Ys Seven pilots the series into a new era, but ultimately ends up feeling like a rough draft. The game has solid bones - a fun and typically fast-paced and dodge-heavy hack-and-slash combat system where attacks build up SP to unleash special skills, as well as a party system to help introduce some variety.

But the game is constantly getting in its own way with weird balancing issues - SP takes waaaaay too long to build up, and bosses are giant damage sponges that draw fights out two to three times as long as they should be. The result is a game that feels both fast and sluggish in its moment-to-moment rhythms. Another key flaw? Only the slash-type characters are really any fun to play as (Dogi hits like a truck but he moves like one too).

I had an okay time with it despite everything. But this is easily one of the weaker Ys games, and the fact that it was by far the longest Ys to date on release really doesn’t help with that