Ys IX" for the Switch is reviewed!　An action RPG that combines various elements of high quality, a story of monsters, and easy yet flashy battles!

Ys IX -Monstrum NOX- ("Ys 9") for Switch, scheduled for release on Thursday, September 9, 2021, is the latest title in Nihon Falcom's popular Ys RPG series and is a port of the title released on PS4 in 2019. The differences from the PS4 version are only related to downloadable content, with past content distributed for PS4 being added as standard in the Switch version.

I had the opportunity to play this title before its release date, and I played it through to completion. Based on that, I will present the features and charms of "Ys 9.

A story of monsters set in a prison city

The main character Adol Christine and her sidekick Dogi visit the prison city of Barduk, the main base of the province of Greer, which is ruled by the Romun Empire. Just as they are about to enter the city, however, Adol is detained by Romun soldiers as a person of interest in the "disappearance of the Romun fleet" case.

He is held in prison and interrogated for a long time, and one day he attempts to escape. On the way there, Adol is shot by a magic bullet fired by a woman named Aprylis, which turns him into a "monster," and the story takes a major turn when he gains the power of "otherness.

In addition to Adol, there are five other monsters, and their existence is also an important key to the story. Although they have come together with one goal in mind - to defeat the enemies infesting Barduk in the battle known as "Grimwald's Night" - it is hard to say that they are cooperating with each other. The "White Cat," who steals money from the wealthy and gives it to the poor, and the "Hawk," who likes to fight and is a street killer throughout Barduk, are monsters who do as they please, and their origins and backgrounds are very different from each other.

The White Cat and the Hawk

The Doll and the Bull

The Apostate.

Each chapter focuses on one of the monsters at a time, and as we gain a deeper understanding of the monsters, the mystery of the story is unraveled, and the whole story is gradually revealed. In particular, the relationship between Adol and the "Red King" is a great mystery, and its intriguing structure draws the player into the story. The game leaves no doubt as to what the monster is, who Aprylis is, and what is in Barduk's prison, which gives the player a great sense of accomplishment.

After escaping from prison, Adol, now a monster and the "Red King," becomes involved in the events of Barduk. On the other hand, there is also a person who seems to be another Adol in the prison. ......?

Incidentally, the story of the "Ys" series is basically completed in a single work. If you only know that there is a main character, Adol, and his partner, Dogi, you don't need any prior knowledge, and you can enjoy the game no matter which title you start with.

Exhilarating battles with easy controls and combos

The battles in this title are action-based. Players approach enemies on the field and fight with combos that combine normal attacks and skills. Up to four skills can be set for each character, which can be activated by consuming SP (skill points).

Grimwald's Night" in which players face off against a large number of "evil spirits" (larva). The key is to think about the position of the opponent and Sfen, rather than just defeating the enemy, as you fight while protecting the pillar called "Sfen".

The "Boost Gauge" rises with each attack, and when more than half the gauge is filled, the player enters a "Boost" state. During the "boost" state, the player receives a variety of benefits, such as increased attack and defense power and an increased number of consecutive attacks. The overall speed of battles in this title is fast, and both normal attacks and skills can be launched at high speeds, making it easy to accumulate a boost gauge and, as a result, easy to use boosts. Boosts are not so much special moves as they are elements that strengthen the character, and they are easy to use.

The bosses are quite strong, but it does not take more than a few dozen seconds to defeat the small foes, and simply hitting the attack button repeatedly will do the job, which is a good thing for beginners. I played the game on Normal mode and was able to clear the game by pushing hard from beginning to end. If you are good at action, you may be able to complete the game on higher difficulties such as Hard and Nightmare without any problem.

Pressing the boost button again during boosting activates the "EXTRA Skill. It is powerful and wide-ranging, but when used, the boost is forced to be cancelled regardless of the remaining gauge level, so it should be used to close out combos.

Each of the monsters has its own unique abilities. For example, Adol has the "Crimson Line," which allows him to instantly move to a remote location, and Hakuneko has the "Heaven's Run," which allows him to run along vertical walls. Although the descriptions of these abilities may seem to be geared toward exploration, they can also be used in battle, such as using the Crimson Line to close the distance between an enemy and a distant enemy, or using Heaven's Run to overcome terrain and move to a more advantageous location. This ability is the core of this work and is especially important in the exploration described below.

Flash Guard/Move" is triggered when a player guards against or evades an enemy attack at the very last moment. While in Flash Guard, all attacks are critical, and while in Flash Move, movement speed is increased for a certain period of time.

Exploring Barduk becomes more fun as the number of different abilities increases.

Players will be based in a tavern called "Dandelion" to advance the story, but Barduk is a very large city. There are also several fields spread out outside the city. It is not quite an "open world" where you can move through the world almost without loading, but it is larger than a "box garden" where you are based in a single city.

Barduk has no loading at all, except when moving to dungeons or outdoor fields, and at the same time, most of the story is completed within Barduk. Combining the characteristics of both an open world and a boxed garden, this title can be said to stand somewhere in between.

The city is littered with residents, stalls, and treasure chests, and simply touring the streets of Barduk is challenging enough. At the very beginning, when there are no companions, you can only use Adol's different ability, the Crimson Line, but once the white cat joins, things change and you can use Heaven's Run, which makes three-dimensional exploration, including high places, easier. When a hawk joins, "Wings of the Raptor (Hunter Glide)" glides over long distances, and when a doll joins, "The Third Eye" is released to visualize hidden gimmicks as well as treasure chests and items in various locations, adding to the fun of exploration.

The map can be opened to fast-travel to facilities that have already been visited, making it possible to move around efficiently. Missed treasure chests are indicated by icons, and the search rate for each area is also shown, making it easy to set goals. As the story progresses and quests are completed, the interior of Dandelion will be enhanced, and eventually it will be possible to do most of the shopping and medicine at this base alone. The game has many convenient features for players.

On the other hand, the unstable frame rate was a concern. The frame rate of this work is about 30, and the frame rate often dropped below that when exploring Barduk, which may have been caused by the processing load associated with the graphic depiction of the large number of buildings and people, resulting in choppy movement.

Although not as severe as in exploration, frame rate drops were also common in battles. If you just want to move around, the tempo is a bit slower, which is tolerable. On the other hand, when the frame rate drops in battles, the number of descriptions is reduced and enemy movements are omitted, resulting in a speeding up of the game, which can be detrimental, making it difficult to deal with attacks or aim for flash guards or flash moves. If possible, we would like to see this issue addressed in future updates.

Elements mesh together to make the game more challenging and enjoyable.

Another key point of this title is that there are rewards for the player's efforts. The "NOX Gauge" rises when players complete one of the following two tasks: completing a quest delivered to Dandelion, touching a "black pillar" in the field, or defeating a "larva" that appears. When the gauge reaches 100%, a "miasma vortex" appears at a specific location. The story repeats this process.

The author completed the quests at random, but of the 40 that he was able to check, only four were marked as "required. In other words, if you are going to visit the Black Pillar and defeat Larva, you can ignore most of the quests.

However, the NOX gauge obtained by defeating Larva is 5%, which is about 20% for the quest. Although it takes a little more time, it is more efficient to do the quests. If you go out into the city or field to use facilities, find locations (like tourist spots), or talk to people, not only will you be able to take advantage of the fast travel feature, but also more people will become a part of Dandelion. It will also lead to a better understanding of the world.

However, from the "small sacks" that rarely appear when attacking the Black Pillar, you can obtain valuable items such as "Shugenja's secret medicine," which directly raises levels, or "spell medicine" type items that raise the status of the character who uses them. Black pillars can be found all over the city, so it makes sense to continue defeating Larva just for this purpose.

Collecting blue petals and finding graffiti. This is also a challenging element, but it is very easy to find on the map screen or in The Third Eye.

When you challenge "Grimwald's Night," you lose 100% of your NOX gauge, but the gauge itself can be stored up to 200%. The remaining gauge is converted into a number of "evening shards" equal to the amount of remaining gauge when the story progresses, which can later be redeemed for various materials by examining the cantera in Dandelion. The remaining gauge is never wasted.

Each method of accumulating the NOX gauge, which is necessary to advance the story, has its advantages and disadvantages, and even if there is an excess gauge, it can be used to exchange materials. I appreciated the fact that the game provides rewards for the player's efforts in areas that are essential to the game's progression, and this was a motivating factor during the game.

Adol's journey continues with a series of encounters and goodbyes

I was not able to check the time in the game, but it took me about 40 hours to complete the game. In my case, I completed most of the quests while exploring Barduk (I missed two), so if you want to enjoy the game more casually, you can probably finish it in about 30 hours.

In these days of easy-going games, 30 to 40 hours is quite an impressive amount of time. However, the time spent on the game is the depth of the adventure, which will be returned to the player as a sense of accomplishment at the end of the game. If the game is light, it is light; if it is thick, it is thicker.

There were times when I agonized over the exact length of the "duration" of a quest, visited stores in town one by one in search of a gift that would increase my likability, or fell into a canal for a single treasure chest, but eventually these memories became part of the story. Although the number of quests is modest, most of the content is focused on delving into the lives of the friends, and the backgrounds of not only the main characters, the monsters, but also the sub-characters are well-developed. Also, as mentioned above, the completion of quests leads to the raising of the NOX gauge and the generation of the miasma vortex and the challenge of Grimwald's Night, so it was a natural way to touch on the story as it progressed.

As mentioned in the story section of this report, the "Ys" series is basically one complete game, and knowledge of the previous game is virtually unnecessary. This means that for the next work, there will be an inevitable farewell to the friends of this work, who will eventually become "knowledge of the previous work". Thanks to taking the time to play "Ys 9," I was able to grieve their parting to the fullest. As a long-time player of the "Locus" series, I found the volume of the game to be rather light, but perhaps that lack of depth is what made me feel more attached to the characters.

As the latest installment in the 34-year-old RPG series, the game is a traditional RPG, but it also includes many modern touches, such as fast travel from the beginning and the ability to consolidate functions in the city to the player's base, depending on how the game is played. Although there are some frame rate issues, the quality of the game more than makes up for them.

This is the latest title in the "Ys" series and the most recent in terms of timeline. Adol is 24 years old in "Ys 9," but according to the story, he continued his adventures until he was 63 years old. It is not too late for beginners to get acquainted with this series.

(Text: Natsuyoshi Natsuyamachi)

Work Information

Ys IX -Monstrum NOX

Genre: Action RPG

Compatibility: Switch

Player: 1 player

Price: 7,678 yen

Release date: September 9, 2021 (Thursday)

CERO: B (for ages 12 and up)

Developer: Nihon Falcom

Distributed by: Nippon Ichi Software