Ys Seven

Sometimes time is not healthy for some passed games. No matter how good your story is or maybe how bad it is there are things that doesn’t grip like they used to be.
Its still an ys game from start to finish don’t get your hopes shattered. It always presents you with beautiful thrilling parts of Adols journey from top to bottom. No matter where you land or arrive there will be something waiting for you. It’s the strongest part of Ys franchises from the time they were made. It’s the unknown things that will let you lose into your wildest discovers and paths.
The gameplay has that chasing your tale feel. It never gets old or boring it only gets better by each step. Sadly this game has some weird stuff like camera sometimes doesn’t bow to your gameplay style and some of the mechanics of the battle system with the bosses becomes very annoying and unfair to deal with. Not to mention some difficulty spikes even if you play on normal don’t justify your time spend here. This was the first ys game where I had many issues with it and had a very bad time. I love Ys series but this one was not on part with me.

What a ride. I didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. Granted it's no Ys 8, but man was this good.
I feel like this one is superior to Memories of Celceta in every way, tho I didn't finish Celceta yet (Will come back to it eventually).
As per usual with Ys games the combat is very fun, music is great and the story was suprisingly good, predictable, but good. Dungeons here are some of the best in the series and boss fights are great.
Overall not a perfect game by far ofc, but a very solid one.

It doesn't say, but Ys Seven does work on Steam Deck. Though it doesn't support the native resolution, so you'll have to be happy with 720p and having black bars on top and bottom. The game does run in 4K 60fps in you play in desktop mode.
This is an absolutely great game and I highlynrecommend it. It's a bit archaic and short, but it's pure simple fun.

Ys Seven is the series foray onto the portable market for the time. However, despite what many might think that implies, it shatters nearly all expectations for the time. What Ys Seven accomplishes is creating a new battle system which will be used in two other titles (one remake and one mainline) and being the first in the series to pack in a ton of contant, story and side quests abound.
The sound design is the typical Ys fanfare. And while the rocking tunes can really get you pumped for the area you're about to venture through, it does make most areas lacking in terms of an identity. I find some of the areas to blend a bit together, making it hard to distinguish different areas in the game. That isn't too say it's bad. I absolutely love the music and there are definitely tracks you'll be listening to which are fitting to the tone, unique to the setting alone, etc.
The visuals are dependent on how much you love older graphics. This game is from 2003, originally on the PSP hardware. For that, I really think the game is absolutely stunning. It really does show off the power of the console for the time and what Falcom was able to accomplish. But, with that said, it isn't to everyone's cup of tea. If so, there are some HD texture packs if you're interested, but I personally think the style, as is, is charming.
As for the gameplay, depending on if you played the other games in the series, it might look familiar. The action gameplay is back but with a new system where characters are given a characteristic regarding their weapon: Piercing, slashing, or bludgeoning. Get bonus damage if you use the right one or nerfed damage if you don't. In regards to this, I believe that Ys Seven, which created the system, does it the best and it's regarding the nerfed damage. I found myself in the other two (Memories of Celceta and VIII) ignoring it, for the most part, as I was able to output so much damage regardless. But Ys Seven really nerfs your damage output if you choose to ignore this. I can see if others may find this frustrating, but with items which enable Adol to change his typing if needed, always you to experiment with the composition to fit your style.
Now, lastly, the story. In short, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The first half of the game feels like you're going through motions to play a game. It especially has that game element going for it; not hiding for a moment that it's a game you're playing instead of pulling you into the story. But, with that said, the second half really brought me into the story proper. I found myself engaged and, when it was about to lose me again, really brought me right back in. If you're able to sit yourself through the first half, know you'll be getting an amazing time for the rest of your experience.
I wanted to also bring this up for those who have played it, as it felt like a drag while playing this game. If you've played Ys: Memories of Celceta, it'll really feel like you're playing the same game for a bulk of it. While circumstances are different, the story nearly goes beat for beat in terms of what you're objectives are. Going around to certain groups and solving an issue they're having, or needing to touch a macguffin they have in their position. Then, after the midpoint, you have to go back again to all the same areas before you unlock the end game. While I like both games and, honestly, prefer Ys Seven over the other, it can really feel like you're playing the same game again. If you get that feeling, I understand and would say to soldier through, but again, understand if you don't want to play two very similar games back-to-back.
Ys Seven is an amazing addition to the Ys series. Even more, if did such an incredible job for the hardware it was on. The game is even the first of the Ys series to be ~15 hours, before the games being ~10. The characters are feel quite lively in the world and add to the development of making Altago a breathing world. This is, not only an Ys game, but an RPG that should you should have your eye on.

A really good Ys in terms of the gameplay who switch to a 3 party member versus the old school Adol only.
Better start with normal/hard for your first playthrough and suffer in nightmare afterwards. A great action pact adventure like usual to save the world.

If you want to finish the harder achievement grinding at the end (all lv 10 skills with Adol) while gathering materials and money so you have less back and forth to do.

After playing through all of it i can say without a doubt it's very ok, not the best Ys i have ever played but it's ok and for a game that was originally on PSP it's very ambitious.

An interesting entry in the Ys Series. It is a port of a PSP game so it is a little older now and the graphics are dated, but still look good. Music is great and it has the typical Falcom polish in the story and gameplay. This game is one of the earliest iterations of the "attack type" character swap mechanic that the Ys games have used since the PSP games. It is a bit more polished than the first iteration, but not as smooth as it is in Ys VIII and Ys IX. If you are looking for a fun action RPG, this is a good game to give a go.