You know how Ys VIII did that thing where the story switched to Dana’s point of view way back in the past? Well, Ys IX does that, too. There’s also something else about the story that particularly piqued my interest. Sure, it’s true that no game is without its tropes-and Ys IX does fall into a trope-y pitfall here and there-but overall it was an absolute blast to watch the characters interact with one another, and the story unfold. Every single character that I met along the way was genuinely likable-save for the ones who were appropriately unlikable-with most being relatable as well, and the Monstrums-the primary cast of the game-had a pleasingly obvious amount of thought put behind their development as characters. On the contrary, Ys IX‘s story is one of the best that I’ve seen thus far-if not the best-in the entire series. I’ve already admitted that Ys IX visibly deviates from the norm when compared to the rest of the series, but don’t get it twisted none of that concerns the story. Yeah, like you’re a whole lot less conspicuous-looking.
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And it turns out that he’s not the only Monstrum in town (er, city)-so, with little else to do aside from complying with Aprilis’ orders and hiding from those seeking to return him to prison, Adol begins what just might be his strangest journey yet. Then he attempts to escape-and he’s actually successful, too! However, right when he’s about to climb out to safety, a mysterious one-winged woman named Aprilis appears, dubs him the “Crimson King,” and forcibly bestows upon him-by shooting him with a gun-the curse of the Monstrum, which grants him superhuman powers while stripping him of his ability to leave Balduq altogether.
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So, what would you expect Adol to do in prison? Attempt to escape? No, no, he gets interrogated for, like, five days straight or something. Fortunately, seeing as how Adol isn’t on a boat, he actually manages to get to Balduq… but is then promptly arrested for a variety of “crimes,” all of which seem to have ties to previous Ys games. And, as it would so happen, said destination just so happens to be the Prison City of Balduq. Ys IX starts off as nearly all Ys games do with Adol, and his pal Dogi in tow, en route to his latest destination, in search of a grand adventure. It’s a good thing this city’s so big because you’re going to be here for a while. It’s certainly an unorthodox game by Ys standards, but if you don’t let that stop you then it’s easy to let yourself have plenty of fun with it.Ī Prison of the Body, A Prison of the Soul And, honestly, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like it at first-especially compared to the masterpiece that was Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana-but it didn’t take too long for me to start getting into it.
#Big nox stuck at 99 series#
But it is a series that I’ve played for long enough at this point to develop a great fondness for, and for the changes presented in this part to throw me for a loop.
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I’ll be honest Ys isn’t a game that I grew up with. YS IX is, by no means, a game that “jumps the shark,” but as far as Nihon Falcom standards go it actually feels pretty out there.
![big nox stuck at 99 big nox stuck at 99](https://noxemulator.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screenshot_37.png)
But, then, out of nowhere, we got Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. In fact, Falcom’s been so consistent in terms of style for so long that part of me felt like we weren’t ever going to get anything overly wild from them. For as long as I’ve been acquainted with the company, Nihon Falcom has always been synonymous, for me, with words like “classic” and “timeless.” They obviously do their best-and, as far as I’m concerned, succeed-at keeping up with the times in some aspects, but they never feel the need to go out of their way to consistently re-invent the wheel like certain other companies who may or may not be famous for JRPGs do.