I would easily say that I consider Ys VIII Falcom's magnum opus. The base of the game is perfectly crafted to perfection, with its exploration being fun and immensely rewarding and its gameplay being easy to learn but immensely satisfying to execute. Alongside that, it has an immaculate setting, with a lot of variety that never necessarily strays from its base concept but keeps it fresh to play through its 50 hour runtime. Additionally, I love the Village; every character feels important and related to this world and united to the cause, and seeing more people join and the village develop is a joy, giving stronger motivation to do the side quests, not just for the true ending, but for the village. The plot is also amazing and the mysteries drew me in more and more and the ending was amazing.
But this isn't a review for Ys VIII, but IX. Why write so much about a different game for a review for its sequel? That's easy: because IX does every aspect of this in a much worse way.
Obviously, to get positives out of the way, traversal and combat is still perfect. It'd be hard to mess up, but this is definetly an improvement to VIII. All the characters are a fun time and the new abilities lead to very fun traversal. The music is also good. That's where the positives ends.
The biggest problem IX suffers from is its structure. Fair warning that I dropped this game at chapter 5 so I at least have a strong grasp on it until that point, but IX is an immensely repetitive game to that point. Each chapter starts with you doing some side quests to max out the gauge, which then you do a non-Monstrum Adol section, which then the Monstrums reenter the prison through a previous dungeon, and you get a new character for Primavera. Then, plot ensues, you explore the newly unlocked section of the map, go through a dungeon, fight a boss, and reenter the prison.
The best way to describe these 5 chapters is immensely tedious and repetitive. There are interesting parts of these characters, for example, Doll and Hawk are both great, but it is not enough to really carry this game when little to no actual progress to the plot is done.
You could, of course, say that the lack of progress isn't too bad as its added focus to the characters and exploration is useful, and maybe I'd agree, but while IX's toolset for exploration is great, its actual settings are barren. All the locales, barring any set outside Balduq which even then feel a little boring, are brown-gray dark and ugly dungeons that feel akin as if walking through New York during a power outtage at night. Exploration never does feel fresh or interesting because every locale is the exact same, and thus only the actual toolset can really carry the game.
Even then, to switch gears, let's talk about the characters. Remember what I said about Ys VIII's Castaway Village? What if you copied it and did absolutely nothing to rectify it or adapt it for the new setting? That's Primavera. Primavera is immensely uninteresting and its members lack any real hook or reason to want to interact with them. The Castaway Village works entirely because of the setting; these characters are entirely incapable of escaping the island, and even less so alone, so survival works out. It immerses you into their desires and wants. But Primavera has none of these ties; all these people can just... leave.
(Its strongest use is giving the Monstrums a safe haven, but I honestly feel it's a little silly considering they existed for a while before...? But, y'know, details.)
So what exactly does Ys IX have going for it? If the exploration is inherently repetitive and the structure drags more than it helps, and the combat can only go so far for the game, what else can really carry it?
...The story?
Obviously, I can't comment on it considering I did 5 chapters out of the 9 the game has, but the story isn't particularly interesting. Sure, Balduq's circumstances invite some intrigue, but it's intrigue that doesn't exactly carry through the whole game and more with the Adol segments specifically as the rest of the chapters focus more on the party member's specific focus. Which are... hit or miss. I don't like White Cat's much because the Robin Hood angle is good, but the execution of it feels a little mean-spirited. I do like Hawk and Doll's since I like their characters and specific struggles, but I felt fatigue start to hit with Raging Bull which I thought was mediocre, and the final one seemed to be the same.
It is a bit of a shame that Ys IX is more preoccupied with grabbing onto the good parts of Ys VIII and forcing nu-Kiseki's structure and pacing because IX could have easily been a strong concept if it played to its strengths and had structure and pacing that fit Balduq much better; implementing something more linear like Origin's tower fits much more than the survival aspect that VIII was built with and it would have immensely improved the game even if it meant removing the party members for a solo-Adol venture. But hey, we have a game, and it is... immensely mediocre at best.
But this isn't a review for Ys VIII, but IX. Why write so much about a different game for a review for its sequel? That's easy: because IX does every aspect of this in a much worse way.
Obviously, to get positives out of the way, traversal and combat is still perfect. It'd be hard to mess up, but this is definetly an improvement to VIII. All the characters are a fun time and the new abilities lead to very fun traversal. The music is also good. That's where the positives ends.
The biggest problem IX suffers from is its structure. Fair warning that I dropped this game at chapter 5 so I at least have a strong grasp on it until that point, but IX is an immensely repetitive game to that point. Each chapter starts with you doing some side quests to max out the gauge, which then you do a non-Monstrum Adol section, which then the Monstrums reenter the prison through a previous dungeon, and you get a new character for Primavera. Then, plot ensues, you explore the newly unlocked section of the map, go through a dungeon, fight a boss, and reenter the prison.
The best way to describe these 5 chapters is immensely tedious and repetitive. There are interesting parts of these characters, for example, Doll and Hawk are both great, but it is not enough to really carry this game when little to no actual progress to the plot is done.
You could, of course, say that the lack of progress isn't too bad as its added focus to the characters and exploration is useful, and maybe I'd agree, but while IX's toolset for exploration is great, its actual settings are barren. All the locales, barring any set outside Balduq which even then feel a little boring, are brown-gray dark and ugly dungeons that feel akin as if walking through New York during a power outtage at night. Exploration never does feel fresh or interesting because every locale is the exact same, and thus only the actual toolset can really carry the game.
Even then, to switch gears, let's talk about the characters. Remember what I said about Ys VIII's Castaway Village? What if you copied it and did absolutely nothing to rectify it or adapt it for the new setting? That's Primavera. Primavera is immensely uninteresting and its members lack any real hook or reason to want to interact with them. The Castaway Village works entirely because of the setting; these characters are entirely incapable of escaping the island, and even less so alone, so survival works out. It immerses you into their desires and wants. But Primavera has none of these ties; all these people can just... leave.
(Its strongest use is giving the Monstrums a safe haven, but I honestly feel it's a little silly considering they existed for a while before...? But, y'know, details.)
So what exactly does Ys IX have going for it? If the exploration is inherently repetitive and the structure drags more than it helps, and the combat can only go so far for the game, what else can really carry it?
...The story?
Obviously, I can't comment on it considering I did 5 chapters out of the 9 the game has, but the story isn't particularly interesting. Sure, Balduq's circumstances invite some intrigue, but it's intrigue that doesn't exactly carry through the whole game and more with the Adol segments specifically as the rest of the chapters focus more on the party member's specific focus. Which are... hit or miss. I don't like White Cat's much because the Robin Hood angle is good, but the execution of it feels a little mean-spirited. I do like Hawk and Doll's since I like their characters and specific struggles, but I felt fatigue start to hit with Raging Bull which I thought was mediocre, and the final one seemed to be the same.
It is a bit of a shame that Ys IX is more preoccupied with grabbing onto the good parts of Ys VIII and forcing nu-Kiseki's structure and pacing because IX could have easily been a strong concept if it played to its strengths and had structure and pacing that fit Balduq much better; implementing something more linear like Origin's tower fits much more than the survival aspect that VIII was built with and it would have immensely improved the game even if it meant removing the party members for a solo-Adol venture. But hey, we have a game, and it is... immensely mediocre at best.