As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Welcome to another fun and hot blog. This time we’ll be doing an Ys IX Monstrum Nox review, since I very recently just beat it. let’s hop in.
Story
Adol’s latest adventure sees him in Balduq, a city with a well and widely known prison. Upon entering the city, Adol is arrested, and taken in for questioning. Soon, he escapes and meets Aprillis, who curses him with powers.
Soon after escaping, he is basically thrown into the Grimwald Nox to do battle with Lemure’s and 5 other people with bizarre powers. With no information gathered afterwards, Adol meets up with Dogi and they find a warehouse to hide out in. That hideout becomes the Dandelion, a bar and a hangout spot for the Monstrums, the ones with special powers, deemed so by Aprillis herself.
As the chapters unfolds, we see each of the Monstrums and their human sides as well. Their stories are told, bonds are made, and I won’t give any spoilers. The Grimwald Nox is also a key component of the story, the very reason the Monstrums exist to begin with. They fight the Lemures and keep the city safe.
The most interesting part of this story is something I also won’t tell. They have you swap between the Monstrums, Adol, and someone else inside the prison. It was a big story twist that made no sense until the end, and it was brilliantly kept, in my opinion.
Gameplay
A lot of Ys VIII’s mechanics made it over to Ys IX, and in a similar fashion. You have a quest board, a blacksmith within the hideout, someone to brew potions and the like. You can also re-challenge past Grimwald Nox battles via Dogi.
Speaking of those, I mentioned what they were above a little, but as far as the gameplay goes, there’s a couple different types. You’ll be either defending your base from waves of Lemures or you’ll be breaking crystals. Defending is actually a challenge, especially if you get ambushed.
These battles are story related, but some are also optional, and are used as a way to open more parts of the city. See, as part of this curse, the crew can’t go but so far. There are barriers that prevent their departure, and as the story unfolds and you also take on optional battles, you get more to explore.
This Ys game, being the newest, has the cleanest combat. It is also the most polished and sharpest as well.
Graphics
The graphics could be better, but they also have seen a nice improvement since (paid link) Ys VIII. I won’t dwell on these too much, I feel like they’re nothing to significantly gawk at, and Ys VIII actually had the prettier location.
Controls
These are similar to Ys VIII, almost identical, up to the attack and jump buttons, which have been swapped. The funny part is, I actually prefer it this way, and I have found myself setting the other Ys games to have the same control scheme. I cannot say, however, that I see a great leap between Ys VIII and Ys IX, they are just that much alike.
Soundtrack
I feel like the music had a nice melody to it. Battle music was there, not overpowering but enough to be present and ready to swing our attacks along with. Exploring the city gave us a nice tune.
Ratings:
Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Controls: 8/10
Soundtrack: 8/10
Replayablity: 8/10
Overall:
Final Thoughts
This is Adol’s latest adventure, and an easy one to jump into. If you have no knowledge of the previous games, you may be missing some information and references, but overall, you could play this game before any other.
With (paid link) Ys X: Nordics coming out in Japan very soon, I know I’ll be anxiously awaiting a NA release of it as well. In the meantime, thanks for reading the Ys IX Monstrum Nox review. If you want your own copy, it is available on Steam, (paid links) PS4, PS5 & Nintendo Switch.
Now…go slay some Lemures.
If you enjoyed this blog, then perhaps go read about when I bought the game.
Leave a Reply