Ys Seven Review for PlayStation Portable (PSP)

System: PSP	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Falcom	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Xseed Games	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Aug. 17, 2010	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Teen	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

Although the control scheme allows for a lot of button mashing, your actions in Ys must be deliberate for you to succeed. While I'll concede that button mashing your way through the first few stages may get you a decent amount of character growth, you won't fare too well in later stages if you don't learn to balance your skills, charge attacks, and, of course, regular attacks. The battle system has a decent amount of depth to it, but the game takes its time easing you into the more complex facets of the game, which gives the player a manageable learning curve.

Ys Seven screenshot

As far as play time is concerned, Ys isn't terribly long, and weighs in between 20-30 hours. Although there isn't much to the game in length, the game does have plenty of areas to explore, and if you are into extreme character development, there are plenty of places to grind and improve your statistics. There are also plenty of places you can explore in the land of Altago, and I was pleasantly surprised at the scope of both the dungeon areas as well as the game's main hub world.

Technically, Ys is hit or miss. The visuals in the game look good, and I was impressed with the design of the country of Altago as well as the character designs. The game also features some interesting creature designs, which is always nice to see. Although I was a little disappointed with the game's lack of pre-rendered cutscenes, it looked nice overall. The music, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. The same handful of tunes play throughout the game, and even though there is a lot of dialogue, there is no real voiceover. Ys Seven is definitely that rare game that is nice to look at but is difficult to listen to.

The Ys series has been around for quite a long time, and though the series has bounced around from the PC scene to home consoles, Ys seems to have carved out a nice little niche on the handheld platforms. The Ys remakes did well on the Nintendo DS, but as the first Ys title designed exclusively for the handheld sphere, I think Ys Seven works just fine. The genre's scope definitely hasn't shrunken with the move to handhelds, and while you could make an argument about a lower play time on a handheld system, I think Ys Seven has found a good direction for itself that will satisfy older fans, and give series newcomers something to enjoy. While the story leaves quite a bit to be desired, the nut-and-bolts RPG gameplay and fun combat system make this a perfectly serviceable JPRG that genre fans will enjoy.

By Amanda L. Kondolojy
CCC Staff Contributor

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.7

Graphics
The world of Altago is expansive, and there are plenty of nice visuals to behold in this fantastical setting.

3.6

Control
Controls in Ys are very easy to learn, and while combat initially seems like aimless button mashing, the game eases you into developing your own strategy for combat.

1.5

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The handful of tunes featured in the game are repetitive and simplistic, and the lack of voiceover during plot scenes is regrettable.

3.0

Play Value
The game isn't particularly long (by RPG standards), but you can spend some extra time maxing out your character if you so desire.

3.5

Overall Rating - Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Gorgeous New RPG for the PSP: Built from the ground up for the PSP, Ys Seven takes full advantage of the hardware with beautiful 3D graphics presented in a widescreen format, with minimal load times.

Epic Story Spanning Over Thirty Hours of Gameplay: This tale of Five Great Dragons, a war-torn kingdom, ancient rites, and more spans over thirty hours of gameplay as the player ventures on an epic quest to save the world.

Real-Time Battles on the Field Map: Experience no random encounters, as all enemies are seen and engaged on the field map in real-time with the player’s three-member battle party.

Highly-Rated and Eagerly-Awaited by RPG Fans: With five years since the last installment was published in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and having already been awarded a Gold Award by Famitsu upon its Japanese release, Ys Seven is the long-awaited next chapter in the Ys series, highly anticipated by old and new fans alike.