Also on: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5
Publisher: NIS America
Developer: Nihon Falcom
Medium: Digital/Disc/Cartridge
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: T
As much as I enjoy Ys X: Nordics, I should acknowledge first that there’s a semi-good reason why you may not want to pick it up just yet: developers Falcom have already announced an expanded version of the game, Ys X: Proud Nordics is due out this year.
Mind you, they’ve only promised the game will come out in 2025…at some point…in Japan. Which doesn’t necessarily mean the game will ever reach this side of the Pacific. And even if it does, it took Ys X: Nordics more than a year to arrive in North America after it was first released in Japan, which means that it’s reasonable to think we may not see Proud Nordics over here until sometime in 2026. In other words, with that kind of wait the question becomes, “Is it worth playing Ys X now, or waiting to see if a better version of it comes out sometime in the next 18-20 months?”
I’d say that the answer is definitely the former. In part, this is because I’m a huge fan of the Ys series. Even if I wasn’t a huge fan of Ys IX, overall I think they’re generally very good action RPG games. The last one allowed itself to get bogged down in explanation and dialogue, but this one remedies that by not spending too much time before letting you into the world and fighting monsters.
However, what makes Ys X interesting is that, for the first time in quite awhile, you’re not managing a whole party, but rather just two characters: long-time hero Adol Christin, and his new companion, Karja Balta. Not only can you swap quickly and easily between the two, allowing you to take advantage of their respective strengths and weaknesses, the game also does a great job of encouraging you to fight as a team by giving you fairly powerful dual attacks. Working in tandem, it’s easy to battle and defend against even the strongest enemies, and it makes the game feel much more action-oriented.
Likewise, traversal is a lot of fun. The game equips you with a whip early on, and you can use that not just to swing across great distances, but also to hurtle yourself across distances towards enemies, allowing you to wallop them with maximum impact.
Unfortunately, not every new addition in Ys X is a welcome one. The game takes place on a series of islands, and to get from one to another requires traveling by ship. While at first it feels like a nice change of pace from running and fast-travelling everywhere, it’s not long before it feels tedious. The game even tries spicing things up with naval battles, but I can’t say that they really added to my enjoyment.
Overall, though, Ys X: Nordics is a fine return to form for the series. Time will tell whether the already-announced sequel (expanded version?) is a worthwhile upgrade, but why wait until then? We know this version is good as it stands, and that’s more than enough to make it worth your time.
NIS America provided us with a Ys X: Nordics PC code for review purposes.
Ys X: Nordics: Deluxe Edition - Nintendo Switch
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