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OK, here we go.







Should I make a new bingo card?

Following on from my previous post, it occurred to me that 2024 will be the 40th anniversary of the original Dragon Slayer. It was a landmark title for Falcom, as well as for the action-RPG genre, and without it, there would be no Xanadu or The Legend of Heroes, and in turn, no Trails/Kiseki. So, I wonder if Falcom will have any plans to commemorate it with a new game or remake.

According to Nintendo Life, Lance Barr, who designed the North American NES and SNES (and "small" SNES redesign) consoles, as well as the Wii Nunchuck controller, is retiring from Nintendo after working there since 1982.

This is my personal opinion, but I've never understood why people disliked the NA SNES design. It's one of those things where it never even remotely occurred to me until I had internet access and saw so many people online comment on it.

Origin is a very short game. Even if you play through all three character routes (the story is a little different for each one), it'll probably only take around 30 hours total.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox vs. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Wall of text incoming!

Now that I've finished Ys IX, here are my detailed thoughts on it in comparison with Ys VIII. But first, some general thoughts.

NOTE: There will be NO major spoilers.

The game definitely has a rough, unfinished feeling to it. It's a little janky and glitchy, although some of that is specific to the Switch port. For example, there was one part where a character simply slides across the floor with no walking animation. It was so awkward that I looked up a video of the PS4 version for comparison, but it only happens in the Switch version.

Also, I'm not sure if this is specific to the Switch port, but the main map screen is broken, often showing the icon for your character in a completely different location than where they actually are. This was a bit confusing to me at first. The regional map doesn't have this issue, however.

The game also crashed on me, but only once.

It also doesn't seem to have the bonus content that Ys VIII had. Other than unlocking a Time Attack mode, there is no art gallery or movie player that I was able to find. I was disappointed with that.

It's not all negative, however. NISA's localization is far better than it was in Ys VIII. I only came across two or three minor grammar errors, and the English voice acting was really quite good! The only hiccup was that due to the pandemic, the voices were recorded remotely, so there was a little inconsistency in the sound quality between characters. Other than that, NISA really stepped up their game this time around.

The game was updated to version 1.0.3 during my playthrough, so maybe some of these issues were addressed with that. (Not the map, though.)

Anyway, here are specific comparisons by category...

- Story -

With Ys VIII, I really enjoyed the “castaways surviving on a deserted island” part, but beyond that, I was less interested in the stuff with the Eternians and the Lacrimosa. With Ys IX, it was kind of the opposite. Roaming around the city of Balduq and building up a tavern/hideout was a little mundane, and the more political aspects about Gllia and the Romun empire didn't interest me much, but the mysteries and intrigue behind the prison and the Grimwald Nox were highly engaging. While an early, awkward story beat soured the experience a little for me, Ys IX does have a far better ending than VIII, so it at least left a better impression on me. I think I'll give a slight edge to Ys IX in the story department.

- Setting -

It's pretty easy to pick the lush tropical setting of Ys VIII over the grubby city and prison of Ys IX. The main appeal in IX is the more open, explorable maps, both within the city and its surrounding areas. It works reasonably well, but Falcom has a ways to go to catch up with the likes of Xenoblade or Breath of the Wild. While VIII's maps are more linear, the sense of discovery was somehow stronger when finding new areas or landmarks. Ys VIII wins this one.

- Characters -

This is a tricky one. Falcom is pretty great at creating memorable, fleshed-out characters. Ys VIII's and IX's strengths lie in different areas, however. In terms of playable characters, I think I enjoyed the Monstrums more (with maybe the exception of Credo, where Falcom leaned a little too hard into his berserker class). Each one had their own backstory and relationships that were very well done, and they all had satisfying character arcs.

As for side characters, I'd say they're both about equal. However, Ys VIII's theme of castaways working together to survive created a sense of close relationships between the characters, so it might have a slight edge in this regard.

Overall, I'm going to call this a tie.

- Gameplay -

As mentioned before, the gameplay is basically the same between Ys VIII and IX. While I do appreciate that they tried to change to context as much as possible, it all really boils down to doing the same stuff. (Well, IX has no fishing minigame.)

The main difference, I'd say, is using the Monstrum gifts to explore the environments. As I said before, it's a little janky, but it mostly works fine, and it's fun to a degree.

Aside from that, I do think that the general gameplay felt more cohesive in Ys VIII. Maybe it's just because I played it first, but it seemed more like the game mechanics were designed specifically for VIII, and carrying them over into IX was more obligatory.

Slight advantage to Ys VIII in this category.

- Length and Pacing -

I've complained about pacing in multiple games in recent years, so maybe this is just something I've come to be picky about. As such, let's get right to the point: Ys IX is only about two-thirds the length of Ys VIII.

Some people seem to think IX is a little on the short side, but for me, VIII was a bit too long. I thought it seemed artificially inflated, perhaps to make it closer in length to a Trails game. (Indeed, even if it still isn't as long as a Trails game, it's easily the longest Ys game.) Combined with the later plot details that I didn't find too interesting, it made the game drag a bit.

While Ys IX can feel a little slow in places, and the exploration aspects pad things out a little, it's a more tightly paced game overall. (Heck, some sequences even give you the option of bypassing them entirely as if you had completed them successfully.) I appreciated the shorter play time, as it prevented the game from outstaying its welcome. Ys IX wins this one.

- Conclusion -

With two points for each game plus one tie, things come out pretty much even. Even with their differences, these games are very similar experiences, and it's hard for me to say one is clearly better than the other. All it really comes down to is that because Ys VIII came first, it was a fresher experience. If I had played IX first, I might feel the opposite. But VIII does feel to me like a more cohesive experience, and I get the impression that Falcom was a little more inspired when making it.

So, in the end, I'm going to hand a very slight victory to Ys VIII. If I replay these games in the future after having a bit of distance from them, it's certainly possible that my feelings could change, but for now, this is where things are settling.

I eventually plan to post a new Ys rankings, as well, so stay tuned for that!

Wow! Thank you again for sharing these, YL!

I now feel like I took this trip, too.

So, a couple of interesting things from the Indie World Showcase.

First, Metal Slug Tactics is officially confirmed for Switch.



Also, Tetris Effect: Connected is coming to Switch.