GAME TITLE : Ys SEVEN PLATFORM : Steam DEVELOPED BY : Nihon Falcom TRANSLATED BY : XSEED Games PUBLISHED BY : XSEED Games ENGINE : SEVEN Engine RELEASE DATE : August 30, 2017 Reflections of Ys By Jessie Cooper



Ys Seven has never looked better. Before starting the game, I increased all graphical options to the highest possible settings to ensure the best gaming experience. The controls for the game are mapped very similar to that of the PSP's, with combat utilizing bumpers and primary buttons.



Down to what most of you are wondering: how does the game look? At 1080p and a buttery-smooth 60 frames per second, the visuals are absolutely STUNNING. This is a port of an 8-year-old handheld game. Knowing this, I didn't expect Unreal Engine 4 graphics. The results are... MIRACULOUS. Trailers don't do this game justice. You have to see, and feel it for yourself. I immediately noticed the crisp character artwork, silky polygon edges and improved textures that couldn't have been displayed on the PSP's smaller screen. This game isn't a remake, but rather a high definition upscale of the PSP original. At the time, some textures created for the PSP were higher than could be originally displayed, but are now shown in all its glory. They felt natural. Immersing myself felt organic and intuitive.



The one thing you may notice is that certain graphical elements were originally created as small, 2D objects that have now been stretched for larger resolutions. For example: In earlier 3D video games, some trees were flat graphics that continued to rotate infinitely to face your camera. This technique was often used on N64 and GameBoy Advance to simulate objects in a 3D environment. Some background elements in Ys Seven were designed similarly, such as boats out in distant water, pots and pans in a store, or newspapers on a wall... all the negligible stuff. Since the PSP screen was much smaller, these 2D graphics blended well. Now that they are increased to high definition, the results are quite noticeable. While gaming, most players won't care. We're not here to admire pots and pans. We're here on an adventure!



If I had to find a fault in the original PSP version, it would be the loading. Though it wasn't too heavy to begin with, this version eliminates it completely. Some of the text had been revised. Nothing extensive. Mostly grammatical fixes such as capitalizations. If you are interested in knowing more about other elements of the game, such as narrative or technological advancements compared to previous Ys games, please see my PSP Reflection.



Overall, this was an amazing experience, especially given the short time it has been since my PSP play-through. The results are breathtaking, giving me hope that more PSP ports may be somewhere in XSEED's pipeline...