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(HEAVILY edited review from my first draft now that I've beaten the game with all achivements, but it's basically the same review with a bunch of stuff added in, so don't worry about the likes and stuff)
Played through the Japanese version of Ys X on the PS5 when that came out and have just finished playing the English version on PC now, so I have quite a bit of experience with the game. With all achievements too (English only) (so yeah, I played through on Nightmare, but went back and did the superboss on Inferno also (which... isn't much different tbf)). Didn't really like it much on the first playthrough tbh, but having burned through the English version, gotta say I enjoyed it quite a bit! Not as much as Ys 8 or 9 mind you, but it's still good. Or, good after the final chapter 4 boss, at least... the early game is a really slow burn imo.
A quick disclaimer btw but I actually did have to speedrun the game on Easy after my Nightmare playthrough due to missing 2 achievements (1 of which I know why). The Momina character notes seemed to be glitched for me and still are, so had to cheat that achievement sadly, since I couldn't be bothered after that (did everything as early as possible and spoke to her at every possible chance I had before anyone says anything).
ANYWAYS, time to go over my thoughts on the game (I'll try to be as positive as I can):
- GAMEPLAY:
Gotta be honest, I hated the core duo system combat at first. Hated it for the whole of my Japanese playthrough (though I think a big reason for that is me not understanding the language, so I never really got how the combat worked properly), but actually came to enjoy it tbh. Well... again, come the end of chapter 4. Didn't really like the early game that much (mainly due to the lack of good STR and skills I guess). Actually like it quite a bit now. HOWEVER, I think it's still definitely my least favourite combat out of the main 4 in Ys (Bump, Napish, Party, Duo). Also, absolutely FUCK shield health bars to hell, it's awful game design. Didn't like it starting out and I still don't. You don't get any good break skills early game which makes it super annoying, and they're overdone to death late game (most notably the final and superboss bosses).
Ship gameplay is AWFUL. Never liked ship gameplay much in Assassin's Creed, never mind here. I don't hate it, it's just a pure slog. Yes, your ship gets faster with the air currents and speed throughout the game, but it doesn't really help that much. Combat is also boring. Something you have to put up with though. If you're on PC like I was though, I suggest downloading a cheat table and using Cheat Engine if you want a faster ship, it actually works WONDERS!
The (field) Mana abilities are pretty cool (in both a good and bad way, I guess)! Love the grappling hook (aside when you have to swing across certain bars where the hitboxes are awful). Crimson Line will always be cooler though. The Mana Vision is cool, but I hate that there's a bunch of new collectibles to get with it, kinda feels like padding for 100% and encourages backtracking (that's just me tho). The Mana Riding I thought was a sick idea at first, but when I quickly learned it's momentum based I quickly lost interest... you go SO slow half the time (like, even slower than normal running speed) and I found it annoying, though grinding rails is super cool with it! The time slow ability is really pointless imo since it's rarely ever used, and the waterfall climbing one should've been a thing from the start, since there aren't many places to use it anyway. Soooooooooo yeah.
Exploration is nowhere near as good as Ys 8 or 9, mainly because of the linearity of things (again, just me), but it's still pretty decent. There's also a LOT of invisible barriers that just simply should not be there imo. Like half the time I wanted to jump over something or go under something for a shortcut or whatever, I just couldn't. It's actually stupid.
And lastly a couple of nitpicks: Having to hold X to open chests instead of just press it can be annoying at times, although not that bad once you get used to it I guess. And movement speed in buildings is BAAD. Feels smooth with Cheat Engine modifiers but my GOD you move at a snails pace otherwise.
- THE MANA SEED TREE
Used to absolutely hate this in the Japanese version because I couldn't understand the language; thought it was overcomplicated. I understand how it works now and I still kinda hate it. To me it kinda feels like a lazy balancing excuse and they were kinda just like "just do it yourself lol". Cause I can guarantee if this was in 8 or 9 you'd probably be 1 or 2 shotting things even on Nightmare. Without it being in 10 you'd be doing baby damage on things. Just my take on it.
- STORY AND CHARACTERS
Not my favourite Ys story by any means, but the actually did kinda nail it, it's pretty damn good for what it is. There are certain moments that went HARD, and there are a few good cinematic moments such as the whale escape for example. As for the characters, I never really cared for any of them in my Japanese playthrough. Just based on designs I thought they were generic af. Upon playing the English version though, I love the majority of them! They all have their own cool distinct personalities and backstories. Also loved how even DR. FLAIR returns, pleasant surprise!! My favourite characters personally would probably be (any order) Rosa, Mirabel, Karja, and even Logr. Logr is a sick villain tbh and I'll die on this hill (Odr is alright too I guess, but not as much). Definitely feels like one I'd go for a drink with. The whole main group does feel kinda Ys 8 esque though, kinda feels like a big happy family on a big adventure or something and I love that.
One thing irks me though, like a LOT... WHY ARE MAX AFFINITY EVENTS NOT VOICED IN THIS GAME (minus a line at the end)?? THEY WERE FULL VOICED IN 8 OR 9, IT JUST MAKES THEM LESS INTERESTING TO SIT THROUGH (though a few are pretty good tbf, just could've been better with voices). Please fix this for Ys 11.
- OST
Although not my favourite (probably not my least favourite either tbf), there's a lot of songs I love in this one. Lotta chill ones :)
- OTHER STUFF
Don't like how you can't toggle auto text outside of going into the options now.
I like the QoL stuff with being able to skip more text and speed than usual.
I missed the double jump in this game :(
...I like this game but I don't like how they pulled a new adventure after Ys 2 out of their a** and just slapped it on the timeline when there's absolutely ZERO references to it in future adventures whatsoever. I get that 9 felt really freaking climatic, but don't don't be afraid to do a sequel game.
- FINAL WORD
GOOD game but not GREAT imo. Definitely has some glaring issues, but still pretty fun nonetheless. Please though Falcom, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, KEEP SHIP GAMEPLAY OUT OF YS 11 AND DON'T BRING BACK SHIELD HEALTH BARS AGAIN. Keep Duo combat by all means if you have to (I don't mind it), but personally would prefer to see how a solo Adol adventure plays out next time if possible, could be sick. If not though, bring the party system back but build upon Ys Seven's combat or something, cause the Flash system in that game was sick.
Overall Ys X gets a 7/10 from me, possibly 7.5 if we're pushing it.
Gonna leave this up as a negative review so it gets more attention though, as there are too many positive ones lol.