Ys X: Nordics Review – IS THIS PEAK YS?

It’s been 4 years since the last Ys entry landed on Western shores, so does that make Ys X: Nordics 4 times better than the ninth? Well, not quite. It’s definitely a lot more sunny, that’s for sure! But is it worth sailing through this over 20-hour action RPG? We’re about to find out!

One Day, The Journey Will Begin

Now first off, this wouldn’t be a Ys game, if our red-haired, almost-silent protagonist, Adol didn’t start off strolling around, being all social. A walking contradiction, he is. However, the developers dragged out the opening sections for too long here, with character dialogue and exposition that I could not care less about if I tried. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ys IX’s story as well, though at least it started off with a bang! In Ys X’s case, it takes far too much time to get to the point, and there’s just a tonne of fluffy fantasy nonsense that doesn’t pay off in the end.

It’s a shame the big bads often feel like Saturday morning cartoon villains that can’t be taken seriously. I mean, talk about setting a tone. They’ll even blurt out statements like
“Guess I can’t tell you what’s happening, because that would be too early in the script now, wouldn’t it?” *SIGH* I get that they’re trying to be silly, yet they say stuff like this or 3 or 4 times throughout and it gets progressively dumber each time. Also, I did notice a couple of character reactions or revelations that didn’t exactly make sense or just appeared out of nowhere with no real build-up. Albeit, they weren’t out-of-this-world ridiculous, to be fair.

Our two main—and only playable leads—Adol and Karja work well as a duo though, with clever bits of banter that help refresh the otherwise shoddy plot. But why are these two the sole controllable characters? Well, it’s because they became magically chained together in chapter one… A pretty contrived way to do it. But hey, I’ve seen much worse. Long story short, Adol, Karja and only a select few can wield mana, the one thing that can defeat the emerging threat known as the Griegr. So it’s up to them to restore the peace.

Joined at the Hip

Leading into battle, this is where the biggest change to the formula’s at. By holding down the shield button, Adol and Karja can swing their sword and axe together for almost double the damage, while also giving them four unique team-based attacks, on top of their four regular skills. It’s pretty hype at first, seeing these two in tandem, hacking and slashing foes to pieces. However, as I’m sure you can tell, it’s pretty busted. Because as soon as an attack animation finishes, Adol and Karja will automatically block any normal or red-coloured Power Attacks from whichever direction they come from, even in the air. And on top of that, any blocked attack contributes to the Revenge Gauge which strengthens the duo’s next team skill. So, why would you want to fight individually if there’s no real downside or reason to? Other than messing around? I don’t know.

I guess it lets Adol and Karja whip out their individual skills? But still, even if there are sections when they’re alone, it is suboptimal to stay apart generally. While I have been bashing this game a lot so far, the combat can still be a pleasure to play. Get in a few perfect blocks or evade past blue-coloured Speed Attacks, followed by a counter strike and some quality combos of your own, and there’s an intense sense of flow here that can be rather addictive. Although, how long that stays alluring could vary. Considering there are only two party members and no damage types like slash, piercing or strike, this formula will start to wane on you at some point. The feel of fighting is a bit more floaty this time around too, especially when you grapple over to enemies or jump up to attack. Think of the transition from Kingdom Hearts II to III, and you’ll know exactly what I mean—for better or worse.

Ys X does have a good serving of tense boss fights, even if some are repeated far too often, but the overall enemy variety is actually pretty fair. On the contrary, normal foes love throwing themselves off the edge for some reason. And speaking of bugs, instead of fighting, either Adol or Karja would casually run into the wall like a glitched-out NPC. Oh, and I almost forgot that they would randomly jump up and down at points. The camera isn’t particularly useful in tight spaces either; losing its marbles whenever you get squished against a wall, which can be very problematic in the heat of battle. Hope you enjoy staring at zoomed-in Nintendo Switch graphics, because I certainly don’t.

Oh, Sunny Days!

On that note, the graphics are markedly better than Ys IX, with the cutscene visuals almost looking as good as Nintendo’s first-party titles. Honestly, it was pure eye candy watching Adol and Karja’s final takedowns on bosses when their health dropped to zero. Albeit, whenever something significant happens out on the water or it gets especially flashy, the frame rate will dip hard on the Switch. Big ooft! The normal, moment-to-moment gameplay runs well enough at around 30FPS. Though, whenever Adol is involved in a frantic escape or hoverboard sequence, it can get quite choppy.

Doesn’t help that said sequences are few and far between, and don’t have that much complexity to them either. Just move a touch to the side and avoid the blatantly obvious obstacles coming your way. Even if these events look fancy-fancy, you can practically beat them in your sleep. They’re not difficult at all. The devs missed a great opportunity to make the hoverboard itself much more exciting too. Because its use is relatively limited, only letting you jump off ramps to find treasure, grind basic light rails or glide over terrain that would slow you down on foot. Yes, you can also barge into enemies on board, but it ultimately seems like an afterthought more than anything.

As far as exploration goes, this is where the game shines brightest. Diving into one of the many tropical locales and tackling some side quests can be surprisingly fun, especially since they dish out handy rewards and neat little lore nuggets upon completion. The level designs are interesting enough, and these are the parts where I really tuned into the OST as well. Even if it isn’t the most memorable Ys soundtrack of all time, each piece of music slots in nicely and doesn’t ever feel out of place. Besides the very opening scene, the audio design and voice-acting are also fairly solid. I just wish Adol would physically speak his lines more. I mean, he’s got the same voice actor as Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan. So, why not make the most of it? I’d rather that than Adol nodding “Hai” every 20 minutes. That’s for sure.

Boats, Boats, Boats!

Anyway, let’s move on to more pressing matters. AKA boats. Do they go fast? Yes, but not at the start. It takes a good while or so before Adol’s able to extensively upgrade his ship, though the general gameplay of moving between islands and shooting down hostile ships is not bad. Before the windy speed lines start appearing, Adol’s access to speed and firepower is severely limited. Yet when it does finally get going, the naval combat is decent enough to muck around with.

Some of the cannon volleys don’t always fire exactly where you want, and the turning controls will sometimes lock up if the camera is in a weird spot, but you’ll eventually get used to the steering. Since this game has dotted lines to signal loading zones, ships will just hard stop whenever they bump into them during certain encounters. So even though it looks janky as, you can hardcore cheese several sea battles using this method. There are also times when you can trade with nearby merchant ships for goodies or physically board enemy vessels and take down the crew in waves, which are neat little touches to keep the open seas engaging.

Decision

Ys X: Nordics has missed the target. The combat starts off fresh and exciting with its new Duo Mode mechanics, but it becomes stale over time as this game lacks any damage type features or party members to keep players invested. While it can be enjoyable when things start to click, you first have to trudge through Ys X’s story which is dragged out with excessive exposition and boring fantasy fluff that doesn’t exactly bring home the bacon.

Despite these flaws, Ys X does have its highlights, particularly in exploration, where its tropical-themed levels and valuable side quests shine. The graphics are notably improved over Ys IX, too, especially in cutscenes. However, the frame rate can drop dramatically during visually intense scenes on the Switch. The simple ship mechanics and naval combat are welcome additions, but a few controller quirks and glitches can disrupt the experience on both land and sea. Ultimately, while Ys X has its moments, they don’t quite live up to the standards set by its predecessors, with a plot and gameplay that will most likely struggle to hold your attention.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on Nintendo Switch

Average

Ys X: Nordics introduces an interesting combat system with Duo Mode, but it quickly becomes repetitive due to limited party dynamics and a lack of damage type mechanics. While the exploration and improved graphics are highlights, the slow-paced story, Saturday morning cartoon villains and so-so gameplay make the experience fall short of expectations, especially when compared to previous entries in the series.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by NIS America. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.