Examples of Damage Control in Gaming: Ys VIII on Steam is a Mess

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana was the first Falcom title to be handled by NIS America in western territories. Considering the treatment it received, it could also be the last.

First, NISA ran into problems with the localization, which was below the higher standard they’re usually known for. Several lines were translated too literally and didn’t read well, while translations for some area names were peculiarly more convoluted than English translations already in the game. They took the unprecedented step of retranslating the problematic lines, likely due to Falcom reading about what happened from Japanese blogs that reported on the reactions from western players and getting concerned about their choice in partner. The patch with the new translation released at the end of January, and was received well.

However, that wasn’t the only issue with the game: They also ran into problems with the PC port. It was originally due for release with the PS4 and Vita versions in September last year, but was delayed indefinitely at the time. It wasn’t good news for those who were ready to play the game at that moment, but it was good news for others thanks to Ys Seven being ported to PC by XSeed mere weeks before then. Since that isn’t a short game, the delay gave fans more time to finish that seventh installment and other games. But who could have predicted it would take so many delays, and over such a long period?

The PC port was subsequently confirmed for a January 30th release, on the same day as the aforementioned new localization. But it was delayed until an unspecified time mere days before its intended release again, indicating how NISA was having serious problems porting it. It was dated again for April 16, this past Monday, and finally released — nearly seven months after it was originally planned to arrive. Given the lengthy amount of extra time the team within NISA and assistant Tin Giant took to get this right, you might have thought this released in the most pristine shape possible. But the port’s actual shape should make anyone wonder what the hell they even did with that time.

The port launched with several issues that make it a chore to play. While all the game’s graphical assets were taken straight from the PS4 version with no options to fine-tune the visual experience, that’s the least of its issues. It tends to crash multiple times, though when it happens varies depending on the user. Some start running into the problem within the first hour of play, while others can make it to Chapter 2 before it starts happening. Worse, once the crashes start, they won’t stop. It also has random slowdown issues regardless of how powerful a player’s PC is, despite the aforementioned lack of graphics options.

It will also display PlayStation button prompts regardless of which controller a player uses, which can make selecting certain options a headache if they’re using a non-Sony pad. The keyboard and mouse options are also reportedly underwhelming. Finally, the sound and music will randomly cut out. These aren’t all the issues, but I think you get the gist of it.

The fans who’ve been waiting seven months to play this game have a right to be upset, considering they dropped $59.99 (or an equivalent) on it. Some of them also claim the game is unfathomably in worse shape now than it was during the beta session before the original release date in September last year.

Fortunately, NISA has acknowledged the issues on social media, and are committed to fixing them. They’ve asked players to compile a list of known issues so they can address them through patches. As of Tuesday, they’ve fixed minor issues like the lack of VSync and a bug that caused the framerate to drop when the controller was removed. The more crippling issues listed above remain, though they’ve listed the order in which they plan to address them. Given how long the list is, though, fixing them all will take a while.

It’s nice that they didn’t tuck their heads in a hole and pretend the problems weren’t happening, but it remains baffling that the game released in this state after being delayed for nearly seven months. It would hardly be a surprise if Falcom is considering no longer using NISA as a localization partner, a contemplation I agree with. There’s a stark contrast in quality and the reception between the PC ports handled by XSeed and this one — with one handled by Mastiff (Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure) for good measure.

It’s possible Falcom could be forgiving with NISA and will give them another shot. Hopefully they don’t make any critical errors if that happens, as their handling of the next project will be viewed with increased scrutiny. Whether Falcom trusts them again or not could depend on how quickly they can fix the issues in Ys VIII’s PC port, which will likely take weeks, and how the Switch port turns out when it releases in late June.