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| Title | Ys X: Nordics |
| Developer | Nihon Falcom Corporation |
| Publisher | NIS America, Inc. |
| Release Date | October 25th, 2024 |
| Genre | Action RPG |
| Platform | Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG) |
| Age Rating | ESRB – T for Teen |
| Official Website | |
Adventures are wonderful experiences. They allow one to explore unknown regions and experience unfamiliar cultures, and the Ys series truly embodies the adventurer’s spirit. Each entry in this series has you explore brand new regions and meet new people, all while saving the day and helping those around you. And while there is a chronological order to these games, most entries can be enjoyed standalone without having played any past game in the series, making it easily accessible to newcomers. Couple this with a well-designed action battle system and a soundtrack that really gets your blood pumping, and the Ys series has really made a place in my heart as one of my most beloved video game franchises. Ys X: Nordics is the latest adventure following the red-haired swordsman, Adol Christin. Ys X is a fresh start as it does away with the party battle system seen in recent games like Ys VIII and opts for one focusing on two playable characters. And in a move I did not expect, X introduces naval exploration and combat. Knowing Adol’s rotten luck with ships, I never thought Falcom would implement something like this, but here we are. I was very much looking forward to playing this newest adventure after it was first announced. Was Ys X another memorable adventure in the story of Adol Christin, or was this one journal that was better off being undiscovered?
Ys X: Nordics takes place shortly after Ys II and before the events of Ys: Memories of Celceta. Adol Christin, along with his companions Dogi and Dr. Flair, travel to Celceta in search of their next adventure. Unfortunately, their trip takes an unexpected detour when their ship is boarded by the Balta Seaforce, a group of Normans that safeguard the Obelia Gulf region. Adol and crew end up having to wait at the port town of Carnac for the next passenger ship. Here, Adol receives the mysterious power of Mana from a voice calling themselves Lila. Oh, and he also ends up getting cuffed via Mana to a Norman girl, Karja. As the two try to figure out what’s going on, tragedy strikes the town of Carnac, and the pair find themselves at odds with an undead enemy known as the Griegr. What is the true nature of the Griegrs and what is their goal? Who is this Lila that granted Adol the power of Mana? What caused these Mana Cuffs to appear and bind Adol and Karja together? Adol and Karja set sail on the Sandras to not only quell the Griegr threat and save Obelia Gulf, but solve these mysteries popping up around them.
I found the main story to be decent, it isn’t the strongest in the series, but I did enjoy playing through it. It started off strong, but it definitely floundered midway through. But after the midpoint, the story picks up again and leads to a satisfying end. The revelations on the true nature of the Griegr and how they came to be were pretty interesting, and I liked how past events, told through Runestones, connected to current events. However, one of the things I found Ys X handled really well was the development of the main characters and other Sandras crew members. Much of the main cast is in their teens, and they’ve been thrust into an unprecedented situation due to the Griegr threat. Watching them gather the resolve needed to tackle this threat was inspiring, but that’s not all. Not only did the characters achieve the resolve to tackle an unkillable enemy, they also found the courage to chase their dreams and work to better themselves. This can be seen with the members of the Youth Brigade (Grenn, Rosa, Cruz, Rafe, Mira) and others such as Ashley and Ezer. Much of the Sandras crew’s development is optional, but I highly recommend doing their sidequests and watching their bond events. It really adds that much more to the story and how you feel about the characters. As the story progresses, you can also see the characters overcome their preconceived prejudices against others. For Karja this would be her views of non-Normans, for the rest of the crew it would be how they see Normans. Seeing them bond through the course of this journey thanks to this common enemy and extraordinary circumstances was really something. I also thoroughly enjoyed the chemistry between Adol and Karja. Adol is always ready for his next adventure and Karja makes sure to watch his back and make sure he doesn’t go too off the rails. It was enjoyable watching their bond grow throughout the story and seeing Karja grow to trust Adol more and soften her tone toward him. And of course, I mentioned earlier that most of the Ys series is accessible to newcomers, and X is no exception. Newcomers can start with this entry and not feel lost at all. While the story itself had its high and low points, the characters were a very bright spot in this adventure and carried things through.
Ys X: Nordics, like its predecessors, boasts an action battle system. However, Falcom has done away with the system that has been a staple since Ys Seven. No longer is Adol traveling around fields with large groups of companions with different attack types. This time around, the amount of playable characters has been limited to just two: Adol and Karja. It is known as the Cross Action System, and it allows for players to switch between Adol and Karja and control them independently, but it also allows for controlling both characters at once. When controlling the characters independently, you can perform normal attacks, skills by holding the R1 button and pressing one of the face buttons, jump, dodge, and guard. Skills are powerful attacks that deplete Skill Points (SP) with each use. Dodging allows you to move swiftly out of attacks but also counter Speed Attacks (blue aura attacks). This is important as you can’t guard Speed Attacks. When both Adol and Karja are present (which is most of the game), regular guards turn into a Duo Guard, allowing you to block most attacks without taking any damage. Duo Guards also allow you to protect against Power Attacks (red aura attacks). Power Attacks can’t be guarded when solo, and dodging is ineffective against these attacks. Holding down the R2 button switches control into Duo Mode. In this mode, you can control Adol and Karja at the same time. Here, you can perform Duo Attacks on foes which involve striking the enemy at the same time and Duo Skills. Duo Skills are extremely powerful moves that Adol and Karja perform in tandem, allowing you to quickly take down the enemy’s Durability Gauge and their HP Gauge. These skills can be made even more deadly in combat thanks to the Revenge Gauge mechanic. As you Duo Guard enemy attacks, the Revenge Gauge slowly fills up. The rate at which the gauge fills up can quicken if you guard attacks at the right time. The gauge can reach a maximum of x5.0, and the higher the number, the stronger the Duo Skill becomes. The Revenge Gauge mechanic definitely comes in handy when facing stronger normal enemies and bosses. It may sound overwhelming, but once you get used to these mechanics, it makes for a very cohesive battle system.,
Adol and Karja can be strengthened via leveling up, getting new equipment, and via the Release Line Depth system. The first two are pretty straightforward, but the Release Line Depth is new to the series. In this system, there are a series of nodes where you insert items known as Mana Seeds. Mana Seeds are separated into multiple different categories: Valor, Mettle, Optimism, and Darkness. Valor increases your Strength and ability to whittle down HP; Mettle affects a character’s Defense, Vitality, and ability to deplete Durability; Optimism increases multiple stats including Luck; Darkness can exponentially increase your stats at the cost of decreasing another stat. Depending on how many of a certain Mana Seed type are in a specific Release Line Depth, you can unlock Mana Abilities for Adol and Karja. For example, you can unlock abilities that decrease damage, decrease the amount of SP used, increase damage done, etc. As you reach certain levels, more depths are unlocked, allowing you to insert more Mana Seeds and use seeds of a higher quality. Using this system, you can really have Adol and Karja specialize in whatever suits your needs. In my case, I built Adol like a glass cannon with high Strength, but lower Defense and Vitality. Karja on the other hand had overwhelming Defense and Vitality with a high Break stat. So I would use Karja to destroy an enemy’s Durability Gauge and then switch to Adol to really bring the hurt. Honestly, I really only paid attention to the stat boosts and tended to ignore whatever Mana Abilities were unlocked, but this system was very beneficial overall.
