Ys X: Nordics

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

The mainline games in the Ys series of Action-RPGs have had a rocky history on Nintendo Switch. I absolutely loved Ys VIII, but there’s no denying that the Nintendo Switch version of the game was a rough port, with nasty aliasing and glitchy shadows, along with drastic cuts to resolution and framerate over other versions. In some ways, Ys IX was an even better game, but it was a far worse port than its predecessor, even getting nominations from me that year for Worst Port/Remake and Most Disappointing.

However, with Ys X: Nordics releasing in 2024 on Nintendo Switch (as well as PC and PlayStation 4), developer Falcom took the reins of the port job to Nintendo Switch this time, so there was hope that for once the Nintendo Switch version of a mainline Ys game would be able to truly shine for once.

Now that the wait is over, I can happily say that this is indeed the case, although that’s not to say it’s all good news here. However, this time around, the framerates are steady, the resolution seems decent, and I didn’t see any sort of graphical glitching. On top of this, you have the series’ usual excellent anime-style subtly cel-shaded 3D characters. On the other hand, the world these characters find themselves in still seems a tad bare and bereft of detail in places, and there’s both noticeable pop-in and some really ugly aliasing. As visuals in Nintendo Switch Action-RPGs go, this is decent, but far from impressive.

As with Ys IX, this game features a soundtrack with a mix of traditional JRPG-style music and some electric guitar-heavy intense themes for more action-focused scenes, with some examples of both including Our Hometown, To Be Free, Throbbing Heartbeat, Like a Lightning, Eerie Stillness, Can You Do It?, Brother’s Footsteps on the Island, Violent Warriors… look, I could keep going, but let’s just say this game’s soundtrack rocks.

I should also note the game’s English voice acting, which is… okay. If I’m less than enthusiastic, it’s due to this game’s battles having the game’s lead characters reusing the same sound clips over and over again. It gets old fast. Apart from this, the voice acting is fine.

When it comes to this story, Ys X: Nordics is, as the title implies, about the Norse… or rather, this game’s fantasy world version of it, the Normans, who are initially presented as ruthless vicious pirates and scoundrels, though later we’re shown that they have a code of honor of sorts. Series protagonist Adol and his longtime friend Dogi run into these noble brigands while taking a trip on a search for adventure, finding that adventure when these Normans board the ship and execute the captain, stranding the ship’s passengers, yourself included, in a small island town.

While this seems to be setting these Normans up as the game’s villains, the plot has something else in mind, with Adol hearing a mysterious woman’s voice (again) and finding himself stuck pairing up with a woman who would prefer to have nothing to do with him (again). This time, the woman in question is Karja, the very same one who executed the ship’s captain, and princess of the Normans. And Adol finds himself literally shackled to her via a magical chain that neither of them quite understands. However, they must put their differences aside to team up against a greater threat, regenerating undead enemies known as the Griegr.

While I don’t think it’s a bad plot, I was swiftly soured on Karja thanks to her introduction, and her callous uncaring nature did little to help endear me to her. I get that it’s playing on the classic “slap slap kiss” trope, but for that to work you need to give both characters redeeming qualities and it all seems one-sided here.

Thankfully, when we turn to the gameplay, we have some excellent stuff to dig into here, namely the combat. The magical chain binding Adol and Karja makes for gameplay that at times seems faintly reminiscent of Astral Chain, giving players the freedom to act individually or, at the press of a button, joining together and working in sync as a pair. What’s more, the game has players mixing up attacks, blocks, dodges, and special moves to try and deal damage to enemies while evading or blocking incoming attacks in a way that absolutely feels fantastic, not only giving players some great combo potential, but making players react strategically to different groups of enemies and their attacks. This is probably the best that combat has ever been in this series.

Everything else? Not so much. While players do have a magical grappling hook of sorts, it doesn’t allow for the same freedom of exploration we saw in Ys IX. And while there is a decent amount of resource gathering and upgrading here, it isn’t as wonderfully well-executed as we saw in Ys VIII. Rather, this game places its focus on a new gameplay element: ship navigation and naval combat.

Sadly, this is far from the sublime seafaring adventure we got in Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection. Getting your ship from point A to point B is tedious and time-consuming, and naval combat is slow and clunky. Sadly, you can’t even fully enjoy the freedom of exploration here – the sea is large, but gated by invisible walls, and you can only land at designated ports. Look, don’t get me wrong, the seafaring isn’t completely without its charms, but before long this will seem like the stuff you have to get through to enjoy the stuff you actually want to do.

It’s frustrating that this is without a doubt the best Nintendo Switch port the mainline series has had so far, but the actual game itself is in my mind the worst of the three. However, it’s still Ys, which means it’s still a solid Action-RPG, and the phenomenal combat actually pushes it a notch above Ys IX on Nintendo Switch (thanks largely to that game’s horrible port job). But I definitely wish that it was Ys IX that got this level of quality port instead of this one.

tl;dr – Ys X is an Action-RPG that finally manages to be a decent port of a mainline game in the series to Nintendo Switch, with this game’s plot involving fantasy Vikings and an undead menace. The combat here is truly exceptional, but the new seafaring gameplay elements fall flat and drag down the pacing. This is still a thoroughly enjoyable Action-RPG, but it’s inferior to what both its direct predecessors would have been if they had gotten decent Nintendo Switch ports too.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Action-RPG

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