Back in 2021 when I reviewed Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, I called it a comfort game because that’s just what it was: a Japanese RPG with a surprisingly big world to explore and plenty of gameplay variety in the way that you could change around characters and dole out new powers every so often, much like its predecessor. The newest entry in the series, Ys X: Nordics takes the same cues while offering a substantially simpler structure to play around with, as you only have a limited party and a more restrained moment-to-moment experience.
Still, for what it is, and for the army of devoted fans that the franchise has, with each new game garnering a healthy community around them, the tenth Ys game is enjoyable enough and those looking for something new to sink their teeth into are bound to be pleased, even if it’s not nearly as involved as what’s come before it. Its premise has the ever so young Adol Christin land on the Gulf of Obelia, as the ship he and perennial buddy Dogi are in on their way to Celceta ends up stranded in the island of Balta, as the local seabearing Norman militia has a score to settle with its captain.
It doesn’t take long at all for Adol to get tangled up with the local problems which escalate to a faceoff against the Griegr, demon-like creatures who end up tearing up the village and kidnap its people to do Hel knows what to them. Luckily, our hero partners up with plucky Karja, the daughter of the local Jarl, and through a mysterious force that binds them together, joins Adol in his quest for adventure. Both of them are the only ones who can actually defeat the enemy given their Mana powers, so it’s convenient that they can’t be too far apart from each other.
Speaking of Mana, in fashion with the series, Ys X offers a set of abilities that you can put to use during battles, by pressing a shoulder button in conjunction with a face one, you’ll dish increasingly powerful attacks that you can unlock by spending crystals found in treasure chests and by defeating foes. The game sports skill trees for both Adol and Karja, where you can freely tweak exactly what kind of move you want to pull off and when. There are also a few that can be used outside of combat, in order to clear obstacles, too.
These aren’t that varied when it comes to effects, relying on elemental pros and cons to serve up damage as needed, but given that the combat is a fairly straightforward affair, things never get too complicated. Rather, boss enemies in particular tend to be damage sponges, requiring you to repeatedly use these powers, switching between characters as their respective meters fill back up. The two can also employ partner attacks that are a bit stronger and can help chip away the pesky armor protecting tougher opponents.
Outside of fights, Ys X: Nordics is your usual Japanese RPG fare: you run around and talk to people, find treasure, explore maps, and cook up items, with the real nugget being having your own ship to sail around the Gulf with. It’s easy enough to control it and there’s some very basic naval warfare to be done, all of which get exponentially faster the further you upgrade your ride, getting more expensive gold and material-wiese as you go. It’s nothing out of this world in terms of gameplay, but it’s a fun enough addition to be sure, with quests and the story taking you all over the fairly large sea chart for the game.
When it comes to presentation, Ys X is pretty much on par with the previous two games. Character models are simple but well textured, not a whole lot going for in terms of expressions, more in line not only with older Ys games, but the general approach that Nihon Falcom takes with their titles. That also extends to the music, a very rock-based affair that is quite generic, but manages to convey a lot of energy to your comings and goings in this.
As for the story, it doesn’t really stray from the usual for Ys as a whole, having Adol do what he’s been doing for nearly 40 years at this point, it being lots of fighting and exploring, meeting his share of people across a number of releases. Karja is cute and sports a spunky personality that develops into something more than she would care to admit. Side characters are okay enough, but otherwise somewhat bland and not too interesting. The mystery surrounding the interludes with Adol visiting a nearly deserted island is, though, and without spoiling anything, simply to say that I liked what it has to offer.
Ys X: Nordics is a worthy follow-up to the long-running franchise, one that does very little to innovate on the core concepts that have been the backbone for all of the entries so far. Compared to the two more modern entries that I got to review previously, it feels a lot less ambitious, for what it does offer is a solid action RPG experience that is exactly in the vein of the material Ys usually goes for, with simplicity trumping everything else in favor of offering an approachable game. Just don’t come into this looking for something that will blow your mind and you’ll be set.
