Ys IX: Monstrum Nox - Easy Allies Review

[@EasyAllies]

Some of you may be doing a double-take since there's a review on a game that came out two months ago, but it wasn't until several weeks after release that I ended up checking the game out, and I hadn't initially planned on doing a review (or even necessarily finishing it.) I've just been playing it in my own time. Considering how reviews of similar games have done in the past and the fact that it's not coming out on Switch or PC until the summer, I thought writing a review was still worthwhile. -Bloodworth

[@Renk1]

I was hoping for a review after hearing you talk about the game in Frame Trap. The game’s still quite fresh and it was a informative review. Thanks!

[@DrewAmongTheFence78]

Love that you did! I was playfully shouting at the podcast when it was left off the spring game releases list on a show from january as I remembered YS VIII was reviewed on the channel. I was hoping it wouldn't be missed and glad you liked it.

[@tomacas]

Thanks for the review, Blood. I'm 90% through the game and completely agree with how you called it 'RPG comfort food'. This is a solid 7.5 that fans of Ys or action rpgs should enjoy.

[@LoomDoom]

That’s fine Blood, I’d rather you play it at your own pace and not force yourself to rush. I buy most of my games a few months after release anyways so I still appreciate the review even if it’s later.

[@andrebaptista8284]

Reviews from any of the allies is ALWAYS worth it Blood. You guys are the voice we trust! L&R

[@LOREWITHBLAZER]

Every Ys game Adol goes to new town Someone random- your the chosen one Adol- here we go again

[@Ristyo1992]

Even though he eats local Gods in every adventure. there is always some rando Knight/Capitan or mercenary that's like "Hello I will be your rival for this game" than proceeds to kick Adols ass for half of the game

[@Carlos-id4in]

and for whatever reason, Adol loses all the godlike otherworldly overpowered weapons and gears he obtained from the last game, without a single explanation

[@Alic4444]

@@Carlos-id4in He has a gambling problem between games.

[@AssaulteedOne]

It's really all of the shipwrecks he gets into between titles :P

[@AZJayjohn]

Note taken: foreigners with red hair are the chosen ones

[@sbubbyjubby9743]

When you thought it was gonna say "written by Ben Moore" but it actually me Bloodworth

[@joebyeden6003]

Beeeennnn.....

[@Eyobe1]

Hahaha I was about to immediately type “another Ben Moore joint”

[@PhotonSieve]

Thanks for reviewing this. Very underappreciated series.

[@DrewAmongTheFence78]

Been on this hype train since I played YS 8 and this is seriously such a gem of a game. Favorite game of the year and a legit contender for rpg of the year.

[@Alexthelion93]

Very nice to see you reviewing another YS game. This is such a cult JRPG series. I personally recommend to everybody interested to give this series a try. Start with VIII and then jump to this one. Heck, if you are a veteran gamer and don't mind more ancient stuff, play Origin and the I and II. So much fun to be had with YS!

[@matteste]

My favorite in the series so far is actually Oath in Felghana, so yea, this series really is something special.

[@kraenk12]

Just discovered Ys VIII and it made me fall in love with the series. So oldschool but yet so fun!

[@BeowulfCav]

If you really want to dig deep and actually liked I and II then Dawn of Ys for PC Engine was an awesome entry as well. The music in all these games are excellent.

[@RezaQin]

Origin is 6 bucks on PSN right now.

[@rwxstudio7173]

I got into the Ys games back around 1990 with the TurboGraphics-CD version of Ys Book I & II. One of the first games I played that had an actual band playing instead of the old bit tracks.

[@dogsofa4338]

Ys 8 was my first one, and after that one this was a day 1 purchase for me. Love all the changes and improvements!

[@matteste]

Falcom games have always proven the point that you don't need big budgets to make great games.

[@witcherbruce94]

Easy allies have become one of my few go to game review YT channels. Love you guys!

[@BlurryHeart15]

I'm honestly a little surprised by the 7.5. The whole review sounded very positive and the only negatives seemed like the graphics and textures. Made me think it would score like an 8 or an 8.5. Regardless I'm glad Bloodworth gave Ys a shot.

[@DrewAmongTheFence78]

Yeah, I think its a 9 or 9.5 for me because it has more coherence and impact than other games or games series in the jrpg world. I think it has such awesome exploration mechanics that make it so much fun to move around in the world. Story and writing is excellent. Music is incredible. My personal criticism is the pacing that allows for great character development makes the first 5 chapters feel a bit formulaic and slow on main plot (yet still really good and they don't drag on!). Hope people love it!

[@lukemoonwalker8444]

I assume the price factored into the score, as Blood said despite the quality it's clearly a game on a tight budget, at full price it gets to be compared to the likes of Persona 5, DQXI and FFVII Remake.

[@DoctorSoup]

As a long time Falcom fan, I definitely think context helps. I know they're a comparatively lower budget, smaller developer, so even on their newest games, I don't ever expect them to look like bigger games like FFVII Remake. For me, each iteration in the Trails series is maximum hype, and I know the graphical fidelity is going to be roughly the same as the past 2, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I think Falcom knows where their limited budget should go, and that's in story, gameplay, and characters.

[@andrewfennewald9465]

@@lukemoonwalker8444 weirdly I am probably less likely to pay full price for a AAA title. They seem to get super cheap a few years after release. That and I would rather give my support to smaller studios anyway. But then again I don't buy much at full price anyway. Falcom titles are about it.

[@chandrasivaram]

@@andrewfennewald9465 True, This is the first game I payed full price and bought when launched and bought Ys IX Digital Deluxe Edition . Every game I bought after complete edition was releases after years released with heavy discount.

[@arjungandhi1242]

I’m so glad you guys reviewed this. I’m playing this game right now and enjoying it

[@sanayrobin]

Just finished up the platinum recently, great review Bloodworth! If any of you are looking for a chill and fun JRPG, you can't go wrong with the Y's series.

[@TheDreadedZero]

Ah. The original GameTrailers voice

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

Easy Allies is made up of all former GT staff, and still has a lot of the same charm.

[@DayFul]

Had a blast with this it made me crave more so I played through YS8 after it both well worth your time.

[@wanjingcao1780]

Blood + Ys. So perfect. Thanks guys!

[@riddif]

Ys IX: Searching for the 9th waifu and forget the past waifu.

[@thepuppetmaster9284]

There’s like 3 waifu and 1 doll in this game xD

[@danielfielke3895]

All previous "waifus" have representation in Ys IX.

[@riddif]

@@danielfielke3895 And forget all of them on X, search a new one once again.

[@megamike15]

as this takes place after 7 adol has good reasons to forget that waifu.

[@pixelsandwich4104]

Couldn't wait for the switch version, had to pick it up for ps4 and love it. Guess I'll be double dipping again.

[@fluffypenguin1481]

I’ve always wanted to jump into this series. Now might be the right time

[@MrGnuh]

I'd still go with Ys8 over this one. because of the much more varied island setting and the amazingly intriguing story. you can't go wrong with any Ys game if you like pew pew fast paced super fun gameplay though ^.^

[@Ristyo1992]

This one is better in all most any way. Better Story, characters faster command and while the City can be kinda bland it's still better than a lonely deserted tropical Island.

[@thepuppetmaster9284]

PS4 have Ys Origin, Ys Celceta, Ys 8, and 9. So I reccomend grab all of them.

[@PassTheGrenadePlease]

Good to see the plot is expanding in each new Ys game...

[@HueyTheDoctor]

Easy Allies reviews are still the highest quality in the business.

[@BeowulfCav]

Definitely getting this for PC or Switch, I can't wait!

[@aegresen]

I love me some Ys but I really do wish the devs would push the visual quality even by a little bit. As the time has gone on, seeing large empty spaces without much life or character is a true shame. Hoping for a speedy release on PC, cuz I'll still play it..

[@andrewfennewald9465]

I don't think the cost benefit is there to spend more money on graphics. Like they still aren't going to draw in people who only play AAA level graphics games and its expensive to do. And you hit diminishing returns on Anime style graphics in 3D pretty quickly anyway. Now if they could pull a persona 5 and make the game look great by having awesome 2D art all over the place that would be cool.

[@aegresen]

@@andrewfennewald9465 I mean, I would be fine if there were more NPCs on the streets or there would be more interaction with the world. With a lot of JRPGs it's the same thing; the spaces, especially in city hubs and such, are so big and vast but there's hardly any life to it. I'd rather the devs push for a cel-shaded graphics, cutting down texturing budget and increasing the overall life of the game. Even big budget JRPGs lack in that regard, look at something like Pokemon and how it hasn't evolved much. After a while it feels less like devs not having enough money and more like being stingy and stagnant as far as the design and world-building is concerned.

[@amilyester]

Had to double take as I thought this'd be a Ben Moore joint but as ever Bloodworth surprises (in a good way).

[@maxzavalaiii2866]

I love a good Blood-penned review. Great job Easy Allies!

[@bhoqeem1975]

I have the complete Ys series on my Vita. Now I'm torn to get this on my Switch Lite. What I'm actually worrying about is, will the fonts be actually readable on the Switch??

[@Chrysostomus_17]

Wow, thank you for this review. I am glad you enjoyed the game. I thought EZ Allies reviewing Ys VIII was just a fluke but two months after release a miracle happened! Thank you for the good, informative and very high quality reviews!

[@bluegrave4376]

I'm trying to get into this series. From what I understand, the games are connected because of the same main character but each game is it's own self contained story, correct?

[@Ristyo1992]

Yeah you're good It's even more frustrating if you keep up with games. Because they love to jump to make games in random places in the timeline. For example here's the current chronological order 1&2, 4, 3, 6, 8 7 and 9

[@bluegrave4376]

@@Ristyo1992 okay thanks. I'll start with 9 and then try others

[@matteste]

Yes, every story is self contained, though there might be references to other titles depending on where in the timeline they take place. A big part of this is in fact cause Adol is long dead (not a spoiler) and the games are supposedly a retelling based of his journals told by an unknown third party. This is why the chronology is all over the place.

[@sazhenmari]

@@Ristyo1992 8 is before 6 then 7 and 9

[@rwxstudio7173]

Fun Fact: The same band has been recording the OSTs for all of the games since Ys Book I

[@nuclearbeeberman]

would be interesting to know if the reviewer think this is better than Ys 8

[@Vyse195]

I played Ys8 on Switch and it was fun, so I'll pick this up on Switch.

[@ZeroHayabusa]

How does this score compare to the 4 stars that Ys VIII received? Is it about the same, or worse?

[@EasyAllies]

I haven't played VIII, so I can't compare the games directly. Comparing the scales is a little weirder than it might seem because Stars take up a bigger "chunk" of the scale. 3.5 stars would be close to a 7. 4 stars would be close to an 8, but there isn't anything that's equivalent to a 7.5. So I suppose you could say they're likely about the same quality, and it's likely that some people will prefer this game while others prefer VIII. -Bloodworth

[@tomacas]

For me personally, I think 9 is just a little weaker than 8. From a structural standpoint, they're very similar and combat in 9 is great. But there's 2 notable downgrades for me. First, exploring Balduq isn't nearly as interesting as the Isle of Seiren. As Blood noted, the setting causes a lot of the dungeons to be samey and the overworld isn't much better. Secondly, and most personally for me, there's no character on the level of Dana. Now, the characters in 9 are all fine and quite likable. White Cat is great and certainly on the level of Laxia from 8 or Karna from Celceta. Even my least favorite ally in 9 (Renegade) is better than 8's Hummel. But there's just nobody even close to Dana, who is one of my favorite female leads in any rpg. The closest contender in 9, at least from a story structure, isn't a playable character, so you just don't have the time with them like you do Dana. Overall, I would also put 9 as a solid 7.5 while 8 would be more in the 8.5 range.

[@Ristyo1992]

@@tomacas Dude... Aprilis? Like WTF

[@tomacas]

@@Ristyo1992 She's a great character, but I didn't feel any connection to her the way I did Dana. You spend so much time as Dana and Aprillis never gets that same screen time to develop.

[@Ristyo1992]

@@tomacas Me as well. At first than the twist happen and they pulled of the tragic hero so well in this one. Dana, I just never cared about. She pretty much the stereotypical kind hearted maiden trope.

[@NemXX2]

That is the thing about falcom games. They are just fun and don't get in their own way.

[@SeveredLegs]

I like that the characters felt pretty familiar! As of they were lifted from other games. Chante was like Sylvando (dq9), Doll was like Fi (Zelda ss), Hawk was a bit like Angelo (dq8).

[@sdj0914]

Ys-y Allies 😁 Great review though. Still waiting for the switch version.

[@kraenk12]

Quite underrated but I still love you. Game is more of an 8.5 in my book.

[@P1EX]

Love me some ys. I’ll have to wait for pc at this rate I won’t get a ps5 till 2022

[@nguyenphan6261]

Can this game play co-op in nintendo switch?

[@hr-g4640]

for me the game is an 8.5 easily

[@dannybski9620]

I wish more low budget Japanese devs would take a Persona 5 esque approach. Even with the game running on PS3, the game just reeks style. This has nice character models (even if you're not into the anime style), but those stiff animations just make it look too much like a ps3 game. Now if I could just find a few hundred hours to play through all the Trails games, as those (Despite the same visual issues in cold steel) look a lot more fun to me, personally.

[@kienesel7]

With how popular jrpgs are, it surprises me how many put so little importance on their visuals. I can only assume the audience for these doesn't really mind. I am a very visual person so I find it hard to take the world seriously when it looks so fake. Maybe they dont make as much money as I think they do.

[@ilqrd.6608]

couldn’t agree more

[@calculateddeclination5534]

Lacrimosa of Dana is still my favorite. This one is awesome too though.

[@rpgnut5897]

With so much positivity I thought the game would get a higher score.

[@steven.d6492]

I’ve already beat this game why am I watching a review 😂

[@darthpapa696]

I remember first time i played Ys V. I thought i was spell "Why - eS", cause there's no one had idea how spell it right

[@marrsil]

Why does most JRPGs have to look like they are stuck in time and should run on Vita or PS3? I hope the new Tales will make at least the step to PS4 standards.

[@royal2852]

Because most of the good ones are made by smaller teams that don't have bloated budgets that invite developmental clusterfucks like Final Fantasy as a series. Falcom for example were still using Sony's free PhyreEngine made for use for Vita and PS3 for Ys9. The new Tales game is using Unreal Engine 4 now, even after having created their own proprietary engine for the series. Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake also both abandoned Square Enix's own clusterfucks of an engine that only invited development troubles in the past in favour of just licensing Unreal Engine. So yeah, you can call the majority cheap and lazy on the graphical front but at least they hit deadlines. EDIT: It's not PhyreEngine. Rather, it's their own in-house engine called Yamaneko, and it's old as shit.

[@AssaulteedOne]

Lots of great point here - there's a reason why Falcom has stuck around since their inception in 1981, and still remains an independent company after all of these years.

[@andrewfennewald9465]

Because all graphic improvements after that are more or less irrelevant for anime style games. At least imo.

[@marrsil]

@@andrewfennewald9465 I would disagree. Anime style games could look like an actual Anime and not like a relict of times longe gone. The explanation with the free engine from the PS3 and very very low budget make sense. But is sad nevertheless.

[@andrewfennewald9465]

@@marrsil Persona 5 approach is a good one for Anime style games. The 3D part of that game doesn't really look any better than this one but all the 2D stuff looks so good it makes the whole game look better. For me personally though graphics are one of the least important parts of a game as long as they are above some minimum standard. I have been told Tales of Berseria had bad graphics but i dunno I though they looked pretty good. I do like good character models (or in the case of older games nice portraits) but I i guess I don't I care as much about the backgrounds.

[@AxxmorbidfloristxxC]

This game performs great 👍 on shitty pcs! Love when that’s the case

[@EveryDayRetroGaming]

Man I forgot about this series. I haven't play a Ys game since Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim. This looks like a lot of fun.

[@theangrycucco9775]

Ys 8 is also very good this looks better graphically though . Hope the story is as good as 8 was

[@robinsaputra1483]

YS VIII still the best.

[@TheBlueDeath123]

If Ys 8 is an A+, this is an A. And Balduq grew on me

[@Ristyo1992]

Yeah but the boring tropical island in 8 didnt

[@pixlman]

I need the PC port *now* please

[@Pandsu]

Some good waifus in this, it seems

[@Rihcterwilker]

2:18 is like "i play Ys for the B I G stories and M A S S I V E plot twists"

[@eN1X]

Somewhere along the line these JRPG developers said "PS2 graphics are good enough!" and never looked back.

[@Scitch-et4vk]

Best game ever

[@yussef13]

7.5 ??? Why so low ?? The lowest should be 8.8 anyway thanks for the review I strongly disagree

[@andrewmcintyre9279]

👌

[@bobbymaycry9748]

Swimming in. . .

[@RurouniZel]

Ys: Chuuni Edition

[@repentantsky8285]

Ouch, I feel that rating is extremely weak. Ys IX is pretty much the best the series has to offer, and it's not an above average series. This feels to harsh to me.

[@TinyPrinceGames]

Isn't it self contradictory to say "This rating is weak for this series that isn't above average."? 7.5 is average, so if this is the best of a below average series that seems about right to me. 7.5 is a good rating, it's not really harsh at all.

[@repentantsky8285]

@@TinyPrinceGames I'm saying it's more than above average, the rating would suggest otherwise, but I guess you needed that spelled out for you.

[@TinyPrinceGames]

@@repentantsky8285 You literally said "it's the best in the series and it's not an above average series." Which to me would mean that the best is probably average in an already niche genre.

[@repentantsky8285]

@@user-os7ec4dm8x Yep.

[@repentantsky8285]

@@TinyPrinceGames Just because you didn't understand what I was saying, doesn't mean you're right. Sorry.

[@thepuppetmaster9284]

7.5? The review sounds like an 8/8.5.

[@TheJaegersHunt]

Nice.

[@FreakinSweet1987]

I guess you guys are now the "Ys-y Allies!" ... I'll see myself out.

[@davidpaw22]

I heard the previous Ys is also good

[@Ristyo1992]

All of them are

[@keyboard_g]

Guess the low budge hurt it. Sounds more jolly than swimming in 7’s. Really enjoyed Ys 8.

[@dr.debsutradhar1756]

0:53 mysterious woman...... grants you something...... but now you can't leave...... so, basically every overly attached girlfriend ever....

[@luklopskywalk]

no spoiler alert???

[@EasyAllies]

? We avoided all the major spoilers and didn't even hint at a whole branch of the plot. -Bloodworth

[@luklopskywalk]

@@EasyAllies the part where he meets the girl and get turned into a monster, thats not considered a spoiler? my bad if not

[@EasyAllies]

That's the game's basic premise and happens in the first 15 minutes. This is a direct line from one of the game's marketing releases: "Adol Christin is cursed by a mysterious woman and becomes a Monstrum, a powerful being who can exorcise monsters." -Bloodworth

[@luklopskywalk]

@@EasyAllies lol well then. never mind Blood!

[@draculathevampire934]

Looks like a 10k budget game

[@StabbyRocketJoe]

*Ys-y Allies*

[@Ridnarhtim]

I haven't really enjoyed the series since Oath in Felghana unfortunately. The addition of healing items and party members was really a step down imo. Origins and Oath in Felghana are masterpieces that everyone should play though.

[@kraenk12]

Ys VIII was incredibly fun.

[@obchamp]

I enjoyed ys 8 a lot more then this one, but this one was still a very enjoyable experience

[@SystemBD]

After Persona 5 (that was originally released on the Playstation 3), it is difficult to play one of these JRPGs. I'm sure they are a great time, but they seem so... generic in their presentation that it seems like I have played it already four or five times.

[@Kensterrrrr]

Baron miserable environments

[@mugdays]

The character models are Dreamcast quality lol.

[@kaiserarvin1107]

Ps2 graphics, why?!

[@andrewfennewald9465]

budget. But this game does look better than a PS2 game (I say that having played some recently). Its more mid to low end PS3 in a appearance which is enough for many of us.

[@ImperialEarthEmpire]

i hate this Ys game, becoz it doesnt have... a shipwreck...

[@Adol666]

This game looks like such Garbage compared to 8

[@lapsedilationdrive3943]

lol yeah, ikr. I really cannot believe that a lot of people are saying it's better than ys 8 when even the environments in Balduq look worse than even the worse looking areas in Ys 8.

[@megamike15]

i feel ys taking place in a single city was not a good idea.

[@MrJeffreyrichards]

Not much different then 8.

[@Arukkao]

My god, the "british" accent they are going for is atrocious

[@josephpiedmonte]

The way the map unlocks in this game just feels so unnatural compared to Ys Viii. There's also so many fetch quests, and not fetch quests that revolve around having to go out into a wild area where you'll have to fight enemies. It's, go here and talk to this character, go to a few different spots in the city.. return to first character and every stop has dialogue. It's actually had me skipping entire events by pressing start 25 hours and 8 chapters in. I just don't care. The traversal elements they added are fun, just can't stand the way the game unfolds.

[@FelixS.]

7.5 ist lachhaft Du Kek

[@ilqrd.6608]

I’m a little tired of the ever same looking jrpg type of games. Are they all using the same engine or something. The environments are almost interchangeable

[@kylerclarke2689]

Smaller budget jrpgs will continue to underperform as long as they insist on having dumbass names that no one can pronounce or remember

[@toma.7065]

I'm gonna be honest here: This game looks like a really low-budget indie title (meaning areas look extremely unbelievable and flat) and like it missed the tone of the overall plot by a landslide. I played YS a long time ago but when I see what the series has become ... jeez :-D Kinda rough.

[@TheLoneGamr]

So much wrong is one paragraph. The Ys series has been increasing in quality and this game is amazing. Falcom is a small studio and doesn’t have a budget to look AAA. Every Ys game is good and if you want every game to look like a Sony game then you have way too high expectations.

[@lapsedilationdrive3943]

@@TheLoneGamrlate comment but ys 8 has better environments, more quality and colourful graphics than what we got in ys 9. I think the setting is what ruins it completely. The game takes place mostly inside prisons and dungeons so thats why the surroundings are very bland, dull filled witj boring greyish areas.

[@megamike15]

@@lapsedilationdrive3943 there are times i forget 8 is a vita game.

[@megamike15]

ys has always been low buget. the issue is the game takes place in a single city instead of a region so the area variety is lacking.

[@Synathidy]

Probably shouldn't review games on a console that most people can't get and don't have, lol. PS5 will never be relevant until one can walk into a store and buy one on a whim.

[@PatchedUpGaming]

Man if they could just move on from Adol. That'd be swell. I do not find him an enjoyable protagonist. Like a toothless version of Sinbad. Why do video games keep having to suffer bland characterizations in comparison to other mediums?

[@Ristyo1992]

That's the worst idea ever. Adol is an icon for the Ys fanbase. There's littlerly fans that complain that there are even party members in the new games. Even personally I don't mind the party sistem but I do play exclusively as Adol about 90% of the time.

[@PatchedUpGaming]

@@Ristyo1992 I'm glad you like Adol, sounds like this game is for you then! Just voicing my opinion, I can't stand his presence.

[@emesilverio85]

Nice PS3 graphics

[@afx3142]

Jrpg’s are so creatively bankrupt. There are only a few series that actually push this genre forward; this one is not one of them.

[@Ristyo1992]

Probably haven't even played it

[@afx3142]

@@Ristyo1992 don’t need to

[@Ristyo1992]

@@afx3142 So you're irrelevant. Im done here

[@afx3142]

@@Ristyo1992 that doesn’t even make sense

[@michaellamlol]

this channel is dying lol

[@MojaveKnight17]

Late too late

[@EasyAllies]

Just wrote a pinned comment about this. Take a look. -Bloodworth

[@MojaveKnight17]

@@EasyAllies ok

[@quezcatol]

Dont buy 7.5 games!

[@EasyAllies]

You're going to miss out on a lot of great games with that attitude. -Bloodworth

[@Patte-chan]

But buy all Nihon Falcom games!

[@Rihcterwilker]

@@Patte-chan exactly. After starting going through trails and ys, it became really hard for me to enjoy any other rpg, if they don't have the Falcom touch.

[@SeanWilsonMusic]

This is a terrible take.

[@quezcatol]

@@EasyAllies too many "great" games yet played, not gonna buy a 7!