Ys X: Proud Nordics is a peculiar release for Falcom. Right off the heels of the original Ys X coming out in the west, an expanded re-release was announced for Japan. Proud Nordics uses the Nintendo Switch 2 as the basis for its tech instead of the original Nintendo Switch. Alongside this western release is a new PS5 port by Falcom and a PC release being handled by PH3. Here’s the kicker: this is a full-priced re-release with no upgrade path. There’s no save transfer either, so you have to buy the game all over again and restart the adventure. This is one of those re-releases that attempts to rebalance the game, sprinkling mechanical additions in throughout the run time.
I reviewed the original game back in 2024, and found it to be an enjoyable title which tried to experiment with the established formula to mixed results. It tried to move the series forward from the party system that defined it since the Ys Seven on the PSP, while still trying not to stray too far away. The action combat felt amazing, and the ship traveling mechanic was neat on paper. Traveling from island to island on Obelia gulf is enjoyable if you like the modern Ys gameplay loop, but the visual variety on these islands was severely lacking. While the pacing of the story might drag out in spots, I think there’s a strong heart to Ys X.
The first thing you’ll notice if you’re coming off the Switch release is just how much better it looks and runs. Proud Nordics offers two graphics modes, Graphics and Performance. Graphics aims for close to native resolution and 60 frames per second, and Performance will lower the resolution to try and hit an uncapped framerate target of 120 frames per second. For reference, the original Switch release was at 30 frames per second. Given that the bones of this game were designed with the Switch’s hardware in mind, the Switch 2 is able to handle most of this with ease (or… Ys). When set to 120 frames per second, it mostly hits that in areas from the original game, with VRR smoothing out most of the dips when playing in handheld mode. I decided to play most of the game in Quality mode, where I rarely saw any dips from the 60 frames per second target. Outside of some assets popping in awkwardly (I’m still convinced this is general Falcom thing, given how I feel like it was also in Horizon), this is a version of the game with almost no compromises to the higher end versions of the original Ys X. It’s undeniable that if your only point of comparison is the Switch version though, you’re in for a treat. It looks and runs leagues better.
A fun detail I noticed about this western release of the game, compared to the Japanese copy I imported, is that it seems like the post-processing was replaced. I marveled at the implementation of DLSS during my review of Trails Beyond the Horizon’s Switch 2 release, and that light DLSS seems to be used here as well to smooth over the edges. The original Switch 2 version was lacking in solid Anti-Aliasing, and that’s not really a problem here anymore. What’s even better is this usage of DLSS closes the gap much more on the visual presentation between Graphics and Performance, allowing players to enjoy 120 frames per second without seeing the resolution dip so much. The only downside is that certain 2D UI assets like objective markers show ghosting. Our version of the game seems to hold up better visually than the original release, which I think is pretty neat.
On the left, the Japanese release of Proud Nordics. On the right, the Western release.
The largest new feature for this version of the game is a brand new area to explore, Öland Island. Two new characters show up here from a different Norman tribe, tasking Adol and Karja to prove their worth by uncovering the secrets of the island. The real purpose for this section of the game is to add the variety that players were sorely craving. Taking advantage of the Switch 2 hardware, the areas in this section of the game are much larger and more enjoyable to explore. The level of challenge for the new bosses is also strong, which I think is good for expansion content. The story and reveals here are decent, but I wasn’t really coming back for that. The music, new locales, and new fights easily make this worth the time spent. I haven’t done all of the new optional end and post-game content, but it’s a solid showing that addresses a lot of the criticism with Ys X. This area is Nordics at its finest. If future Ys games aren’t constrained by the original Switch hardware, I think we’re in for something really special for XI. Hopefully, they move the timeline forward some, though.
Everything else is small improvements to the gameplay that seriously add up and improve the moment-to-moment gameplay. The action feels better than ever with the higher framerate, but Falcom has tightened up the RPG progression and game feel further. There are two new resources to the game: Elding Fragments and Sparkling Whitesand. Elding Fragments can be spent to level up Adol and Karja’s skills, allowing you to not have to upgrade them without just grinding out using them in battle. I found my skill usage more mindful than ever as I tried to build up my kits for both characters as fast as possible in this version. So a way to max them out without spamming them in every battle was appreciated. Maybe it’s because I knew what I was doing, but I felt character progression was a lot more brisk this time around.
The Whitesand allows you to enhance Adol and Karja’s mana powers, which I think is a wonderful change. You can now level up the String, Burst, Ride, and Sense skills. I rarely used the String ability since it was so slow, but being able to hasten how quickly you can zip to enemies makes it a fun tool in the arsenal to close the gap quickly. The timing on Mana Sense might still be a bit annoying when you’re trying to rummage for treasure, but letting you stay in the mode longer slightly alleviates that problem. Allowing you to increase the acceleration and damage dealt on your Gullinboard unlocks all kinds of capabilities for it in how you traverse the on-foot section of the game. Hell, I even found ways to throw it into a combo and style on enemies. I never really liked how it controlled in the original game, and they’ve tightened it up substantially. You can now kick off the ground to gain momentum with the left bumper, allowing you to never get off your board if you’re good enough.
There was some criticism to how the ship controlled in the original, with the game taking a long time for it to feel really responsive. I felt this was a weak complaint since I enjoy earning that kind of thing through investment in the systems and world. You put in the effort to track down the missing people from Carnac, they join your crew and make your ship better. You hunt down resources on islands, and invest them back into your boat to make it stronger and control better. By the end, your boat will do what it needs to do. Proud Nordics starts your boat’s handling at a much higher point than it was in the original game, having it feel immediately like a toy boat in a big bathtub. Add on several new points in the sea to create new wind currents, and you’ll get around faster than ever. I’m mixed on it, since I love my friction, but I can’t deny that it was nice for this replay. There’s an irony in me loving them improving handling and speed maintenance on the Gullinboard but not the ship, but I think I just love my boat travel being a bit slow for immersion purposes. If you must know, I’m the kind of guy who hates the idea of the Swift Sail in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.
As much as I enjoy all of this new content, though, I don’t know if I’d say it’s worth it for the price of admission. By and large, this is still the original Ys X. It took me about 18 hours to unlock Öland Island, around Chapter 5. You’ll see the new mechanics pop up throughout the early chapters. I swear there’s more voice acting than there was, there’s a handful of bosses that were redesigned or modified (the sandworm isn’t awful anymore), and the entire game has been rebalanced in slight ways most might not notice. Besides that, it’s the same trek through Obelia Gulf as before. There are few things Ys X Proud Nordics does better than its mainline predecessors, but everything here is done pretty well all the same. It’s genuinely a hard game to not let yourself indulge in, and I did enjoy it more than ever on this revisit. But I’m also a big Ys guy, so of course I would.
I enjoyed Ys X: Nordics, so it’s hard for me not to sing the praises of a further polished version of the game with more content. Ys X: Proud Nordics plays to its strengths, but I doubt it will address all of the weaknesses in a way that converts those who weren’t fond of it. I stand by the idea that Ys X was a fun experiment, and with Proud, they’ve refined it into a game that I think better fits as a successor to Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. I don’t find this to be fully transformative, and it doesn’t elevate the original game too far above what it already was. Having said that, it’s hard not to deny that this is the version of the game to get. If you’ve already played the original, it might be worth waiting for a sale unless you can’t wait. The moment-to-moment gameplay is better than ever, and the story is fun despite getting bogged down in exposition. But this isn’t a full-on remake or reimagining, and if you just played the base game, I think you’ll find it to be a modest upgrade.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by NIS America
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