Monday 6 January 2014

My Tribute: Ys Seven

Introduction to Ys Seven
The Playstation vita came out in Europe at 22th of February 2012. After 3 weeks i was a proud owner of the Playstation vita.  My launch games were Uncharted golden abyss, Escape plan, Rayman Origins and Super stardust delta. Other launch games failed to attract my interest. Since the moment i had my Playstation vita i was in desperate need for a good JRPG because the novelty of my new handheld console wore of fast. Since i never owned a Playstation Portable ( Shame on me!) i missed a lot of great games. The Vita at that moment had no JRPG at all. After some research i came to the conclusion there where enough awesome JRPG's on the Playstation store although PSP games. The one game that caught my eye was Ys Seven. Well, till this day i am happy that i downloaded Ys Seven because it's one of the best games i ever played.

A Pleasant surprise
What a pleasant surprise was this game. The first thing what i love about it are the soundtracks. I never thought a PSP game was so well polished in the sound department. Every time you come in a new area you will hear the most awesome tunes you will hear in any game. Even the opening video is one of my most listened soundtracks till this day. Ladies and Gentleman it's that good.




I'm not done yet. There is more soundtracks that will give you goose bumps. The first song i heard was Mother Earth Altago. This song starts when you enter the plains of Altago. No game make me feel like I'm exploring another world better than this one ( Yes, you can keep you Skyrim in my opinion some games are much better without all that freedom).

This is how every game should make you feel. Like you exploring the world without thinking of the real world. When you don't have the feeling you are leaving the real word the game fails to get my attention. Falcom has done an excellent job with this game soundtracks and i wished i came earlier in touch with this amazing game.

Adol Christin
Adol is a adventurer and swordsman with redhair. He has the ability to arrive at the right time at the wrong time. He is always there to help but always comes in to trouble. The thing i like about Adol is because he is a real ladykiller. Everywhere he goes girls fall for him. What has this to do with me? Well, i love Harem themed animes ^_^

Action Action Action!
Well, i confess i love action and by that i mean action RPG. I'm not a guy with a lot of patience. I tend to enjoy turn based RPG's. However, i did notice i sometimes don't want to fight in turn based RPG's. You get pulled out of the world transported to a static screen where the enemy is waiting for it's turn to attack you. I want freedom, i want to explore the world without being pulled from the world and if there is an enemy trying to come across me i will defeat it in order to go explore some more.

Ys Seven uses a simple mechanic how to deal with monsters in the world of Altago. Most of you who have played Ys seven or Ys Memories of Celceta know this mechanic. Slash attacks are effective against monster with low armor, while punch attacks are effective against monsters with a lot of armor ( There is also thrust attack but that is not relevant at the moment). I like this mechanic because  it helps to make the game feel fast paced but also let's you think which character is the best for that particular situation. Furthermore, there are special attacks that may come in handy when you are facing the more challenging titan monsters and boss fights.

Freedom! Sandbox?
As i mentioned before this game made me feel like exploring a world ( Still better than Skyrim / Grand Theft Auto. Some of you guys may love it but it becomes boring after some hours). It felt like i had freedom to explore every corner of the world of Altago and that was what i did. This game let you backtrack every area thanks to new abilities you unlock during the story.Furthermore, you can visit every town after it's been unlocked in the story. Most of the times i was exploring those towns, visiting houses, talking to inhabitants for side quests to earn some moolah for improving your party's weapon or armor. Yes, you heard it backtrakking in this game isn't as tedious as in most games. I never felt bored when i revisited an area because there was always something new things to do. Furthermore, the game rewards you when you are exploring. It wasn't uncommon for me to explore every corner of the map because the rewards where superb. Treasure chests where everywhere if you put some effort into it. This is way this game felt like an open world to me. This game is an example for many games how to grasp my attention and never lose it.

Rada Manj

The bossbattles are the highlight of this game, and showoff why this game is so amazing. In the beginning of the game the bosses aren't that difficult. However, further down in the game you will notice how much stronger the bosses have become. You will have to grind sometimes in this game but thanks to the fast paced action this never felt boring.However, they never become to difficult that it seems unfair. As i written above with some grinding the bosses aren't that difficult but are challenging enough to keep your attention. Furthermore, you will notice how much effort Falcom has taken to design the enemies. Most of the time i was evading the attacks to observe the beauty of designs. Behold the awesome Earth dragon boss Rada Manj.



Conclusion 
Ys seven is a gem i noticed to late. However i am still happy that i came a cross this game. This game is an example how many developers should do their soundtracks. Every time i listen to the music it feels i can take on the whole world. The music isn't from this world! Ys seven made me an addict to the action RPG. The gameplay is fast paced and fun. The world feels alive and like a sandbox game. It even exceeds a more open world feel than a game like GTA V or Skyrim.The bossfights are the highlight of the game, and show off how awesome this game is. Guys, this was my tribute to Ys seven. I'm more than ever looking forward to reviewing Ys Memories of Celceta.
If you have a Playstation Vita or a Playstation Portable get this game! It's €9,99 on the PSN store

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