So I finally finished Ys X this weekend and there's so much to say.
Is it a great game or a mediocre game?
Hard to say, Compared to VIII and IX, Nordics has made a lot of good changes, but there are also many downgrades for me. Still I enjoy this game like VIII and IX and I highly recommend it if you also like Falcom game.
Now let's begin the review.
It is difficult not to compare X with VIII and IX in the review, because they basically belong to the same template.
Cut scenes and dialogues, land exploration, dungeon and boss fights, side quests and collecting missions, and garbage time scramble fights. These elements are present in each game, with different forms of expression but the essence is the same. People call it trails-ys, which means there are more story and RPG elements while less combat. Ys X is another Trails-Ys, it's obvious.
Combat
The best part of the game and the real fresh stuff that carries the whole game. I never thought the combat system of Ys would be complex, it's just rubbing the attack button and dodging or jumping at the appropriate time. But I did spend some time learning Ys X's combat system.
Unlike VIII and IX, in X, you can only use two characters: Adol and Karja. For me, this is a good change. Multiple but homogeneous characters in action games are meaningless. Falcom finally realizes it. Now breakdown every parts.
Combine mode
Actually guard mode. When pressing R2, a protective cover will be generated. It's very similar to the Royal Guard. If the timing is perfect, you can avoid attacks completely and gain a certain amount of revenge rate, the higher your risk rate the more damage your combine skill can cause. Even if it's half a beat slower, you won't get hurt most time. And when you perfectly block a red attack, it can stun the enemy, trigger a powerful counterattack or counter QTE, and fully recover the revenge rate. Combine guard can resist any attack (even roaring) except for the blue attack. So using combine mode all the time is the safest way to play. Few bosses can break your defenses and combine skill at a high revenge rate is extremely powerful.
Solo mode
I mentioned that the combine mode is the safest, but it is not the most effectivetive. In fact, the solo mode of Adol and Karja is the most powerful character you can use in the ys series. First, we need to retrospect the skill system. It first appeared in Ys seven, but at that time the SP obtain speed was slow and the normal attacks are still mainstream. The acquisition of SP in Ys IX is much faster, but you still cannot use high-damage skills casually. While in ys x, the SP of the two characters are separate, and when using one character, the SP recovery speed of another character is very high. So constantly switching between two characters can achieve sp freedom. In addition, using different skills can increase the chain number, and the higher the chain number, the lower the SP consumption. But this is not the most ridiculous yet, During the animation of releasing skills, you will receive significant damage reduction buffs, almost eliminating 90% of damage. That means you're virtually invincible during the uninterrupted release of skills.
Skills
Back to the skill itself. Thanks to the reduced number of characters, this time the number and quality of skills for both characters are great (Adol 29 skills, Karja 30 skills). The animations and effects for every skill are very cool and dynamic. And falcom has given real distinction to the skills. Some skills blow enemies away, some are downward smashes, some are upward picks, and some allow the character to shift. This enhances player-enemy interaction and allows for some crazy combos.
Mana Seed and Liberate Road
Very close to the orb system of trails series but much simpler. Different types of Mana Seeds provide different types of enhancements to characters. And the way they are connected affects the results. It certainly won't have as much impact as it did in the Trails series but it's the first time you can truly build a character in Ys series.
Enemy design
Some of the bosses are pretty well designed but some are annoying. What puzzles me is that there are a lot of plural boss fights this time. The experience is really bad because it's hard to watch the movements of two enemies at the same time.
Combat is not without its issues. Blue attacks are hard to dodge in melee and don't reward as much as blocking. Normal attacks and dodges feel much heavier than before. Mana outbreak is useless in combat.
Level design
I'm a little disappointed, to be honest. After playing Ys IX I'm actually looking forward to the further evolution of Ys level design. But Ys X is more of a step back, it's like Ys VIII cut into dozens of pieces. Each island is short to explore and full of invisible walls. Levels are mainly based on platform gameplay with Mana String and Mana Boards. It's ok but undoubtedly not as fun as the Monstrum ability. There are plenty of buried treasures but finding them is boring because Ys X's levels are nowhere near as three-dimensional as Ys IX's. Also, the overall number and size of dungeons are not as good as in the previous game. That said I think the level design is generally good, especially if you prefer linear levels. Some parts that remind me of Castlevania PoR, which is good.
Ship combat
It was really bad in the beginning. The ship was very clumsy and lacked firepower. Although upgrades can change all this the ship combats are still rough and stupid. Don't expect it and treat it as a mini-game then it's actually playable.
Story and character
I think the story is much more complete than IX, and Karja is portrayed quite well. The narrative is more traditional without much of a reversal. The writing is Falcom standard you know what I mean if you've played their games. If I had to rank them, I'd say VIII>X>IX.
It's complaining time. Falcom really needs more artists and modelers. Ys X has the same problem as IX. Every island and town looks exactly the same. The variety of textures and decorations is pitifully small and of poor quality. The scene at sea is even more horrible. It's really hard to attract more players. The OST is by far the worst Ys music I've ever heard outside of Ys V.
My final ranking is VIII>IX>X. But I still recommend everyone to try it and I also think X is a great entry point.
Is it a great game or a mediocre game?
Hard to say, Compared to VIII and IX, Nordics has made a lot of good changes, but there are also many downgrades for me. Still I enjoy this game like VIII and IX and I highly recommend it if you also like Falcom game.
Now let's begin the review.
It is difficult not to compare X with VIII and IX in the review, because they basically belong to the same template.
Cut scenes and dialogues, land exploration, dungeon and boss fights, side quests and collecting missions, and garbage time scramble fights. These elements are present in each game, with different forms of expression but the essence is the same. People call it trails-ys, which means there are more story and RPG elements while less combat. Ys X is another Trails-Ys, it's obvious.
Combat
The best part of the game and the real fresh stuff that carries the whole game. I never thought the combat system of Ys would be complex, it's just rubbing the attack button and dodging or jumping at the appropriate time. But I did spend some time learning Ys X's combat system.
Unlike VIII and IX, in X, you can only use two characters: Adol and Karja. For me, this is a good change. Multiple but homogeneous characters in action games are meaningless. Falcom finally realizes it. Now breakdown every parts.
Combine mode
Actually guard mode. When pressing R2, a protective cover will be generated. It's very similar to the Royal Guard. If the timing is perfect, you can avoid attacks completely and gain a certain amount of revenge rate, the higher your risk rate the more damage your combine skill can cause. Even if it's half a beat slower, you won't get hurt most time. And when you perfectly block a red attack, it can stun the enemy, trigger a powerful counterattack or counter QTE, and fully recover the revenge rate. Combine guard can resist any attack (even roaring) except for the blue attack. So using combine mode all the time is the safest way to play. Few bosses can break your defenses and combine skill at a high revenge rate is extremely powerful.
Solo mode
I mentioned that the combine mode is the safest, but it is not the most effectivetive. In fact, the solo mode of Adol and Karja is the most powerful character you can use in the ys series. First, we need to retrospect the skill system. It first appeared in Ys seven, but at that time the SP obtain speed was slow and the normal attacks are still mainstream. The acquisition of SP in Ys IX is much faster, but you still cannot use high-damage skills casually. While in ys x, the SP of the two characters are separate, and when using one character, the SP recovery speed of another character is very high. So constantly switching between two characters can achieve sp freedom. In addition, using different skills can increase the chain number, and the higher the chain number, the lower the SP consumption. But this is not the most ridiculous yet, During the animation of releasing skills, you will receive significant damage reduction buffs, almost eliminating 90% of damage. That means you're virtually invincible during the uninterrupted release of skills.
Skills
Back to the skill itself. Thanks to the reduced number of characters, this time the number and quality of skills for both characters are great (Adol 29 skills, Karja 30 skills). The animations and effects for every skill are very cool and dynamic. And falcom has given real distinction to the skills. Some skills blow enemies away, some are downward smashes, some are upward picks, and some allow the character to shift. This enhances player-enemy interaction and allows for some crazy combos.
Mana Seed and Liberate Road
Very close to the orb system of trails series but much simpler. Different types of Mana Seeds provide different types of enhancements to characters. And the way they are connected affects the results. It certainly won't have as much impact as it did in the Trails series but it's the first time you can truly build a character in Ys series.
Enemy design
Some of the bosses are pretty well designed but some are annoying. What puzzles me is that there are a lot of plural boss fights this time. The experience is really bad because it's hard to watch the movements of two enemies at the same time.
Combat is not without its issues. Blue attacks are hard to dodge in melee and don't reward as much as blocking. Normal attacks and dodges feel much heavier than before. Mana outbreak is useless in combat.
Level design
I'm a little disappointed, to be honest. After playing Ys IX I'm actually looking forward to the further evolution of Ys level design. But Ys X is more of a step back, it's like Ys VIII cut into dozens of pieces. Each island is short to explore and full of invisible walls. Levels are mainly based on platform gameplay with Mana String and Mana Boards. It's ok but undoubtedly not as fun as the Monstrum ability. There are plenty of buried treasures but finding them is boring because Ys X's levels are nowhere near as three-dimensional as Ys IX's. Also, the overall number and size of dungeons are not as good as in the previous game. That said I think the level design is generally good, especially if you prefer linear levels. Some parts that remind me of Castlevania PoR, which is good.
Ship combat
It was really bad in the beginning. The ship was very clumsy and lacked firepower. Although upgrades can change all this the ship combats are still rough and stupid. Don't expect it and treat it as a mini-game then it's actually playable.
Story and character
I think the story is much more complete than IX, and Karja is portrayed quite well. The narrative is more traditional without much of a reversal. The writing is Falcom standard you know what I mean if you've played their games. If I had to rank them, I'd say VIII>X>IX.
It's complaining time. Falcom really needs more artists and modelers. Ys X has the same problem as IX. Every island and town looks exactly the same. The variety of textures and decorations is pitifully small and of poor quality. The scene at sea is even more horrible. It's really hard to attract more players. The OST is by far the worst Ys music I've ever heard outside of Ys V.
My final ranking is VIII>IX>X. But I still recommend everyone to try it and I also think X is a great entry point.
1 Comment
It depends on NIS American, probably 2025. Cloud Leopard may release their PC version earlier, but it only supports Chinese and Korean. Maybe someone will do a fan translation.
mugimugi
5 months ago