Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 107 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 82 out of 107
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 107
  3. Negative: 10 out of 107
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  1. Naedeslus
    Oct 26, 2022
    5
    +Great combat.
    +Music is good.
    +Story is overall interesting when it lets you experience it. -The pacing is way off. - It's down right boring for most of the story. -Takes about 6-7 hours to have any sort of openness to the design. Heavily linear to a fault. -The main setting is not that interesting at all. You play mostly in one location and it's not an interesting one at that.    +Great combat.
    +Music is good.
    +Story is overall interesting when it lets you experience it.

    -The pacing is way off.
    - It's down right boring for most of the story.
    -Takes about 6-7 hours to have any sort of openness to the design. Heavily linear to a fault.
    -The main setting is not that interesting at all. You play mostly in one location and it's not an interesting one at that.
    -The gameplay loop is extremely repetitive. You have to do these MMO-style fetch quests to progress the story and that really has no impact on the main plot at all, it's impossible to just see the story and ignore these and it's a shame because the story is actually pretty interesting.
    -Heavily dated PS3-era graphics for a full-price game at the time of release.

    Bottom line:

    I loved YSVIII. I do not love YSIX. YSIX is boring, feels well too padded out for no reason and has these boring MMO style fetch quests before you can even see a slight hint of story progression. It's a shame because the story is actually pretty interesting but you know if you have to skip cutscenes of nonsense filler just to get to some good stuff, you know you're in for a repetitive mess. What's also worse is that you literally revisit the same location time and time again, and you're stuck in one city. While it could've worked, this city is no Midgar. It has nothing interesting around it. After about 9 hours, I gave up because I was just bored by it and I hope the next YS game does not try to ever follow this formula.

    It will have its fans but I personally found it to be a very boring action RPG with occasional great moments and probably is better just spent playing YS VIII or Memories of Celceta which are far better YS games.    … Expand
  2. SWERY_51
    Feb 6, 2021
    5
    The game seems fine, but on PS4 Pro it's a technical DI-SAS-TER.

    The framerate is rather pretty stable in dungeon, but in town, damn, looks like an early PS3 game with a very poor optimization.

    It probably runs pretty fine on a PS5, but if you only own a PS4 Pro, avoid it for now unless you don't care fight enemes in town with an awful framerate...
  3. Ablearcher
    Mar 24, 2022
    7
    This would have a higher score if I wasn't playing on the switch. Story is neat and keeps me invested, but the game is like the edgy black sheep of the Ys series in my opinion
  4. Carbofos
    Feb 28, 2023
    5
    Huge step back from two previous entries. Small world, repetitive missions, boring story. Let's hope Ys X will be more like Lacrimosa of Dana, which is a fantastic game.
  5. Ginger_Avenger
    Nov 16, 2022
    6
    I wanted to like this one more, as it looked great, but the overall setting and story were a bit hit or miss for me. Most of the time it was hitting, but it was gentle taps instead of impactful strikes. I liked the changing abilities, combat was great (maybe a notch above Ys 8), but for some reason the exploration wasn't quite as good for me. Still, if you like the series, as I do, it'sI wanted to like this one more, as it looked great, but the overall setting and story were a bit hit or miss for me. Most of the time it was hitting, but it was gentle taps instead of impactful strikes. I liked the changing abilities, combat was great (maybe a notch above Ys 8), but for some reason the exploration wasn't quite as good for me. Still, if you like the series, as I do, it's worth a playthru.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PS4 Game of 2021
19
#19 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 48
  3. Negative: 0 out of 48
  1. Meristation
    Jun 22, 2021
    85
    The new adventure of Adol Christin results in a notable game that keeps many of the features seen in the previous title with new ones that are mixing with an interesting story, a charismatic cast of companions and plenty of side content to do.
    Read full review
  2. Checkpoint Gaming
    May 29, 2021
    80
    It might be unfair of me to make so many comparisons between Ys VIII and IX, but like I said, I absolutely loved VIII. IX does a lot of things well, but many elements are subpar compared to how its predecessor handled them. Still, the Gift abilities make the city of Balduq a delight to explore, and the tried-and-true battle system is as exhilarating as it ever was. Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is not as polished or as fulfilling as Ys VIII, but second best is nothing to scoff at. This is a fantastic RPG, and an excellent entry in this long running, underappreciated series.
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  3. Cubed3
    Apr 13, 2021
    80
    Newcomers risk drowning in a sea of references, while franchise veterans are bound to be put off by more cut-scenes than the series is known for, but Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is an astonishingly addictive action-RPG that just gets better as it goes on. A rough opening and choppy plotting undersell a genuinely gripping mystery that reflects on Adol's history as an adventure, culminating in an incredible last act. Falcom's dungeon design is the best it's been in years and the numerous gameplay additions made to combat bring the Seven Engine close to capturing the same highs that defined the Napishtim era. Monstrum Nox may not live up to its narrative potential, but Ys IX's gameplay only leaves one thing to be desired: more.
    Read full review
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