Ys X: Nordics felt like one of the best entries in the long running series, and just a short time later, we are already getting a new version with Ys X: Proud Nordics for PC, Switch 2 and PS5. Ys X: Nordics was a great reinvention of the franchise, but was a new version needed? And how much better is Proud Nordics?
Well to remove any suspense, I will just say that almost every addition in this version is an incredible improvement and removes so many of the issues in the original experience and adds in new features to make it better. The issue is though, is this enough to come back to the game if you already played it?
I will include our original review here so that you can see what our thoughts were on the original release of Ys X: Nordics.Ys X: Proud Nordics maintains the focus on Adol Christin and the warrior princess Karja Balta who are bound together by mysterious forces and forced to journey across the Norse-inspired Obelia Gulf to defeat the undead forces of the Griegr. The combat is still fun and brilliant with excellent use of slashing, blocking dodging and parrying, while controlling both protagonists on the fly and unleashing devastating attacks with Duo Mode. Furthermore, the game’s excellent RPG systems are perfected, with a ton of different ways to customize your stats and movesets for both your protagonists and your ship and the ship combat is even better this time around.
With Ys X: Nordics, the sailing could be very tedious and get in the way of the experience, but Falcom has fixed the experience in a variety of ways. For instance, there are now Wind Currents that the Sandras can use to quickly travel between locations. These must be unlocked over time and drastically cuts down the travel time. In addition, the ship movement speed has been given a slight adjustment that really helps things feel better all around.
Ys X: Proud Nordics also vastly improves the visual experience. The Switch 1 version was lacking in terms of performance and visuals and struggled to hit 30 FPS. It was an okay version, but nothing like the PC or PS5 versions in terms of performance and visuals.
Ys X: Proud Nordics has retouched the graphics and removed all the fuzziness from the resolution, and instead looks crisp and clear with a real night and day experience. One interesting addition to Ys X: Proud Nordics was the options for Quality Mode and Performance Mode. Quality Mode has a vastly increased resolution with gorgeous visuals and runs as a stable 60 FPS. Performance Mode runs at a smooth 120 FPS and looks amazing in its own right, creating one of the best looking experiences.
In fact, Ys X: Proud Nordics feels amazing all around, as the game feels far more responsive this time around. This is not just over the Switch 1 version, but also feels significantly better than the original PC version, with smooth and subtle refinements that makes the game work right. Using skills also feels a lot better this time around with little delay and no clunkiness here.
All of this is great, but technical improvements are not the only changes to Ys X: Proud Nordics. Falcom introduced new locations, story elements, dungeons and abilities to the game with this release, and it is rather substantial. The new locations include the explorable Öland Island, which gradually becomes more accessible the more you progress through the main story.
As you journey through Öland Island, you will come across a pair of Shield Brethren named Astrid and Canute (the latter presumably named for the historical King Canute the Great, one of only two kings of England to be referred to as The Great and arguably the only one that actually deserved that title, but I digress), who have a connection to Karja and enter into a race with her and Adol to discover the island’s secrets.
Enhancements and quality-of-life features are just half of what Proud Nordics brings to the table. The most substantial addition to the game itself is the newly explorable Öland Island, which brings with it an extra side story, a host of extra dungeons to explore, and a new Mana Action to add to your mystical arsenal.
As stated, Öland Island becomes more accessible over the course of the main game, and so you will need to return there many times, but it never really feels laborious to do so. You will also get a new Mana action to use on Öland Island called Mana Gold. Mana Hold takes a bit of time to get used to and is only used on Öland Island, but being able to use it to grab objects to use as platforms and projectiles is actually pretty cool once you get the hang of it.
Other new content includes the Coliseum, which sees you battle against powerful foes you fought before in battles where your time will determine what reward you get, making it a sort of boss rush and time attack mode. There is also a new postgame dungeon called Muspelheim which adds a roguelite element to the game. This dungeon has you fighting extremely overpowered enemies and avoiding traps to reach the end within a strict time limit. Repeated runs are encouraged as you will get modifiers that let you change the experience each time, and it is pretty addicting.
Now comes the question, was it all worth the updated release? Well the performance enhancements on Switch 2 alone were incredible, but the fact that the gameplay was overhauled and expanded, plus the endgame is more satisfying now makes me lean towards yes. It may have been better though to have released a Switch 2 version with performance enhancements and then add the new content as DLC for all versions. Still, this is the definitive version of Ys X, and I cannot recommend the original version over this in any way. If you have not played Ys X yet, this is the one you absolutely must play, but if you have, you may want to wait a while in case you feel it is not enough to warrant a second purchase at this time.
Still, Ys X: proud Nordics is a fantastic experience and one I will keep coming back to time and again. I would even go so far as to say this is now my favourite entry in the Ys series, which is saying something. It is also a rather good entry point for newcomers, so if you have not played an Ys game before, now is a good time to start.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
Also available on PC and PS5