Back before I played this game, I would hear a lot of people sing this game's praises. Either this one or Monstrum Nox, but generally, there was a positive view of this one. In some ways, I can see why after finally playing it for myself. While I do think certain parts of the game, namely the tail end of Chapter 2 and parts of Chapter 5, drag on for a bit too long and I wasn't a big fan of how the fishing minigame was a button masher, it didn't completely ruin the experience for me.
This is another map making game like Memories of Celceta, so it does have the formula of "come back to this area with new stuff" thing that games primarily involving exploring large areas has going on. I do wish the double jump item was given a little bit earlier to make traversal a bit easier, but it's whatever. Similar to Celceta, getting materials for stuff was a thing that did require running back to other places to farm materials a couple of times. Given the "stuck on an island" context of the story, it makes sense.
Speaking of the "stuck on an island" concept, I did like Castaway Village. A little hub where the castaways worked together towards the goal of surviving. There were really no characters among them I didn't like, barring one exception, but that guy's basically written to be pretty unlikeable. Even among the playable cast, there was nobody I really disliked, in terms of both character or gameplay. Even Laxia, who seems like she's going to be your textbook tsundere, got better over time. I did try to use everyone, but Adol hit the bench most of the time once Dana became a main member of the crew. Luckily, unlike a certain other game (looking at you, Ys Seven), pierce characters aren't singled out in doing zero damage to hard shelled enemies. It's back to "certain weapon types just do reduced damage while others do more" like they should've always been.
I will admit, though, I thought at the start of the game that Hummel was the main antagonist because he looked suspicious, but I should've known better since Ys games typically don't reveal the main enemy until at minimum halfway through the game. Besides leaving the party for a while partway through when I was using him, he was pretty cool. Also has a gun, so that's nice too.
Speaking of Dana, I did like her solo sections of the game. How her actions in the past affect the present were nice, and the addition of more tools to play around with as you progressed were nice for more options. Once I got the Luminous form, I did primarily use that for getting around. One intrusive thought I had the entire time, however, was something along the lines of "whoever designed the outfits for the Eternians REALLY likes midriffs." I do also wonder how Adol managed to explain the whole "I was seeing the memories of a woman I've never seen before from the distant past for a while" thing that happened in his adventure log regarding this whole adventure.
If I had to give one big thing that I didn't enjoy besides fishing being a button masher is length...of the game. Compared to every other Ys game I've played so far, including the other map game, Memories of Celceta, this game is LONG. My final playtime was about 50 hours, and that is with the true ending, completing all the sidequests, getting all the fish, filling out the entire map, and doing all the hunts. Besides Celceta's 100% map completion running festival I had to do at the end of the playthrough before the final boss, most of my Ys game playthroughs have not crossed 30 hours besides Origin because 3 playthroughs.
Another thing I wasn't too big a fan of, but understood, was the raids, or rather, the timing of said raids on occasion. You could be in the middle of exploring and then get called back to the village to fight enemies trying to break into the village. As much as I understand the in universe urgency of the matter, having your pace halted so suddenly is never a good feeling. Some of the rewards for performing well are pretty worthwhile, though.
This game has multiple endings, but as far as I'm aware, the game never tells you there's a true ending or the requirements for said true ending. I only knew because I was using a guide for the sake of mapping and finding the chests, but I can imagine someone playing totally blind would get blindsided by something like that.
Overall, I can see the appeal of this game and why people sing it's praises so much. I do stand by the fact it could've been a little shorter, but besides that, I enjoyed my time on the Isle of Seiren. A real shame that chronologically, Adol's next destination is Altago, and I said enough about that place when I did my Ys Seven review. Eventually, I'll play Monstrum Nox to see the other side of the :Lacrimosa of Dana vs. Monstrum Nox" debate, but for now, another certain Falcom property will have my full attention very soon.
