Y's VIII Lacrimosa of Dana is one of the many entries from the Y’s series from Nihon Falcom. These games are action oriented in contrast to what the Trails games were at the time. The story revolves Aldol Christin and his fellow travelers who become shipwrecked after their ship was attacked by a sea monster. The group is marooned on a mysterious island and they have to find a way out while discovering the island many secrets. Aldol and his friends must build shelters and find food and look for others missing from the group.
The more you explore the map, the more rewards you can get based on how much progress you made. The combat is button mashing and some enemies tend to be damage sponges. You can choose and unlock various special abilities and equipment as the game progresses. This is achieved by item trading due to the nature of the game being set on an island. Each party member has their own unique combat style to help you. There is a flash system where if you dodge at the right moment, time slows down enabling you can hit enemies swiftly. You can take part in raids and hunts where you fight waves of enemies and are rewarded based on how well you did.
Like previous Falcom games, it is very cliched. Aldol’s character is somewhat inconsistent. In the games, he’s potrayed as a mostly silent yet he has an established background and even some voice lines too which is a really odd for someone who is meant to be a silent me. Not helping either is that the game follows the Persona games which are notorious for having meaningless dialogue choices. The voice acting is average and the comedy seems forced. The game has a huge chunk of filler that causes serious drag. The graphics of the game is excellent and the island design was vibrant and unique. The music was very good and so was the art.
Overall, this was an ok game.
It gets 3 out of 5 stars.