Above all other genres, it feels like the JRPGs are the best at having series that stretch across the generations. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest crossed the double digits in sequels years ago now, but plenty of other less known franchises are similarly ridiculous. I love trying to jump into a massive series of games and hoping to become a fan, and that’s exactly what happened with Ys. Now with a handful of Ys titles under my belt both new and old I feel ready to adventure with Adol at any given time, and so the shiny new version on the Switch 2 of Ys X: Proud Nordics immediately caught my attention.
If you missed out of Ys:X the first time around, this upgraded version is basically the definitive version of the game. It comes with all previous DLC (which is admittedly mainly cosmetics of varying degrees of sauciness) and a new side quest that runs alongside the main story and opens up a particularly fun new area to explore.
The story of the game follows Adol Christin, the red haired protagonist who you play as in all the Ys titles. As is usually the case he finds himself caught up in some drama, this time because of pirates who take over the ship he’s riding. Now stranded on an unknown island Adol clashes with the pirate princess Karja, and after using their Mana based powers at the same the pair become tied together by a sort of magical tether. Thus begins an adventure to separate this new duo, uncover the secrets of this world, and of course fight a whole load of creepy unkillable wolves.
The combat of Ys X: Proud Nordics is absolutely the highlight of the game. The real time action makes it a lot of fun to slice through enemies, with plenty of opportunities to dodge, block and parry to avoid damage. Your own abilities have some nice variety too, with various special skills that’ll help you deal extra damage in flashy ways. It’s not complex combat but it’s seriously engaging throughout, particularly because of Karja’s inclusion.
Because our two heroes are joined together they also fight together, and this functions in some really cool ways. To block special red attacks you have to do a duo block (which basically just means holding down a shoulder button) and when you keep that held you can attack together and use special double skills that do impressive damage but use both your mana. You can even switch to Karja and play as her too, which you’ll need to do when Adol gets downed.
It’s when you take to the waves that my issues with this game really begin, as the ocean is just a bit dull. There has been a slight improvement to movement speed of your boat in this version at least, but there’s just not a whole lot of visual appeal or exciting stuff to find. It’s a real shame when the on land sections are so entertaining, especially the combat.
There’s also combat at sea, but this is also rather disappointing. Slowly turning to aim cannons just isn’t a whole lot fun, especially when faced with the smallest of enemy vessels to try and hit. The invisible walls also seem to exist to get extra frustrated, and all of these nautical issues combine to ensure that the ocean remains the worst part of Ys X a couple of years later.
Despite having some of the same issues, I did have a much better time with Ys X: Proud Nordics. It runs fantastically on Switch 2, with 60FPS and 120FPS modes that both showcase the visuals as well as I remember from the PS5. Admittedly it was never a game that shone in that department a whole lot, but on a smaller machine in handheld mode it feels like less of an issue.
The newly added content is some of the best in the whole game too. It all takes place on a new island that’s a delight to explore, and the fact it’s fed to you throughout the game makes it feel like much more than just an afterthought. There are a few other small features involving ways to upgrade certain skills, but really other than swapping to fancier outfits for free the selling point of this upgraded version is this new piratey side content.
With all the new additions Ys X: Proud Nordics is a better game, but it still fails to compare to many of its previous entries. I had a great time playing through the game again on the Switch 2 though, and especially if you skipped the original Nordic adventure this is the ideal way to get your Adol and Karja fix.
