YsX may sweep you off your feet with its exciting nautical adventure this October. With its high-intensity combat, explorable open world and deep customization, our hands-off thoughts of this game are high.
Ys X Looks Sea Worthy
While watching the Ys X footage, we were immediately taken back to the beginning of the PS4 era withAssassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. On a ship called the Sandras, you travel from place to place as you’re fighting off enemies on the water and customizing your ship with the loot you’ve gathered. The combat doesn’t look as graphically intense as Ubisoft’s epic, but you’re firing off cannon balls and other weapons while utilizing the abilities of the crewmates you gather across your adventure.
Some examples of the crewmates' abilities include restoring ship HP and increasing damage dealt for a certain amount of time. As you finish quests throughout the world, you’ll find new mateys to join your journey. It’s reminiscent of howNi no Kuni 2works, in which the townsfolk of your kingdom are collected by completing tasks. You’ll also be saving citizens who have been turned into creatures by finishing dungeons and beating bosses; they’ll then join you on your ship.
There’s a section of the demo showcased that looked awkward as the enemy ships collided with yours with little to no effect, but overall, the combat looks engaging enough. Hopefully, those who enjoy the action RPG combat more won’t get bored of the ship-focused battles that seem to take up a lot of the playtime; there seem to be plenty of barriered islands that need to be stormed into with the Sandras. Something that helps the ship combat, however, is the different camera angles that can help you steer the vehicle and see your targets more easily.
What will ultimately feel satisfying, I believe, is how you can upgrade your ship. The Destructive Shots, Rapid Shell III and Mini Bolide special projectile can all be upgraded, but you need funds and ingredients to stay ship shape against your foes. Something else that was confirmed is that you can change the appearance of your ship to suit your liking.
Slick Action RPG Combat
There isn’t just ship combat in Ys X, though. This looks like a slick action RPG experience that focuses on two protagonists rather than a squad inprior Ys games. You can switch between the two protagonists Adol and Karja in a fast-paced combat system, much like the Tales of series. Adol strikes foes quickly, while Karja does heavier damage towards shielded foes. NIS America says you’ll be able to combo between the two characters in a satisfying fashion. What will dissuade some from experimenting between the two characters is how they constantly yell “Switch!” whenever they change places. Hopefully, there’s a way to reduce the number of times they say that because in the brief 45 minutes or so of footage, it was getting annoying already.
Nevertheless, you’re able to assign abilities to your face buttons, similar to the Tales of series, allowing for customization. NIS America recommends to use your skills often in battle rather than saving them. The animations of each attack and ability look slick, and it seems the developer Nihon Falcom have stepped up the way battles look for Ys X. NIS America explained that switching to two characters has allowed the developer to step up its animation game. Ys X especially looks fantastic when Duo Skills are used. These are special abilities that have Adol and Karja team up for a lot of damage. Unfortunately, Ys X doesn’t support online co-op, which seems like a real shame as battling together would have been fun.
Ys X: Nordics Sets Out for PC, Consoles This October
Ys X: Nordics has an international release date at last, with fans outside of Japan finally getting to play it later this year on October 25.
Another element of strategy that’s been added to Ys X is the boxed lunch system. Before heading out on quests, you’re able to create meals that give your characters buffs. One boxed lunch can give you an HP Regen for 300 seconds, for example. It’s similar to the meal system in Kingdom Hearts 3, in which Sora made dishes with Ratatouille’s Remy and ate them for bonuses.
As you travel across the world, there will be islands to explore. They each have treasure to find and side quests to complete for special rewards. If you explore more diligently than other players, you’ll find more crew members to recruit, adding to the overall experience. NIS America says the game will take around 35-40 hours to beat for the main story and 60 hours for completionists. If you decide to check out the game, you’ll want to take advantage of finishing the side quests along the way. Something that helps with exploring is the Mana String mechanic. you may swing to get to hard-to-reach places, move objects and even activate switches in dungeons. This will help mundane dungeons feel a bit more elevated.
Well-Voiced Cutscenes and On-Point Translation So Far In Ys X
So far, the cutscenes seem well-voiced and the translation seems on-point from the gameplay I’ve watched. Many of the lines in the game seem to be voiced, which I don’t usually expect from NIS titles. It seems like Ys X is a sign that NIS America is stepping up its localization and voiceover efforts. Something else that seems promising is that NIS America said that Karja isn’t a damsel in distress. She can fight on her own two feet. Something else that’s wonderful to report is the beautiful illustrations throughout the UI. The sketched look of these designs is stunning and stand out as you read the journal and learn more about the characters.
Thankfully, you don’t need to play prior Ys games to understand what is going on in this tenth entry. If you do know the lore, however, there are probably some tidbits you’ll understand and enjoy. This installment takes place after Ys II while Adol is en route to Celceta.
I’m glad I don’t have to play the previous Ys titles to figure out what’s going on in the story because Ys X seems to be an exciting adventure that takes you across the seas and into some intense dungeons. The combat system is electric, the customization of the ship seems to be a standout feature, and the overall game has outstanding art that makes up for some dated graphical fidelity. Hopefully, the game lives up to its potential when Ys X launches on October 25 for the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
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