Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana PS4 & Vita

[ParanoiaDragon]

I have no idea what location this game takes place in, I don't recall a nation called Dana or Lacrimosa.....

https://www.falcom.co.jp/ys8/

[MNKyDeth]

It better be coming to the US.

[SephirothTNH]

Anyone who has sung Latin befor may recognize lacrimosa as "weeping". Not sure if that's what falcom is going for though. The weeping of Dana.

[NecroPhile]

Sexy Ys!

It better be coming to the US.

+1.  And hopefully none of that download only bullshit that xseed's been doing lately.

[xcrement5x]

I hope it comes over as well.  I can't imagine XSEED doing digital only on this, Ys is probably one of their flagship series in the US and they know the huge demand for a cool LE. 

[ParanoiaDragon]

There's a little more info here:
The 8th game in the franchise will have Adol exploring Siren's Island. The game will include a large number of new features, as well as expanding on features from Ys: Memories of Celceta such as the village defense minigame. As if the action in Ys games wasn't fast enough, Nihon Falcom has promised even faster action with the ability to freely dash and jump with a variety of new attack skills. You can check out the official website here, and you can check out the first screenshots in our gallery below.

http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2015/4212.html

[esteban]

I'm disappointed. I was hoping this was going to be Falcom's transition into Sexxxy Ys Pachinko Industry.

[geise]

I'm disappointed. I was hoping this was going to be Falcom's transition into Sexxxy Ys Pachinko Industry.

You and me both!

[Joe Redifer]

This sucks. Needs to be MOBILE ONLY! Dropped the ball once again giving us a console version. Who the hell wants to play on a game console? So lame. Phones are the future.

[ParanoiaDragon]

And more info:


Falcom shared some of the latest details on their recently announced title, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, in the latest issue of Dengeki PlayStation. [Thanks, Hokanko-Alt.]

 

Prologue:

 

By the archipelagos of the Goethe Sea located in south of Greek, Adol is on a passenger ship called "The Lombardia" that is headed from Xandria to the continent of Eresia. However, the ship is attacked and sunk by a giant creature, and Adol wakes up, he realizes he is on the shores of the cursed island, known as "Seiren Island."

 

From here, Adol will help out other castaways and survivors. He'll build a base here, and also see a mysterious pale girl in his dreams.

 

The report also mentions that Adol's illustration appears to be different, as it appears to not have been done by the illustrator, but the key visual's artist instead.

 

President Toshihiro Kondo added a few comments as well:

 
•The adventurer Adol is the protagonist, and they're aiming to make Ys VIII into a refreshing action RPG as they've done so with titles in the past.

 
•In addition to speedy and party-based battles with various skill attacks, there will be new jump attacks, systems that will have you cooperate with castaways, and other new elements.

 
•The topography, scenery, and atmosphere of the stage of Siren Island is getting more focus on it than any other setting Falcom has done in the past.

 
•New characters and settings will be revealed after New Year.

http://www.siliconera.com/2015/12/21/ys-viii-lacrimosa-of-dana-gets-some-details-on-its-story-and-new-elements/

[geise]

I have a Vita,but I really want a next gen experience with a new Ys.  I don't think I'll get that with a Vita version.  Are the screens from the PS4?  If so they look nice, but I'm kind of expecting from if it's for the PS4.  Regardless I am sure the game play is going to be rock solid, plus it's a new story and area.  I liked Celceta on the Vita, but felt it was lacking compared to Ys 7.  I am selfish and want that feeling of amazement that I got with Ys Book I & II on the TGCD and then Ys VI (PC). 

How does everyone else feel that this is keeping the formula of a party/group still rather than just Adol?

I anxiously await the new characters and new scenery.

[technozombie]

Japanese game developers have experienced a lot of success bringing their games to Steam. It is my hope that Falcom will port this game to PS4/Steam themselves and bypass Xseed. Either way, I'd say it's guaranteed to come out here.

[SegaSonic91]

I hated the three party aspect of VII when I first saw it (and the fact that it was not on the PS3!), but goddamn did I love that game!  It worked so well, far better than I imagined.  Same goes for Celceta.  I cannot wait for VIII to come out in the PS4.  2016 is going to be crazy for games, it's like I've gone back in time 15 years when JP devs ruled everything.  I love this resurgence of Japanese console development!

[grolt]

The Ys PSP games are among my favorite of all time. The Oath in Felghana was so so dramatically well done and then such an epic single player journey it felt like the culmination of the decades of Falcon blooming in one game. The party battle in Seven wasn't as good but if definitely grew on me - I sunk dozens of hours into that game. Always wanted to play Celcetta but it is tough to justify buying that console when that's pretty much the only game on it that I'd play. I'm still hoping for a Steam version some time along the line. Very excited for this one though, it would be great to finally play an Ya game on a console proper again. I only have an Xbone this console generation but I'd definitely get a PS4 if this makes it out stateside.  Falcom4Lyfe

[Gypsy]

I just beat Oath in Felghana recently and it was great.

Apparently MoC has had a PC release (in Chinese). Honestly, it should be on Steam eventually. I find it hard to believe they don't want those sales. Heck more and more Japanese stuff in general is hitting PC.

Anyway, very much looking forward to this game.

[ParanoiaDragon]

The Ys PSP games are among my favorite of all time. The Oath in Felghana was so so dramatically well done and then such an epic single player journey it felt like the culmination of the decades of Falcon blooming in one game. The party battle in Seven wasn't as good but if definitely grew on me - I sunk dozens of hours into that game. Always wanted to play Celcetta but it is tough to justify buying that console when that's pretty much the only game on it that I'd play. I'm still hoping for a Steam version some time along the line. Very excited for this one though, it would be great to finally play an Ya game on a console proper again. I only have an Xbone this console generation but I'd definitely get a PS4 if this makes it out stateside.  Falcom4Lyfe

Actually, I think Celceta is now compatible with the Vita TV, which goes for something like $40 on Amazon these days.  I think that's totally worth it.  It apparently was patched in October of this year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_Vita_games_(M%E2%80%93Z)

[grolt]

The Ys PSP games are among my favorite of all time. The Oath in Felghana was so so dramatically well done and then such an epic single player journey it felt like the culmination of the decades of Falcon blooming in one game. The party battle in Seven wasn't as good but if definitely grew on me - I sunk dozens of hours into that game. Always wanted to play Celcetta but it is tough to justify buying that console when that's pretty much the only game on it that I'd play. I'm still hoping for a Steam version some time along the line. Very excited for this one though, it would be great to finally play an Ya game on a console proper again. I only have an Xbone this console generation but I'd definitely get a PS4 if this makes it out stateside.  Falcom4Lyfe

Actually, I think Celceta is now compatible with the Vita TV, which goes for something like $40 on Amazon these days.  I think that's totally worth it.  It apparently was patched in October of this year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_Vita_games_(M%E2%80%93Z)

Wow, I had no idea this was a thing.  I'd heard about PlayStation TV but assumed it was more like a hub for playing PS4 games on a different TV or playing old PS1/2/3 games through PlayStation Now.  Had no idea it was essentially a Vita console with a cartridge input and everything.  Picking one up locally now based on your recommendation along with MoC.  Thanks man.

[Gypsy]

There are some games that still won't work but basically everything that has come out recently and everything coming out in the future is compatible. You said you pretty much only want it for MoC though so that doesn't matter too much.

Sony has really bungled the whole thing imo but they don't care about anything Vita related anymore and that's been the case for awhile.

[NightWolve]

It is my hope that Falcom will port this game to PS4/Steam themselves and bypass Xseed.

Heh, that would be my sincere wish as well or another publisher/localizer like Atlus replaced 'em, but their partnership is pretty firm after all the previous titles they licensed so not gonna happen... :/ I really do hate the position that Thomas Lipschultz put me in, but I do have to stand up for myself.

Apparently MoC has had a PC release (in Chinese). Honestly, it should be on Steam eventually. I find it hard to believe they don't want those sales. Heck more and more Japanese stuff in general is hitting PC.

Wow, thanks for sharing this! I didn't know this happened. Wonder if SkyeWelse knows, if so, he already will have imported it. Must be that same PC developer that did the Ys 7 PC Chinese version.

So from what I read, in 2009 Falcom lost their PC distribution partner in Japan, Softbank, as the PC gaming market got really bad there... Softbank stopped buying their games for reselling/distribution to retail stores and Falcom's online mail order side wasn't cutting it. That's the situation that forced them into the console market to stay in business. Thus, no more PC versions coded by their staff ever since. :/

But yeah, it's this Chinese developer that's continued the PC ports for that market (China). I heard their Ys 7 port was pretty buggy though but I mean to check it out some time.

EDIT: Hey, I found it. Easily purchased right now from YesAsia.com for $46 bucks (shipping included).

http://www.yesasia.com/us/ys-foliage-ocean-in-celceta-chinese-edition/1046408708-0-0-0-en/info.html

I bought the first Magna Carta from this retailer (from that Softmax Korean developer).

Hm, they also indicate that Celceta is their top 2 best seller right now for PC Games looking at the right column here:

http://www.yesasia.com/us/en/pc-games.html

Courtesy of SkyeWelse. ;)

[NecroPhile]

Playing Ys can get you pussy?  I knew it!

[SegaSonic91]

It is my hope that Falcom will port this game to PS4/Steam themselves and bypass Xseed.

Heh, that would be my sincere wish as well or another publisher/localizer like Atlus replaced 'em, but their partnership is pretty firm after all the previous titles they licensed so not gonna happen... :/ I really do hate the position that Thomas Lipschultz put me in, but I do have to stand up for myself.

After reading about your story a few weeks back, I am so glad I did not buy the Ys games from GoG.  I still remember back when you first started on the Ys VI translation project and how awesome I thought it was as that was before I went to uni to study Japanese.  I will stick to playing them in Japanese!  I never did open Ys Origin though and really do not want to now.  I don't think I have the ISO for it anymore either.  I ordered it and Felghana from Falcom themselves.  It was so excitting at the time.  I was never able to finish Felghana because my laptop utterly died during the final boss battle and I had no idea about the stupid hidden file save sata bullshit that Falcom loved pulling back then, grrrr!  I also remember when XAK III and Ys IV Mask of the Sun translations were started!  I think it was on the Ys forum??  I do not remember now.

I wish Falcom and gone for the PS3 instead of the bloody PSP when they decided to make console games again.  I waited and waited for that promised PC upgrade of Ys VII which of course never happened.  Even playing Sora no Kiseki FC on the PS VITA TV does not come close to the PS3 version graphically.  If only there was a voice patch for the PS3 versions!  I am not a fan of the "updated" chara designs in the VITA version.  Much prefer the originals.  I am not a fan of modern JP game designs in general.  I am so, so SOOO fed the fuck up with females and the ridiculous boob sizes!  It is just pathetic!  Even SEGA had to go and ruin the designs in the sequel/spinoff/whatever it will be to Senjou no Valkyria.

[NightWolve]

It is my hope that Falcom will port this game to PS4/Steam themselves and bypass Xseed.

Heh, that would be my sincere wish as well or another publisher/localizer like Atlus replaced 'em, but their partnership is pretty firm after all the previous titles they licensed so not gonna happen... :/ I really do hate the position that Tom-chan Lipschultz put me in, but I do have to stand up for myself.

After reading about your story a few weeks back, I am so glad I did not buy the Ys games from GoG.

Appreciate it! It's an uphill battle obviously and it's dispiriting where you see that some just don't care, pretend there's nothing wrong, or worse, those disgruntled bigoted types that took glee/enjoyment with me being cheated, exactly the people I feel Lipschultz was catering to with what he did and laughing along with...

I still remember back when you first started on the Ys VI translation project and how awesome I thought it was as that was before I went to uni to study Japanese.

Woah, you go way way back then! That was 2003-2004-ish! And speaking of that, I actually went ahead and released a patch of that project the day XSEED went live with their localization on Steam, though it needs plenty editing still, heh. Then after I saw what PirateBay Sarah did on the same day also, well, I shared that too. The trolls on the XSEED forums actually noticed and one of 'em said, "It feels like a kick in the nuts." Guess they still keep an eye on me from time to time... Heh-heh. Sometimes I wish I never got involved at all in the fan translation gig, but oh well. :/

I never did open Ys Origin though and really do not want to now.  I don't think I have the ISO for it anymore either.  I ordered it and Felghana from Falcom themselves. It was so exciting at the time.

Yeah, I sure do remember that feeling when my boxes arrived! I love Falcom's packaging.

You know, actually, I never sat down to beat Ys Origin either. I hacked it for Jeff "DeuceBag" Nussbaum, I extracted the Japanese script, upgraded my translation software to give him full editing control, instant testing, etc. that is, with a few button clicks, he could translate its text to English, instantly insert it into the game, catch context errors, etc. total control/instant testing to let him do all the translating and editing without my further intervention and then eventually what happened is he redirected the translated results to Lipschultz's programmer buddy, as part of a double-cross amongst themselves and he again redirected the results to XSEED, this time getting paid and credited 100%!

So yeah, that's how things left off with me with Ys Origin. He essentially tricked me into working for him. I should've taken his offer to pay me for the extraction, instead I wound up giving him $550 just a few months later, another regret I'll have to live with... No doubt about it to me, he is a monster that played me for years, I'm just a poor judge of character, a great failure of mine that has gotten me in trouble many times, both offline and online... :/ But yeah, the game just got left behind in my mind with how XSEED came along and his secret deals of shame...

I was never able to finish Felghana because my laptop utterly died during the final boss battle and I had no idea about the stupid hidden file save sata bullshit that Falcom loved pulling back then, grrrr!

Heh, I have an issue with the final boss battle as well! I beat the game on normal mode, but I unlocked the final "Inferno" difficulty mode, got to the end, maxed out Adol, and STILL couldn't defeat Galbalan, "the marauder from far off lands..." ;)

He IS one of the best, epic bosses ever, really tests your ability to pay attention, predict patterns, dodge at the right time, etc.!! Felghana was Falcom's golden age. You can NOT be lazy when you go up against him, Falcom made you work for that victory which makes it all the more satisfying. Of course Inferno mode is made available with their final patch and if you want the maximum challenge.

I also remember when XAK III and Ys IV Mask of the Sun translations were started!  I think it was on the Ys forum??  I do not remember now.

Well, if you're talking Xak III, I started that in the RIGG forums (Retro ISO Gaming Guild) in late 2001, and Ys IV:MotS got started probably in places like The Whirlpool/Donut, the predecessor to romhacking.net and Neill Corlett's forums with translator Shimarisu.

You probably remember the Ys Goddesses art in the RIGG forum frame on the left that Tenchi-no-ryu (Stephen Harris) made who left to run RPGFAN.com for a couple of years.

I wish Falcom and gone for the PS3 instead of the bloody PSP when they decided to make console games again.  I waited and waited for that promised PC upgrade of Ys VII which of course never happened.

I hate that they had to quit the PC platform (nothing coded by them internally). I kinda hoped it'd eventually become more of the standard and we'd see less and less of the PS3, PS4, PS5, PS6, PS7, etc. formula of consoles but I guess I don't understand that there's still plenty of market for dedicated gaming-only machines even when they cost about the same now as a general PC and are closer to just being PC themselves in terms of computing power.

Anyway, you did kinda get that PC version of Ys 7, just that it was coded by a Chinese team and not Falcom staff and now you'd have to learn Chinese. ;) That team has gotten better I hear and Falcom even took back one of their PC ports (It was Zero no Kiseki) and localized it to Japanese for sale in Japan.

[xcrement5x]

New screenshots from Famitsu!

wayback.dualshockers.com/2016/vita-ys-viii-new-screenshots-on-famitsu-shows-new-characters/




Even more at the link above.

[NecroPhile]

Awesome, even if Raksha looks rather grumpy in most of those pics.

[Sarumaru]

Awesome, even if Raksha looks rather grumpy in most of those pics.

Dats cuz Japan is into tsundere bitchz

[technozombie]

I hope the ps4/Vita exclusivity is short lived since I don't own a PS4.

[ParanoiaDragon]

bah, wrong thread

[xcrement5x]

I hope the ps4/Vita exclusivity is short lived since I don't own a PS4.

I mean, they may do PC/Steam as well but I dunno.

[NecroPhile]

Sexy Ys themed Vitas:  http://www.sony.jp/playstation/store/special/psvita/ys8/?s_tc=st_gp_sce_blog_20160512_ys/

It's a close call, but I prefer the Black Pearl version to the White Cleria version.

[Speedy]

Sexy Ys themed Vitas:  http://www.sony.jp/playstation/store/special/psvita/ys8/?s_tc=st_gp_sce_blog_20160512_ys/

It's a close call, but I prefer the Black Pearl version to the White Cleria version.

I personally prefer the White one but both of them are stunning. They're definitely the best limited edition Vita designs so far.

[Johnpv]

Those are pretty awesome.

[xcrement5x]

New trailer!

[TR0N]

New trailer!

Looks like adol fall off the boat again  :

[NecroPhile]

Overall the artwork is fine, but they sure have some weird noses.

[geise]

What about the ps4 development?  Is it still slated for a fall release on ps4?

[Johnpv]

I do believe the PS4 version has been delayed till around this time next year.

[kazekirifx]

Just received the Vita version yesterday, the day before the release date (directly shipped from Falcom to my address in Tokyo). Initial impressions:

Overall very good and engaging game so far. Game engine has been revamped, and the graphics are much improved over "Memories of Celceta". You can move the camera freely now like in any modern 3D game. Gameplay is still very similar to Memories and Ys Seven, though you now have both dash and jump. Gameplay is 3-character party again, with certain enemies being weak against one of the three characters' attacks. Still lots of crap to pick up on the fields, though I think they improved it a bit by not making the enemy carcasses remain so that you have to hit them again to get more crap like in Memories. (I found that a bit tedious.)

Speaking of crap to collect, they added "fishing" and "cooking" to the game. These are basically two ideas taken directly from their Legend of Heroes series. A bulletin board with optional quests on it is also back again. It's amazing how much Falcom repeats themselves (but we love them for it).

Somewhat new to the series, though, is the layout of the world and progression. You have a hub town that you keep returning to. You find other survivors who were shipwrecked along with Adol at the beginning of the game, and you return them to the hub town which gradually grows as you progress the game. You also gain the ability to access areas you passed by earlier in order to progress the game, so you end up retracing your steps a lot. Luckily, fast travel is unlocked very early in the game.

The music is pretty good so far, at least for the main fields and bosses. One big nitpick for me is that the music during the intro animation is slow and melodramatic instead of rocking. (I mean, come on, this is supposed to be an Ys game, right?)

During the important story bits, the characters are fully voiced. Adol is mostly silent, again, but still says a word or two incidentally when he catches a fish or levels up. I think he talks too much. Adol should be silent.

Overall, though, enjoying the game a lot so far and can't wait to get home and turn it on again tonight.

[NightWolve]

Nice review, enjoy!

[Gypsy]

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to this game being released state side. Good to hear about the camera change in particular.

One thing, and you may not have encountered it yet. How does the game perform with lots of action/enemies on screen? MoC was pretty laggy in my experience and it somewhat detracted from an otherwise pretty fun experience.

[NightWolve]

Falcom Music Channel's josep put up the soundtrack.

I found it meh, didn't really find anything I liked, but there it goes for others to check out.

[NecroPhile]

Thanks for the review, KK, and for the tunes link, NW.  I can't wait for it to come to the US.

[geise]

I might have to finally update my Vita.  I really don't want to loose my eCFW for psx and psp games though.  I like playing my psp games on an oled screen.  Especially with my launch jp psp being a ghosting mess and a shitty d-pad.

[xcrement5x]

Thanks for the preview/review!  It sounds like a pretty solid entry at least.  Now the waiting game for a US version begins

[Gypsy]

I might have to finally update my Vita.  I really don't want to loose my eCFW for psx and psp games though.  I like playing my psp games on an oled screen.  Especially with my launch jp psp being a ghosting mess and a shitty d-pad.

You could do what I did and get a PSTV to keep your Vita on low firmware. You should be able to get one quite cheap.

[NecroPhile]

I want cfw for my PSTV so I can play PSP ISOs.  I'd gladly buy a second one for that, keeping my current one updated for Vita games.

[kazekirifx]

One thing, and you may not have encountered it yet. How does the game perform with lots of action/enemies on screen? MoC was pretty laggy in my experience and it somewhat detracted from an otherwise pretty fun experience.

I haven't noticed anything major, and nothing has detracted from my enjoyment of the game at all. The graphics, while a lot better than previous Ys games, are still not anything too impressive when compared to most modern games. Very simple models and the aliasing on the polygons is pretty bad. It is a Vita game too, so you might want to wait for the PS4 version if you're worried about frame rate and resolution. Me, I actually wanted the PS4 version, but couldn't wait till next year to play it, so got the Vita version for now. I'll consider whether or not to get the PS4 version as well when it comes out.

I want cfw for my PSTV so I can play PSP ISOs.  I'd gladly buy a second one for that, keeping my current one updated for Vita games.

I had a regular Vita and a Japanese Vita TV. I'm keeping the Vita TV on lower firmware so I can use the whitelist hack. What I did in order to play Ys VIII on my TV is buy a U.S. PSTV. They are dirt cheap. So, now I own a total of three Vitas in all. Strange since I only own like 10 games.

I found it meh, didn't really find anything I liked, but there it goes for others to check out.

To be honest, I am starting to feel a bit "meh" about the soundtrack now as well. It's nice, but I haven't heard any tracks yet that stylistically really scream "Ys!!!" to me. VI and Seven did a better job trying to emulate the trademark Ys sound... though I felt like VI almost tried too hard at times... almost to the point of sounding like a parody of Ys music (though it is still a very good soundtrack). Seven struck a pretty good balance between sounding both old and new to me. I'd really like to hear some more "Ys worship" in the VII soundtrack, and am still hoping it will be present in some of the later tracks I haven't heard yet.

[Gypsy]

Thanks for the info.

Yeah I was able to finish MoC but I definitely noticed some big slowdown issues. I definitely don't care about the graphics compared to western PC games and such, I really just want it to perform well because it's an action oriented game. Like you say, I may be better off waiting for the PS4 version which could definitely perform better.

Edit: It should be known that Ys is one of my favourite gaming series of all time. It and Yakuza really as far as Japanese made series go. 

Heh, I have 2 PSTVs as well. They are really cheap so I couldn't resist. Hell when the bundled one ran on sale and I sold off the extra controller and game code it was practically free. 

[xcrement5x]

Wowsers!

Looks like NISA is bringing over Lacrimosa of Dana:
http://www.dualshockers.com/2017/02/17/ys-viii-lacrimosa-dana-comes-west/

They just announced it a bit ago.  Pretty crazy, sounds like Marvelous/XSEED is more interested in doing boobie games than anything else now.

EDIT:
They are already up for preorder too:
http://store.nisamerica.com/ys-viii-lacrimosa-of-dana-limited-edition-ps-vita

http://store.nisamerica.com/ys-viii-lacrimosa-of-dana-limited-edition-ps4

$80 for Vita and $100 for PS4, though the contents of the LEs look the same excepting the game itself.

[TR0N]

Wowsers!

Looks like NISA is bringing over Lacrimosa of Dana:
http://www.dualshockers.com/2017/02/17/ys-viii-lacrimosa-dana-comes-west/

They just announced it a bit ago.  Pretty crazy, sounds like Marvelous/XSEED is more interested in doing boobie games than anything else now.

EDIT:
They are already up for preorder too:
http://store.nisamerica.com/ys-viii-lacrimosa-of-dana-limited-edition-ps-vita

http://store.nisamerica.com/ys-viii-lacrimosa-of-dana-limited-edition-ps4

$80 for Vita and $100 for PS4, though the contents of the LEs look the same excepting the game itself.

Great i don't have a problem with nisa localizing the game for na.

[Johnpv]

I pre-ordered the PS4 version myself. 

Supposedly Xseed is upset they lost this, and it was totally a Falcom decision to go with NISA.