Nihon Falcom's JRPG Ys Seven makes the jump to PC
Lucky number
Nihon Falcom’s flashy slashy JRPG Ys Seven [official site] is now out on PC, eight years after it first arrived on the PSP. It's largely the same game as the handheld version upscaled for bigger screens, just with a refreshed translation from the Japanese original. It should run at 60fps at a variety of resolutions and it supports both keyboard-and-mouse and controllers. All good stuff.
You've got control of a three-man party exploring a large world that offers a 20+ hour main campaign. The focus is on combat and, unlike some JRPGs, there's no split between exploring and fighting. I watched publisher Xseed Games stream a bit of it a few months ago and the combat looked smooth and satisfying.
It's the sixth game in the Ys series to come to western PCs after Ys I, II, III: The Oath in Felghana, VI: The Ark of Napishtim and prequel Ys Origin. It's talked about as one of the best of the bunch, so it might be worth having a looksie. The early Steam reviews are promising, too.
Check out the launch trailer here:
As for the story, it starts with adventurers Adol Christin and Dogi as they weigh anchor at the port city of Atalgo.
"The people of Altago are still distrustful of foreigners, and the land is crawling with monstrous creatures who are invulnerable to standard steel, rendering Adol's tried and true arsenal of weapons from games past ineffective. Forced to rearm and retrain from scratch – and to prove his worth to this new country's somewhat xenophobic populace – Adol takes up a king's quest to explore a nearby set of ruins, only to find himself embroiled in a high-stakes game of appeasing ancient dragons and saving the world... yet again."
It's £17.99/22,49€/$22.49 on Steam and GOG, which includes a 10% launch discount.