Info about Ys IX -Monstrum NOX-:

Official game description:
■Story
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The story takes place in sprawling Balduq, also known as Prison City, located in the Gllia-Erdlingen region, northeast of Esterior. Here, a new adventure exploring the mysteries of the prison, alongside monsters (also known as monstrum) with various unique abilities, is about to unfold…
■About the Game
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In addition to the hallmarks of the Ys series, such as an array of skill attacks, fast-paced action and thrilling boss battles, the game also introduces a number of new elements that are closely linked to Ys IX, such as the ability to explore the field in all directions via monstrum special abilities!
■All Bonus Content Included!
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In addition, the Steam® version of the game includes bonus items, such as exclusive costumes and attachments, that were originally released on other consoles. The Monstrum Show costumes, in addition to the Hagu Hagu series, which can be worn on a character's arms, the Secret Potion Set, which raises a character's level, the ever-useful Accessory Set is also included, making gameplay easy for beginners and newcomers to Ys 9 alike. Explore the Prison City in your own unique style!

Release date: Jan 19, 2022

Categories: Action RPG, Exploration, Single-player Story, Character Progression, Boss Fights, Parkour Gameplay, Open-World Exploration


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00
  - Reasoning: The community consensus indicates that the game's full price is too high given its quality compared to previous titles. They recommend purchasing at a discount, suggesting a fair price range that is significantly lower than the base price of $59.99. The mention of a 60% discount and repeated calls for sale purchases support a fair price range of $20 to $30 USD.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 36.0h
  - Story completion: 36.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews explicitly mention one full playthrough taking 36 hours; one review reports a save file time of about 40 hours. These numbers directly indicate game completion and story completion time (since a single playthrough typically covers the main story). The most frequently cited figure is 36 hours, so that is used. No reliable data exists for typical session length or endgame content hours.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes:
  - Series Loyalists (sale)
    - Motivation: Emotional connection to the series and its characters, nostalgia, and continuing Adol's adventures.
    - Playstyle: Appreciates narrative and character moments, tolerates gameplay flaws due to franchise love, explores callbacks to earlier titles.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Ys fan; old player; series fan
    - Reference games: Ys I; Ys VIII; Ys series
  - Action Combat Enthusiasts (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoying smooth, fast-paced combat and responsive controls.
    - Playstyle: Engages primarily in combat, uses guides for difficult map areas, prioritizes gameplay feel over story.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - First-Time Adventurers (buy)
    - Motivation: Discovering a new action RPG series with exciting combat and engaging story.
    - Playstyle: Learning the combat system gradually, enjoys the overall experience without comparison to prior titles, open to guidance.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: first-time player; newcomer
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Disappointed Comparisonists (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Expecting a cohesive, well-paced RPG story; motivation undermined by perceived quality drop.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on narrative and character development, compares heavily to Ys VIII and Trails series, dissatisfied with execution.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Ys VIII; Trails series


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Satisfying high-speed combat (weight 0.56): The combat is consistently praised for being fast, fluid, and satisfying. Players highlight the smooth and high-speed action as a key strength of the game.
- Enhanced exploration with abilities (weight 0.4): The special ability system greatly improves exploration, adding new possibilities and strong feedback. Monster abilities and vertical movement abilities make exploration more comfortable and varied.
- Classic Ys feel maintained (weight 0.35): The game retains the classic Ys series gameplay and feel, offering a satisfying experience for fans. It is described as fun and enjoyable, with improvements over previous titles like Ys 8.
- White Cat character development (weight 0.19): The character White Cat stands out with the best development and enjoyable attack mechanics. This character adds depth and fun to the gameplay.
- Flash guard and dodge mechanics (weight 0.16): Combat incorporates precise flash guard and dodge mechanics, making it fast-paced and approachable. These systems add depth and satisfaction to the action.
- Impressive city exploration (weight 0.16): City exploration is highlighted as impressive and fun, especially when combined with character abilities. This adds a new dimension to the gameplay.
- Fun previous game easter eggs (weight 0.16): The game contains numerous easter eggs and callbacks to previous titles, which fans find interesting and entertaining. These references add charm for long-time players.
- Convenient map and collection tracking (weight 0.11): Exploration is aided by convenient map markers and collection tracking. This feature enhances the overall gameplay experience by making progression easier.
- 3D multi-layered map design (weight 0.11): The map features a 3D multi-layered design with verticality, adding depth to exploration. This design is praised for its creativity and gameplay integration.
- Good Korean localization (weight 0.11): The Korean localization of help text is well done, supporting local players effectively. This attention to language support is appreciated.

Common complaints:
- Inferior to Ys VIII (weight 0.79): The game is repeatedly compared unfavorably to Ys VIII, with many players finding the story, music, and overall experience weaker and less original.
- Rushed and anticlimactic ending (weight 0.62): A large number of reviews highlight that the story becomes rushed and anticlimactic, particularly in the later chapters and ending, which feels cut or abrupt.
- Weak character development (weight 0.34): Character development, especially for teammates and the female lead, is considered poor, with many characters feeling underdeveloped or sidelined.
- Poor story pacing (weight 0.26): Multiple players note that the narrative pacing is problematic, with slow progression in early chapters and rushed development later, making the story feel unbalanced.
- Disappointing graphics and animations (weight 0.25): Graphics and animations are frequently criticized as average or dated, with specific complaints about sliding walk animations, rough visuals, and a cheap presentation.
- Repetitive and tedious defense missions (weight 0.23): Defense battles (geigeki-sen) are widely disliked, being described as annoying, tedious, forced, and too long.
- Tedious treasure chest mechanics (weight 0.2): Collecting treasure chests on the map is frustrating and tedious, with some chests hidden behind abilities and not marked, forcing backtracking.
- Poor hit feedback and combat feel (weight 0.16): Combat lacks satisfying hit feedback, with attacks feeling like hitting air, and some animations and controls causing interruptions.
- Uninspired and derivative content (weight 0.15): Several elements, such as Grimwald Night and special abilities, feel like rehashes or cheap copies from Ys VIII, lacking originality.
- Annoying wall climbing and exploration issues (weight 0.15): Wall climbing is frustrating due to overhangs and walls that cannot be climbed, and the map design often hampers exploration abilities.
- Mediocre overall story (weight 0.15): The story is described as mediocre, cliched, and lacking a proper climax, with predictable twists and excessive padding in parts.
- Boring and unimpressive side quests (weight 0.15): Side quests are mostly fetch quests and feel perfunctory, with some locked to specific time windows and requiring forced grinding.
- Technical issues and bugs (weight 0.14): Players report occasional graphic bugs, frame drops, crashing, and a falsely detected trojan warning from antivirus software.
- Lackluster female lead presence (weight 0.14): The female lead character is repeatedly criticized for having a weak presence, limited screen time, and being sidelined in the story.
- Rushed development and cut content (weight 0.14): Several reviews suggest the game feels like a half-finished product due to rushed development, with cut content and story gaps, possibly for the 30th anniversary.
- Unbalanced difficulty and overpowered characters (weight 0.14): The game's difficulty is poorly balanced, with Nightmare mode feeling too easy and the White Cat character being overpowered, especially with certain abilities.
- Weak and forgettable music (weight 0.12): The soundtrack is considered unremarkable and less memorable compared to previous Ys titles, with few standout tracks.
- Slow NOX point grinding (weight 0.11): The NOX point system requires tedious grinding, especially for late-game quests that demand high point totals, slowing progression.
- No opening movie (weight 0.11): The absence of an opening movie is noted as a disappointing omission for a game in this series.
- Low enemy variety and density (weight 0.11): Enemy variety is low with many reused models, and monster density is lower than in previous games, making combat less engaging.

Gameplay feedback:
- Monster abilities for traversal (weight 0.76): Multiple reviews highlight that the monster (Monstrum) ability system provides new movement options like wall climbing, gliding, and teleportation, enriching exploration and making the map three-dimensional. This system is a key new feature that changes how players interact with the environment.
- Exploration enriched by abilities (weight 0.62): Special abilities such as wall-climbing, gliding, and teleportation greatly expand exploration possibilities, allowing vertical movement and access to new areas. This system makes the map feel three-dimensional and supports a semi-open world design.
- Fast-paced action combat (weight 0.39): Reviewers consistently describe the combat as fast-paced, high-speed, and hack-and-slash in style, with flashy skills and satisfying action. This core identity is praised as on par with previous Ys titles and classic Japanese ARPGs.
- Open-world exploration with map tracking (weight 0.37): The game features semi-open world exploration with a real-time collection log and map unlocking progression. Area unlocking via the NOX point system and path markers help guide the player through the city environment.
- Combat based on flash mechanics (weight 0.32): The combat system revolves around flash dodge and flash guard mechanics, creating damage windows for high-speed, satisfying action. Boss battles utilize flash time to gain SP, and perfect guard/dodge are central to the gameplay loop.
- City parkour and free movement (weight 0.31): The city area allows for free movement with parkour-like mechanics, making exploration feel like thief-like gameplay. The full-map movement in towns and the semi-open world structure are praised as improvements.
- Unique character abilities for traversal (weight 0.26): Six different Monstrum characters each have unique skills for vertical traversal that must be combined to access all areas. This system adds puzzle-like depth to exploration and requires the player to utilize the full party.
- SP system and skill customization (weight 0.24): Combat includes a SP system for skill usage with auto recovery, allowing players to spam skills in fast-paced battles. Skill leveling has negligible effect, but character growth focuses on skill enhancement and accessory setup.
- Ability system for three-dimensional exploration (weight 0.23): The new Monstrum ability system, including wall climbing, gliding, and teleportation, makes exploration truly three-dimensional. This vertical movement is highlighted as a major improvement over previous entries, transforming map traversal.
- Defensive battles simplified (weight 0.22): Defense missions (Grimwald Night) are required for story progression but are considered simpler compared to Ys VIII's similar battles. Some players find these forced defense segments less engaging than the main combat.
- Dungeon design with varied terrain (weight 0.21): Dungeons are described as having varied terrain and multi-layered structures, often utilizing the new movement abilities. This design encourages vertical exploration and rewards ability upgrades.
- Manual combat mechanics and combos (weight 0.2): Combat includes manual charge attacks, grab abilities, and specific button combos like 1-key AOE or Crimson Scythe three-hit combo. These mechanics add depth for players who enjoy mastering the action system.
- Improved graphics and character models (weight 0.17): Character models and background graphics are noted as more detailed and improved compared to previous Ys games. This visual upgrade contributes to a more immersive exploration experience.
- Episodic story structure with new characters (weight 0.17): Each chapter introduces a new party member whose unique ability is used in that chapter's dungeon. This episodic structure keeps gameplay fresh and ties character growth to story progression through the prison city backdrop.
- Side quests for character development (weight 0.17): Side quests contribute to character development but some are mandatory fetch quests that create a loop of collecting energy for the main story. This can feel repetitive to some players.
- Multiple shops and equipment system (weight 0.12): The game includes multiple shops for equipment and consumables, though the equipment system is simple. This setup supports the city hub-based exploration loop.
- Character bonding events and interactions (weight 0.11): Character interactions and bonding events add depth to the story and party relationships. The fusion scene between prisoner Adol and Red King is a notable narrative moment.
- Platinum trophy achievements (weight 0.06): The Platinum trophy is achievable in one playthrough on Nightmare difficulty, which appeals to completionist players. This is considered a positive for trophy hunters.
- Reused assets from other Falcom games (weight 0.06): Some players note reused asset designs from other Falcom titles, which may feel familiar but also indicate less originality. This is a minor point given the otherwise positive reception.

Performance notes:
- Performance varies across systems (weight 0.24): Some players report frame drops in certain areas and constant crashing, while others achieve a stable framerate at QHD high settings. This indicates inconsistent optimization across different hardware configurations.
- High frame rate support (weight 0.12): The game supports frame rate adjustment up to 120 FPS, including various rendering adjustments for fine-tuning visual performance.
- Fast load times (weight 0.07): Load times are consistently reported as 1-3 seconds, which is a positive aspect of the game's performance.
- Shadow setting impacts performance (weight 0.07): One player notes that the shadow option significantly affects frame rate and recommends lowering it for better performance.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for Ys fans (weight 0.39): The game is strongly recommended for players who have enjoyed previous Ys titles, especially Ys VIII, and for those who can tolerate anime cliches or series traditions. Multiple clusters indicate high satisfaction among series veterans.
- Buy on sale (weight 0.34): Many reviews suggest purchasing this game at a discounted price, typically around a 60% off sale, due to its relatively short playtime of about 30 hours and other flaws. This advice is common across multiple clusters.
- Not recommended overall (weight 0.22): A few clusters give outright negative recommendations, advising players to skip the game entirely or play Ys X instead. These voices represent a minority but express strong dissatisfaction.
- Skip for newcomers (weight 0.22): New players or non-Ys fans are advised to skip this entry or purchase Ys VIII instead, as this game is not considered a good starting point for the series. Several clusters explicitly discourage non-fans from buying.
- Enjoyable action combat (weight 0.22): Despite various criticisms, the action RPG combat is consistently praised as enjoyable and engaging. This is a key positive point for fans of the genre.
- Worth playing generally (weight 0.21): Several clusters simply state that the game is worth playing or definitely worth a playthrough, without strong caveats. This indicates general satisfaction among a segment of players.
- Recommended for ARPG fans (weight 0.17): Action RPG enthusiasts specifically are encouraged to try the game, as its combat system appeals to fans of the genre. This is a targeted positive recommendation.
- General recommendation (weight 0.16): Several clusters offer a general or mixed recommendation, leaving the decision to the player or advising based on personal taste. This reflects a divided opinion.
- Best for fans of Ys VIII (weight 0.15): Players who enjoyed Ys VIII are specifically recommended to play this game, suggesting a strong connection between the two titles. This is a targeted positive note.
- Warning about story (weight 0.12): The story is noted as secondary to the gameplay, and some reviewers explicitly advise against buying the game for its narrative, suggesting watching it online instead. This is a notable weakness.
- DLC and pricing (weight 0.11): Some clusters note that the Cloud Leopard version includes all DLC, explaining its higher price, and that non-fans can buy the base version without extras. This provides practical purchasing advice.
- Language version issues (weight 0.09): For Japanese speakers, the Chinese or Korean version is not recommended, and players who prefer English or Japanese interface should buy the original version. This addresses localization concerns.
- Graphics and dialogue issues (weight 0.06): The game is considered enjoyable only if one can overlook poor graphics and cringe-worthy dialogue. This is a common criticism that detracts from the experience.
- Nostalgic players only (weight 0.06): One cluster specifies that the game is only recommended for nostalgic players with an emotional attachment to the character Christina, indicating a very narrow appeal.
- Map exploration appeal (weight 0.06): The game is highly recommended for players who enjoy map exploration, highlighting this as a key positive feature. This targets a specific audience.
- Not for casual players (weight 0.06): The game is not recommended for casual players, suggesting it may require more dedication or genre familiarity to enjoy. This narrows the target audience.
- Standalone story (weight 0.05): One reviewer notes that each entry has a standalone story, so new players can start with any game. This counters advice to skip for newcomers.
- Wait between games (weight 0.05): One reviewer advises not playing this immediately after the previous game to avoid burnout, suggesting a break is beneficial. This is a niche recommendation.

Other player notes:
- Legacy save data tutorial (weight 0.06): Players request a tutorial on how to obtain legacy items by using save data from Ys VIII and Ys: Memories of Celceta in the Clouded Leopard version. This feedback suggests the current unlock process is unclear or undocumented.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.19): The story is widely criticized as anticlimactic, rushed, and inferior to Ys 8, with a weak climax and a sidelined female lead. The graphics are described as rough, animations are poor, and beloved features like the fishing system were removed. Overall, the game fails to meet the high expectations set by its predecessor.
- Frustration (weight 0.12): Combat flow is broken by late-game blocking enemies and tedious NOX grinding, while boss design and hitbox issues frustrate players. Exploration is hampered by limited wall-climbing, a dull map with no hints, and tedious defense battles, compounded by technical issues like endless crashes.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.1): Despite story and pacing flaws, many players still had fun thanks to satisfying combat and the freedom of vertical city exploration with special abilities. The engaging dual narrative, good character switching, and improved movement make the gameplay loop enjoyable, with many finding the mid-game story engaging.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): The game retains the classic Ys fun with excellent combat, fluid movement, and rewarding boss battles using flash time and SP skills. The emotional ending, such as the farewell with White Cat crying, and a clean narrative conclusion leave many players feeling satisfied with the overall experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): The new vertical exploration and fast, exhilarating combat with special abilities generate significant excitement, with many describing the action and movement as the best in the series. The music and ability to climb tall buildings enhance immersion, and combat feedback is praised for being satisfying and smooth.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): Players experience nostalgia through cameos of classic characters like Feena and Dana, as well as the bittersweet farewell within a base that feels like home. Easter eggs, official jokes, and references to previous Ys titles evoke a strong sense of classic series charm.
- Anticipation (weight 0.03): The game leaves players looking forward to the next numbered title and Adol's future journey, with many explicitly expressing desire for Ys 10, a gallery feature, or Ys 11.
- Annoyance (weight 0.03): Players are annoyed by the game feeling childish, a language setting bug requiring a workaround, and tedious defense battles. The middle-night segment and frequent treasure hunting using abilities also become repetitive and frustrating.
- Surprise (weight 0.02): Many players were surprised to enjoy exploration more than expected after reading negative reviews, finding full-map movement in towns engaging. Others found the story better than the common criticism suggested, exceeding low-budget expectations.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): The excellent soundtrack and smooth combat controls are widely appreciated, with some players acknowledging the game as a fine piece overall despite negative comparisons.
- Regret (weight 0.02): Some players regret overpaying for a pre-order or rushing through the game, missing its full enjoyment. Others feel the game has potential held back by poor narrative execution and a missing personal chapter for a character.
- Affection (weight 0.01): Players express affection for new characters like Kirishia, Anemona, and Yufa, with one player wanting White Cat to replace the hooded figure on the title screen. Long-time fans also feel a biased fondness for the series.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): The uninteresting world, repetitive gameplay, and padding with mandatory fetch quests lead to significant boredom among players.
- Displeasure (weight 0.01): Players are displeased with developers' behavior regarding Ys 10 and the growing otaku aesthetics since Ys 8, which they find off-putting.
- Touched (weight 0.01): The dialogue between two Adols and Dogi's question about whether the player ever thought of staying are deeply touching moments that resonate emotionally.
- Gratitude (weight 0.01): The character Lilith made the game worth playing for some, generating a feeling of gratitude.
- Love (weight 0.01): Despite criticism, one player still considers this entry one of their favorites, indicating a love for the game.
- Satisfied (weight 0.01): Several players are satisfied with the story pacing and combat, praising short loading times and a well-running port with no major bugs.}