Setting sail into new waters is the conceit behind the tenth Ys game and something it does with gusto, according to our own Sean Cabot’s excellent review. Now, however, a “definitive” edition has reached our shores in the form of Ys X: Proud Nordics. While a worthy purchase for those curious and those who’ve yet to try the vanilla version, does Ys X: Proud Nordics justify a double-dip for returning players? The waters are murky in that regard.
Set sometime after the events of the second Ys game, Ys X: Proud Nordics sees redheaded swordsman Adol Christin once more embarking into the great unknown, accompanied by his erstwhile partner Dogi the Wall Crusher and the researcher Doctor Flair. It isn’t long after arriving in the waters of Obelia Gulf that the boat they’re riding on is besieged by the Norman forces of the seafaring Balta Seaforce. That encounter leads to the trio’s momentary stranding in the port town of Carnac, where Adol not only encounters a mystical talking seashell but also becomes literally chained to the Norman Pirate Princess Karja.
When Carnac is attacked by an undying, monstrous army and the townspeople are kidnapped, Adol and Karja embark on an epic quest amidst tumultuous waters to protect the entire gulf from being swept into chaos. The truths they uncover about the region’s history hit closer to home than they could imagine, especially for the determined Karja.
That’s pretty much the gist of Ys X: Nordics’ plot, and it’s carried over word-for-word to the Proud Nordics version. Adol and Karja rescue their allies and, in the process, obtain the necessary upgrade materials to strengthen their boat, the Sandras. Their crew sails the waters of Obelia Gulf, reclaiming occupied territory as they traverse through a combination of both naval and land battles. If one has played the game’s original version, there’s very little different here beyond some minor quality of life improvements to make combat flow better and boat travel easier.
It is the addition of the EX quest line involving the large and mysterious Oland Island that truly differentiates Proud Nordics. This island is a large region that allows you to test acquired mana abilities, fighting tough enemies as you travel the dungeons throughout to uncover the mysteries behind why the Normans were forced to leave their ancestral homeland in the ancient past. Adol and Karja meet up with Karja’s cousin Canute and his exasperated Shield Sister Astrid, with Canute coercing the two into taking part in a contest to see who can uncover more of the island’s mysteries. Of course, he has an ulterior motive, culminating in a challenging and multi-tiered final fight.
The EX quests open up about halfway through the game’s ten chapters, and I’d hardly call them “seamless” additions, given their length and how they often divert from the main plot line. This is especially apparent with the last EX quest that activates right before the main storyline’s final boss fight, causing you to hop over to Oland to run through a maze-like dungeon and fight the final boss of the EX quests before jumping back over to proceed with the game’s actual final boss and see the ending.
You get to put your mana abilities to the test with the EX quests, which can be fun and rewarding, but beyond some light lore and world-building, there isn’t too much actual story added into the mix. Canute and Astrid are interesting characters, but the game waits until the end of the EX quests to really delve into them, so they aren’t as memorable as they could have been.
Beyond having new dungeons to explore and bosses to fight on Oland, you can also participate in mana board racing and train up Adol and Karja through coliseum fights. A new mana ability, the Mana Hold, lets you telekinetically lift blocks or yank projectiles out of the air and hurl them in a different direction. To be honest, Mana Hold isn’t my favorite of the abilities Adol and Karja unlock, as Mana String and Mana Board will forever hold those spots, and Hold’s aiming could use some fine-tuning. Still, it’s another interesting way to tackle puzzles and exploration advancement.
Exploring the waters of Obelia Gulf leads to a slew of new discoveries, and I enjoyed uncovering islands to explore, freeing townsfolk to recruit to the ship, finding lost pikkards, and just sailing in general. The Sandras essentially becomes a floating town in and of itself as you go, and I liked getting the chance to raise affinity with its residents and uncover their personal quests, as that often meant I had the opportunity to once again set out and explore to my heart’s content.
The naval battles themselves weren’t terrible either, being less tedious than, say, those in Suikoden IV. As long as the ship is upgraded and retrofitted, they are manageable. The slow boat travel can get tedious, so I often relied on the helpful fast travel option to quickly return to places I’d uncovered once it was available.
The action RPG gameplay after reaching land and traversing dungeons is where Ys X truly shines, with Adol and Karja using mana abilities to quickly get to areas that’d otherwise prove inaccessible. The combo-based combat is both fast and fluid, relying on attacks you program into button shortcuts. You can control either character directly or have them work in tandem, with their joint attacks often having more oomph. It was fun seamlessly switching between the two different styles of play.
While I preferred Adol’s speedier approach to fighting, I found that Karja’s heftier axe and ice attacks were a boon at times. Ys combat is polished to a tee here, though boss battles often proved to be lessons in endurance rather than skill towards the game’s final portion. While I enjoyed the different combat styles of the various party members in other Ys titles, I think the streamlined combat here is a strong selling point, as it really gives the sense of Adol and Karja working as a team.
From a character stance, Karja is Ys X‘s driving force. Her personal journey of growth and development shapes the narrative, whereas Adol’s wide-eyed enthusiasm for adventuring helps place the player directly in the story. I liked most of the other characters too, and the Sandras’ crew all had their moments to shine, though Rafe, Ashley, and Ezer were probably the standouts given their stories and questlines.
I don’t think the Sandras crew might have as much staying power in my mind as, say, the party members from Ys IX: Monstrum Nox or Ys: Memories of Celceta, since they don’t often leave the ship or travel dungeons with you, but they’re well-written nonetheless. I do feel a bit bad for Dogi, though! He’s Adol’s most steadfast companion, and I adore him, given his narrative throughout the series, but even he tends to take a bit of a narrative backseat here. Sadly, that seems to be the lovable guy’s lot in many of the recent Ys titles.
From a story stance, I do think Ys is in an interesting place right now. At the moment, Falcom has two big-name series, with Ys on the action RPG side and The Legend of Heroes: Trails on the other. I adore both series for different reasons: Trails is a sprawling sci-fi/fantasy epic, while Ys is a more self-contained tale of discovery and adventure. Ys is like comfort food to me, and the series has a whole lot of heart and polished gameplay mechanics that make it fun to play.
Even I can tell they’re now trying to expand the narrative more, given Trails‘ success, and I’ve mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it’s certainly an interesting approach, and we get some great characters like Karja through it. On the other hand, Ys is more about the thrill of adventure and overcoming challenge, meant to be enjoyed at any point in the series’ timeline without feeling beholden to what came before.
There are some interesting teasers going on in this game about possible future story points, including a secret hint you can uncover in the epilogue, but I know that the Ys series leaning more towards being like its cousin Trails has had mixed reception, so Ys is certainly at an interesting crossroads right now. I do wish that Ys got as much development budget as Trails does, though, as some of the visuals, like acquired loot graphics, look less visually appealing and almost “gacha”-esque.
Speaking of visuals, Ys X: Proud Nordics is a good-looking game in many respects. There’s a lovely vibrancy to the graphics. I do think the terrains and enemy designs can have some degree of “sameness” to them, but character models and art are expressive and detailed.
The areas you travel on foot are cleverly designed to help you think and figure out how to best progress without being too frustrating. There were some pop-ups in the final dungeon areas, but I do know a Day One Patch is planned to fix many of those hiccups. The script localization is also really well done, with nary an error to be found; impressive given that this is a meaty script for Ys.
Of course, one can’t really talk about Ys without delving into its music. The soundtrack for Ys X definitely doesn’t disappoint, with several tracks designed to capture the sense of wonderment the game wants to convey and to get the blood roiling during frenetic combat. Ys X: Proud Nordics even has additional music tracks, which only add to that sentiment, such as “Mighty Blizzard.”
The English voice acting is also relatively decent, with special kudos going to Karja’s actor, Cherami Leigh, in particular for some incredible deliveries. Adol and Dogi’s actors also do a fantastic job reprising their respective roles. Ys X does suffer from sporadic/partial voice acting at times, which is an interesting choice to be sure, as there are oftentimes long stretches of no voice work at all.
Ys X: Proud Nordics is an odd duck: though it’s most certainly the definitive edition of the tenth Ys game, it’s a tall order to get someone to pay full price for a game that could’ve easily been a cheaper DLC expansion, especially if they’ve already played Ys X: Nordics. I greatly enjoyed this game myself and was thoroughly entertained by this new installment of Adol the Red’s adventures, but I’m in the position of not having had a chance to try the original beforehand. I think any newcomers to Ys X should certainly add Proud Nordics to their collection, but those who’ve already crossed these waters might want to wait for a price reduction before doing so again.
