{"id":348562,"date":"2024-10-14T06:00:52","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T13:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/operationrainfall.com\/?p=348562"},"modified":"2024-10-14T08:01:10","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T15:01:10","slug":"review-ys-x-nordics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/operationrainfall.com\/2024\/10\/14\/review-ys-x-nordics\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Ys X: Nordics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"Ys<\/a><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Title<\/th>\nYs X: Nordics<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Developer<\/th>\nNihon Falcom Corporation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Publisher<\/th>\nNIS America, Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Release Date<\/th>\nOctober 25th, 2024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genre<\/th>\nAction RPG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Platform<\/th>\nNintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, PC<\/strong> (Steam<\/strong>, Epic Games Store, GOG)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Age Rating<\/th>\nESRB – T for Teen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Official Website<\/a><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Adventures are wonderful experiences. They allow one to explore unknown regions and experience unfamiliar cultures, and the <\/span>Ys <\/span><\/i>series truly embodies the adventurer\u2019s 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 <\/span>Ys <\/span><\/i>series has really made a place in my heart as one of my most beloved video game franchises. <\/span>Ys X: Nordics<\/span><\/i> is the latest adventure following the red-haired swordsman, Adol Christin. <\/span>Ys X <\/span><\/i>is a fresh start as it does away with the party battle system seen in recent games like <\/span>Ys VIII<\/span><\/i> and opts for one focusing on two playable characters. And in a move I did not expect, <\/span>X<\/span><\/i> introduces naval exploration and combat. Knowing Adol\u2019s 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 <\/span>Ys X<\/span><\/i> another memorable adventure in the story of Adol Christin, or was this one journal that was better off being undiscovered?<\/span><\/p>\n

Ys X: Nordics<\/span><\/i> takes place shortly after <\/span>Ys II<\/span><\/i> and before the events of <\/span>Ys: Memories of Celceta<\/span><\/i>. 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\u2019s 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 <\/em>to not only quell the Griegr threat and save Obelia Gulf, but solve these mysteries popping up around them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ys<\/a><\/p>\n

I found the main story to be decent, it isn\u2019t 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 <\/span>Ys X<\/span><\/i> handled really well was the development of the main characters and other Sandras <\/em>crew members. Much of the main cast is in their teens, and they\u2019ve 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\u2019s 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 <\/em>crew\u2019s 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\u2019t 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 <\/span>Ys <\/span><\/i>series is accessible to newcomers, and <\/span>X<\/span><\/i> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ys X: Nordics<\/span><\/i>, like its predecessors, boasts an action battle system. However,\u00a0 Falcom has done away with the system that has been a staple since <\/span>Ys Seven<\/span><\/i>. 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\u2019t 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\u2019t 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\u2019s 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.,<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ys<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Continue the adventure on page 2 -><\/a><\/p>\n

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When it comes to exploration on land, Adol and Karja have a free range of movement. You can run and jump around as much as you please, but there are also Mana Actions which give you more options to traverse. For land exploration there are three types of Mana Actions: Mana String, Mana Board, and Mana Burst. The Mana String allows you to grapple onto certain points or enemies and pulls your character toward that point. This can be used in both exploration and combat to your advantage. The Mana Board is what it says it is, it\u2019s a board that Adol and Karja ride that helps them traverse over land and water with great ease. Mana Burst is a charged attack usable by Adol and Karja, and its effect varies depending on who uses it. For Adol, you have a powerful flame attack that burns down obstacles. For Karja, you have a freezing attack that can be used to create ice platforms in pools of water. All three actions are useful in their own ways, but I found myself using the Mana Board most of the time. While the String and Burst are useful, I tended to use them only when it was absolutely necessary to progress.<\/span><\/p>\n

The solid land mechanics are really well done in <\/span>Ys X<\/span><\/i>. The Cross Action System, while a bit confusing at first, is very cohesive and fun once you get used to all the different aspects. Whaling on enemies with the multitude of skills at your disposal, both independently and together as a pair, made for a fun time all-around. It was especially great seeing all the different Duo Skills Adol and Karja can perform together. Their movements are so fluid and they\u2019re in perfect sync with each other. This is honestly the best in-combat chemistry I\u2019ve ever seen Adol have with another character. My biggest complaint with the system had to involve the dodge and Duo Guard mechanics. Dodging Speed Attacks was made a bit too easy. All you had to do was hold down the dodge button and run around and you automatically evaded Speed Attacks. As for the Duo Guard, it felt like they made the mechanic too strong. It was as if the Duo Guard was almost unbreakable, save for a few attacks by larger enemies or bosses. You could shell up for as long as you wanted and then just open up to punish foes. Some type of gauge to limit how long you could hold the Duo Guard would go a long way to making it less of a cheap maneuver. I also found combat to be not that challenging overall, even on Hard difficulty. I found the most difficulty early on in the game when I was trying to figure out the system, and in the Endgame against an optional boss. Other than that, it was mostly smooth sailing. This again can be attributed to the dodge and Duo Guard mechanics. If those were tweaked just a little bit, I feel the challenge could be upped a bit. Despite my gripes, I had a lot of fun with the combat. But if you\u2019re looking for something more challenging, you might want to up the difficulty level a bit. Land exploration was solid, so I had no problems in that department. Also, I appreciated the return of the fishing minigame. It\u2019s always great seeing what type of aquatic life is in the new region Adol explores. Overall, another solid outing by Falcom when it comes to anything involving controlling the characters directly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Now we leave the land and head to the sea. New to the <\/span>Ys <\/span><\/i>series is the ability to explore the open seas with your own ship. During the naval sections, players control the Sandras<\/em>, a ship Adol and Karja took control of in Carnac. Controlling the Sandras <\/em>is actually similar to how you control Adol and Karja. The analog stick controls the Sandras<\/em>\u2019 movement; the dash button (L1) allows you to Mana Sail, which gives the ship a burst of speed; Standard Projectile shots are performed with the cross button; the triangle button launches powerful EX Armaments; holding the R1 button and pressing one of the face buttons lets you perform Special Projectile attacks with differing effects; holding R2 allows you to defend attacks with a Mana Barrier; and holding the circle button allows you to decrease speed. When sailing the seas, you can enter battle with enemy ships, find floating pieces of cargo, discover new islands and sea life, fish for tuna, talk with the Sandras <\/em>crew, and tackle Recapture missions. Fighting enemy ships is pretty straightforward. You use all armaments at your disposal to sink enemy platoons all while trying to evade, or defend, against their artillery. Some ships can be boarded, and these have a Durability gauge. Once the gauge is depleted, you can board the ship with Adol and Karja, defeat waves of enemies, and sink the ship. Honestly, I didn\u2019t see ship combat much unless there was a mandatory story fight or I tackled a Recapture mission. Recapture missions are two-part assaults on Griegr-controlled islands. The first part of the mission takes place on the sea where you have to take down the barriers protecting the island. Next part takes place on the island itself, and here you control Adol and Karja. Depending on how well you did in the naval stage, you can get added benefits for the second stage such as increasing the Revenge Gauge fill rate and decreasing the amount of damage you take. Completing a Recapture mission gives you rewards depending on how well you did, and reveals places of interest in the sea around the island\u2019s location. These can be islands you can explore, merchant ships you can purchase from, Carnac residents that need saving, and so on. If you really want to explore all of Obelia Gulf, completing the Recapture missions is a must.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Sandras <\/em>sections are a mixed bag for me. Being able to explore the open seas really fits the game\u2019s setting and narrative, but it could be better. Falcom took a chance implementing ocean exploration and naval combat, and they didn\u2019t do a bad job, but it wasn\u2019t amazing either. Handling the Sandras <\/em>definitely isn\u2019t like a simulation, it has a more of an arcade feel. For those expecting ship combat like <\/span>Assassin\u2019s Creed IV<\/span><\/i>, you can put that out of your mind, it\u2019s nothing like that. This isn\u2019t a bad thing, the fantastical feats you can perform with the Sandras <\/em>really fits into the setting of the <\/span>Ys <\/span><\/i>series. You can perform drifts and Mana attacks which normal ships definitely couldn\u2019t do, even a massive Mana beam isn\u2019t out of the question later in the story. Ship combat can get pretty hectic and fun once you upgrade the Sandras <\/em>enough and tackle later Recapture missions, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s enough. The ocean exploration would have benefited if enemy ships were roaming the seas along with you.\u00a0 This would\u2019ve encouraged me to combat them so they wouldn\u2019t attack me or get in my way. Instead, there are specific areas you have to enter to initiate ship combat, and I tended to just avoid them since it was easy to do so. Discovering islands is cool and all, but many of these felt similar to ones you may have visited before, and there are also islands which barely have anything on them at all. The most impressive islands I saw were those integral to the main story, but those are outnumbered by the optional islands with not much to offer other than an occasional Runestone or a Carnac resident who needs saving. There was one optional island that was very unique, but that\u2019s one out of the many islands spread across Obelia Gulf. In past games, there were landmarks you could visit that were visually striking monuments or natural formations. These were removed in favor of discovering unique sea life across Obelia Gulf. While it was cool discovering different aquatic life like whales and dolphins, I think keeping landmarks in would\u2019ve made ocean exploration that much more rewarding. It doesn\u2019t have to be all the islands, but having a natural landmark every once in a while on one of these islands would\u2019ve been nice. I did, however, really like the ship conversations you could listen to as you sailed the seas. If you played the <\/span>Tales <\/span><\/i>series before, ship conversations are pretty similar to skits seen in that series. With ship conversation, the Sandras <\/em>crew talk about topics either relating to the main story or just random topics to pass the time. I thoroughly enjoyed these, and they made sailing the seas that much more enjoyable. All-in-all, the Sandras <\/em>sections are just okay. The combat and ship conversations are a joy, but I wanted much more out of the exploration aspect. It definitely has the potential to be much better.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Visually, the character models (both for the main cast and enemies) look great. For those who don\u2019t know, the illustrator for <\/span>Ys X<\/span><\/i> is toi8, and they have worked on other series such as <\/span>Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Fate\/Grand Order<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer<\/span><\/i>. They have a pretty distinctive art style, and Falcom adapted toi8\u2019s illustrations very well into the game world. Adol\u2019s youthful energy is captured perfectly in both his body language and expressions, as well as in his outfit choice. Karja looks both badass and cute at the same time. Their movements are very fluid, and it\u2019s certainly a treat for the eyes seeing the two of them fight in cutscenes. The Griegr look great too. Some of them look pretty funny and not much of a threat, but the stronger ones, especially those of the Trident, look menacing and quite unique. In addition to the character models, the visual effects are a sight to behold. They\u2019re super flashy when Adol and Karja use skills and Duo Skills, and during cutscene fights. This is exactly what I want from action games too, flashy effects that really capture your attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The environments are hit and miss. I liked how you could tell the difference between a Norman town and a non-Norman town based on the buildings throughout the settlement. I enjoyed exploring ancient ruins and finding remnants of the past, and it was pretty exciting finding Runestones now and then. However, the natural environments tended to blend and look the same across different islands, mainly the optional islands. Shadows also looked strange when hitting certain rock faces and cliffs. They looked like blinds or strange lines, certainly not natural at all. The ocean, in the best of times, looked beautiful, with the sun reflecting off its surface and looking visually stunning. However, at other times it doesn\u2019t look like the ocean at all. When you look out into the ocean, it should look like it stretches for awhile, you shouldn\u2019t be able to see an end to it. On certain islands when you\u2019re at a high enough elevation, it looks like there\u2019s an end to the ocean. The ocean looks more like a circular pool and just stops. It certainly made for a jarring visual, and this happened on a handful of islands. I also encountered a visual glitch of some kind while playing the game. Throughout my playthrough, white squares would pop up in the background. This happened every once in a while, but when it did, I definitely noticed it. It only happened for a split second at a time, but it was a bit annoying to see. I was also disappointed that new weapons didn\u2019t have their own unique model, other than the ultimate weapons. In <\/span>Ys VIII<\/span><\/i>, every time you got a new weapon the model would change, and I found this little detail pretty cool. This is not the case with <\/span>Ys X<\/span><\/i>. It\u2019s a minor issue, but one that did disappoint me. <\/span>Ys X<\/span><\/i> looks great, but these issues held it back from really being at the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sail on for some final thoughts on page 3 -><\/a><\/p>\n

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Audio wise, <\/span>Ys X<\/span><\/i> is wonderful. It\u2019s 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 \u201cYoung Swordsman in the Eyes,\u201d \u201cLila -Innocent Wish-,\u201d and \u201cNordics Saga -The Endless Bloody Sea-.\u201d \u201cYoung Swordsman in the Eyes\u201d really evokes the spirit of adventure and truly sounds like a staple <\/span>Ys<\/span><\/i> theme. \u201cLila -Innocent Wish-\u201d is one of the slower themes I mentioned earlier, and it just sounds beautiful, but also sad at the same time. \u201cNordics Saga -The Endless Bloody Sea-\u201d 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. <\/span>Ys X <\/span><\/i>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\u2019s voice didn\u2019t sit right with me, but they weren\u2019t terrible, it\u2019s just not the voice I expected from the character\u2019s design. As a fan of <\/span>Sword Art Online<\/span><\/i>, I couldn\u2019t 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\u2019s 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\u2019s perfect casting. It explains why all their battle voices sounded just right. If I had a complaint, it\u2019d be I wish all the max bond events were fully voiced. These events are the culmination of a character\u2019s development, and the moment would\u2019ve been more special if fully voiced.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s about it. I had no trouble understanding the game\u2019s story, and nothing read or sounded awkward. Honestly, it was done very well, and like with <\/span>Trails through Daybreak<\/span><\/i>, NIS America did a great job with this one.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ys X: Nordics<\/span><\/i> 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\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

It took me a little over 57 hours to complete <\/span>Ys X: Nordics<\/span><\/i> 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\u2019s bosses all over again, or play New Game + where you can carry over numerous things including your characters\u2019 levels. I do wish there were more unlockable cosmetics for your characters and the Sandras<\/em>, but unfortunately, most of them are only available through DLC.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ys<\/a><\/p>\n

Ys X: Nordics <\/span><\/i>is a very fun action game with loveable characters and a soundtrack that\u2019s sure to have one or two tracks that\u2019ll 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 <\/span>Ys <\/span><\/i>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 <\/span>Ys<\/span><\/i> series, as well as newcomers, will find a lot to enjoy in this game. I certainly had a lot of fun playing through it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Review Score<\/th><\/tr>
Overall<\/th>www.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com<\/td><\/tr>
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