Ys SEVEN

Ys Seven is an action-based roleplay game that follows the character Adol and his close companion Dogi. In this episode of their adventures, Adol and Dogi have landed in Altago. There they discover the land is overrun with monsters and other strange phenomenon such as earthquakes.

The duo is tasked with uncovering why this has happened. While the story is a bit slow to get started, once it does you can look forward to tons of fast-paced adventure fit for any action loving roleplayer.

Real time RPG

One of the ways Ys Seven stands out from other RPGs is that it isn’t turned based. Instead of each character taking a turn at attacking or getting attacked, the fights all happen in real time. You can have up to 3 characters in your party, but you control only one at a time.

Your other characters are controlled by AI. The AI controlled characters largely seem to escape damage from attacks, which really helps pull off this system of attack. Fight mechanics, especially the weapon-based ones, are similar to Xanadu Next’s, another game by the same developer.

Get ready to grind

In order to complete the game, you will have to do some grinding. You need to grind not only to level up, but also to obtain new materials for creating new weapons, armor, and buffs. These aren’t just niceties. The main story quest usually has you end a new segment by fighting Titanos. These huge monsters have large health pools that make fighting them difficult. In order to successfully survive a fight, you need top gear and armor to help you.

Skill based play

Ys Seven works hard to make sure you can’t cheese your way through levels or fall back on overpowered weapons from all that grinding in order to be successful. Each quest makes you work for the win. You’ll need to switch between characters to make the most of their skills, and have some knowledge of different monster types to be successful.

As an example, the main character uses a sword, which is best used to fight against monsters with soft bodies, while Dogi handles hard shell types better with his smashing gauntlets. As you go through the game and gain more characters, you’ll need to figure out what type of monster they work best at, and form a party designed for each monster you face.

Overall, this is an excellent addition to the Ys series. Adol and Dogi are fun to play, and Ys Seven has a storyline that also works as a standalone. If you’re worried about playing this game because it’s a part of a long series you’ve never played before, don’t worry. You can jump right in without any concern.

Pros:

• Spectacular soundtrack
• Skill based play
• Real time combat

Cons:

• Very linear
• Shorter game