by Keri Honea
Content Manager
09-20-10 | 02:46 PM America/Chicago

The Ys role-playing game series is one of Japan’s longest running and most popular RPGs that started on the PC back in 1987. It obviously doesn’t release installments as quickly as other famous JRPG series, such as Final Fantasy, but also unlike FF, every Ys game centers on the same character, the red-headed Adol Christin. Despite its popularity in Japan, the game is unfortunately not as well known across the Pacific except among hardcore JRPG fans. Case in point, this game released in Japan last Fall and released here at the end of August.Ys Seven, the aptly named seventh game in the series, could similarly fall by the wayside outside of niche gamers, but this one really shouldn’t. It’s way too much fun to brush off, even for a PSP game, and it’s one that non-JRPG fans will enjoy as well.

Ys Seven focuses on Adol and his massive traveling companion, Dogi, as they take their “adventuring” career into the country of Altago. Like the good JRPG heroes they are, they stumble into trouble, find favor with the ruler of the land, and then are thrust into a destiny to save the world. The story itself doesn’t sound all that spectacular or different from every other JRPG out there, but after playing for a few hours, it’s hard not to be invested in the once thought bland story due to some unique twists and turns in regards to the truth of what is happening to Altago and its people, and the truth of its history. In addition, the characters practically beg players to learn more about them, and as a consequence, it’s hard not to care about them and the fact that their world is on the brink of destruction (like the worlds of most JRPGs).

It’s the gameplay, though, that really brings out the fun. It appears to be a standard action-RPG with a typical JRPG party – a la Kingdom Hearts – but with Ys Seven, the player has the ability to switch which characters to control. The battles and skills of each individual character encourage control switching as well. For example, Dogi is a heavy hitter, so he can take out the shelled beasts with ease whereas Adol, with his sword, will struggle against them longer and often futilely. The AI characters will attack whatever the player is attacking, but not with half as much force and authority as they would if the player would control them. As a result, learning the characters’ strengths and weaknesses is the biggest key to defeating enemies and bosses – especially the bosses. No other JRPG has implemented this idea, and it’s a fantastic method of blending turn-based play with hack-and-slash action.

The basic enemies attempt to train players to using this technique, but it’s the boss battles that really require deep, strategic switching and selection of the team’s most powerful attacks. None of the bosses are pushovers, and Adol literally can’t carry enough potions to keep everyone alive and meagerly chipping away the HP meter. However, even though these fights require more focus than normal, they don’t feel unbalanced in comparison to common enemy fights. All JRPG developers need to take a leaf from Ys Seven in how to create balanced, non-overly frustrating boss battles.

Of course, the game has a few downfalls that overshadow the uniqueness of the gameplay a little bit. The most glaring one is the requirement of crawling through all the dungeons twice. This is never a welcome plot device, and in the case of Ys Seven, it sours the last ten hours of the game. It’s one thing to obtain equipment that allows characters to traverse areas in dungeons they couldn’t before, but it’s another to force characters to go all the way back through the dungeons just for another boss battle. Ys Seven does have a few areas of dungeons that cannot be accessed until later in the game when Adol picks up some much needed accessories, but there aren’t enough of these regions and treasure troves to cover up the fact that Adol is repeating what he’s already done (just with a different, stronger boss).

The other eye-raisers are the low quality of the graphics and Adol’s method of dialogue. The graphics look like they belong on the Nintendo DS, not the PSP. Some cut scenes delve into what the PSP is capable of, but they are fleeting and far between, much like a DS game. It’s really disappointing to see such low quality on a handheld that is capable of so much more and doesn’t have many releases, particularly exclusive releases. For a game that is one of the few exclusives for the system, one would think that it would have high enough graphic quality to literally show other handheld owners what they’re missing.

As for Adol’s dialogue….

Adol never speaks directly to any character unless a dialogue tree opens up for players to select. When he does “speak” of his own volition, it’s told as though from a narrator and not from Adol. One example that springs to mind is the following: “Adol expressed his unflinching desire to take on the responsibilities of the Dragon Warrior.” That may have been what Adol expressed, what exactly did he say? The player is given no insight into what kind of character he is, other than the fact that he is an adventurer and likes helping people. It’s almost like he’s the RPG version of Link with his constant “…” thought bubbles, nods of the head, and narrative explanations of his dialogue. Even if this is a nod back to how the original Ys games “spoke” for Adol, it’s somewhat of a head-scratcher for newcomers and leaves them wondering what inside joke they’re missing. Fortunately, the other characters’ dialogue is quite humorous, so they make up for Adol’s lack of personality.

Overall, these last criticisms are a little nit-picky and they really don’t detract from the enjoyability of the game. No matter if PSP-owners are JRPG fans or haters, the atypical battle system of Ys Seven will satisfy both demographics. It’s sadly not often that a gem pops up for the PSP, and Ys Seven definitely falls into this category.