Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom and published by Nippon Ichi Software America (NIS America for short) in 2016 for the PlayStation Vita. Ports for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android and Microsoft Windows followed that same year. It is the ninth main chapter in the Ys series.

Plot
Adol and Dogi decide to travel to the Kingdom of Asiago, and board the luxury passenger cruiser Lombardia, where they work as sailors for Captain Barbaros. While passing by the isle of Seiren, a sea monster emerges from the depths of the ocean, and destroys the ship despite Adol's attempt to kill it. The crew and passengers wash away on the isle of Seiren, where Adol, Dogi and Captain Barbaros install a small settlement for every survivor to the incident. In the meantime, Adol has mysterious dreams about a girl named Dana, and sets out to investigate the island.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) For the first time in the series, Adol isn't the only protagonist; he shares that role with Dana.
 * 2) * Also for the first time in the series, Adol finally speaks a few lines, all of which are voiced.
 * 3) The game is much more story-driven than previous titles in the series; however, this doesn't mean that exploration isn't important anymore.
 * 4) Very good story, with plenty of engaging moments and buildup to one great conclusion.
 * 5) Beautiful music.
 * 6) As you go through the game, you can rescue castaways from the Lombardia who will help Castaway Village grow. Recruiting them not only opens new quests (which is important for the true ending) but also improves the efficiency of the facilities around the village.
 * 7) Completing side-quests and partaking in activities around the village will increase Adol's Reputation value up to a maximum of 250. A higher reputation value will increase your chances of getting the true ending.
 * 8) At times, the village will be attacked by beasts for you to fend off in a Raid. Upon clearing Raids, you will receive a rank based on the score you earned (which is calculated based on several parameters), which will translate to a boost to your reputation based on the rank you achieved.
 * 9) * Later in the game, you unlock Hunts, which do the same as Raids, only they involve clearing nests of monsters.
 * 10) Each of the 30 castaways you can rescue has his or her own personality, which is developed in Affinity events. You can increase their affinity by helping them in side-quests, or by giving them gifts you can obtained.
 * 11) * Unlike games like Persona or Danganronpa, here each gift is tied to a character, meaning you won't need to look up on a guide to tell which gifts are the best for which character.
 * 12) Beautiful-looking graphics which do a great job at immersing you in the game's environment.
 * 13) * Location points. These are landmarks that dot the game's world, and they do a great job at showcasing the game's graphics. Later in the game, you can also use them as fast travel points.
 * 14) The game allows you to explore the Isle of Seiren virtually at your will, with treasure, castaways, and landmarks to find.
 * 15) The game does away with the convoluted fast travel system from Memories of Celceta, allowing you to travel between crystals as soon as you find them, and without color distinctions - you can travel between the crystals you want, whenever you want. This greatly eases traversing the world and helps with exploration. Later in the game, you can also fast travel between Location Points.
 * 16) Several additions were made to the combat, to make it more challenging:
 * 17) * There are three types of attacks: Pierce (Laxia and Hummel), Slash (Adol and Dana) and Crush (Sahad and Ricotta), each effective against different enemy types. Some enemies also have an Armor bar, which is weak to one of the three attacks and, when depleted, allows you to deal more damage to the target.
 * 18) * You can stun enemies by hitting them repeatedly.
 * 19) * Unlike previous installments, you can boost the length of the Skill Gauge by consuming Elixirs.
 * 20) * If you dodge an enemy attack at the right time, you can enter Flash Move: time slows down, allowing you to land a myriad of fast attacks on the enemy (a la Bayonetta). By guarding at the right time, you can also enter Flash Guard, which does a similar things, but lasts longer and gives a higher score boost in Raids.
 * 21) The game is divided between Adol's segments, which take place in the present, and Dana's segments, which take place in the past. In Dana's segments, you can complete side-quests which increase her Virtue (the equivalent of Reputation in Adol's stages). With enough Virtue, you can traverse a bonus dungeon which reveals more about the game's backstory and requires the use of Dana's three forms. Completing this dungeon is another requirement for the true ending.
 * 22) In Dana's stages, you can obtain three different forms: Iclucian (similar to Dana in the present, all-round stats), Gratika (Heavy, but slow attacks, which can shatter fragile crates and obstacles and knock down enemies), and Luminous (fast, but weaker attacks, but allows you to walk on invisible platforms).
 * 23) Unlike previous games in the series, you can wear up to six pieces of Adventuring Gear/Relics, which allow you to perform feats like double jumping, running faster, stunning enemies by ramming into them, etc..
 * 24) There are a few subtle references and cameos to previous Ys titles. For example, since the game is set between Ys: Memories of Celcetta and Ys VII, Adol is shown traveling to the Kingdom of Asiago in the opening, and Griselda (a character from Memories of Celcetta) reappears as a castaway.
 * 25) Just like in the Trails of Cold Steel games, you can save anywhere you want by pressing the main menu button twice.
 * 26) The game isn't really hard once you get the hang of it, but the hard modes rely heavily on the player's skill and mastery of the battle mechanics (especially if you're playing outside of New Game +). There is also a mode that enables permanent death.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) When the game first launched, the English localization was horrible. Fans complained en masse, and NIS America patched the game to fix the problem. The Switch version launched with the patch already installed, thankfully.
 * 2) Some quests are exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions.
 * 3) The requirements to the true ending are pretty cryptic.
 * 4) The post-credits scene after the true ending makes no sense, especially considering the buildup the ending itself received up to that point.
 * 5) The PC port was very poorly optimized at launch. Like other issues, it was eventually fixed with a patch.

Trivia

 * To unlock the true ending, you need to have a reputation value of 200 or higher at the end of chapter 6. If, by that point, your Reputation value is between 150 and 200, then you will get the normal ending. If your Reputation is lower than 150, then you will get a bad ending.