[Review] Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

The Ys (pronounced “eess”) series seems perpetually stuck in the shadow of other pioneers of the action, adventure, and RPG video game genres. The Ys series began in 1987, just one year after The Legend of Zelda and the same year as Final Fantasy, but it remains relatively unknown today. So, I should not have been surprised when I realized that this is the first time I have ever mentioned Ys in an article for Zelda Universe, despite it having obvious similarities to Zelda and being one of my favorite video game franchises.

Like Zelda, the Ys games have evolved dramatically in the last 30 years. While Zelda evolved to emphasize puzzles and exploration, Ys focused on story and fast-paced combat with only light puzzle elements. For about 20 years, the two series were remarkably similar. However, while Zelda moved to 3D worlds in the late ’90s, Ys did not introduce a fully-3D experience until Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana in 2017. Even then, the world design did not allow you to explore much off the beaten path.

Now, nearly four years later, we have the second fully-3D Ys game, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. Ys IX builds on what Ys VIII began but adds in some obvious inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by putting a stronger emphasis on exploring than previous entries did while keeping the fast-paced combat the series is known for.

A good starting point for newcomers

One of the first things that might deter you from playing Ys IX is the number at the end: nine. Rest assured, the Ys games are mostly self-contained stories, and you can jump into the series by starting with any game and still have a good understanding of what is happening. However, the series does primarily follow the adventures of one character, Adol, and it does have a canonical continuity. Because of that, there are some references and cameos sprinkled into certain lines of dialogue and story sequences. This has never been truer than in Ys IX; there are ample references to past games, characters, and events. Thankfully, the references are mostly done through relatively unimportant dialogue choices that only slightly change the response you get. A returning fan will enjoy the extra references, but the overall story will still be just as interesting to a newcomer.

I want to be careful not to detail much about the story because it is a carefully crafted mystery that unravels slowly as the game progresses. The pacing is a little off at times due to some gameplay aspects, but I think it is a good story. My only critique is that there is not a lot of room for players to figure out the mystery on their own. I had some theories based on character dialogue, but nearly everything I suspected was wrong. The game had me guessing until the very end, which is great, but I also cannot really imagine a scenario where the clues given throughout the game lead many players to the truth before it is explicitly said at the end.

Ys IX is set entirely in the large city called Balduq, which is famous for a centuries-old labyrinthian fortress that is now used as a prison. Adol arrives at the city at the beginning of the game and is wrongfully arrested and sent to a prison to be interrogated. Soon after, Adol plans his escape but runs into a strange woman on his way out. She grants Adol new abilities that help him escape the prison, but these abilities also come paired with a curse that prevents him from leaving the city.

Soon after escaping, Adol learns that there are others with the same curse, the titular Monstrums, and that they must all together use their powers to periodically battle monsters that exist in an alternate plane of existence.

The story centers on unraveling the mysteries of why Adol and the others were cursed and discovering the forgotten secrets of Balduq prison.

A mixture of dungeon crawling, exploration, and side missions

The Monstrums curse is a central gameplay mechanic in a few ways. Most importantly, it grants each playable character a unique ability to use outside of combat, and all the abilities you receive early in the game make it easier, and more fun, to explore the world.

Adol’s ability is “Crimson Line.” It is essentially a Hookshot that lets you instantly teleport to predetermined points. You will quickly find yourself exploring the town via rooftops instead of using the roads. Before too long, you also obtain abilities that let you climb up walls and glide through the air. Together, they give you a lot of options to explore the world thoroughly. Previous Ys games have been more prone to putting up invisible walls and keeping players on narrow predetermined paths, but Ys IX removes those barriers and lets you explore more freely – a gameplay approach that I believe is clearly inspired by Breath of the Wild and other recent open-world games. Unfortunately, the game still gates new areas behind story progression, so you are not free to explore the entire world until the very end. On the other hand, that means there are frequently new areas to explore between dungeons.

The city is full of hidden collectibles to find, and some of them are well hidden. I spent a significant amount of time between dungeons tracking them all down, but I still managed to miss some treasure chests in my first playthrough and came up short of my 100% map completion goal.

The game is divided into chapters that have a somewhat repetitive flow to them.

Each chapter begins at your base of operations where you can speak to your allies and pick up side missions. The missions are presented as if they are optional, but most players will want to complete them. They are not throwaway missions; each one contains extra bits of story and character development. Completing side missions fills a meter that activates the next portion of each chapter. You can also defeat certain enemies to fill the meter, but doing this exclusively would be a very time-consuming process, so completing the side missions is the more fun way to proceed.

When the meter is filled, you can begin the next section of each chapter: the Grimwald Nox. These are my least-favorite parts of the game. The Grimwald Nox is where the Monstrums must periodically battle monsters. Most of them are tower defense sequences where you fight waves of monsters, but there are some slightly more entertaining sections where you just destroy dozens of crystals within a time limit. These sections are sometimes frustrating and hurt the overall pace of the game, but they are central to the plot. Winning a Grimwald Nox battle opens access to a new area where you can continue the story.

The new story portion of each chapter always leads to a proper dungeon, and that is where the most fun is had. The dungeons are linear experiences, but all of them have optional secrets if you use your field-skills and make sure to follow every path. The linearity of some dungeons is hidden well because the field-skills are active. The game might intend for you to follow a specific route, but instead, you can jump and glide across the room to make your own path.

As you might expect, the dungeons are full of enemies and often multiple bosses, but before I take a deep dive into the combat, I want to mention what happens after the dungeon.

Most chapters are closed off with an epilogue that gives you control of a different character in a different setting. I do not want to spoil any story details about what is happening in these sections, but I expect that some players will not like them. I found them fun, but sometimes they are not anything more than walking around and talking to various characters. Other times they are mini-dungeons full of traps that you do not see elsewhere in the game. Either way, it can be a jarring change of pace at the end of a chapter.

Fast-paced strategic combat

The combat system is where the recent Ys games have really shined. While older games feature only a single playable character with a few sword attacks, the last four games have swapped in multiple playable characters with different weapons and skills that you can swap between on-the-fly. The system has been refined with each new installment, and the addition of the field skills in Ys IX makes the combat system feel perfected.

You begin the game with one playable character, but you will quickly form a party of three. Each character has a different attack type, and each attack type is most effective against a certain type of enemy. This encourages you to swap between characters instead of sticking to one, but on the lower difficulty settings, you can usually ignore the system if you prefer a specific character.

The combat is fast and lets you chain together combos using skills that you learn as you level up. You can only equip four skills at once, so you can mix-and-match different builds to find what you enjoy most.

You will get the greatest use out of your various skills while fighting bosses. Most dungeons have two bosses, and there are some side missions that also lead to difficult boss-like enemies. All bosses have attack patterns to memorize and sometimes an additional puzzle element reminiscent of Zelda bosses. However, they are usually not as elaborate as what you would see in Zelda.

You frequently need to use your field skills to dodge attacks or quickly attack the boss in between dodging. For example, the Hookshot-like Crimson Line ability teleports you to the enemy’s location to perform some quick aerial combat before backing off again, and a late-game ability lets you sink into the floor to dodge attacks that cover the battlefield. In addition, there are perfect dodge and perfect block abilities that will remind Zelda fans of the Flurry Rush ability in Breath of the Wild. Dodging or blocking at the right moment will activate slow-motion for a few seconds for you to find an opening to attack.

The boss battles can be intense, but I was only playing on normal difficulty. There is an easier difficulty and several harder difficulties if you want a challenge. Boss encounters are significantly more challenging on the harder difficulties and require precise use of perfecting dodging, field-skills, and character swapping.

The combat system is well designed, fun, and rewarding. I am surprised that there are not more games with similar combat systems.

The prison city is worth exploring!

I do not have many complaints about Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. It is among the best games in the Ys series, and I was having fun almost the entire time I played it. Some of the tower-defense battles made my progress grind to a halt for a while, but the fun combat, endearing characters, and collectibles more than made up for it.

If you are looking for a new story and a new world to explore, Ys IX is an excellent choice.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is available now for PlayStation 4 and will be released on PC and Nintendo Switch later in 2021.

Score: 8/10