Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox – Exploring a Cursed City

 Reviews, Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jan 132023
 

This morning, I finally finished Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, which I started last year but put on hold for a while.

This is only the second Ys game I’ve played, which I regret in some ways because I could tell certain moments were meant to be callbacks to previous entries, but it was still an enjoyable and largely standalone story.

Ys IX sees adventurer Adol Christin arriving at the prison city of Balduq, where he is immediately arrested. While trying to escape the prison, a strange encounter leads to him becoming a Monstrum, someone with supernatural powers bound to the city of Balduq to fight in the monster-infested alternate world of the Grimwald Nox.

What this means from a gameplay perspective is that you have a bunch of special abilities to help you explore the city. Adol can now zip to special vantage points, and as more party members join you, you gain additional Monstrum skills, such as running up walls and gliding. The Monstrum curse keeps you confined to certain areas at first, but as you complete quests and fight enemies in the city, you’re able to break these barriers.

This was probably my favorite part of Ys IX. I loved being able to explore more of the city each time I gained a new ability, and gradually opening up new sectors kept it from feeling too overwhelming. The city is also filled with collectibles, making its exploration remind me a bit of the 3D platformers I love.

Meanwhile, the weakest link is the Grimwald Nox. A cursed alternate dimension under a blood-red moon sounds fantastic, but in practice it just means you fight waves of enemies while defending a giant crystal. These sections can be fun, since your entire party participates while other allies lend support, but I would have much preferred being able to actually explore the Grimwald Nox realm.

Between the curse and the Grimwald Nox itself, though, this aspect of the story lends almost a gothic horror flavor to some parts, which I appreciated.

The story is interesting enough, with an element of mystery that had me curious for quite a while about what was actually going on, and the characters are likeable. There are plenty of NPCs throughout the city whose dialogue changes as the game progresses, as well.

Overall, I enjoyed playing Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. I’m looking forward to learning more about the recently-announced Ys X, and maybe I’ll have even caught up a bit more on the series by then!

Ys X Officially Announced (and More Ys News)

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Dec 162022
 

We knew it was in development, and now it’s officially been announced: the next game in the Ys series.

Ys X: Nordics will be released for the PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch in 2023.

As detailed here by Gematsu, it is set somewhat early in the series’ timeline (it seems to take place after Ys II) and follows a young Adol exploring a bay made up of numerous islands.

In keeping with this setting, you’ll have control of a ship, which you can use to explore the oceans and fight naval battles.

Now, earlier this year we discussed an interview in which the next Ys game was said to have a “completely different” system. Not only will you have a ship in Ys X, but it also features a new combat system called the Cross Action system.

There will be two combat modes, a Solo Mode in which you control one partner with a partner attacking on their own, and a Combination Mode in which you control both characters as once.

It sounds interesting, so I hope we get to see a trailer with this combat system in action.

Meanwhile, Falcom also announced Ys Memoire: the Oath in Felghana for the Switch for spring 2023, a remastered version of Ys: The Oath in Felghana with newly voiced scenes, the option to switch between classic art and new art, and a high-speed mode and other features, as detailed by Gematsu.

Localization hasn’t been announced for either game yet, so we’ll have to wait a bit to learn when we’ll be able to play them. I still have plenty of Ys games to catch up on in the meantime…

What do you think of Ys X?

The Next Ys Game Will Have a Completely Different System

 Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Jan 282022
 

2022 is the 35th anniversary of the Ys series, so fans have been hoping that this year would bring news about the next game in the series.

In a recent interview translated here on Twitter, Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo talked about the next Ys.

Apparently the next Ys game is in development, but won’t be ready in time to be released this year.

More interestingly, he said that it will be “completely different” compared to Ys 7, 8, and 9, which all used a similar system.

(Similar comments have been made about the potential Ys 10 before this, with Kondo saying the next game should evolve into something new.)

I’m nowhere near caught up on the Ys series, having only played the first one (despite thinking last year might be the year when I’d play the rest), but it seems like Ys 7 is when the party system was introduced instead of playing as a solo character.

As a result, a lot of people are suggesting the next Ys game might go back to being solo. Others think some specific combat mechanics used in those three games might be removed while keeping the party.

The interview also goes into topics about Kuro no Kiseki II, but I didn’t read those parts since I’m not even remotely close to being caught up on Trails, either.

It’s a shame a new Ys won’t be out for the 35th anniversary, but it’s interesting to see that they’re planning new things for the next entry. What do you think the new Ys system will be like?

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