An unexpected patch has been dropped for the PC version of the action RPG title that many missed last year, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, making now the perfect time to get acquainted with the series. this game.
While working on the upcoming localization of Trails From Zero (another Falcom game you should keep an eye on), PH3 Developer Peter “Durante” Thoman discovered how to increase CPU performance in that game. After finding promising results in Trails From Zero, he took the technique to Ys IX. Lo and behold, there was an impressive frame rate boost with the same implementation, with a 25% increase in parts of the game where the CPU can clog performance. The update proved stable enough during testing to release it online to everyone playing the Steam version.
Here are the full patch notes from the PC performance patch:
- Improved CPU bound performance. The extent to which you’ll notice this depends on your specific in-game scene, your settings, and your hardware GPU/CPU balance.
- Adjust the refresh rate selection algorithm to more reliably select the available refresh rate closest to the desired rate.
- The game executables are now signed. This will hopefully reduce the anti-virus false positives that sometimes appear for some players.
- Fixed the English item description of the Holy Sword’s Hilt accessory to properly reflect its abilities.
While you are here and reading about these patch notes, now is the right time for you to go ahead and learn a little more about Ys, and maybe I can convince you to check out one of these. they.
Most Y games (pronounced like “goose” without the G) follow an adventurer named Adol as he finds himself in all sorts of dangerous situations in which he and the friends he befriends Along the way need to hack and slash them heroically. Playing some of the titles in this great series made me fall in love with it, and now I can’t help praising it and wondering why they weren’t talked about more.
My intro to Ys is Ys Origin, a 2006 PC game now updated and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch. The origin takes place 700 years before the first Ys and tells the story of your choice between Yunica or Hugo, who have different weapons and playstyles, as they climb The Devil’s Tower in search of the Song Goddesses. born, who had abandoned their track in the land of Ys. The game is reminiscent of the combination of a fast-paced Zelda dungeon crawler with an overhead fixed-angle camera that responds to a bit of exploration and Castlevania progression. Moment-by-moment combat is fun and challenging, with boss battles extending even further to those tenants. If you like an old fashioned action game, Ys Origin is a good time and totally worth playing with every available character.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana comes next, joining the series’ protagonists Adol and Dogi as they ride a ship that crashes into shore on an uncharted island. After finding him still alive, Adol collects the survivors of the wreck, and together they explore the island to find a way home or at least a way to survive a little longer. The story of Ys VIII is filled with memorable characters, intriguing mysteries, and plenty of big adventures as you explore the vast island. It’s all preceded by a dual storyline about a mystical maiden named Dana, whom you occasionally control. Unlike Origin, Ys VIII adopts a colorful anime art style and is set in a 3D world full of beautiful locals to visit. Adol is not alone as he is adventuring around the island and is joined in the field by two other castaways, who you can switch between types at any time to take advantage of the rock-paper-scissors quality of the game. their weapons, so you can quickly maneuver the creatures in the wild. It’s one of my favorite action games I’ve played for years, and is available on PlayStation 4, Switch, PC, and PS Vita if you have one.
After the events of Ys VIII (and Ys VI and VII, which also occur after the island cruise), Adol and Dogi’s adventures continue in Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. In the prison city of Balduq, they stumble across and team up with a gang of outlaws with supernatural powers known as the Monstrum. These powers, also given to Adol, allow for new mobility options such as gliding, teleporting, and wall running to get around the larger open environments introduced in Ys IX. Everything here is an evolution of the action and combat found in Ys VIII, with the Victorian town of Balduq offering a refreshingly changing landscape after spending hours on a tropical island and creating produce a darker tone aesthetically and narratively. Once again, the characters are an intriguing point to play Monstrum Nox, with each member of the Robin Hood-like Monstrum army having intricate back stories worth perusing and a mystery within the walls. The prison focuses on Adol himself, who controls the plot throughout. Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is now on PlayStation 4 (with a very nice patch for 4K resolution on PS5), Switch and the newly applied patch makes the PC version even better.
If you haven’t tried Ys yet, you’re disappointing yourself. It deserves to be considered as the best action series of all time alongside big names like Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, and Devil May Cry. I hope this little quote has helped you succeed and convince some of you to give one of these great games or one of the other 6+ titles in the series a fair share next time you looking for something to indulge in for a while. If you’re like me, you’ll be glad you did.
