Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is a 2016 action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom. The eighth numbered installment in the Ys series, it was first released in Japan for the PlayStation Vita in July 2016. Versions for the PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Luna, Google Stadia, and PlayStation 5 followed.

The game follows adventurer Adol Christin after the passenger ship Lombardia is wrecked near the Isle of Seiren. Adol searches for the other survivors, develops a settlement with the castaways, and investigates the island while experiencing visions of Dana Iclucia, a woman who lived in an ancient civilization. The gameplay expands the party-based action system used in Ys Seven and Ys: Memories of Celceta with a larger focus on exploration, settlement development, castaway recruitment, and alternating sections played as Adol and Dana.

Falcom developed the original version for the PlayStation Vita and subsequently expanded the game for PlayStation 4 with additional story sequences, dungeons, enemies, and playable sections involving Dana. The international versions were published by NIS America. The original English localization was extensively revised after criticism of its translation and voice direction, while the Windows version underwent further technical redevelopment after a delayed and poorly received launch.

The game received generally favorable reviews, with critics frequently praising its combat, exploration, soundtrack, and castaway-settlement structure. The Windows version received a more mixed response because of technical problems. By August 2019, worldwide sales had exceeded 600,000 copies. An official novelization of the game by Anna Kashina was released in 2023.

Plot

Adol is on a passenger ship called the Lombardia that is headed from Xandria to the continent of Eresia, but the ship is attacked in the archipelagos of the Gaete Sea by a giant creature and is sunk. When Adol wakes up, he realizes he landed on the shore of a cursed island known as the Isle of Seiren. On his search for other survivors, he teams up with the noblewoman, Laxia von Roswell, and fisherman Sahad Nautilus to help his fellow castaways to survive and find a way to get off the island. At the same time, he wants to find out what lies behind his dreams about Dana Iclucia, a mysterious girl from a prehistoric era who seemingly has a connection to the Isle of Seiren and Adol's fate.

Adol's party is soon expanded to include Hummel Trabaldo, a transporter who was a passenger on the Lombardia, and Ricotta Beldine, a resident of the Isle of Seiren. While exploring the island for additional castaways, Laxia notes the creatures on the island are unlike anything known to the outside world. Citing her father's academic research, she concludes that the monsters are an extinct group of animals known as Primordials. Further exploration in the north of the island leads the group to the ruins of an ancient civilization known as Eternia, whose residents possessed a power known as Essence. It is here where the party discovers Dana, waking from a deep slumber, telling the group she is the last of the Eternians, but does not know why, nor why she is alive in the current era, as she is suffering from amnesia.

The castaways begin to build a ship to escape the island; Adol's party continues to explore the island for clues to what sank the Lombardia. After research into the matter, it is discovered that a Primordial known as the Oceanus was responsible for the sinking of their ship, as it has historically attacked ships since before Dana's era. The castaways band together and defeat the Oceanus, allowing for safe travel in the surrounding sea, but questions surrounding the Primordials and Dana's situation lead the group to continue to explore the island. By doing this, Dana begins to slowly regain her memories. She discovers that multiple meteorites crashed into Eternia long ago, killing many people and triggering events akin to a nuclear winter, which led to the extinction of Eternians.

This event was brought forth by a process called the Lacrimosa, which triggers an extinction event after the primary species on earth has run its course. During each Lacrimosa, one member of the species is chosen to survive and become an immortal Warden of Evolution, one who watches over the Lacrimosa and ensures the process is successfully carried out. Dana was chosen to be the protector representing Eternians; she resisted and put herself into a deep sleep until the next Lacrimosa would occur. Dana awoke in the present because the current Lacrimosa was beginning: the extinction of humans, to be accomplished through the revival of Primordials as the primary species. Consequently, Adol is selected to be the next Warden of Evolution, representing the human species.

With Dana's help, Adol's crew becomes the first group to resist the Lacrimosa, ending the process and ensuring the continued survival of the human race. Stopping the Lacrimosa does not go as planned, and the world begins to collapse. Dana uses her essence to disrupt the end of the world, but seemingly dies in the process. Shortly thereafter, while mourning the loss of Dana, the goddess of the world, Maia, makes an appearance, telling the group that Dana's sacrifice has led her to become the Goddess of Evolution, tasked with watching over the world. Dana and the other protectors appear; Dana wishes goodbye to Adol's group, while the other Protectors inform Adol the Lacrimosa may still need to be used in the future to prevent the world from collapsing. After the Protectors and Goddesses disappear, the castaways finish construction of their ship and sail home, parting ways and returning to their normal lives.

Gameplay

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. The player explores interconnected fields and dungeons, collects materials, completes quests, and fights enemies in real time. The game builds on the party-based systems of Ys Seven and Ys: Memories of Celceta, allowing the player to switch immediately among as many as three active characters while the others are controlled by the game's artificial intelligence.

Each character uses a slashing, piercing or striking weapon. Enemies may be vulnerable to one damage type and resistant to the others, encouraging the player to change the controlled character during combat. Special attacks consume skill points, or SP, which can be restored through regular attacks and charged attacks. Each character also has an Extra Skill that can be used after filling a separate gauge.

The player can activate Flash Guard by guarding immediately before an enemy attack connects. A successful Flash Guard temporarily negates damage and causes the player's attacks to inflict critical damage. Evading immediately before an attack instead activates Flash Move, temporarily slowing enemies while allowing the player character to continue moving normally.

Materials obtained from enemies, gathering points, and treasure chests can be exchanged or used to create medicine, equipment, and other items. Because the castaways are isolated from conventional towns and merchants, the settlement uses a barter-based economy rather than ordinary currency. Rescued passengers return to Castaway Village and provide services such as weapon enhancement, tailoring, medicine, farming, and cooking.

Finding castaways also expands the player's ability to explore the island. Certain obstructions can only be cleared after the settlement reaches a required population. The village is periodically attacked by monsters in defensive battles known as raids. During raids, the player protects barricades and other structures while earning rewards based on performance. Later versions of the game also include suppression battles, in which the party establishes bases and destroys enemy nests within a field.

The story alternates between Adol's exploration of the present-day Isle of Seiren and sections featuring Dana in the ancient civilization of Eternia. Changes made during Dana's sections can alter the island in Adol's era, opening routes or revealing new areas. In the PlayStation 4 and subsequent versions, Dana can change among three combat styles with different abilities, attack properties, and traversal functions.

An experimental local cooperative mode was added to the Windows version in January 2020. A second player can control another member of the active party during exploration and combat, although menus and some other functions remain controlled by the first player.

Development and release

Announcement and production

Nihon Falcom announced the game for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 in September 2014. It was the first Ys game announced for the PlayStation 4 and Falcom's first development project for the platform. Although Falcom initially announced the project for release in 2015, the company formally presented it under the title Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana in December of that year.

Falcom described the game as an expansion of the exploration-oriented systems used in Ys: Memories of Celceta. In addition to automatic map creation, the company introduced Castaway Village, in which passengers rescued on the island establish facilities and contribute their abilities to the settlement, and raid battles in which the castaways defend the village from attacking creatures. The game retained the party-based combat, Flash Guard, and Flash Move systems of the preceding games while adding free jumping and faster traversal across larger environments.

The Isle of Seiren was designed as an isolated setting populated by unusual wildlife and the remains of an ancient civilization. Adol searches the island for other passengers from the wrecked Lombardia, establishes Castaway Village with the survivors, and investigates recurring dreams involving Dana and an unfamiliar society.

The castaways were given different occupations and abilities that affect the settlement. For example, rescuing the blacksmith Catherine enables weapon reinforcement, while other survivors establish or improve facilities used for medicine, clothing, farming, cooking, and village defense. Advancing the story and completing character-related events also reveals more about the individual passengers and their circumstances before the shipwreck.

Dual-protagonist structure

Falcom constructed the story around Adol and Dana as two protagonists living in different periods. Adol initially experiences Dana's life through dreams. The game later allows players to switch between their perspectives through a system described as consciousness sharing, with actions performed during Dana's sections changing routes or conditions in Adol's era.

The original PlayStation Vita version contained playable Dana sequences, but Falcom substantially expanded them for the PlayStation 4 release. The later version added new areas, story events, enemies, quests, and dungeons associated with Dana's era.

The PlayStation 4 version also introduced Dana's Style Change system. Dana can change among Iclucian, Gratica, and Luminous forms, which differ in speed, strength, defense, attack properties, and environmental abilities. The additional Underground Shrine dungeon requires the player to use the abilities of the different styles, while rescuing spirits unlocks or strengthens Dana's forms. Falcom also added separate Extra Skills for the styles, nighttime exploration, and a gallery mode.

Falcom president and producer Toshihiro Kondo later said that Dana was created partly in response to the enduring popularity of Feena, the heroine of the original Ys. Kondo described Falcom as having felt a longstanding difficulty in creating a later heroine who could make a comparable impression, which influenced the attention given to Dana's role in the story.

Japanese versions

Falcom released the PlayStation Vita version in Japan on July 21, 2016. First-print copies included a miniature soundtrack, while a limited Premium Box contained an art book and other physical material.

The PlayStation 4 version was released in Japan on May 25, 2017. In addition to the expanded Dana material, it included higher-resolution graphics, improved frame rates, revised visual effects, additional difficulty options, and further gameplay content. First-print copies of the Japanese PlayStation 4 version included an art book containing preview material for The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III.

The game's animated opening was produced by Studio 3Hz and directed by Masayuki Sakoi, with computer-generated animation produced by Orange.

Music

The score was composed by Falcom Sound Team jdk members Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Yukihiro Jindo, and Mitsuo Singa. Falcom released the two-disc Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana Original Soundtrack in Japan on August 24, 2016. The album contains the music written for the original PlayStation Vita release.

After completing the PlayStation 4 version, Falcom released a three-disc complete soundtrack on August 9, 2017. It added music composed for the expanded PlayStation 4 content, including "Hope Alive" and "All-Out Attack!", along with tracks that were written but not used in the game.

International localization

NIS America announced that it would publish the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, and Windows versions in North America and Europe. The company produced English and French localizations. The Vita and PlayStation 4 versions were released in North America on September 12, 2017 and in Europe on September 15.

The original English localization was criticized after release for problems involving translation, terminology, characterization, and voice direction. On October 10, 2017, NIS America president Takuro Yamashita issued an apology and announced that the company would review and rewrite the English text with a new translator and editor. Yamashita said the revision would encompass dialogue, item descriptions, and other text, and that NIS America would rerecord the voiced dialogue under new direction.

The revised localization was released as a free update on January 30, 2018. NIS America replaced substantial portions of the English script, rerecorded the voiced scenes, and used the revised English translation as the basis for corresponding corrections to the French localization.

Windows version

The Windows version was originally scheduled to launch alongside the international console versions in September 2017. NIS America delayed it shortly before release after identifying problems with its performance and stability. A planned January 2018 release was also postponed while the developer continued addressing frame-rate and memory-management issues.

The Windows version was released on April 16, 2018. Following reports of crashes, inconsistent performance, graphical errors, and hardware-compatibility problems, NIS America acknowledged the condition of the port and began issuing corrective patches.

Programmer Peter "Durante" Thoman and PH3 Games later undertook a broader technical revision of the Windows version. An update released in January 2020 revised its frame timing and rendering systems and added improved draw distances, shadows, anisotropic filtering, additional graphics settings, support for a wider range of resolutions, and an experimental local cooperative mode.

Nintendo Switch version

Nippon Ichi Software proposed producing a Nintendo Switch version and discussed the project with Falcom. Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo and Nippon Ichi Software president Sohei Shinkawa described the port as an opportunity to bring Falcom's games to an audience outside the company's established PlayStation user base.

The Switch version incorporates the additional story and gameplay material created for the PlayStation 4 edition. It was released in North America on June 26, 2018, in Japan on June 28, and in Europe and Australia on June 29.

Later versions

A cloud-streamed version was released for Amazon Luna in the United States on October 20, 2020. The game was subsequently released for Google Stadia on April 1, 2021.

NIS America released a PlayStation 5 version in North America on November 15, 2022, in Europe on November 18, and in Australia on November 25. Falcom released the PlayStation 5 version in Japan on July 31, 2025, alongside a PlayStation 5 version of Ys IX: Monstrum Nox.

Mobile adaptation

Falcom announced a mobile adaptation for Android and iOS in April 2019 under a licensing agreement with Linekong Entertainment. The adaptation was shown with redesigned locations and an additional playable character named Rucol.

The mobile version was initially announced for release in 2020 but was delayed. Preregistration for a Japanese version operated by Bilibili began in August 2023. As of July 2026, Falcom continued to list the adaptation as open for preregistration and had not announced a release date.

Reception

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana received "generally favorable reviews" on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The Windows version received "mixed or average reviews", reflecting both assessments of the game itself and criticism of the original port's technical condition.

Reviewers frequently praised the speed and responsiveness of the combat. Heidi Kemps of GameSpot commended the character switching, boss encounters, exploration, and soundtrack, while criticizing aspects of the visual presentation and the length of time required for the central story to develop.

Kimberley Wallace of Game Informer praised the combat system, exploration rewards, and gradually developing castaway community. She found the early story comparatively slow but considered Dana and the island's history more compelling as the narrative progressed.

Red Veron of Destructoid praised the game's pacing, combat, soundtrack, exploration, and sense of adventure. He considered its visuals technically dated but argued that the art direction and environmental variety compensated for the limited graphical detail.

The castaway settlement also received positive attention. Critics noted that rescuing passengers connected the supporting characters to mechanical progression, because each survivor added quests, services, defenses, or other functions to the village. Peter Tieryas of Kotaku later highlighted the individual castaway stories and argued that the settlement made otherwise minor non-player characters feel consequential to the adventure.

Reviews of the Nintendo Switch version remained favorable, although some critics reported lower image quality, inconsistent performance, and longer loading times than in the PlayStation 4 release. Morgan Sleeper of Nintendo Life praised the exploration, combat, music, and story and considered the portability of the Switch version a significant advantage despite its technical compromises.

The original English localization was widely criticized. Reviewers and players identified awkward phrasing, grammatical problems, inconsistent terminology, and dialogue that did not adequately communicate the Japanese script. NIS America subsequently replaced the principal translator and editor, revised the full script, and rerecorded the voiced dialogue. The revised localization was released in January 2018.

The Windows release was criticized separately for crashes, frame-rate instability, graphical errors, and limited hardware compatibility. A major update released in January 2020 substantially revised the port's rendering and performance systems and added experimental cooperative play.

The game won "Best Action Combat System" in Game Informers 2017 RPG of the Year Awards.

Sales

The PlayStation Vita version sold 43,753 physical copies during its first week in Japan, making it the country's second-bestselling retail game of the week. The PlayStation 4 version sold 27,741 physical copies during its Japanese launch week.

Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo said that the Nintendo Switch version performed in line with the company's expectations outside Japan. Worldwide sales across all versions exceeded 500,000 copies by October 2018 and 600,000 copies by August 2019.