Ys X Nordics (Nintendo Switch)

I’ve been playing Ys X Nordics on and off for months now, but lately I decided to do a marathon and finish it before I end up abandoning it as I had with other games. The game was released in 2023 in Japan by Nihon Falcom. An English localization came out in 2024 and was released by NIS America for Nintendo Switch and other platforms. According to some reviews on Steam it seems like an edition with updated graphics and gameplay will be released soon. I won’t play that one because I have this one, and I don’t agree with that business model (Hi, Atlus).

On the Switch, the game lacks graphical detail. I watched some gameplay on the PS5 and PC, and I can only recommend choosing one of those platforms to play the game. If graphics aren’t the main concern, then the early 2000s flat, untextured landscapes won’t be a problem. The game is positively fun, especially the combat, the exploration, managing items, materials, gear, currencies, it’s all good.

I had to put this here.

We play both on land and sea. The sea sections with the Sandras (our ship) are an enormous slog during the first half of the game. There’s no other way around it. You will suffer while navigating with minimal speed, with a boost that lasts only 1 or 2 seconds and takes ages to recharge, and the initial island hopping in the vast ocean to unlock fast-travel points. The islands are very similar to one another. Some are vast and others serve as stages for optional boss fights. The Sandras will be upgraded (slowly…) and by the end of the game you’ll have a perfectly fine ship, with a long-lasting boost, easy steering, and with absolutely crazy firepower, HP, shields, recovery speed, enough ammo to destroy a mountain, etc. It would have been better if these upgrades had come a bit earlier, though. So, if there was a reason I played the game, then stopped, and then started again, it was due to the sailing parts.

The island areas aren’t particularly varied or interesting, but at least we can traverse them relatively quickly. I usually take my time with games, explore the areas slowly, and check every nook and cranny. But with this game there wasn’t much to see or pretty landscapes to appreciate, so I found all the treasure I could and proceeded to the next area. I focused on what I thought was fun and dynamic, which was the dual combat mechanics between Adol and Karja. We can control one or the other, but they have abilities they can use together. These abilities are so effective in combat that there’s basically no need to use individual abilities, except in areas where both have to separate to open up paths for each other. In case people are playing in higher difficulties, all skills help with specific challenges, even those solo skills I haven’t really explored.

From what I checked online, I believe Karja can acquire some incredible advanced skills to break the shield of enemies and bosses while Adol inflicts massive DPS. I watched someone defeat Vermodr – the hardest boss in the game – on Inferno difficulty and they were using a very different build and play style compared to the one I was using.  It goes to show how versatile the game is and how accommodating it is to players of all skill levels.

There are a lot of side quests to do, and I completed them all. Completing quests increases the affinity with the Sandra’s crew and others; we get rewarded with items, upgrades, and individual story bits about the life of our quest givers. For context, there are more than 20 crew members not to mention everyone else. We can max out affinity with everyone before the end of the game, although it’s not necessary.

There’s only one ending and a secret cutscene at the end that is vague enough to spark some discussion about the destiny of Adol and his travel companion. The sea map, island maps, dungeons, quests, and main story took me about 40 hours to finish. I have to say it… I never skipped so much dialogue in my life. I didn’t engage with the main story and even less with any crew member. The only part I paid extra attention to was the moral message at the end, which I think is very in tune with the times we live in. All in all it was a nice game, but I don’t believe it will remain in my memories as time well spent.