing Round 1
• Testing Round 2
• Ready for Launch 

We will continue to update this schedule as new information comes in, and intend to keep this information as clear as possible while we implement these planned patches. Thank you again for your support.

 

They are basically begging people not to buy this on day 1. Game looks like it will be finished around July/August time.   

[Ike]

NISA's handling of the game has been really bad, the poor localisation wouldn't have happened with XSeed who actually cares about the series.

I want the game on Switch but I'm not sure I want to support NISA.

[Emerald Emblem]

Well I won't buy this day one, not like we're starved of JRPGs on Switch anyway. Will buy South Park Gold edition since it's on sale this month then.

[Hero-of-Time]

It seems the game is borked if you download the DLC before the day 1 patch is installed.

Nisa has sent out a tweet about how to get around the issue.

Quote

Update for everyone concerned: we are aware of the issue and working with Nintendo to solve immediately. For now we've taken down the DLC from the store to prevent anyone who could encounter this issue. If you get the error message, please remove the cart, delete the local data via Manage Software and reinstall without downloading the DLC. The main title and patches are not affected.

This should have no effect on Save Data.

 

[Dcubed]

Lovely stuff! NiSA have done a great job of completely bungling this port!

 

From its poor performance, to its late release, to its myriad of bugs and patches to fix said bugs.  They're making a great case to not trust them with other developers' games!

[Hero-of-Time]

I've been keeping an eye on impressions of the game from people who did pick it up and the game seems solid enough. With the first patch now released I figured I would look to pick the game up but sadly you can't find the game anywhere for a reasonable price. Shopto are out of stock, Simply Games, Argos and GAME never got it in stock in the first place and Amazon are charging £50 for it. It's clearly been under shipped and sent out to die. 

I still wouldn't mind giving the game a go but with Shining Resonance out next Tuesday and Octopath Traveller releasing next Friday, this game may have missed it's chance with me.

[Ike]

I did pick it up in the end and it's been pretty solid for the 6 - 7 hours I've put in so far. The patch has fixed most of the dialogue, although did notice some of the voice work not match the text. Not noticed any frame drops.

[Grazza]

4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I've been keeping an eye on impressions of the game from people who did pick it up and the game seems solid enough. With the first patch now released I figured I would look to pick the game up but sadly you can't find the game anywhere for a reasonable price. Shopto are out of stock, Simply Games, Argos and GAME never got it in stock in the first place and Amazon are charging £50 for it. It's clearly been under shipped and sent out to die. 

I still wouldn't mind giving the game a go but with Shining Resonance out next Tuesday and Octopath Traveller releasing next Friday, this game may have missed it's chance with me.

 

One thing that bothers me is that the original cartridge will never be the full, patched version of the game.  As backed up by what you said, you really have to pre-order this type of game (or at least buy at launch), but in order to be perfect, that cartridge will need additional, downloaded data.

 

I might wait until the eShop version is around £20, but that's still going to take a log time to download.

[Hero-of-Time]

The final (at least scheduled ) patch is out today. It is the 1.04 patch and adds the Japanese voices and refines how the characters will look during cutscenes.

 

[Grazza]

I started this last night, hoping it would be a new kind of "Dragon Quest" for me.  It began well enough - anything set on a ship has a good chance of drawing me in - and the visuals have that sort of cartoony (but not too cartoony), correctly proportioned style, similar to DQ itself or Skies of Arcadia, that I enjoy more than any other.

 

Gameplay-wise, I don't usually like action-RPGs, but I thought this might be OK as the A.I. takes care of the characters you're not controlling.  It eases you in well enough at first, but the learning curve becomes very steep, throwing all the options at you in a short space of time.  There are blocks, evades, aerial juggles, special attacks, even-more-special attacks... and that's without taking into account your placement compared to the enemy or which character's weapon you should be using (slash, pierce etc).  It's all too much for me.

 

With just three characters in my team so far, I've only encountered normal enemies and bosses - the strategic difference between the two being immense.  There are not the equivalent of mini-bosses to gradually teach you tactics.  I've set the difficulty down to Easy, which I don't really like doing as I'm not so sure the game is hard, just that I don't know what I'm doing.  Hopefully I'll get into it more with the next session.

[Ike]

Don't worry about aerial juggles, they aren't required. You get a little bit extra EXP if you kill an enemy in the air. Enemies also have an icon to indicate which type they are weak against, the characters will also tell you who to use. On easy it probably doesn't matter too much and the AI will still do well against them anyway.

Learn to block or evade as they make tougher enemies easier since you get bonuses for pulling them off. You can beat bosses without taking damage if you get good enough at it.

The game will throw more stuff at you but it's more different features than battle mechanics. I think you know all of them now.

There's aren't really mini-bosses but there are stronger enemies that show up in places.

[Grazza]

I'm enjoying it more now.  I think setting it to Easy was a good idea in this case - now I can just leisurely collect all the materials, craft armour, build my base etc.  Not entirely sure where it's going at the moment, but it's pleasant enough.

 

[Grazza]

This is a nice, relaxing game to play, like filling in a jigsaw puzzle.  It has that very modern, open-world RPG thing of feeling like you're uncovering far more map than the story might lead you to expect (I'm only on Chapter 2 and have ventured miles!)

 

@Ike, do you remember where I can get Lateka Resin from, please?  I'm concerned I won't find it before the time limit on the quest runs out.

 

[Ike]

36 minutes ago, Grazza said:

This is a nice, relaxing game to play, like filling in a jigsaw puzzle.  It has that very modern, open-world RPG thing of feeling like you're uncovering far more map than the story might lead you to expect (I'm only on Chapter 2 and have ventured miles!)

 

@Ike, do you remember where I can get Lateka Resin from, please?  I'm concerned I won't find it before the time limit on the quest runs out.

 

They are rare drops from the tree branch like harvest points if I remember right. If you open the big map you should be able to see what harvest points give what, it might tell you in the journal. From the top of my head I'm sure they drop around Castaway village, the beach, the area you met Sahad, or maybe one of the forest areas. If you have any equipment that increases rare drops then make sure to equip it.

I think most quests give you until the end of the chapter usually, I don't think I missed any. I hope.

[Ike]

Merry Ys-Mas

 

 

 

[darksnowman]

Been on the lookout for this since the game trial. Since then, Ys VIII never quite stopped niggling away at the back of my mind. With no price in sight comparable to what I shelved Ys IX for a few years back (sub-30 if not sub-20!) I didn't wait long into 2024 before placing my order. Like, I knew I wanted to continue it and I knew I was going to enjoy it, so, really I knew it wasn't going to be money wasted—which those 25 hours+ during the game trial could attest to.

The funny thing about resuming an old file is what you've forgotten. Was the raid icon the jumping off point I'd left myself from Aug 2022? I couldn't recall how to trigger it. What about replenishing item supplies or getting better gear? Wasn't sure. Side quests? Hmm. I know from missing one so far that those expire at the end of chapters, so as long as I didn't amble into that I'd be okay for the time being. To get back into the swing of things, I went to the immediate area outside camp and got the hacking and slashing underway. It started to come back to me. Felt great. Next, I went through the menus and swapped some moves out. Then, went around and talked to most of the camp (upgrading some gear in the process, need more bottles for healing items) and headed out to continue exploration of the other side of the island and press on with the story. There's been some interplay with Dana, we've found the wee girls father (I took time out to do her sidequest, too) but most troubling is we cannot deal with the Primordials over there. Had to leg it through... while filling out the map, of course. Worried what the next boss will be like if those are anything to go by. 

Wouldn't say I'm fully acclimated again, but it just feels great to play. It's one of those I don't see the time going by when I'm on it which I think is one of the attributes of a special game you've clicked with.

@Ike top tunage. 

[Hero-of-Time]

@drahkon loved this game.

[drahkon]

44 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

@drahkon loved this game.

 

[darksnowman]

Hadn't too far to go to the end of chapter four. Suspicious character introduced. I burned through some healing items on Dana's boss (couldn't get the dodge timing right), then did a swift number on the normal party's boss, which brought the chapter to a close. Hope I was up to date with sidequests by that point. 

After a raid, chapter five got going with a number of quests so I'm having a bash at them while trying to steer clear of the story progression marker on the map. A night quest on Mount Gendarme is chaos. Like a musou. I remember doing another night quest on a previous chapter and I had to leg it through because the enemies were relentless. Then did another in a vertical area which was a laugh with this speedy movement not best suited to precision platforming. Need to return there for some chests.

It seems the story has made Dana forget how to double jump? Either that or I'm misremembering that she could double jump. 

Want to make a point of fishing more and I'd like crops to fill out the rest of the farm. Still reacquainting myself with the people in the camp to see what benefits I can get out of them.