>>3643758
It's out.

Ok, shill. Demo sucked.

*cricket noises*

>>3643925
We're all on /v/, chungus.

Honestly don't really care anymore, this series has become boring.

>>3643926
you should stay there.

>>3643932
You'll never be a shield sister with that attitude.

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Uh oh, this is actually pretty good. Maybe Metaphor won't be my JRPG of the year after all.

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Okay, lets talk about Ys X a little bit. As per an interview between falcom and gematsu, the following was stated:
>It’s a story of boys and girls. Since this is the first time we’re releasing on Switch, the main characters are younger, and part of that was considering the userbase.
This is reflected heavily in the writing and the art style, this is undoubtedly a "zoomer" game. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Everything is very light-hearted and charming, despite someone getting decapitated within the first 5 minutes. Every NPC is enjoyable to talk to, even the generic ones. It doesn't take long to get comfortable and sink into the setting. The writing so far is absolutely killer. The set-up for a quest to clear some wolves off the road is more elaborate than most JRPGs bother with in their entirety. We're introduced to a waitress earlier, who off-handedly mentions she's going to pick up some ingredients on the road, and everything sort of just weaves together in an unexpected and elaborate way. Suddenly, our dumb tutorial excursion to beat up monsters becomes a very real rescue mission. The combat and exploration, so far, is quick and snappy, but I'll have to play further to give a better opinion on that.

And the music is still pretty good, as expected, just check out 1:22, holy hell.
https://youtu.be/3taqtLrVXg4
Perhaps not the absolute best but a very strong showing by Koguchi.

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I am enjoying the combat so far, but they keep adding more and more mechanics so who knows what it will look like in a few hours. It's a lot tighter feeling than the previous 3D games, but still feels pretty familiar.

>>3643758
I'll play through it over the weekend. I always pick up falcom games.

Mine didn't arrive yet and I'm pretty pissed at that

>>3644034
It has been far better than the snoozefest that was Ys IX

>>3644150
How do physical pre-orders even work nowadays? Is it just bouncing between Amazon warehouses?

>>3644185
I ordered it from their store. But according to the tracking number it hasn't moved since the label was made. I'm about to send a very stern email.

>>3643926
Yeah, your shill threads on cooldown sure are on /v/, shill. Why are you so obsessed with Falcom games? Especially bad Falcom games.

>>3644274
I didn't make those threads, I merely posted in them as others who are enjoying the game did. And they seem fine as they are still alive without my help.
>Especially bad Falcom games.
This is a good game.

A better question I would have is why /vrpg/ is so lame and only plays hyper casual slavmonkey games unless I twist their nipples.

>>3644034
>The set-up for a quest to clear some wolves off the road is more elaborate than most JRPGs bother with in their entirety. We're introduced to a waitress earlier, who off-handedly mentions she's going to pick up some ingredients on the road, and everything sort of just weaves together in an unexpected and elaborate way.
Same for Cruz and his father with their business negotioations and the blocked road, plus the noblewoman. The latter is a fairly irrelevant character (though she joins the Sandras later), but you can see her seeking shelter at the church, trying to figure out how to get out of town quickly, and later the priest guy mentions she went ahead alone or something.
Don't remember why Ashley and Rafe are out there, but they probably aren't on that road without a reason, either.
Currently playing it like a Trails game (i.e. combing all towns for new NPC dialogue after the plot advances) now that it's out in English, kinda neat to see all these details. Though to be honest, I don't need Ys to be this wordy.
>The combat and exploration, so far, is quick and snappy
The combat is indeed quick and snappy, but lacks depth. The exploration with the ship is not cumbersome in the beginning, but gets a little better when you upgrade it more.
>>3644034
>And the music is still pretty good, as expected
It doesn't blow me away, honestly. Some of the tracks grew on me, but overall there are too many duds IMO.

>>3644326
>The exploration with the ship is not cumbersome in the beginning
Forgot to erase the "not". I meant to say that it's very cumbersome. Starts out being perhaps a bit too slow.

Got my copy. NISA gave the wrong tracking number. But it showed up.

can u play with mouse and keyboard? or at least the d-pad instead of the fucking joystick things on the ps5 type controller? just watching the videos is making my thumb hurt.

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The combat system is definitely a step up from Ys 8. There are a lot of abilities with specific applications so far and a commital cost to using them, and its satisfying to apply all those tools correctly. I also actually kind of like boat combat.
>>3644468
>can u play with mouse and keyboard?
Yes.

>>3644612
>The combat system is definitely a step up from Ys 8
They've taken some steps forward, and at the same time some steps backward.
Being able to hold guard (often with no followup/punishment even when your guard breaks) and the auto dodge being what it is are both a joke. Plus, ievives with copious i-frames? Come on.
But having some attacks that are unblockable (the blue ones), as well as the skill chain system, are definitely steps in the right direction.
The skill system as a whole seems a bit more thought out, but you can still get away with spamming the same skill over and over.

>>3644614
I would not describe this game as trivial on inferno. I'm not sure why there's a small group of people who want Ys to be some "masocore" series when most of the games in the series aren't even close to that. But yeah, the revives are pretty retarded.

>>3644619
It's not like I never game over'd or anything. But the revives in particular made it easier than VIII or IX.
>I'm not sure why there's a small group of people who want Ys to be some "masocore" series
I just want something where positioning matters, and you have to use more tools in your kit rather than just hitting block at the right time and everything blending together because every battle plays mostly the same.
Just do away with these stupidly overpowered defensive options already.

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>>3644632
>I just want something where positioning matters, and you have to use more tools in your kit
The webm demonstrates exactly that. Here we have block, parry, dodge, one quick punish, one long punish, fire to burn hazards, ice to avoid hazards, and a teleport to go through projectiles. It can't be dark souls, its too fast for that. This is the correct direction for the series. Ark engine was taken to its absolute breaking point, at some point it just becomes pocky and rocky but with melee weapons.

>>3644641
>Ark engine was taken to its absolute breaking point, at some point it just becomes pocky and rocky but with melee weapons.
Absolutely brilliant as Pocky and Rocky is a legendary game for arcade fags

>>3644641
>dodge
That's one of the steps in the right direction I mentioned, but the execution is still a joke. I like that you can't just guard for literally everything anymore, but holding the button to auto-dodge? Come on.
To an extent, it matters to me how difficult it is to execute, and this just is too simple for me to find it truly engaging.
>fire to burn hazards
Sadly, they do away with that idea all too quickly. But I did like it.
>ice to avoid hazards
I guess that's neat, but you can just block the electricity with the guard and charge your revenge gauge at the same time, too. You'd have more of a point if that wasn't possible.
You CAN also avoid attacks by running away or jumping. But at the end of the day, what you want to do is fish for perfect guards because guarding does everything: it negates damage, it increases your own damage output, and it even gives SP which also contribute to your damage output.
All these varied movesets your enemies have, and most of the time it all comes down to standing in front of them and pressing that button at the right time.
You can choose not to use the overpowered guard and make your own fun, but at the end of the day it is broken.

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>>3644661
>That's one of the steps in the right direction I mentioned, but the execution is still a joke.
It doesn't need execution, its only applicable for blue damage, so its effectively another way to get the player to stop hammering the enemy. All of these things are mechanics to get you to stop just standing in front of the enemy, autopiloting into a combo string, and beating on it nonstop like its DMC. Its better that its not the same function as perfect guard, and it gives different rewards. "Press A or B with the correct timing" is not two different mechanics. You can easily make a game engaging by keeping someone's brain occupied, precise inputs are not engaging for people who possess good execution. Like they can't design this game to be played by mere mortals and still have its execution high enough to entertain me, its simply not possible. Its better to have a number of features that can be applied to different scenarios to excercise your brain's working memory on top of an increasingly complex combo system. Combining several simple things which are easy in a vacuum can make them harder to reliably execute in tandem, rather than just purely increasing mechanical difficulty.
>I guess that's neat, but you can just block the electricity with the guard and charge your revenge gauge at the same time, too.
You can't block and attack at the same time. It's demonstrably less damage. Like a lot less damage.

>>3644667
>It doesn't need execution
Take that logic to its extreme. Let's just say the game pauses every once in a while and makes you choose between two options, removing all execution by giving you ample time, and the answer is given to you by some color on the screen. You think that wouldn't make a difference? I beg to differ.
Of course the real-time element plays a role. That you have to not only remember what to do - any five-year-old could remember "dodge if there is a blue attack" - but that you have to be quick on your feet about it as well.
Of course it doesn't matter if you have perfect execution, either. But who does?
>It's demonstrably less damage. Like a lot less damage.
Perhaps, but the game lets you get away with it.

>>3644939
>Of course the real-time element plays a role.
I am explaining to you how to make that real-time element work independent of pure execution via straining working memory. In fighting games, mental stack is defined as:
>How much focus a player can devote to different strategies in a match. It's common that a player will struggle to do seemingly easy tasks because their mind is trying to focus on multiple things at once. For example, a player might be trying to play footsies on the ground, while at the same time watching for a jump so they can anti-air, while at the same time trying to hit confirm a basic poke. Each task is doable by itself, but after trying to balance all these tasks for a while, the opponent jumps and they don't anti-air, because their mental bandwidth was simply too taxed to handle it.
By designing around multiple extremely accessible mechanics, you can make them difficult in practice because its simply impossible to be prepared for absolutely everything. So now its not a rhythm game, its about reacting to unknown, and this creates a different feeling than simply pressing a button within an arbitrary timeframe. You are on the periphery of realizing this but you cannot grasp it.
>Perhaps, but the game lets you get away with it.
Ys is a speed game. It feels good to go fast. Its like Mega Man X or somethin where you just wanna beat it faster and better. I think I've probably played through MMX like 300 times and its never boring.

I think the new combat system an improvement over Ys 8/9(and I liked those games unlike a lot of people on this board) but I still like the combat of the ark engine games the most so far. The OST seems like a huge step down from the Speed/Melodic Death Metal influenced tracks in Monstrum Nox though, which is weird cause you'd think that they would double down on the metallic influences more since its about Vikings.

>>3644966
>a lot of people
Don't be so sure. Its one very loud whiny yuropoor.

>>3644960
There is a balance to be struck between the number of options you have at any given time as a player and need to assess, and the level of mechanical complexity you need to execute them.
Ys X boils down to, essentially, two different options for defense. Everything else is fluff you can do, but don't really *need*, which I guess is my core issue. Of course you can always ignore the fact that you could get away with the same thing every single time and choose not to abuse it. But if a game lets you solve every problem with the same tool, I don't think that's great design. Not the way Ys X is, at least.
On the basis of Ys X being the way it is, I am saying that I'd like the inputs to be tighter to make up for the lack of complexity - and I believe this *can* make up for the lack of complexity, to an extent.
It goes without saying that giving the players more tools - and requiring them to actually use them - would be preferred. But then we're talking about an entirely different game.

Anyone playing YS X that finished VIII joyously, but didn’t finish IX?

>>3645432
Yeah I skipped right over that garbage.

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What are examples of jrpgs with an explorable FF7/8/9-style worldmap?
And why are they becoming so rare nowadays?

>>3645546
P.S.: oh fuck sorry wrong thread
can someone please move this post to a new thread?

>>3645548
We really don't need anymore square threads to be honest.

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The combat continues to impress. By chaining different moves you can reduce SP cost, which will eventually let your expensive duo moves become fully refundable via perfect guard, resulting in a substantial damage increase. Bosses take much longer if you don't do this.

There's also a hoverboard now, which is effected by the inclines and declines in the map's geometry, in addition to there being grinding rails and grappling points, which hilariously makes the game feel like a Sonic Adventure 2 RPG. Boat combat is not as bad as people initially said, but I'll have more to say about that later.

>>3644309
>This is a good game.
It is not.

>>3645546
The chibi-style overworld died completely outside of handhelds. I can count the number of major console JRPGs with overworlds released in the last 20 years on one hand.
>lost odyssey
>ni no kuni 1
>ni no kuni 2
>tales of vesperia
And that's it.

>>3644973
It doesn't seem like you understand what he's saying.

>>3646091
Lost Odyssay has an oerworld?

>>3646263
Yes, but it's ship-only. You get a bunch of different ones, including a submarine and you can explore the whole world. Lots of treasure and secret locations to find.

Nintoddler edition of Oath coming soon
https://youtu.be/9qh8NU1UWOY

>>3646221
I don't know, anon. Maybe? I think I get the "having multiple easily accessible mechanics is enough" argument.
But I don't think Ys X does that well because I believe that, effectively, only two of them are really relevant. So we're really only balancing two easy mechanics, and the "mental bandwidth" is never "overtaxed", as anon/the definition of "mental stack" puts it.
Does that make sense?

>>3644960
>>3646221
>>3646855
Actually, let me add something:
>>It's common that a player will struggle to do seemingly easy tasks because their mind is trying to focus on multiple things at once. For example, a player might be trying to dodge Dalles's meteors, while at the same time watching for tornadoes, while at the same time trying to hit hit his satellites. Each task is doable by itself, but after trying to balance all these tasks for a while, Dalles fires volley of meteors and they eat all of them, because their mental bandwidth was simply too taxed to handle it.
So yeah, that's actually how I feel about Origin. But something seems to be missing in Ys X that doesn't make me feel that way, really.
Duo bosses came close, I guess.

>>3646855
>But I don't think Ys X does that well because I believe that, effectively, only two of them are really relevant.
Two of what, idiot

>>3646885
"easily accessible mechanics", in terms of defense.
There are offensive mechanics/basic actions I need to juggle as well, like normal attacks, skills, keeping up the skill chain etc. But defensively, it's always "is it a blue attack? No? Then guard".

>>3646892
>There are offensive mechanics/basic actions I need to juggle as well
So there's more than than two.

>>3646899
Yes, but I said only those two are really relevant, not that there are literally only two. I guess you can add "attacking", if you really insist.

>>3646910
>>3646073

>>3646936
And? The skill chain is cool and I'm glad it's there. But dropping it doesn't decide whether I win or lose, except maybe in the most rare of circumstances.
What determines that is defense, i.e. dodging and guarding. That's why I called the two the only relevant ones (and again, you obviously have to attack the enemy with normal attacks at the very least, so make it three I guess).
I'm sure you're gonna argue the semantics. But all I'm saying is that I'm miffed that surviving comes down to a fairly one-dimensional process.

>>3646951
>But dropping it doesn't decide whether I win or lose, except maybe in the most rare of circumstances.
Dropping it means fights take 10 times longer, which is more times you have to successfully utilize defensive mechanics. I think you said something abhorrently stupid and you're just going to keep repeating it for years.

>>3646972
>Dropping it means fights take 10 times longer
Unless you have proof, that's just hyperbole. And I'd take bets that you can safely get by without it even on Inferno, and it will rarely make or break a fight in terms winning/losing.

>>3646982
You get books that raise the scaling on your revenge meter as you progress. Maintaining high chains let's you rapidly perfect guard into duo abilities for insane damage that just melts health bars while maintaining SP. So battles follow the flow of building up a big chain, then rapidly beating a boss to death. You should also explore like this, because you need to raise abilities anyways and this let's you spam them a lot, and with a certain trinket they cap pretty fast. So you're paying attention to your chains, your SP management, and your recovery, just so you can cash out on those perfect blocks. Duo abilities also have very high break damage and are excellent for quickly removing shields. Your punishment for not using this mechanic is tedium and less fun, it doesn't have to outright kill you. It's just like using a big shield or magic in dark souls instead of raping everything with a 2h super fast.

>>3646988
>Your punishment for not using this mechanic is tedium and less fun, it doesn't have to outright kill you
I know, I believe I acknowledged that. If I didn't say so explicitly, I certainly agree.
It's a way for skill expression, an encouragement to switch up your skills and characters, and an all-around great idea.
There are certainly improvements and nuances in the combat e.g. VIII or IX did not have. And maybe I am putting too much emphasis on the defensive side of battle, but it really does drag it down for me.
Not to the point that I don't enjoy it at all. I must give off the impression that I hate the game, but I really don't.

>>3646993
>It's a way for skill expression
No, it's an avenue for mastery.

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There goes falcom's entire animation budget for the next 10 years.

>>3647207
kai no kiseki has like 10 fights better than this theyve been upping their animation with every game

What's the level 3 rainbow mana seeds?
I've only gotten one for hefty attacks by gambling at the fortune teller. If it's all hefty i won't bother since i don't slot those in.

>>3647207
When will Adol be allowed to use a shield again?

>>3647681
Never, he will dual wield in XI

>>3645432
I tried IX and hated it because it doesn't have proper RPG progression. Going into to these portals everywhere to engage in combat and transforming into a different character with 5 magical companions filtered me fast. It felt synthetic. You gotta have slow progression. By the way Ys 8 on inferno is harder than the hardest from soft game

>>3647554
It's just a big +3 to stats same as the previous levels.

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Retards are screaming and crying about dragon age and I'm just here playing good rpgs as always. New ones released in 2024 at that.

>>3647725
X is way better than IX, thank god.

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>My grid looks like this...
>So her can look like this

>>3649438
I just threw in whatever I had on hand at any given chance. Didn't even make it to level 90 when I beat the game.

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https://youtu.be/_SBKj5ofGVw

>>3647723
Falcom are too coward to do this but I'd be super down for that

>>3649438
Is there any point to doing anything beyond stacking raw damage?

WHAT A SHILL!!

>>3648294
Your webm does not showcase an RPG.

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Ys VIII > Ark of Napishtim > Oath in felghana > Origins > Memories of celceta > Seven > 1 and 2 eternal > Monstrum Nox > X

So far I'm really disappointed in Nordics. The movement in celceta and lacrimosa was very quick and fun and just felt good in general. Nordics is even stiffer than Monstrum Nox and just doesnt feel good to play. And the party system was a hell of a lot better than this duo shit thats in this game. Big miss for me. It also starts just as slow as Monstrum nox which is a major negative. Way way to many cutscenes. These games should start with a dungeon not a 2 hour cutscene movie like they do now.

Man VIII had so many nice elements like the comfy campfires and nighttime exploration. The last two games have zero charm.

Also the ship gameplay is fucking terrible.

>>3652619
Did you not get the hoverboard yet

>>3652059
Well you will need to break shields. They can be a pain. And the SP reduction is nifty too but I wouldn't waste too much on that really since it regens fast enough.

>>3652621
I haven't gotten the hoverboard yet. I'm about 2 hours in but really unimpressed so far. And that's 2 hours skipping every cutscene. It's been 2 hours of me skipping cutscenes and occasionally getting to fight. I'm in chapter 2 in the dungeon on some island.

The dlc costumes are kinda cool. Adol looks great in his traditional armor and they gave what's her face some sexy bikini armor

Okay I got the surfboard and in well into chapter 3 and the game does get better. I still think I like monstrom nox though. I enjoyed playing as the cat and especially the doll a lot.

The sea stuff is so half baked I wish they hadn't bothered.

>>3653189
It's fine to like 9 but 10 does continue to improve. It constantly throws new toys at you. Even the boat becomes kind of fun.

>>3653191
By the time I'm in like chapter 6 or 7 it could go up in my ranking. But the game begins terribly. Monstrom nox had this same problem with a weak beginning

>>3653189
>The sea stuff is so half baked I wish they hadn't bothered.
It's not the worst. Starts out a bit too slow and cumbersome, perhaps, but gets better.
For a one-off thing, I'd say it's fine. Even if it's gimmicky, it gives this game its own identity for better or worse.
But I don't want them to bring it back in a future entry.

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>>3653280
The sailing itself is fine, the problem with it is that it splits the world into tiny islets that aren't satisfying to explore on their own. It's like imagine if each individual map in Ys 8 was its own island and you had to sail a large and empty ocean to get to the next map; this is basically Ys X. It makes the world feel disconnected and it gives each island a lot of weight to carry to try and feel worthwhile, and most islands don't manage that weight. And whenever you find an island that's not tiny, it would still be extremely linear, giving you zero room to explore. This game has very disappointing exploration and it's frustrating that Falcom designed it this way.

>>3653394
Can you explain a bit more what you mean? I kind of get it, but at the same time, I am not sure if e.g. Weathervane Hill (since you brought up VIII) is better than some optional islands in X.
I suppose being able to look back on all the other areas you've been to while climbing Weathervane Hill is a cool reward in and of itself, as is seeing Sister Nia in a short skirt. But the area is a linear corridor.
Thinking about it some more, there is one thing VIII did which X also kind of didn't at all: it tied exploration in some area to unlocking access to another.
The way you were cockblocked by the amount of villagers you have, and thus were effectively story gated most of the time, felt kind of lame sometimes. But trying to access those optional areas did mean you had to more thoroughly explore others and rescue those castaways first. This process might've been rather trivial, but X never really asked this of the player. You never really needed to come back later with more mana abilities either, outside of "use mana barrier to cross the rubble into this inlet" once or twice (as far as I remember).
But this could be done with separated areas and an overworld-style sea map, as well, so I am not sure it is the issue per se.

>>3653679
>I am not sure if e.g. Weathervane Hill (since you brought up VIII) is better than some optional islands in X.
Yeah I can explain. If Weathervane Hill was an island in Ys X it would be quite lame, but since Ys 8's world is entirely connected, the weaker areas don't feel weak specifically because they are connected. It's kind of a placebo effect maybe, maybe not? Like for example if you're playing a level in Sonic Adventure and the whale chase part in Emerald Coast was the whole level, it would feel kind of short and lame, right? But since it's part of a larger level, the whale chase part alone doesn't have to carry the entire level since there's more before it and after it. When you design a world like Ys X you basically do what I described with the whale chase.
Individually, the fields in Ys 8 aren't that special, but altogether, they create a cohesive world that's fun to explore, and it also helps that you can see your destination sometimes way out in the distance, something that can't be achieved if each area is a small islet, it built a kind of narrative through its world design. A lot of people don't always realize just how good Ys 8's world design is.
And btw, Ys 8 has a great gameplay loop that rewards exploration with more exploration; finding a castaway by exploring will eventually open a new path for you to explore more. It was a very rewarding gameplay loop, and it helps that the game has metroidvania elements like you described, something that Ys 9 and X (kinda) did away with for no reason even though the abilities you get in those games are perfect for a metroidvania-like progression.

Come to think, Ys never really did the overworld thing did it. Even in the original games it was more close to the zelda format where you had the one game world and would transition between that. You had to travel to get new areas and dungeons but once you were there you were there. X has that but it's also got the overworld in sailing so it's kind of just an extra commute.

>>3653689
The problem is also that the overworld is like 40-50% of the game's exploration, while in a lot of classic JRPGs you would spend a much shorter time there relatively.

>>3653684
>It's kind of a placebo effect maybe, maybe not?
Yeah, I am not sure, either. But I see what you are getting at.
I don't know if patching Ys X's islands together would make the gameplay better, but it certainly gives off a different feeling.
>rewards exploration with more exploration
That's a more succinct way of putting what I was trying to get at, yeah.
>IX doing away with metroidvania elements
I think they only really had that in the city itself, but even there it was underused. Which is a shame.
One thing I will give IX credit for is that it sometimes made me wonder what fucking chests I could have missed after finishing a dungeon, which never happened to me in VIII because I always got them all by the end. The verticality and monstrum abilities added a lot in that regard IMO.
>>3653689
Wanderers had a map select screen, but not an overworld like X, either.

>>3653691
Map making in Celceta through 9 felt more purposeful. You were plotting out courses. Exploring areas. Every pixel of the map felt like it had some, even if only minor, significance because it was part of the world you were already exploring. The Ocean in X is just kind of a lot of empty space. There's very rarely any reason not to go directly to the objectives so you have all that water just being water. It's not really as fun to watch the map fill in.

>>3653716
I agree, but I think Falcom knew that. You don't have to fill up the map anymore to get 100% completion, instead it's based on the chests, buried treasure, teleportation points, and crystal clusters you find.

I'm midway through chapter 4 doing sidequests right now and while Ys X most certainly picks up I think I can confidently say that monstrom nox was a better game. The dungeons in 9 where pretty good much better than X. And eventually that game does open up with lots in the field tk explore. X opens up to a rather boring sailing game. I hate the wind current system because it just limits you to lanes like you're driving a car in the highway or something.

I expected more from X but it still is reasonably fun. I guess falcom really isn't what they used to be when it comes to quality.

>>3653841
I'm having trouble taking this seriously when you're praising ys 9. The combat alone is a huge improvement. And X isn't an "exploration" focused game like 8 and 9. The ship is an entirely different thing. It's tiny set piece islands like skies of arcadia.

>>3653846
Well Ys 9 is my second least favorite ys game. I would just say I prefer it to X, which is my least favorite. And theirs certainly things to praise about ys 9. It's quick to get around town/field. I don't have to sit around with my dick in my hand while I wait to arrive at the next level.

>>3653868
>It's quick to get around town/field. I don't have to sit around with my dick in my hand while I wait to arrive at the next level.
Huh? You...realize you can fast travel in ys X, right? And by the way, zoom in the camera while traveling on the boat and it'll become more apparent that you're moving at like 500mph. By the time you get speed like half way upgraded you go so fast it becomes difficult to even control the boat from that perspective because you're moving at warp speed. It only seems slow because the camera is zoomed all the way out and the maps are appropriately large.

>>3653869
>Huh? You...realize you can fast travel in ys X, right?
I'm not even going to dignify that by finishing my p

It's now been 8 years since Falcom's last good video game. All the Trails games since CS1 have been ass. All the Ys games since Ys 8 have been bad. What the fuck is going on? Do they just regularly prune their more skilled and experienced developers and replace them with cheap interns? Is it outsourcing? I mean, the fanbase is louder than ever despite the quality of the games objectively going straight down the toilet.

There's no Trails thread to ask this in and there's a sale going on right now.
Can I just play Trails of the Sky 1-3? I read some anon saying that Trails 3rd is more setup for the rest of the series.

>>3653897
Sky is its own arc. You don't have to play the entire series. You couldn't marathon them even if you wanted to, you'd go insane.

>>3653900
I wasn't looking to marathon them, I was just confused about if Trails 3rd was actually more part of the first two games.
I was mostly assuming that it was an anon's autism that I as seeing, where there's a few references to future games. But I wasn't sure.

>>3653901
3rd is not about Joshua and Estelle, it's about Kevin. It just takes place during the same arc. It's only related to the later games insofar as it foreshadows greater overarcing plot points.

>>3653906
Thanks.

>>3653869
Yes I know you can change the camera angle on the boat and that their are fast travel points on the ocean.

>>3653889
>Do they just regularly prune their more skilled and experienced developers and replace them with cheap interns?
Whether or not it's done on purpose, Falcom apparently has a reputation of being a revolving door in the industry ever since the mass exodus in the 80s.

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This game had a secret ending?!

>>3654526
It has a secret cutscene but not an ending

Ys VIII > Ark of Napishtim > Oath in felghana > Origins > Memories of celceta > Nordics > Seven > 1 and 2 eternal > Monstrum Nox

I'm in chapter 9 now of nordics doing side quests. It definitely picks up later and becomes a lot of fun. Falcom needs to work on their intros though cause the last two Ys games started terribly.

After finishing nordics, I'd say it's better than memories of celceta too. It's the second best 3D Ys game.

>>3656711
>It's the second best 3D Ys game.
Considering Ark engine games are 3D IMO, I wouldn't put it that high, and Memories of Celceta was extremely mediocre

>>3657845
I consider the engine they used for sky/zero/origins-oath-ark to be 2d. But yea it's more liked sprites on 3D backdrops. When I said second best 3D Ys I meant seven and after where they went full 3D.

>>3658127
Fair enough, then I do agree with you there

>>3658132
I'm optimistic about ys 11

Finished it today. Overall very solid, definitly better gameplay systems compared to IX. (Which I think is underrated.)

My biggest complaints:
-Difficulty is all over the place, this has been the case since VIII, but hard is super easy for 95% of the game, while Nightmare actually feels like the difficulty the game was designed around, but then you have certain fights that are ridicilously spongy.
-While the side-cast was charming enough, their stories weren't developed well at all. Cruz was fine, Glenn was handled well, Rose was okay I guess. Rafe could have been good but was really anticlimatic. Mirabel had nothing, except a dialog at the end, what a waste.
-At least recolor the grass a bit if you insist on recycling the same environment for like 80% of the game.

Things I really liked:
-The boat combat, while honestly flawed because Falcom can't into AI, was a mechanic that only grew better the longer you played and capturing forts became more interesting as you and the enemy grew stronger. Better than defending the camp and FAR better than the Nox thing from IX.
-best Singa contributions to an Ys game yet - and it better be good since he gets so many songs now
-Story was cool with sensible twists and I like that Old-Man basically explains how Adol is able to fight literal gods in chronologially later games
-Duo system is better than Trio system. And while the game nudges you into using Adol for damage and Karja for breaking, it should be possible to balance out both's stats if you wanted to, which is definitly more tactical thinking than rock-paper-scissors.

>>3649438
>Level 99 turns all nodes into Lv.3 nodes if you unlock it.
Problem is you don't really have a boss to duke it out to except the final boss. You need to kill the super boss to unlock the Release Line bonus because the super boss drops the 10x Mana Points you need.
The grind for Limitless Courage + is a real pain though. The Dark one is easy though since the enemies from the last dungeon drops it like candies but Rainbow Seastone is rare though. Only the Twinklemush SR is the one that drops it but its rare and the enemy doesn't spawn always. You better off grinding the giants in the last dungeon area 1 since those drops Rainbow Lumps multiple times if you got a high amount of Skill Chain with Hunter Bracelet + Magician's Charm. You might go for a trip in Serenes Island for Yellow and Blue Seastone though of you ran out of it. Red Seastone drops frequently enough you don't need to worry about it.

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>>3658957
They really needed to cut the amount of shipmates by at least half. You're not in an environment removed from the rest of civilization so you really didn't need on board shops. Generally the best crew were the more story prominent characters like Grenn, Rosa etc but you had way too many people clogging up your ship that didn't really do anything. Ashley's sidequests where long tedious and frankly excruciating. 8 had more going on with it's castaways because each new castaways served a more practical function in your village. Further the game gate progress behind their rescue. You needed manpower to get past certain obstacles. Even 9 mostly handled it's extended cast better. Since your were some kind of underground resistance it made sense you'd need informants, allies and like and with the party system giving you a roster of 6 monstrum they had their related supporting cast too.

>>3659161
Yeah the Ashley stuff overstayed it's welcome. Having less crew members would have probably helped with the things I mentioned.
In VIII it can also take a long time until you find 1 or 2 new members, so it feels much more exciting.

>>3659190
Yeah you rescue everyone WAY to early so it feels like the game wasn't really committing to the idea. Like maybe if instead of of just rando minibosses they were more full on big deals like Rosa was. That might be getting a bit too persona..y but it at least would have been something.

>>3659161
I really don't understand why we are still collecting people. It made sense in VIII because of the setting, but in IX and X it just felt tacked on.
Just one of these concepts they keep bringing back for no good reason, like raids.

>>3659874
Falcom's actually retarded. That's how they interpret success. They don't actually know why Ys VIII was an anomaly and sold well. Better just try to repeat everything about it other than what people actually liked. Same goes for Trails. They unironically thought that the inclusion of Rean would save their failed arc, and all it did was result in even lower sales than before.

>get a ship
>it's so fucking slow
I know it will probably get better but fuck me.

>>3659991
sail in the wind

>>3643758
where should I start if I'm new to the series?

>>3660078
Oath in Felghana is the best game in the series. Play it and leave it at that.

>>3660078
In order

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>>3649438
>55% Dodge Rate
If you put Limitless Courage + to all of Adol's nodes and one Rainbow Strong Arm + to turn his attacks hefty. Needless to say, the final boss becomes easy even on Inferno with this. Wish I could have fun wasting the super boss with this setup but you need to kill it to get the Release Line upgrade.

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Just finished this the other night. I miss my Viking sister. There should’ve been more side quests, and more little islands to visit. I’ll go back for the platinum trophy soon.