But Adol isn’t the only one dimensional character you’ll be subjected to - there’s an entire cast of idiots just aching to baffle you with grade school bullsh*t. YS SEVEN marches out the usual tired JRPG stereotypes - a high-strung princess, an oafish sidekick, a girl-crazy man, a hyperactive hooligan, a proud warrior, a gloomy anti-hero, etc. - and attempts to tell a story using conversations that are just so ridiculously infantile and predictable that you’ll wish one of those characters was a serial killer. The game also tries to use humor, tragedy, and class warfare to evoke some kind of emotional response from the player, but it all falls flat. The story and the characters are so bad that by the time you get to saving the world, you’ll want all of them to die anyway.

But all is not lost, YS fans; take heart in the fact that YS SEVEN is actually a good game. Buried beneath the aforementioned mountains of nonsense is a game system that is well-rounded, thoughtful in its execution and a lot of fun to play. Where Nihon Falcom failed in its storytelling, it succeeded in the underlying game system.

At the heart of the game is a rock-paper-scissors combat system that encourages the player to switch between characters. Most monsters are susceptible to certain types of attacks, and since every character has a weapon specialization, which means that you will want to switch back and forth to get the best results. For example, if a turtle is susceptible to hammers, you’d switch to Dogi, but if you faced a creature that was susceptible to swords you’d use Adol. While you can only control one character at a time, the AI does a decent job of managing the others on the field.

Because this is a 3D action RPG, the bulk of your time will be spent grinding out levels to raise stats and earning cash to buy new gear- but that grinding never becomes over-bearing because anyone currently in your roster gains experience, which makes the process considerably less tedious than it could be. Another added benefit to combat is that you collect synthesis items like monster fluid and tough hide off dead creatures that can be used later at stores to create unique gear.

When you are not fighting or dealing with the story, you’ll be using unique items you find at various points in the game to solve environmental puzzles. Much like the classic Legend of Zelda games, these items are used to solve puzzles like unlocking secret passages, traversing deadly terrain (ice, fire, etc.) and opening up new areas to further your adventure.

The other important elements are the unique attacks that you can equip to take down some of the more powerful foes in the game. These attacks are tied to the weapons you use and can be equipped just like a piece of armor or a sword. Once equipped these attacks can be activated by using available SP energy. Later in the game each character gets a powerful attack that is well suited for taking down the game’s many bosses and large marauding creatures called Titanos. Like the SP meter, the special meter associated with this special skill is filled up by killing creatures.

All of these elements - along with a number of side quests (mostly collection and delivery quests) - come together seamlessly to create a decent gaming system that is a lot of fun to play.

Finally the most important element and the one thing that will probably encourage a lot of people to pick up this game despite its weak story – is the fast forward button. By holding down the O button you can fast-forward past all the stuff that sucks – the cut scenes, the dialogue and the story. The only caveat is that you might miss an important detail or two on what to do next to forward the plot.

If you’re willing to use the wonderful fast-forward button and focus your attention on the important parts of the game, then YS SEVEN is well worth the money and your time. On the other hand, if you are foolish enough to take in the entire story, please don’t blame me – I tried to warn you.

James Fudge is a regular contributor to GameShark and writes for the ECA publications Game Politics and Game Culture .

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