Adol Christin is washing up on another shore. NIS America announced on Tuesday, October 20, that Nihon Falcom’s action RPG Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on February 25, 2027, and the new version brings some real upgrades over the original Switch release.
What the Switch 2 version adds
The headline change is performance. According to Anime News Network, the Switch 2 version runs at up to 120fps, a huge jump for a game whose original Switch port, released in June 2018, ran at around 30fps. Two-player co-op is supported through GameShare, and Siliconera reports that GameShare works both locally and online. The release will also include Spanish subtitles for the first time.
A story worth replaying
Ys VIII follows Adol after he is shipwrecked on a cursed island. He and the other survivors he rescues build a village to fight off fearsome beasts and explore mysterious ruins, while Adol begins dreaming about a blue-haired maiden named Dana living in an unknown world. The game is often named as one of the best entries in the long-running series, with fast combat and a strong mix of exploration and base building.
The game has been around the block. It launched in Japan on PS4 and PS Vita in May 2017, reached North America and Europe that September, then came to PC in 2018 and to PS5 in November 2022. By October 2018, it had sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. Siliconera also notes that a separate iOS and Android version is in the works from Linekong Entertainment Technology.
Ys VIII joins a growing list of older games getting a second life on Nintendo’s newer hardware, often with patches that make better use of its power, like the recent Witcher 3 patch that sharpened the Switch 2 image. For players who skipped Adol’s island adventure the first time, a 120fps version with co-op is a strong reason to set sail in February.
