A larger adventure for a smaller crew.

Ys X: Nordics has solidified my appreciation for the Ys method of adventuring. The games center around Adol Christin, an adventurer who has left behind journals of his expeditions. Each game focuses on one of those adventures, allowing the developers to change up the scenery, Adol’s age, and, apparently, Adol’s preferred method of getting around. In Ys IX: Monstrom Nox, for example, Adol acquired the ability to run up walls. That helped him get around the town of Balduq in which the bulk of the game was set.

This time, Adol gets a boat. Fans will recall a shipwreck stranding him on the Isle of Seiren in Ys VIII: Larcimosa of Dana, but there’s no wreck this time. The ship, the Sandras, instead becomes the central hub of Adol and Karja’s adventure.

Karja, I should mention, is a Norman warrior bound to Adol by Mana—specifically, a digital rope (mana cuffs) that attaches Adol and Karja at the wrist. Why this happened isn’t immediately clear, but it likely has something to do with the voice that continually calls out to Adol from a mysterious seashell. It all makes sense within context, and the gist is that it forces these two to stick together throughout the adventure.

Unlike previous Ys games, you see, the player controls only these two characters. The combat system is built around a balance of their solo and duo attacks. How you level up and trick out Adol and Karja basically determines how effective they are as you swap them in and out of combat or use them together. This makes for an intriguing battle system that’s as fast as ever. It’s centered around attacking, dashing, and dodging, but it gives you plenty of things to do within those confines. You’ll acquire various solo and duo skills throughout the game, and the more you use them, the more effective they become. This is important, as it’s quite easy to take out common enemies without calling your more effective skills into play. You will need them against the numerous boss fights, however, so you’d better stay in practice.

This became a source of frustration for me early on. I could easily work my way through the enemies encountered while exploring, but I could barely dent the bosses that sprung up. Forgive me for not immediately mastering the combat system, I guess. Ys X does offer to lower the difficulty for the fight on the next try, but I would’ve preferred just a little more practice or a more gradual introduction to the battle system’s nuances.

You’ll be able to (and should) swap between the characters during these fights, taking advantage of the skills you’ve set them up with. I had Karja focus on skills that would break the enemy’s defenses, then switch over to Adol’s quicker attacks for consecutive damage. The character you’re not controlling is able to hurt the enemy on a limited basis, but doesn’t take damage. So, if your character gets low, you can switch over. You can pause at any time to heal and buff using the items you’ve prepared. If either fighter goes down, you can revive him/her, but I found this terribly ineffective. The incapacitated character revived with hardly any health, and—more often than not—my able character would get killed while trying to heal because the process took so long.

So, melee combat wavered between tremendously thrilling and terribly frustrating. Not all fighting is done by hand on land, however. Access to a ship means the need to protect it, so you’ll often engage in naval combat aboard the Sandras. This basically involves getting the proper positioning against other ships, wearing them down with standard attacks, then sinking them with a heavy broadside. Some ships are unsinkable, in which case you have to board them to take out their crew with melee combat. Like Adol and Karja, the Sandras can be upgraded, and properly equipping it is your key to success. This means gaining experience and exploring.

The Obelia Gulf is a vast network of islands you can mostly explore at your discretion. The biggest mistake you can make in Ys X: Nordics is to stay on course, as some of the islands would then be missed entirely. Exploration not only gives you experience and new items, but also shiphands to provide extra services aboard the Sandras. And not everything is combat related; you can fish, hunt for treasure, and just learn more about your shipmates via sidequests.

In fact, exploration is the game’s strength. I found it more satisfying to wander than to push the story along, and I don’t think that’s a negative. Considering the focus on discovery, I feel the developers really wanted this game to play more as an open adventure than a confined narrative. At the least, sailing your way around the Obelia Gulf is more fulfilling than running up and down the streets (and buildings) of Balduq.

The story is bigger, too, although not terribly compelling. Control of the Obelia Gulf is largely split between the Romun Empire and the Norman’s Balta Seaforce. The harbor town of Carnac is split between the two until the beast-like Griegr attack. As Karja is a Norman, the Balta Seaforce (of which her father is the jarl) quickly becomes involved in the area’s defense. Karja and Adol, however, are sent out aboard the Sandras to learn more about why the Griegr are attacking, and why they suddenly seem to be a whole lot smarter than they were previously known to be. Plenty of revelations and swerves come at you over the course of the game, none of which drove me forward faster than the thrill of exploration and discovery. Of the Ys games I’ve played, I still think Lacrimosa of Dana did the best job of balancing the story and gameplay.

Thankfully, both the scenery and the combat look pretty good on the Switch. Performance occasionally stumbled, but never in a way that interfered with combat or the speed at which things moved along. And although the environments feel a bit flat and lack detail, they’re varied enough across the adventure to keep things interesting. Visually, the best things happen when you’re utilizing your solo and combo skills in combat, and maybe that’s as it should be.

Ys X: Nordics is likely not the best way for newcomers to begin their adventures with Adol Christin. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana does a better job of highlighting the series’ strengths, so I suggest starting there. But if you’re already a fan of the series or of action JRPGs in general, you’ll be glad you bought your ticket for this Saturday matinee swashbuckler.