*Played the game three times. First two times on Switch, with the third on PS5.

Ys IX is yet a solid game in the series, despite how different it in comparison to other games. The game has a lot of things going for it. The location is set around the Prison City of Balduq where Adol is forced to be around the city for most of the game. It also is the last Ys game (as of May 2024) in the timeline and thus the story does play around the fact that it is the furthest game in the timeline. Either way, the game is still fantastic for several reasons.

For the positives, the combat of the three - party system is the most smooth with the Monstrum's Gifts really adding that the sprinkles that already made the combat great. Balduq as a setting is really interesting and thanks to Falcom's worldbuilding, the game made me care for Balduq and its people. Combined with the new Monstrum Gifts, Balduq (as well as areas around the city) is a pretty fun setting to explore (once those barriers are out of the way). Speaking of people, all the Monstrums as well as the side-characters are well - done as the Monstrums all get individual chapters to flesh them out while all the side-characters have deep connections to Balduq which makes them all more interesting than then side-characters from Ys VIII. The story, despite being the antithesis of Ys, was still told well with some really good foreshadows and mysteries that enticed me to continue playing.

Now for the negatives. OST is pretty weak in comparison to the last few Ys games, though there are still bangers within the collection. The barriers block areas around Balduq, thus the first few hours is pretty slow and uneventful in terms of movement. Despite the setting of Balduq being great, the dungeon designs had to suffer due to being restricted to Balduq Prison and thus they are pretty bland. Finally (and probably just being nitpicky), I wished the game had more voiced lines as the VA's for the cast were great.

Overall, despite the game being drastically different from the rest of the series, Ys IX is still a great game that really acknowledges the past games well. To truly enjoy the story at maximum, play all other Ys games before this one. If you don't have the means to play the other games or if you just don't care to go back, then Ys IX is still a pretty enjoyable game to enjoy. Last note, don't bother to play the Switch version due to the bad lighting and laggy performances.

There's a story beat in Ys IX: Monstrum Nox where the large Pendleton company, the major employer within the city, has systematically disenfranchised the people of shantytown situated alongside the literal sewers. There's a chivalrous Robin Hood-esque figure who steals from the Pendleton company and gives to the poor residents, and the game's message is to admonish this figure for doing so by showing multiple scenes of the poor people being lazy and indolent and wasting the assistance on booze. The ending to this particular subplot is so blatant as to be insulting - the solution is to start your own business and show the rest of peasantry that you can climb out of the sewers with hard work (and perhaps some generous private subsidies). This is the product of Japanese sociocultural attitudes toward capitalism, much like its partners in the West. Poverty is treated as an individualist issue, one inextricably tied to moral fundamentalism. You're poor because you have bad habits. I'm rich because I work hard. It's worse than garbage writing, its some of the most irresponsible neoliberal wankery I have ever had the misfortune of experiencing. Game sucks.

It takes a little while to get the ball rolling with this game because it gets stuck on a focus of introducing it's cast members in it's first half while being a bit too mysterious for it's own good IMO - but man, when it picks up it picks UP. It's got an absolutely amazing story filled with some surprisingly fantastic fanservice for anyone who's played any previous Ys games.

Taking as long as it did sure was worth it though, because the cast is great and the combat's fantastic, the worldbuilding is surprisingly enticing and the movement options that slowly open up as you add more members to your party feel SO good.
I have also joined the ranks of the Adol understanders now. Sure, the whole "silent MC because he's retelling the story without painting it with his own perspective" thing is admittedly interesting but still does exactly that; not really make him stand out as a character.
Until this game, that is! Oh man, its plans for him intrigue you as soon as the intro, and I'm proud to announce they didn't fumble that one bit. He's so good.
So yeah, despite the meat of the story taking it's sweet time - it's just a fantastic game on all fronts honestly! It more than makes up for that despite my doubts about halfway through. I had a great time with it.

Never thought a game would make me yell "YOOO IT'S THE FUCKIN BAT FROM YS 1" in the middle of a boss battle but here we are!
What a ridiculously charming experience it was.

Putain ce jeu est génial, l'OST c'était spécialement FIRE avec des OST comme Cloaca Maxima ou Norse Wind (en vrai je dirais que mes jeux prefs niveau OST sont Ys 8, Ys 9 et Ys 7). L'exploration et platforming c'étaient très très TRÈS fun et le combat était extrêmement addictif. À mon avis c'est le meilleur gameplay de toute la série pour le moment car le platforming + le combat c'est une combinaison excellente. Le scénario est dingue, j'étais très confus pendant pas mal de chapitres car le jeu prend son temps pour expliquer qu'est-ce qui se passe mais finalement je l'ai kiffé beaucoup

LES CHARACTER DESIGNS DANS CE JEU SONT MAGNIFIQUES, tous les party members ont l'air d'être des vrais persos principaux et pas seulement adol, j'adore particulièrement Pupa (BON SANG J'ADORE PUPA ELLE A L'AIR D'ÊTRE UN PERSO DE BLOODBORNE), Furens Taurus et Falco, et même si Aprilis est pas jouable PURÉE ELLE EST TELLEMENT STYLÉE AUSSI. Bref, ce jeu c'est l'un des mes jeux Ys prefs et je le recommande fortement

For me, Ys VIII felt like it finally justified this entire era of Ys, delivering an action combat system that was equal parts arcadey and deep, while also telling a story with a strong emotional core with an interesting structure. Ys IX takes that formula and refines it. Compacting what worked about that sprawling adventure down into a much more dense game.

I absolutely adore the setting - a prison city dotted with dungeons and emphasizing verticality, which constantly urges you to use all your new-found movement abilities to their utmost. The density of the city aides in the storytelling as well, allowing for tons of characters to briefly cross your path, only to turn up again later in unexpected places, which even plays into a major twist late in the game that made me cackle because it was so out of left field. I just developed such a deep sense of familiarity with the world and characters here, which I cannot say I experience often to this degree. It felt genuinely painful to say goodbye to the cast, despite so many of them being the anime tropes the series has leaned on for so long, the interconnectedness of their lives with the city and Adol just hit on something deep for me that I can't quite explain.

The mechanical framework that Ys VIII established remains mostly intact here as well, the combat flows largely the same, but due to a couple things I enjoyed it substantially more this time around. First of all, I played on hard, which was somehow a first for me across the entire franchise, and this forced me to use flash guard way more often than I had previously. This led me to realize that it's one of the most satisfying fucking mechanics I have ever experienced in any action game, stringing that together back to back to completely block all damage and build meter to spam a bunch of moves is just the best feeling in the world dude. I also found the movesets of the characters to work a lot better for me than in the last few games. It feels like every move has its niche, there are certainly moves that are better than others, but they're locked deep into the game for the most part, and with the way SP costs are balanced you still have to make some tough decisions about what loadout to use. I also found myself considering what accessories to equip much more frequently than before, because so many of them provide unique utilities that have interesting implications for your build. I really just had a ball from front to back with the combat here, I think they pushed this system to its absolute limits considering this was its final outing if what I understand of Ys X is accurate.

If I had one gripe it's that the game seems to have a very centrist, bordering on pro-imperialism message which kinda sucks. I would say it's in line with the series' depiction of Romn up to this point, but considering the last couple of entries try to have a more mature narrative I would expect something a little bit more nuanced at this point. If we can have a plot with as much mechanical complexity as this game has, they could certainly tackle these subjects in a better way than "some imperialists are okay." That sucks!

Map is too small.
Game is too easy.
Bosses are not epic.
Story is convoluted.

Polar opposite of ys 8.

Before anything I should say that I played this game very on and off on my steam deck. Part of the reason was because it was what I played when I first got my deck before I went on a trip to see some family. After that the times I did play it were incredibly sporadic, with months going between the times I played.

That being said

This game is boring as shit.
Part of the reason I had huge gaps during play sessions was because the game itself is not engaging whatsoever. You can pretty much mash your way through every combat encounter and bumble your way through every fight while simultaneously pulling off perfect dodges and parries all the while you just throw out all your special moves until the enemy presumably dies out of pity for you.

The games story is also there. It definitely goes. I have no history with the Ys series of games, so my only comparison is other action RPG's and this game just hits it's motions with no nuance or interest whatsoever. I don't think it's because of laziness and this is definitely a to taste thing but the moment the game made me laugh at it's story is when the edgelord character just started flat out cussing in the dialogue despite the games tone being generally subdued. It got a rise out of me since I was caught with my jaw slacked and waiting for the cutscene to end. If you've played a video game before the plot could charitably be described as "seen before."

That being said I still don't think it's a bad game. Just kind of a game you pick up because you can swing a sword and it's anime adjacent but nothing noteworthy happens, positive or negative.

somehow they did the impossible and made me tear up a bit with adol

being the latest in the chronology, it makes sense the game felt like an absolute payoff to the series up to date. not only when it comes to making your overall investment in previous games worth it narrative-wise (something i never thought i'd say about Ys), but also as an emotional climax for our adventure, specially for all the games with a deeper character-focus story as it has been with all the party-system games from Seven onwards.

it's not the perfect Ys however, there's a lot of stuff that bothered me when it comes to combat complexity, the repetitive nature of the scenario and the enemies/bosses, and as usual with those games even if i really like them a lot, i rarely ever LOVE them.

for me, this was an absolute improvement coming from Lacrimosa of Dana. i understand why most people will prefer VIII, but the changes for me weren't a detriment, i think they actually makes the experience more enjoyable - a deeper focus on what they expect from you as player, and less filler territory to explore. for once, i'm glad an Ys game was less about the land you explored, and more about the place you live in.

Ys IX is at the same time very similar but also quite different from Ys VIII. Lacrimosa of Dana is my only experience with Ys before this game so I don't have much else to compare it too.

On one hand the gameplay, combat and exploration are quite fun, and just as good, but I feel the setting doesn't quite work as much to me. Equipment progression also has some bumps, I guess they had a specific balance of crafting and purchasing that I wasn't quite grasping.

The group of characters you meet is quite endearing and I really liked the interactions between them. I might not think the game is as great as VIII (tough act to follow really), but it was still a fantastic journey, let's see where the wind takes us next.

A game very similar to Ys8 would make you think I’d love it the same, and I was hard on this game when I was first playing it because I didn’t find it as tightly knit as, but overall it’s not remotely a bad game despite my few actual gripes about it, which may be due to the fact I was playing this on switch instead of ps4 like the other games.

Things like how the movement felt and how the wall run ability felt kind of wonky and could be finicky when it wanted to work.

The matter is most of my issues with the game are more personal gripes and nitpicks, that I feel don’t matter that hard but I’ll get into them anyway because complaining is fun

The game has a similar gameplay loop to 8 of doing sidequests for npcs and expanding your base with new characters, exploring, doing raid battles, then having a solo adventure at the end of the chapter with another character that then tied into the main plot.

The issue is I feel unlike 8 the base isn’t as fun because instead of being on a uninhabited island you are in a big city, and maybe I wish the gameplay reflected that a bit more but I also understand that falcoms budget and deadlines and 8s popularity are why they repeated things (thankfully X seems to be changing the formula again, which is nice after 4 games with the same party member system)

Each chapter is dedicated to one of the party members you get, which eventually they did grow on me but I felt like instead of naturally learning about the plot you kind of wait until the last 2 chapters for it to all be revealed, when characters clearly knew what was happening.

Don’t get me wrong though those last two chapters really bring the game home and despite maybe indifference towards most of the cast early on I warmed up to them. But compared to 8 where I felt their arcs were more solid, and the secondary main character of 8 basically carries the game.

I haven’t talked about the gameplay a whole lot because of its similarity to 8 almost everything good about that game is in this game. Just not as good imo

But even if you are new to the series it’s still a good solid game just not my favorite, but I can easily see people loving this game and maybe being someone’s favorite in the same way 8 is mine.

Near perfect game. Tight and difficult combat (Inferno mode) with interesting progression, a rare good item economy, fun movement, and interesting exploration. 100% the game in just 30 hours and it felt like less. The side content is all high quality and the game doesn't waste your time by continuously reusing content or making you do fetch quests. The weaker quests contribute to the plot and the stronger ones have entirely unique areas. Lastly, the music is 10/10 even among Unisuga's library this is still one of his best.

The main factors keeping this game from a perfect score are Falcom writing syndrome and party member bloat. The prior seems to have popped up in the late 2010s era of their writing where they feel a need to have every story element and character be “someone” in the overarching subplot rather than just existing. It ended up feeling very contrived which was only exasperated by the JRPG story tropes. Party member bloat mainly just comes down to characters like Credo or Yufa who just eat up screen time and feel like redundant cardboard cutouts. Yufa is especially bad because they copy pasted Juna TLoH backstory and voice actor.

After waiting sometime since completing my first playthrough(playing NG+ in the meantime) I’m ready to finally log my thoughts on Ys Monstrum Nox.Ys has been a series I had my eyes on for awhile and among a time of wanting something new and it being apart of the switches eshop year jumpstart sale I decided to grab it though in my opinion this game would’ve been worth a full 60 had I payed it.

First the story because I don’t want to go deep into details as there are many twists and turns to a well mostly written plot but I will say the main party of the monstrum”s are enjoyable characters who are well developed and the human cast of the Dandelion bar are fun and enjoyable as well.I say mostly well written as there are times when the plot will pause on one moment and drag it out for awhile and had me begging to just get on with the rest of the game already but that’s really the only issue I had and moving on to the gameplay now because like I said going further with the plot would involve spoiling said plot and I dare not do that with all the curves it throws our way.

The gameplay I found quite fun the action combat was easy to pick up and satisfying to master.From the flash move and guard rewarding you with extra time to get attacks in for timing evades/guards just right to the variety of skills each character learns for combat to the fact each of the monstrum”s unique gift can have use in battles and not just exploration.Raging Bulls Valkyrie Hammer breaking enemy shields,Hawks Hunters Descent letting you get some aerial combo time,Crimson Kings crimson line letting you get in close to far away enemies it’s just a fun time all around.

Speaking of exploration this game also nails that the prison city of balduq is big but it doesn’t feel to overwhelming at any point and there’s plenty to see and do! From collectioning azure petals hidden quite literally everywhere,to finding graffiti with a variety of messages and finding land marks and chests hidden in the city(those first three you also get rewards from npcs for hitting collection milestones) combined with how every npc has something new to say every chapter with some even having their own arcs that progress throughout the game(seriously tak to everyone everytime)and the the usual sidequests I was never bored in balduq.

Now I mentioned earlier I got this off the switch Eshop which means I played the switch verison and being honest for an action game port I never had any major performance issues at all except for some slow down when there was a ridiculous amount of enemies on screen. So if you have a switch I’d say go for it for some action on the go or at home.

Overall I loved Monstrum Nox and I’m glad I finally took my first steps into the Ys series and I’ll definitely be going back on previous games to see what other adventures and characters Adol had run into.

Thanks for reading if you looked at this!

It's always tough to follow up to a game considered to be the peak of the series. So, after Ys 8, how does the ninth (not really ninth!) entry fare?

Amazingly well, I must say! While Ys 8 was a classic Ys through and through, with the setting and the story beats reminiscing of previous Ys games, Ys 9 is a breath of fresh air for those familiar with the series. And, in fact, it's probably the entry that enjoys the most having played other games in the series, although mostly due to references here and there.

This is, after all, the latest point as of now in the timeline of the series. And our protagonist has made quite a name for himself after so many adventures, for better and for worse. The story takes an unique approach, binding the player to a single city due to the events that transpire there. "Unique" really is a word that describes this game in many aspects.

Continuing with the story, it is really different than 8, and many other games for that matter. Firstly, it is unavoidable to talk about the "Trails-lization" of Ys (Another series by the same company). This was a process that started all the way back in Ys Seven I would say, but it's very easy to see here how they are kind of unifying the systems across their main games, with a great emphasis on story, side quests, and bonding with characters. It honestly feels a bit weird when you compare to older games, like Ys Napishtim or Felghana, but honestly I don't mind this change in the series, as it was rather gradual for someone who has been playing each game as they came, and in the end, I like how they executed it here for the most part.

On another aspect of the story, this is a really different approach than Ys VIII. 8 had a very tightly-knitted, focused story. While 9 feels more like a bunch of different stories and you keep jumping from one to another. This is mostly because side quests are almost mandatory, as they are the most efficient way to get the progression you need for the main story. I can definitely understand why people like 8 much more due to that. But, I like what they did here too, maybe even more than 8!

And that's because the consequence of this approach is that all party members get their own share of the focus. Ys 8 was all about Dana, really. You got to know more about the other characters on side quests, but that was it. I feel like your party members matter more in 9, because they all get their own time to shine. And it helps that I like the cast more here, too! Everyone is very unique! It feels like a band of misfits put together and somehow everyone gets along... kinda...

That goes for the characters outside your party too! It really feels like a weird and awkward family, where it makes no sense why these people are all together, but... it just works? And everyone helps out! As you can expect, the pacing does get weird with all the jumping back and forth between different characters and plot points, but despite that, I appreciate getting to know more about the many different lives in the game's location, Balduq.

In the end, what I like the most about this approach is the attachment it created in me to that city. Ys is a game about going from place to place, never stopping in one, always seeking a new adventure. All you keep are the memories you made in each place you've been. And while every game so far has left a mark in me, this one left the strongest in regards to its characters. It was painful to say goodbye to everyone at the end, and to know we'll never see some of them ever again...

I think this new approach has great potential for the series, and I'd love to see more amazing characters in future games, which creates even further potential for great moments with recurring ones! Ys is a series that you grow attached to more and more with each game, expanding the world, the lore, the characters... So I'm looking forward to it. Mind you, while I liked this format, I think it can be executed much better still, with a tighter pacing of the overall story, and more interesting characters. Let's see what they will bring in the future.

While I talked a lot about the characters, I want to make one last point in regards to the story, which is the main arc itself. It honestly had all kinds of crazy aspects and interesting twists I'd expect from an Ys game! It was less of an emotional story like 8, and more of a wild ride like usual Ys, which I personally enjoy more in the franchise. As I said earlier, it really pays off being an Ys fan here, with LOTS of nods to previous games, and some beautiful surprises!

This game really starts differently from other Ys games, with a lot of restrictions of where you can go instead of the usual "go out and adventure!". Yet, while this is very true in the story aspect, in the gameplay side of things... It's really not that simple! Despite being limited on locations, the movement aspect here it's superb, and the best in the series by far! Balduq may seem restrictive at first, but then you realize you're more free than ever, being able to run up walls, glide across the sky, uncover hidden passages... It's really a weird irony.

And even so, you'll get eventually to the point where the usual Ys stuff is there, so it's all good! I'll say though, that I wish the game had a few more areas or dungeons to explore. Because the amount of text in the game increased a lot, and the gameplay part didn't increase very proportionally, although it's not a bad balance. It just could be better.

The progression of the game is awesome! While in the previous one I feel it got a bit dull over time, here, the monstrum abilities really flesh out the experience. You keep getting new powers to play with, and the level design goes above and beyond with them. This really felt like the step up needed for the series, gameplay-wise. Dungeons are REALLY fun this time around, and the final one... Oh boy... After a kinda mid one in Ys 8, I'm satisfied to sink my teeth into a large and epic final dungeon by Falcom again.

A side-note: the prison dungeons with Adol are a neat idea and a fun side-content for the game, although I wish they developed it a tad further with a few more gameplay ideas.

The game looks more beautiful than ever too, finally free from the shackles of portable consoles! This game really has a great sensation of scale overall, too. I absolutely love the designs of the monstrums, and I won't lie that I like the edgyness of it all a lot. Aprilis is a beautiful and cool-looking heroine. My precious chuuni wife... (No I'm not Zola) The attack effects and particles are awesome, and overall, this is a game with a lot of unique charm and style.

The music is pretty good, though unfortunately not as good as previous entries. It's not that big of a step down though, there's a lot of enjoyable tracks that go perfectly well with the moments they play in. "Glessing Way!" is a beautiful, beautiful track! And some of my other favorites are "Strategic Zone", "Aprilis", and "In Profile, on Belfry". There's a great deal of sublime and relaxing tracks, and blood-pumping get-shit-done ones, so it's a good treat!

Whew, this is definitely the biggest review I've done so far... Perhaps it's only fair since it's the Ys game with the most text. In the end, I think Ys IX is a great game, and a weird game, and... definitely a video game. It stands out a lot in the franchise, though one could argue it's for the better or for the worse. I think it's for the better, and I think this format holds a lot of potential for future entries, where many new memories of companions and adventures await. I love this series a lot, so whatever may be in place ahead, I'm looking forward to it, and I can't wait!

Smashing through everything with an overpowered Raging Bull (All my status up potions went on her!) through Lunatic difficulty was a lot of fun! Weapon types what? Raging Bull very cute and strong! "Shadow... something!" "Something line!" She's so silly just like me fr.

Ys IX is such an interesting game and by that I mean absolutely, utterly, wholly and without failure a phenomenal experience. I would even go so far as to state this is my favorite 3D Ys experience. And to understand why I say this we have to start from the absolute beginning:

Ys IX features Adol at his oldest age yet, 24, when he travels to Gllia and the prison city of Balduq. Just this premise alone is incredibly enticing. Ys IX allows us to take a glimpse at Adol’s adventures when he has aged considerably from when he first set out. At this point he has accumulated a lifetime’s worth of experience, knowledge, wisdom, strength and confidence. Here we are introduced to a seasoned Adventurer that is steadfast, mature and resolute. This trait is absolutely reflected in Adol’s design, demeanor and model. For me such an interpretation of his character is so wonderful because it’s reflective of the experiences we’ve had “reading” his travelogues and journeying alongside him. It allows for interesting character and world interactions as Adol is significantly renowned, allowing for him to demonstrate his experience in various situations. This is handled particularly well, for example, when he breaks out of prison or with characters such as Jules . Moments such as these are what I thrive off of in narratives. Falcom does a particularly excellent job at illustrating character growth between their games because of how they interpret “growth”. Rather than make characters increasingly spiteful, belligerent or otherwise “unfaithful” as they age, Falcom retains what the character is about at their core. This is true in Kiseki and it is just as true in Ys. Adol is still that lovable Adventurer.. he’s just at a point where his insight allows him to demonstrate a refined poise to the events around him. It’s refreshing. And this is in conjunction with how Ys IX references past events, particularly with the azure petals and at the end of its story.

In addition to this, Adol travels to Balduq, the prison city. And I must say, I absolutely adore settings such as this. To me, the setting and world of a narrative is incredibly important. Locations that are inspired, purposeful and passionate are what absolutely drive some of my enjoyment of a given media. Here we get to witness a somewhat somber, restrained but contrastively lively city. Balduq is interesting in that the central “landmark” is a large fortress turned prison which you become intimately involved with during Adol’s time here. And it’s such a unique choice for a setting as one wouldn’t typically expect an entire city to revolve around a landmark with such negative connotations. As a result, Balduq’s general tone and atmosphere is considerably more gray compared to how vibrant and colorful Ys VIII presented itself. Some may consider this change in tone a negative but this dichotomy is exactly what Ys excels at. Through Ys’ varied approach to different settings in each game we get to see different locations which all have a life of their own. Ys VIII emphasized exploring Seiren and seeing what the entirety of this island had to offer, whereas, Ys IX gives you one focal location to explore. Superficially, this seems limiting however the detail and intricacy with which Balduq was created gives this location a life of its own. Each district melds into one another with many minute locations for you to explore with the various gifts you obtain throughout the game. Being able to hook claw, wall run and glide allow this world to be serpentine in its architecture. This verticality of Balduq is satisfying as there are many points in the city where you can travel to. I’d go so far as to state the movement in Ys IX and within Balduq is my favorite in any game. Combine this with the overall darker color tone of this location, the evolving town music throughout each chapter and the stories you learn of its inhabitants and Balduq becomes a city which evolves. Each new location, traversal method, story development allows you as Adol to begin feeling a kinship with this city. And in this way we begin to see Adol’s resourcefulness as an Adventurer. From his prison escape to his navigating the military filled streets of Balduq to adorning a disguise with which to blend in amongst the people, it’s a very thrilling narrative that doesn’t ever stop being enticing. However, it doesn’t just end at Adol. Post-Ys IX release Kondo explains “Monstrums” was a key word during development and this is absolutely apparent in the world, story and characters.

Unlike prior games, Ys IX’s core isn’t just limited to Adol and a given heroine but the entire supporting cast which are all absolutely wonderful. It’s difficult to speak at length about these characters without spoiling a significant amount of what makes them so appealing but I will say the following. Ys IX’s supporting cast are all superbly charming and full of life- such that I was genuinely saddened to say goodbye at the end of this story. Falcom took such mature leaps for their characters in this entry such as Krisha being a criminal (criminally cute that is) and Yufa having a love interest. Decisions such as these really solidified the impact of each character's motivations. It made this cast feel alive and tangible. This was only further reinforced by Falcom’s decision to include Dandelion as your home for this adventure and as the base for all the amazing cast members you meet on this journey. Even non-playable characters had riveting character arcs that fit in with the story of Gllia and its past. Seemingly benign characters left an impression on me with just how much emotion was behind their respective side quests and gifts. It truly feels that Falcom wanted to tell a story with this location and absolutely succeeded at it. I genuinely feel as if I got a full course of Gllian history with how much we learned of it. To me, this is what being an “Adventurer” is. In my Ys VIII review I had mentioned how Lacrimosa of Dana emphasized subtle world-building with an overarching story and Falcom absolutely delivers that same experience here.

I was unsure where else to put this but I wanted to emphasize that Ys IX had some of my favorite dungeons and bosses in the entire series. It’s amazing just how much bigger the locations in Ys IX are comparatively to Ys VIII. Genuinely, the verticality and depth of each dungeon in this game is downright amazing. It was such a clever idea to allow flexible navigation with Monstrum “gifts” as it added a new dimension to Ys that I am wholeheartedly going to miss. Being able to hook shot, wall run, glide, break walls and use your third eye really made each dungeon feel memorable and extensive. Emain Macha is by far one of my favorite dungeons in this franchise. It felt so inspired and fun to traverse as it was a genuine labyrinthe for you to navigate under the premise of, “an old dilapidated catacomb underneath Balduq”. It’s great how each dungeon in this game felt intentional as they all served a function to Gllia’s world-building and lore, painting a larger picture of the Hundred Year War as well as Gllia’s own past. It is moments such as this which make Ys enthralling. Exploring vestiges of past civilizations, ruins of the world’s history, uncovering the truth and seeing just how wondrous the world was 10, 100, 1000 years ago. Ironically, one of my favorite aspects of Fate is being able to see our own world’s history come to life whether that be the Knights of the Round with Artoria, Nordic myth, Japanese myth and others. And I love that Ys does something similar by taking our own world events such as the Hundred Year War, Jeanne d’Arc, the Paladins and interpreting that into its own narrative world. That is, taking inspiration from real locations with real history and allowing us as Adol to fully explore this reality. In this way, I genuinely feel that child-like wonder by witnessing these events come to life and exploring areas such as Emain Macha. Ys is driven by a few core objectives and this passionate world is absolutely one of them.

It’s also difficult to speak of any Falcom game without talking about the OST. In general, I can’t help but feel Ys VIII’s OST was more consistent, however I am unable to really explain why I feel this way. I know, I’m failing at sharing my thoughts in a piece where I share my thoughts. At the time of writing this review I believe this is largely due to how I generally like all of Lacrimosa of Dana’s OST. Here, I feel Monstrum Nox has tracks I dislike significantly more than others but I don’t believe it’s anything worth complaining about. That is, in regards to Ys IX I personally felt this soundtrack was largely perfect. Unisuga absolutely stole the show here with “In Profile, On Belfry” which is one of the greatest town tracks ever composed. Of course, this is hardly surprising given my favorite town track with no competition is “Heimdallr, the Vermillion Capital” for Sen no Kiseki I.. also by Unisuga. Unisuga was also responsible for “Aprilis” and “Desert After Tears” both of which are phenomenal tracks. Jindo was responsible for “Cloaca Maxima” and “Glessing Way!” which I am absolutely fond of. Singa was given a decent portion of Ys IX’s soundtrack in comparison with “Norse Wind”, “Marionette, Marionette”, “Crossing A/A”, “Gria Recollection” and “Knock on NOX” being exceptional. I’m absolutely in love with Aprilis’ leitmotif which is in tune with both her and this game thematically. It embraces this somber, dark, gothic tone that I adore. Ys IX’s OST as a result reinforces the ever present darker theme of this game and city which in turn makes for an excellent soundtrack for Adol’s adventures in Balduq.

It’s kind of difficult to explain just how much of an experience Ys IX is. I always feel as if I can never truly put my emotions to paper because it is hard to describe, measure, quantify emotions. All of us can say we love something, we enjoy something, we like something but no other person can truly understand that throbbing in your heart, that resonance in your soul or that mental infatuation which comes with such an emotion. And this goes for anyone else explaining to me what they truly love in their media. However, I still feel an effort has to be made because seeing people be happy and speak from their heart about what brings them joy is one of the most beautiful experiences we can have with each other. This review is in contrast with my Kiseki reviews where I poured out as much of my love as I could. Here, I attempted to be more objective but it’s difficult because I cannot rank games I enjoy on a numerical scale. If I enjoy something it typically can be described as, “I enjoyed it”, “I liked it”, “I loved it” and “incomprehensible word deluge”. In my Kiseki review I felt I landed short of conveying just how Kiseki is “one” with me. Here, I feel I fell short with how much this game resonated with me. It’s frustrating. But at the same time, I’m grateful I was able to leave a record of my attempt in conveying it. Ys IX is a wonderful game and if nothing else, whether you agree with me or don’t, I hope a fragment of my appreciation was conveyed.