Nihon Falcom’s action RPG Ys (pronounced “ees”) series has come a long, long way since its silent redheaded protagonist, Adol Christin, first set sail in 1987. Beginning with the PC-8801’s Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished, Adol has hacked and slashed his way across a menagerie of gaming systems, from the MSX2, to the NEC PC-9801, to the Super Famicom, and to the PlayStation Vita. Last December, Falcom announced that the first new Ys title in four years – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana – would be coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Japan come Summer 2016. Falcom updated the Ys VIII site today with details on its battle system, described below.
First off, each character possesses a special Skill Attack. These powerful moves can be executed by pressing the skill button + the Circle, X, Triangle, or Square buttons (each of which can be mapped to a specific Skill), but only after building Skill meter.
Each character also possesses a unique Skill Attack exclusive to that hero. Adol’s Exclusive Skill Attack, Force Edge, allows him to mow down groups of enemies in front of him with increased range on his blade.
Laxia’s Sylphide Kiss causes a tornado to erupt from her rapier, which is aimed upward. This Skill Attack hits multiple times and, as its orientation suggests, is particularly effective against flying enemies.
Sahad’s Seine Skill allows him to toss a giant fishing net over his foes, damaging them and trapping them for a period of time.
Dana’s Ice Edge lets her leap into the sky, then come crashing downward. When she hits the ground, waves of ice radiate outward in all directions.
Falcom revealed two more battle mechanics that will allow Adol and his companions to triumph in their journey. The first among these is the Flash Guard. By pressing a button within a set amount of frames of an enemy’s attack, the player’s character will flash white and will avoid all damage. The player’s attacks are then guaranteed to be critical strikes for a very brief period of time, thus rewarding skilled players for their knowledge and reactions.
The second among these is the Flash Move. By performing an evasion action just before an enemy attack lands, players will dodge the attack. Enemy actions will be slowed, while players can move about and attack unhindered. Bayonetta fans may recognize this mechanic as being very similar to the aforementioned heroine’s Witch Time.
If the Ys series has proven anything to gamers, it’s that Nihon Falcom isn’t afraid to experiment with the combat of its various games. Ys VIII seems to be no exception, as the above mechanics seek to provide players with fluid and intuitive combat.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is set to release in Japan in Summer 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita. No release date has yet been announced for other regions.
Credits go to Gematsu for translating Falcom’s original Japanese site, which can be found here.