Audio wise, Ys X is wonderful. It’s got those blood pumping tracks that make me feel like I can run through a wall, perfect for fighting numerous foes in your path. It also has those slower, more elegant tracks that evoke a different emotion, not just overwhelming violence. Of all the tracks, my favorite ones have to be “Young Swordsman in the Eyes,” “Lila -Innocent Wish-,” and “Nordics Saga -The Endless Bloody Sea-.” “Young Swordsman in the Eyes” really evokes the spirit of adventure and truly sounds like a staple Ys theme. “Lila -Innocent Wish-” is one of the slower themes I mentioned earlier, and it just sounds beautiful, but also sad at the same time. “Nordics Saga -The Endless Bloody Sea-” really gets you ready for an intense fight, and is perfect for the climactic fight of the game. The voice work is great as well. Ys X features both Japanese and English voice acting, but I played through the entire game with the English voices. All the actors did a wonderful job giving life to these characters. Only one character’s voice didn’t sit right with me, but they weren’t terrible, it’s just not the voice I expected from the character’s design. As a fan of Sword Art Online, I couldn’t help but compare the chemistry of Adol and Karja to Kirito and Asuna. Both pairs fight extremely well together in battle and make up for each other’s shortcomings. So, when I found out Adol and Karja share the same English voice actors as Kirito and Asuna, all I could think was it’s perfect casting. It explains why all their battle voices sounded just right. If I had a complaint, it’d be I wish all the max bond events were fully voiced. These events are the culmination of a character’s development, and the moment would’ve been more special if fully voiced.
In terms of the localization, I found nothing incredibly egregious throughout my playthrough. I could count one instance where the word order slightly confused me, but that’s about it. I had no trouble understanding the game’s story, and nothing read or sounded awkward. Honestly, it was done very well, and like with Trails through Daybreak, NIS America did a great job with this one.
Ys X: Nordics runs really well on my PC on Ultra preset and 4K resolution. For reference, my rig has an Intel Core i7-11700K with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. I was able to play a majority of the game at around 90 – 100 FPS with some drops to the 80s, and loading screens were almost non-existent. There are numerous presets that you can select in addition to Ultra. These are Performance, Console, Default, and High. You can fine tune certain individual graphics options to best fit your rig, so the game should be playable even on the more modest of PCs. There are different button icons available to suit your specific controller, and you can remap the controls to whatever fits you best. It’s not perfect though. There were random instances where the game would drop and lock at 40 FPS. The only way to restore the FPS was to restart the game, and I never found out what caused that issue. I also had the game crash on me once after a boss fight, but I couldn’t recreate that issue, so it may have been a one-off. I also wish there was an option to increase the text size, for those that need it. When it comes to the Steam Deck, the game runs very well when set to the Performance preset and Borderless display mode. Combat was still smooth and could hold at a steady 60 FPS, but for the sake of battery life I would set the Steam Deck FPS to 45. I only played on Steam Deck for a little over an hour, but had no issues when playing that way, so those who only have a Steam Deck should have no problems playing this game.
It took me a little over 57 hours to complete Ys X: Nordics story while completing all the sidequests, catching all the fish, and exploring 100% of Obelia Gulf. Once you complete the game, you can do Time Attack mode where you can tackle all of the game’s bosses all over again, or play New Game + where you can carry over numerous things including your characters’ levels. I do wish there were more unlockable cosmetics for your characters and the Sandras, but unfortunately, most of them are only available through DLC.
Ys X: Nordics is a very fun action game with loveable characters and a soundtrack that’s sure to have one or two tracks that’ll stick in your mind. The Cross Action System allows for players to enact beautiful destruction and is sure to be a hit with action fans. It has a story that does enough to capture your attention and keep it through the duration of the game, and is a perfect starting point for those new to the Ys series. The naval gameplay does need some polish, but Falcom gave an excellent first attempt. While the game was hampered by some technical and visual issues, this should not deter you from playing this game. Longtime fans of the Ys series, as well as newcomers, will find a lot to enjoy in this game. I certainly had a lot of fun playing through it.
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Review copy provided by the publisher. A copy of the game retails for $59.99.
