And for at least a few months, we have finished yet another series. (Nordic is dropping soon.) I have absolutely loved every Ys game I have played till now, but I will admit I was a bit nervous this time around. I was not hearing great things from friends about this one, so I waited this time till I could get it on sale. But I am here to tell you right now, there was no reason to fear such concerns. In fact, I think I have a new favorite of the series.
Story: In most cases, you would think being famous for your heroic deeds that saved the world again and again would be something that would earn you fans wherever you go. And in most cases you would be right, but most cases are not the professional Adventurer Adol Christin. In his case it only brought trouble when he and Dogi (the ever loyal companion) wandered to the prison-city of Balduq. Originally planning to be tourists, they quickly hit a snag when the guards figured out who they were dealing with and arrested Adol for the Romun Empire. And while he was seen as incredibly dangerous for his unknown part in the various events covered in several previous games in the franchise, he chose to go in peacefully, even as he was roughed up first.
But of course, no one can keep Adol locked away if he really doesn't want to stay jailed up, so when he heard he was going to be shipped to the capital, it was time to go, although the escape did not go quite as planned. For the path out was filled with monsters that "felt off" (to use his own words) and will be familiar to fans of the franchise from previous games.... but the real surprise was a young woman named Aprilis who caught up to him in the aqueducts below the prison, and her immediate choice to shoot him with a cursed bullet.
In that one action, she changed all of his plans with a different kind of imprisonment: the curse now coursing through his body will not let him leave the city as magical barriers hem him in. Furthermore, the curse also enlists him in a war with horrific beings called Lemures as they try to spill over to our world from their own known as the Grimwald Nox, requiring him to assist in a ritual to cleans their numbers before they grow powerful enough to do so. Although Adol is not alone in this task. Five others share his fate and together they must form a team to hold back the demons.
But the curse does not leave them empty handed. For each of them (known by the name Monstrums) are also granted extra strength and power in combat, as well as gifts unique to them that they can use both in and out of this deamon world to assist them in whatever they have to do in their daily lives, so there is at least some good with the bad here.
Still, all of this is happening for a reason, even if Aprilis refuses to explain, and if the adventurer wants to get back to adventuring, he will need to figure it out... all of it. Even as he seems to be in two places at once... for even though he escaped the prison, he's still there.
All of this will make sense by the end of the game, but it's allowed to sit on the backburner as you get to know your fellow monstrums, each getting a chapter dedicated to them before the game basically loredumps everything on you for the final act. And that is perhaps my one complaint about the story of this game. It's actually really solid, but you don't even get a hint of what's really going on until the very end. And don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint while you play, but rather one only when looking back over your experience.
Each chapter before the end focuses on the story of a single member of the team and each is also written exceptionally well, giving you a solid feel for the character and where they come from. Hell you are likely to have a favorite or two before it's over (not that any of them are bad). But as a result the main meat of the event isn't even remotely handled until the very end. In the moment it works perfectly, but when looking back, you can't help but question the pacing.
8/10
Graphics: Ys IX is not going to be a technical marvel when you look at it. In fact outside of some lighting work to bring a little extra life to the game, it's going to look frankly "last gen" which will make sense as the game was released as one of the last entries to the PS4's library before the PS5 was released to the world. This does not mean the game looks bad, however, or even really dated. The world itself looks great with plenty of detail to show off. Whether you are in the city of Balduq, the massive prison complex it sprung up around, or the ruins and landscapes situated around the city, it all just looks full of life and fantastic. Everything carries it's motif perfectly and looking like a world someone might have painted for Adol to explore, even using lighting and vibrancy itself to carry the different moods of the land. Just be aware if you're playing something maybe a year or two old, you will see the tech difference immediately.
However, as always for this franchise, the style of graphics proves far more important the technical prowess, as the whole package embraces an anime style for everyone who wanders these lands. And you will meet several varied cast members ranging from rich businessmen to "Romun" soldiers in full armor, to poor and desperate of the city's population. Between them all, the styles fit together as a slice of civilization from the territories of this empire... and that's before we get to the individuals that make up the story itself.
Adol and Dogi will open the scene looking great as always, as will everyone Adol meets, from the Warden who runs the military and prison of the city to the rogue band of outlaws Adol has been forced to join by their collective curse. They all look spectacular and often decked out a way that only makes sense for the heros/villains of an RPG/anime setting.
And the monsters, also carry the same feel. While most are relatively normal beasts, many from previous Ys games, they carry the same style and artwork to look really good... but then we get to the real stars: the bosses and the Lemures.
The Lemures are evil spirits which are designed to look of a strange mix of disturbing and otherworldly, taking forms from demented teddy bears to evil clowns to spectral things and whatever else the developers could pull out of their nightmares, usually with a primarily black and white color scheme with jarring colors used to stand out just enough to be off-putting. They vary greatly but there is no mistaking one of these beasts when you see them (not that you will often see only one).
And bosses, are in their own way just as special. True they don't carry the same level of unity in design as the lemures, but they are often huge, intimidating, and look like the perfect design to make you eager to have Adol draw his sword and go to town hoping for the excitement he craves.
Overall the picture here is fantastic and, if there weren't a few shader details that can take away from the scene once in a blue moon, would be a damn near perfect package. As it is, the look of this game is sure to delight you.
9/10
Sound: Most Ys games become known for their soundtrack, complete with heavy metal rifts in combat and the opening video which then stand out as the most iconic tunes. However, much like the previous title, this will not be the case here. Instead, the game chooses to undertone the title track to be something more moody then metal. However, it also strikes out on it's own as for the first time, there is no opening video like an AMV for the game you are about to play to show off any music: the first real guitar rifts will have you playing that introduction as a level instead.
And it does not disappoint, even as it plays different choosing to mix orchestration with the high end music we've gotten accustomed to, letting the guitars take a break from time to time to let the pure epicenes of the moment permeate the music as well, literally pulling tension out of the air with it's melodies molded together. And you can expect the music to keep up this energy whenever the action calls for it, though where you fight will often change those tones (for example fighting in the Grimwald Nox will tend to lean more into the gothic instrumentals to reflect the otherworldliness of the place).
But the soundtrack is not just for action. You will find it vary greatly to suit the mood as the game demands, rarely leaving you with no music at all (basically either during cutscenes where appropriate or the pause before the storm that is the boss you are about to fight) and it all flows wonderfully. You just wont find yourself remembering much of it outside of that combat and opening scenario.
Sound effects are also not going to stick with you in this game either, but this is quickly become par for the course for gaming in general, especially when the word of the day is sword fighting. You will get the usual clangs and smashes as metal hits various things with your swings, but really the soundscape itself isn't much to talk about here, good or bad. It just is and fills it's roll.
What isn't just fitting the roll, however is the voice acting, and you will get plenty of it here, even giving Adol himself a few lines! Everyone here when speaking fits perfectly, leaving you with a feel for the character speaking. I really can't say much against what's here, only that I wish there was more. There are several times the game resorts to just text and I would have loved to have seen what these voice actors could have done with even more of the script.
8/10
Gameplay: Like the more modern Ys titles, Ys IX is an action JRPG played from a 3rd person perspective, and in fact it builds directly on what Ys VIII did. You will play the roll of Adol as he explores the city of Balduq, both to discover the landscape and treasures hidden throughout, as well as to find the various missions you will have to complete as you make your way through the game. You could call it open world, but that might be stretching the definition a bit due to the way this exploration works this time around.
As noted in the story part of this review, you are hemmed in to the city by the curse Adol now has to live with. Literally when you reach the edge of the space he is allowed to travel to, a magical barrier will appear in front of him. Other characters can walk through these like they don't exist, but Adol and the other monstrums can not. For them it might as well be a brick wall. But they are not the end all be all of where you can go. Rather there is a process to removing them and expanding the area you can travel in. In the upper left corner of the screen, you will see a red moon with a meter running under it, one or more diamond-ish shapes, and a number next to it. One of your most direct goal in each chapter will be to fill these in. When the bar fills and you have at least 100 points, one of the barriers holding you in will gain a gateway known as a miasma vortex which Adol and the others can use to enter the Grimwald Nox itself. Doing so will offer you a challenge that, once completed will disable that barrier and let you proceed to the space behind it.
These challenges generally come in two forms: sieges and purges. If you are playing a siege, you and the other monstrums will be charged with defending a pillar called a sphene long enough for Aprilis to use it's power to purge the area and remove the power behind the barrier. Purges, on the other hands, are a little more hands on, giving you a time limit to either destroy all the violet stones called lacrimae (literal condensed enmity taking physical form) holding this area of the Grimwald Nox together... that or defeat the master of it to make them all shatter at once, but it's up to you which will allow you to win in the time allowed. But either way, completing the challenge will drop that specific barrier and open up more of the city to you.
That area you are free to roam will be filled with various shops and tasks you can take on. And while those shops are worth reviewing, you will likely find yourself mainly using the armory and the doctor's office since the game will let you be powerful enough without really leaning into trinkets too hard. As of for the activities, there will be several, from finding scenic views to suggest to the tourist center, finding graffitti to take down and hand to the professor in the bar you are hiding in, or even just mapping the town itself. But you will also find the most common activities: Grimwald encounters, side missions, and story missions.
The first two of these are important as the main ways you will build up those points to bring down barriers. The encounters will show up as black spikes with a glowing field in the center. Running into these will push you into a small grimwald pocket with a few lemures to defeat and grant you a few of these grimwald points on completion. If it's the first time you complete that encounter, it may even leave you an item as a reward. And even though the rewards are not large, you can do these fairly quickly. So while I would not recommend seeking them out, it's generally wise to take them when you come across them for a quick boost of points and experience before moving on to what you really want to do. It's also a nice change of pace in the city to have all your "random encounters" not be either literally at random or monsters roaming around (like you will see when you can finally reach the outskirts or when fighting in the prison).
But those side missions are going to be the most effective way to build these points. In general you will find them listed as requests on the request board of your hideout, but they are marked on the map as well so you can find them easily enough. Each one is it's own sub-story which will be completed relatively quickly: sometimes without any further mention, sometimes adding to the background story just that much more, and sometimes even leaving you with a new ally to both help out in your daily life as well as when you have to fight in the grimwald. And all of them when they are done will offer you a massive drop of points to open that next vortex and expand what you can do.
Which brings us to the other big thing you will be doing in this game... fighting monsters. When you are in an area where monsters can exist, you will get a party of up to 3 monstrums who will make up your battle team, each specializing in a different weapon with one of three damage types. Much like previous games in the series, you will want to keep track of this as most enemies will be weak to one and strong to the other two (slash, smash, or pierce), giving the combat a rock/paper/scissors element in your party makeup. You can gain extra strengths if you bring along monstrums with the same type, but you risk not being prepared for everyone, so if you know the area you are in, it is possible to press things further... or you can take a balance of all three and be ready for anything. It's a tactical choice you will have to make.
But once in battle it's fast and hectic as you will control one of the three in your party in a an all out brawl against everything engaging you. Dodge and swing at the enemies with tact and skill and you can get through a lot of these fights without taking a hit! But be warned, the enemy will also have the same possibilities as you each will only damage each other with weapon-contact... and on bosses/bigger enemies you may need to focus on specific points to make these impacts count. In addition enemies also have a second meter for their constitution which hitting them can wheedle away. Overwhelm them and they will be out of commission temporarily, giving you free reign to unload on them.
But simple slashes or attacks with whatever weapon your monstrum uses (you can always swap between the active three mid-battle) wouldn't be enough to either fight effectively or hold your interest, so each monstrum can also learn special attacks. You can assign up to four for you or the AI to use (in response to you unleashing one with your own character) but they don't come free. In the lower right corner where your moves are shown, there is a blue ring around them which will fill over time. This meter will be exchanged for these moves, so you are not going to be able to rely on spamming them.. well, most of the time.
In addition to this meter, you also have an orange outer ring which you will smile when you see it fill up. Regardless of who you are playing as, filling this will let you go into a super mode, which while nice is even nicer to end pre-maturely since you can do so by unleashing a massive all-out attack on whoever is in your vicinity.
But what you bring into battle is also important here. Like any RPG, your equipment will give you some bonuses (and maybe even some immunities), however like the previous game, you will be able to bring meals with you again. In addition to healing everyone in the party a certain amount of health, it will also grant you an effect for limited time, like boosted attack or defense among many many others, so having a full stock of your favorites is never a bad idea, and you can both buy meals in shops as well as, provided you found the recipe and have the ingredients, have the bar make them for you much cheaper.
The end result is combat as fast and satisfying as this series has ever supplied, striking a proper balance to speed and skill that just feels good to play as you make your way through each chapter... which in itself offers a new twist that just pushes this game over the edge to be my new favorite: the monstrum gifts.
As noted in the story section of the game, most of the chapters are dedicated to a specific monstrum, who will join your lineup at the end of their story. And while it's nice for a new member to fill in the ranks of your team, you really wouldn't need more then the first two for an effective fighting force that can take out the rest of the game. What makes each special is their gifts, both in and out of battle. You see, each monstrum has a special skill which, once they are part of the team, you have access to regardless of who's in your party. For example Adol immediately can "warp" to specific points above the city and battlefields, while other characters offer other more interesting navigational tricks like flying or running up walls. Yet more will offer perception advantages, and more, offering you both new and interesting options on the battle field as well as new ways to explore the nooks and crannies of the world you are in, giving you just a little bit of a metroidvania flavor this time around... and flavor I very much appreciated as the game went on.
The end result really is the complete package. While I have loved the series right down the line this is arguably my new favorite game within it.
9/10
Bugs: While playing this game, I do not believe I ran into any bugs before I finished up.
Digital Rights Management: In addition to running flawlessly, this game is also DRM free.
Score: Simply put I absolutely loved this game. Refining everything Ys VIII did and adding new additions that work out exceptionally well, the series has so far ended on the highest note it has yet hit, and I honestly can't wait to see what's next for our favorite professional adventurer.
9/10
System Requirements:
- Intel i3-2100 @ 3.1 Ghz
- 8 GB RAM
- NVidia Geforce GTX 650 Ti
- Windows 8.1 or 10 (64 Bit only)
- 10 GB of Hard Drive space
System Specs:
- Ryzen 7 (5700X) 3.4 Ghz
- 32 GB RAM
- AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (8 GB VRAM)
- Windows 11 (64 Bit)
- Xbox One Style controller
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