As a seasoned adventurer who’s traversed countless realms, I must say that Ys X: Nordics left me with a mixed bag of feelings. On one hand, the revamped battle mechanics were a joy to experience, reminding me of why I fell in love with this series in the first place. However, other aspects of the game felt somewhat lackluster.
Back in 2009, when Ys Seven was launched for the PSP, it marked a substantial shift in the established RPG series at that time: it introduced a complete playable group of characters. Although games such as Ys Origin permitted playing characters other than Adol Christin, the red-haired protagonist of the series, they were still single-character action RPGs, much like other Ys franchise games of that period, such as The Oath in Felghana and The Ark of Napishtim, aesthetically. In my 2017 review of the PC version of Ys Seven, I found myself with a mixed impression, feeling that Ys was starting to adopt more conventional JRPG aesthetics and structures compared to earlier Ys installments.
Over the past 15 years or so, starting with games like Memories of Celceta, Lacrimosa of Dana, and Monstrum Nox, the party system has remained consistent with minor tweaks in application. Although I grew fond of this contemporary approach during my time with Lacrimosa of Dana, there’s always been a group of Ys fans who yearn for the series to shake things up again, not necessarily seeking a full-fledged return to the roots, but hoping for some fresh ideas to prevent the series from growing stale within its current framework. This is where Ys X: Nordics comes in, aiming to bring change to the table.
In contrast to any Ys game since the mentioned Ys Seven, Ys X does not feature a playable group of characters. Instead, you can only control two characters: Adol Christin and a new character named Karja Balta. Furthermore, unlike many modern games in this series, these two characters do not act as independent members of a duo, but rather function as a cooperative team, working together more seamlessly than separate individuals in a two-person party.
In essence, Adol and Karja possess unique gear, combat abilities, and individual stats, making them appear like distinct party members. Yet, they share EXP and level progression, and generally work together almost all the time in the game Nordics. You’ll find yourself controlling both characters concurrently, frequently switching between them during gameplay.
In this iteration, some aspects of the gameplay will seem quite recognizable compared to recent versions. Characters Adol and Karja will retain their regular attack sequence, a swift evasion move, and four active abilities that can be assigned to the face buttons on your controller. Notably, the combat system has been adjusted to resemble a character action game, giving it a slightly different feel this time.
The key feature of Ys X’s battle system revolves around the twin SP meters, symbolized by slanted rectangular icons in the game screen. These SP points enable characters Adol and Karja to execute combat abilities. In Adol’s playthrough, Karja’s SP meter fills up rapidly when she’s not active. Conversely, during Karja’s turn, Adol’s SP meter fills swiftly. This implies that maximizing your SP usage necessitates regular switching between Adol and Karja, ensuring one of the characters always has a quickly replenishing SP. By swapping between the two characters to execute skills, you can increase your skill chain, which subsequently reduces the cost of subsequent skills. Essentially, Nordic’s battle system encourages players to master using Adol and Karja together as a formidable duo.
Besides the unique character-shifting rhythm, the combat system also includes two essential aspects. The initial element is referred to as Duo Mode, a feature that lets players control both Adol and Karja concurrently by pressing the gamepad trigger. In Duo Mode, these characters can’t move independently but they deal more damage when attacking together and can use cooperative Duo Skills, which consume SP from both characters instead of one. Duo Mode also interacts with the game’s guard function, as switching to it at the right moment can deflect enemy attacks. The second crucial aspect is the Revenge Gauge, which fills up when you block an attack at optimal timing.
The Revenge Meter amplifies the power of your next Duo Skill, starting at 100% base damage. By successfully defending against enemy attacks, it gradually grows stronger. To make the most of this feature, try to frequently block incoming attacks during battles, and then deploy a potent Duo Skill when the multiplier is high. As you advance in the game, the maximum multiplier will also increase.
In my opinion, among action RPGs that focus on combat rhythm between two characters, Ys X stands out as one of the most effective at achieving this goal. To kick off this review, I’d like to delve into the game’s exceptional combat design because it’s arguably its most compelling feature. If you’re drawn to the Ys series for action-packed battles, then you’re in for a thrilling experience with Ys X – it truly is a joy to play!
In contrast to previous Ys series games, the way dodging and guarding is handled in Ys X has undergone a notable change. Previous games in the “party system Ys” era featured a ‘Flash’ mechanic where either dodging or blocking an attack at the last second would slow down time and increase damage potential. This mechanic was often quite manipulable, making it easy to use as a sort of safety net for overcoming many game challenges.
As a fan, I’d express it like this: In the Nordics, they’ve swapped out the Flash Dodge and Flash Guard mechanics with a new system. Now, certain enemy attacks are marked as Power Attacks (with a red aura) or Speed Attacks (with a blue aura). Power Attacks require a well-timed block for defense, while Speed Attacks can be dodged by a quick dash. Both types of attacks open up opportunities for counterattacks, and in boss fights, these counters often come with stunning mid-battle animations. Personally, I believe this updated system is a significant enhancement over the Flash Dodge/Guard mechanics from past games. It adds an extra layer of strategy as you need to pay closer attention to the type of attacks incoming, rather than just blocking or dodging indiscriminately.
In the previous setup, we had a system where attacks could strike, slash, or pierce enemies. Now, that’s been replaced with a ‘Break’ mechanic. Enemies and many bosses will now have an armor gauge that needs to be depleted before you can significantly harm their health. Different attack skills are more effective at inflicting Break damage rather than direct health damage, so you’ll need to use specific skills to break the armor and others to deal actual damage. It’s worth noting that some skills excel at area-of-effect damage, while others focus on taking down a single opponent.
Regarding the game Ys X: Nordics, it does an excellent job of introducing fresh combat abilities throughout the gameplay. You’ll often find yourself acquiring new skills for Adol and Karja, as well as new Duo Skills. Frequently, you’ll be adjusting your skill set to experiment with different ones. This mechanism effectively prevents combat from becoming monotonous or boring.
As a gamer, I battled my way through Ys X: Nordics on its Nightmare difficulty mode, and let me tell you, it was a rollercoaster of tension! Though it could be a tad unfair at times, the adrenaline rush was unmatched. There’s this unique mechanic where, as long as Adol and Karja don’t simultaneously deplete their HP, there’s still hope. If you manage to revive the other character quickly, you can keep pushing forward, even when your own health is down to the last point. It was nerve-wracking, thrilling at moments, and honestly, a blast!
Although the combat features in Ys X: Nordics are largely engaging and novel, it’s unfortunate that several supporting systems, game design, and storytelling aspects fall short.
In the world of Ys X: Nordics, I’ve stumbled upon an intriguing new mechanic – the Release Line system. It’s got a vibe that takes me back to Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid, aesthetically speaking. But don’t let its complexity fool you; it’s actually quite straightforward.
Personally, I found that navigating through the node tree and synthesizing orbs to slot into it was more cumbersome than it was worth. I actually spent much of the game not touching the Release Line system at all, because I couldn’t be arsed to do so. Every once in a while I’d randomly slot in orbs to gain something, but the whole component came across as a little bit undercooked and superfluous, to me. Before the end of the game, I did ultimately make sure every node was full and maximized color coordination as I could, but overall it’s not a very engaging mechanic.
As a dedicated fan, I must confess that what leaves me least enthused about Ys X: Nordics is the extensive ocean exploration. To be honest, this aspect seems to miss the mark for me, not just because of the sailing experience itself, but also due to the design of numerous islands scattered across the sea map.
In the game, the ship navigation is frustratingly slow for much of it, and although the naval combat isn’t broken, it can feel sluggish and uninteresting compared to the exciting land-based combat. It seems that the developers have included an in-game setting to easily bypass all naval battles, which suggests that they may view this aspect as less important, despite being a key part of traveling through the game world. I suspect that the designers intended for a large naval component to be a distinctive feature of Ys X, but they didn’t quite hit the mark.
Apart from the actual navigation, the game’s visual variety is another point of concern. Last year, James expressed similar concerns in his review of Ys X, noting its limited visual diversity. I concur with this viewpoint. As you explore islands in the Obelia Gulf, it seems that around 90% of them resemble sandy beaches with some short grass and tropical plants. These islands are often linear as well, making exploration feel more like checking items off a list rather than an engaging experience. Towards the end of the game, while revisiting areas to complete side quests and fill my journal, I found myself frequently unsure which island was which because they had all started to look similar to me.
At the conclusion of the game, it should be noted that there are some exceptions. The inclusion of a water-based temple serves as a refreshing deviation from the usual beaches and caves; however, overall, the environments and exploration in Ys X tend to fall short of expectations.
Do you remember the camp defense ‘Suppression Battles’ in Lacrimosa of Dana, or the ‘Grimwald Night’ battles in Monstrum Nox? This general idea returns in Nordics as ‘Recapture Battles’, which start as extended naval battles on your ship followed by familiar waves of on-foot battle encounters. Despite enjoying the combat mechanics, this sort of wave-based score-attack framing has never quite worked for me. I was personally never much of a fan of these components in previous games, so seeing the concept return yet again was met with a sigh and an eye roll. In fact, Recapture Battles may be my least favorite interpretation yet with the extended naval combat component. I wish Falcom would let this general concept fade away, to be honest.
In Nordics, you’ll find traces of both Ys VIII and Ys IX. While sailing your vessel, the Sandras, through Obelia Gulf, you’ll encounter a variety of characters, reminiscent of the island camp and Dandelion bar from earlier games. Each character will provide unique services on your ship, such as upgrading your boat, selling equipment, brewing potions, or gathering series emblems known as Pikkards.
Mostly speaking, these characters are quite ordinary. Grenn, with his unrestrained zest, and Mirabel with her undaunted calmness, can be charming in moments, but many of the cast seem like typical moldings. They each have a minor personal detail that emerges when given a present and completing a related task, but it seems routine or expected. The lighthouse keeper who single-handedly raises his four-year-old daughter stands out for me, but the rest of Sandras’ team is largely unremarkable.
As a devoted fan, I can’t help but notice that the sparse voice acting in recent Falcom titles often takes me out of the immersive experience. In some crucial story sequences and significant character scenes, there’s no voiceover at all, which is quite unusual given the quality of the English performances when they are present. It’s a bit disappointing, but I guess it’s part of the package.
In contrast to my mixed feelings about most of the characters, I adore the relationship dynamic between Adol and Karja from the series, even though Adol is mostly a silent protagonist. While Adol himself doesn’t speak much, Karja takes the lead role in Nordics, brilliantly voiced by Cherami Leigh in English. Unlike many Ys heroines who either become damsels in distress or develop over-the-top feelings for Adol, Karja and Adol share a genuine, unbreakable bond that feels authentic. They call each other “Shield Brother” and “Shield Sister.” The two characters are bound together, and by the end of the game, their connection transcends simple romantic or friendly ties. It feels more like an unwavering kinship founded on mutual trust in one another. While I feel Karja could be less reactive at times, the bond she forms with Adol is truly captivating.
In contrast to popular belief, Ys games haven’t traditionally been about the linear narrative, even though they have become more story-driven in recent times. It appears that most of the story unfolds towards the end (about 80%) of the gameplay time, which was also my experience with Nordics. While the gameplay is excellent, I found the storyline less engaging and it didn’t significantly enhance the overall gaming experience for me. The villains, in particular, lacked complexity; they seemed to appear out of nowhere with a weak overall motivation.
In Ys X: Nordics, there were several points where a tense plot moment unfolded, then was quickly addressed in an unconvincing manner, which lessened the impact of the tension. While I understand that some minor conveniences are necessary for storytelling, the frequent use of handwaves to resolve conflicts left me feeling unsatisfied. Additionally, the game attempted to introduce a narrative theme towards the end, but it felt weak and failed to make an impact.
As a devoted fan, I can hardly help but appreciate how effortlessly Falcom delivers localized releases these days, and Ys X is no exception. The outstanding PC port by PH3 has left me awestruck yet again. In fact, RPG Site had the privilege of interviewing Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman to shine a light on the impressive PC version and the intricacies behind its porting process.
From my experience with Ys X: Nordics, I found its revamped battle mechanics quite satisfying. However, I left feeling somewhat unsatisfied with much of the game’s other aspects. The ship navigation and island exploration failed to capture my interest, and the storyline generally lacked depth. If you’re a fan of the Ys series for its engaging combat, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy yourself – I just hope future iterations can strike a better balance between action and narrative.
7
Additionally available on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, the version of Ys X: Nordics that was previously only accessible on PC has been expanded to include these gaming platforms as well.
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2024-10-14 16:28