DragonFlames

Is Wraith, but reborn.

Banned because same.

Whew boy! I missed nine whole pages, because of Ys VIII! But man... what a game. What a fucking good game. "Good" is almost an insult. That's how much I like it right now! I am... reasonably sure I can finish it in my next play session today. Unless I decide to grind out the trophy to get every skill to max level, for which I only have Past!Dana left (but with her, I can't equip any of the very useful Skill EXP Up accessories, so... that's gonna take a bit! xD). And I also have to resist the temptation to do all hunts and raids first, since that's an achievement you can get, as well. Anyhow, I reached what I think is the final dungeon. And I think this is the final dungeon, because this is the most 3D Falcom-game final dungeon that ever 3D Falcom-game final dungeon'd: This is by far the best-looking one! And there is a twist to this as well: this isn't the only area. You also have four different areas, each one pertaining to one of the four Wardens of Evolution, whom I THOUGHT would be the bosses I have to face, and... well, they kinda are, buuut... at the same time, not really. See, the thing is... the Wardens of Evolution are not actually villains. In fact, they seem willing to help out or at least let you try and stop the Selection and Rejection process known as the Lacrimosa (even if they don't believe that it can be done). What you are fighting are representations of their psyche as they fell into despair after the reveleation that the Lacrimosa is inevitable, and cannot be stopped. In fact, two of them outright THANK you for defeating their psyches. And I love it! Instead of the generic "oh, defeat the entire group of main villains you faced throughout the game because they are evil", you're doing something different, and I love it! And the Ura = Sarai thing that I called from the second Ura first showed up, because games in general kinda suck at keeping those things secret, and this is now the third time I've seen the 'mysterious masked/hooded person that has their voice changed to mask their true identity is actually someone you know' twist in quick succession (twice in Ys) was resolved in a way I hadn't thought it would be, but at the same time, it was the only way it could have gone. And I love that, too! Also, the boss fights were fun. And also, also... I got what is probably the last Past!Dana part in this game (luckily, I can go back to her at any time I please), and... remember this girl that I wondered what her deal is? Well... Turns out someone at Falcom must've been a Fire Emblem fan, because not only does she say this: And yes, she is actually ancient... and also long dead. This is her ghost. But also, she's a legit dragon (in a neat reversal of conventions, whereas other games call dinosaurs dragons, or at the very least put them in the same category, dragons in Ys 8 are called/put in the same category as dinosaurs) And she's also the best boss fight in this game by a huge margin. Like... Holy shit, that was amazing! Legitimately one of the most enjoyable boss battles I've ever had, with perfect music to boot! AND it's a dragon! What more could a Draggy want? XD So good, in fact, that she is easily a candidate for my top three boss fights ever! This game is... something! XD I'll wait until I've actually beaten it to make my final judgement, but so far, this is a VERY strong candidate for my personal top ten games, if not even top five!

Yeah, definitely! I bought the game back then because I thought the cover looked neat. XD A shame, but I understand!

Nice, nice! There's some legendary stuff in there, for sure! Nights of Azure, Nights of Azure 2, Mana Khemia, Atelier Sophie, Atelier Meruru... dang! No wonder Cold Steel 1's OST is so good! xD Beautiful! It refers to the character on the cover, Frederica, who put herself in stasis a thousand years before the game's story takes place, and she wakes up with no memory near the beginning of the game. Finding out just why she did that, and what happened one thousand years prior is what drives the plot from then on, basically.

I see! Damnit, Falcom! xD Heck, even the original version is a banger already. I don't call Atelier Meruru one of the best OSTs in the series for nothing. xD ^^ It's similar in spirit to Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl, which is what I immediately thought about when you posted that art: That could be a likely explanation, though I personally wouldn't think that upon seeing it, haha! My first thought would be "hey, this lady is very important to the plot!"

YES! This theme is amazing! lul --- Also, I tried my hand at a cover for Kuro: It's not the most beautiful thing in the world, because I was too lazy to make everything white in the logo transparent, but this is what I thought would make for a better cover than the one they have now. xD

True! And that's something I would never have considered happening in a million years, considering how low-key Blue Reflection was (I didn't even know it existed until last year). It even got an anime (that I still need to watch, but I'll wait until it's done and then watch everything)! Also, I kinda want Gust and the Ys team of Falcom to band together to make a game. An Ys x NoA crossover. Throw some classic Trails and some Atelier in there too, if you want. That game would be amazing. Just have Gust take care of the music nowadays, assuming modern Falcom... XD Atelier Ys: Trails of Azure Nights Something like that. xD

Also... now that I've said that Nights of Azure is Gust's Ys (gameplay-wise, Ys 8 reminds me a lot of NoA, which is a VERY good thing)... I want an entire game series starring Arnice! Make it happen, Gust! x.x Make prequels that show what happened in the 800 years between Arnice becoming a half-demon through blue blood rain and meeting Lilysse! Or sequels that show how Just give me NoA3, Gust. Please... XD

Nope! There's an invisible wall where the exit is. I've tried. XD Oh? :curiousDraggy: They could've just put the title to the right, cropped it where the chain surrounding the girl fades out in the middle, and made that the cover. Because this art looks awesome!

Getting almost one-shot does that. XD Hooray for cheese! xD My main motivation to win was that I hadn't saved in a while, and REALLY didn't want to get a game over and lose all the progress I made up to that point. I also... somehow managed to forget that auto-save is a thing, so... er, yeah. xD Euron, Griselda, Kathleen... There's a neat ensemble to bring back once the game taking place in Romn rolls around! So it does. Dang. Someone just took the artworks of each character, slapped them on a semi-yellow background and called it a day, it looks like. xD --- Oh, by the by. Something I completely forgot to talk about, regarding Ys 8: This boss I had to fight with Adol alone was great. And this attack of his in particular was... very familiar. Observe those circle things on the ground in both screenshots. I don't even mean that in a negative way, considering that Blueblood Dragon Mavelus is my second fav boss ever, so I very much welcome the reminder. Nights of Azure is Gust's Ys, and it might be likely that Falcom got a little inspired by Nights of Azure in some elements of Ys 8. Not saying that that's a bad thing at all (Nights of Azure IS my favorite game ever, after all, and Ys 8 has been a blast, too). Just a general observation!

I see! They did call her the "governor general" of Celceta, so I expected her to be from there. I also finally understood what you mean by "they have characters reappear all the time as NPCs". xD Her profile does say she's the fourth princess of Romn, so I would expect her to! He is, very much so. And I did have a really hard time, but I actually defeated him. Had to burn through all of my healing potions and meals I've cooked, but somehow, I was able to scrape out a victory. I also, uh, kinda got a lot of mileage out of Dana's projectile attack, especially once he started going really crazy on his last health bar, so maybe that helped my case.

So... Shrimpy is the Ultimate Hope, while I am Ultimate Despair? Teehee Danganronpa? Anyways, I made some more progress in Ys 8. So... first things first. Did someone pick up the phone? Because I called it: The only question now is... How can there be two Eternians among the Wardens of Evolution? Very, very mysterious. Also, I found the final castaway and it is someone Adol knows, apparently: She seems cool. And then I did a quest for some ultimate armor and got an event with the resident blacksmith There's another character I want reappearing in the eventual game that takes place in the Romun Empire. It would not make sense for her not to, unless they, like, kill her off before the game happens (like, you get there and she's not there, and then you hear she died of illness or some such). And then, I also walked into what I assume is a bonus boss. Ys 8 veterans will know when they see it, I expect: My characters around level 62 This boss level 80 This boss is super fast and hits like a freight train. I used Dana, Laxia, and Sahad. Now guess how that battle ended.

I'll try, haha

Same, and I'm sorry for bringing up such a gloomy topic. I couldn't help but give in to my anger a little there. I apologize. It does. Like right here. There are good people here, and I know they exist elsewhere, too. Just not me, seeing how I killed the chill atmosphere around here.

The most hilarious part is that electricity produced with renewable energy doesn't even need to be more expensive than what we have now. But electricity lobby gotta lobby, I guess. Though "renewable" is relative, too, in the case of trees, at least. Because those need time to regrow. Time the industries don't give them. Yeah. Stuff like this is what makes me laugh at anyone saying "humans are the crown of evolution" unironically. At this point, I honestly have lost all hope that humanity is ever going to change for the better, tbh. This pandemic was THE big chance for us to change our ways, to strive for a new start, but nope! Gotta fall back into the same shit that got us into this mess in the first place. I don't let it shine through often, but I am utterly fed up with the human race as a whole. And I make no exception for myself.

Yeah... it's an absolute travesty, really. Plant trees, build some facilities to desalinate seawater and use that to make the deserts green. Power it with solar panels. That's the thing that should be done. But they don't do it because "it costs too much" and/or "it doesn't yield enough short-term profit". Instead they just needlessly jack up prices on everything and leave everything else as is so already poor people don't even know how to get through the winter without freezing to death. Disgusting. Utterly fucking disgusting. It is!

XD I see! That's the same guy who... well... I think a lot of problems could be solved if people either a) discared greed (like that will ever happen) and b) PLANT SOME FUCKING TREES YOU ABSOLUTE IMBECILES! Sorry for getting heated there, it's nothing against you. My monitor's HDMI port decided to stop working suddenly and I am a little bit absolutely livid about it.

Scratch that "maybe", darling. There is no "maybe" about that. Pffft That's a good joke.

Also, recent events in Ys 8 made me think of this line in Mary Skelter: Just replace "humans" with "Eternians". I see! xD Yeah, definitely! ^^ That is sadly true.

Nice, nice! ^^ I like both characters, and I couldn't possibly decide which of the two I'd prefer, haha! I liked both of them quite a bit, as well! I think it's important to remember the time they were made in, and seeing them as a product of said time. Sure, they may be outdated by today's standards, but I still think there is value in experiencing them, and their oddities looked to be more charming than anything else, haha! Especially 2 had so much charming stuff put into it, it's unreal! Granted, I saw the Chronicles versions, but hey! xD

The damsel in distress part was unworthy of her character, I think. I came to really like both her and Reah after Ys 1, 2, and Origin, I will be honest. And perhaps it was because of Origin, because I had that context, that that line had so much impact to me. Or I'm just too easily sucked in to the emotions of a scene, haha But I agree, she needed (and needs - I do want her to reappear one of these days, preferably playable, so her character can really shine) more screentime. Also, that song is beautiful.

@Zan Partizanne I wish the best for you and your family! Our area is entirely unaffected by this flood, the only thing we have is a bit more rain than usual. My heart goes out to you guys! Stay strong! I mean, I don't disagree. I like silent protagonists more than most people, and if anything, he reminds me a LOT of what the Etrian Odyssey Untold games do with their own silent protags, which to me is to this day the best implementation of such I have seen in a game yet. I only said that I prefer Yunica as a protagonist and character, that's all. I didn't even call Adol bad. That thought never crossed my mind, tbh. There are some... horrifyingly bad main characters: Ephraim, Hugo, Otsuu, among others. Adol is not one of those. That "Feena..." in Ys 2, man... One word; one name. But the impact was massive. Though I have to agree with Armagon here: that's basically every game with a silent main character.

That's just straight up me.

I see!