Ys X: Proud Nordics Review

If you’re a fan of RPGs, chances are you saw this one coming. Ys X: Proud Nordics, the enhanced version of 2024’s Ys X: Nordics, is yet another title from a Japanese developer that is re-released within a few years of the original game, with some additional content. We’ve seen the likes of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition, Persona 5 Royal, and Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance in recent years, to name but a few. Whilst many of these definitive editions do have a huge amount of added content, the same can’t be said for every new version.

So, which one will Proud Nordics be? A truly enhanced version of Nordics with a plethora of new content? Or just a disappointingly sparse affair that could have been added as a free update? And is it worth it for players who’ve already beaten the original?

Having already played Nordics, I was a little disappointed to see that the story is exactly the same here. Now, for new players, that’s not a bad thing, as this is a great tale that is worth experiencing. Our story opens with protagonist Adol, his ever-faithful friend Dogi, and recurring series character Flair Rall. Ys X takes place shortly after the conclusion of Ys II, and the trio have set sail on a journey to Celceta. Unfortunately for them, whilst travelling through the Obelia Gulf, they are set upon by pirates and are forced to cut their journey short.

Eventually, Adol and friends manage to dock in the town of Carnac, where our hero begins the real adventure. After a chance encounter with the “Pirate Princess” Karja (who just so happens to be one of the attackers who set upon Adol and company), the two are bound together by supernatural handcuffs. The pair must form an unlikely alliance as they discover they are both able to use a mysterious power known as Mana. Together, they use their abilities to battle against beings known as the Griegr, once-immortal beings that can only be slain by Mana users.

There may have been no changes to the main narrative, but there is some additional story content available in Proud Nordics. Once you reach Chapter 5, you’re able to visit Öland Island, where Adol and Karja meet two new characters, Canute and Astrid. The four will adventure around the island in order to uncover the origins of Mana. It doesn’t connect to the main plot in any way, but it does flesh out Karja, making her a much more interesting character once it’s all over.

Little has changed when it comes to the audio and visuals: on PlayStation 5, it practically looks identical. Although now boasting a native 4K resolution at 60 frames per second or a lower resolution and up to 120 FPS on supported televisions, it’s difficult to see the improvements. Even when switching between Quality and Performance modes, there was nothing I could spot that looked any different.

Proud Nordics is a vibrant-looking title regardless. Although some of the environments can look a little rough and are lacking detail, if you liked how Nordics looked, well then you can expect pretty much exactly the same here.

Although not a huge overhaul, there have been some changes to the gameplay. The most noticeable is when sailing. In Nordics, navigating through the vast waters surrounding Obelia Gulf felt incredibly slow, with too much time spent travelling between areas. Now, after sinking certain enemy ships, you’ll unlock air currents that drastically speed up traversal, cutting down a lot of that time wasted sailing.

The other additions are decent, but far from game-changing. There are a couple of new materials to gather, one which allows you to increase your skills mastery beyond 100%, and another that can enhance your Antiques. Things like increasing the duration of Mana Sense (an ability that lets Adol see hidden enemies and items) or making your Gullinboard (a hoverboard, basically…) go faster.

Then, there’s the new Bergen Arena and Mana Ride races. The arena is exactly what you’d expect: battle different monsters together, or solo as either Adol or Karja. Races (again, pretty self-explanatory) offer fun courses to beat and use your Gullinboard in more unique ways. Both offer some pretty good rewards, so it’s definitely worth jumping into them!

Öland Island is an interesting new portion of the game. This sprawling area is one that you’ll return to as Adol learns new Mana powers throughout his adventure. It feels rather different from the rest of the game, with the environments you explore being much larger than the smaller, segmented regions of the main game. The puzzles were engaging, whilst not being too complex, and the dungeons were really fun to explore. The new Mana Hold ability goes a long way in making things feel fresh, as this allows the duo to pick up certain blocks that can then be used to solve certain puzzles or create platforms to jump across. This is an entirely optional quest, but it’s definitely worth investing the time into exploring the island and uncovering some deeper lore.

Finally, for those who love a post-game optional dungeon, Proud Nordics introduces “Muspelheim Shrine”. This is an especially difficult series of combat encounters that focuses more on making it through as fast as possible. I wasn’t a huge fan of this dungeon, but for players who love a challenge, this will absolutely scratch that itch.

Ultimately, I can only recommend Ys X: Proud Nordics for those of you who haven’t played Nordics. Whilst the additional content, quality of life improvements, and inclusion of all previously released DLC are great, there just isn’t enough here to make it worth rebuying the game again.

However, if you’ve yet to play any iteration of Ys X, then this is an easy recommendation. The duo of Adol and Karja and the journey they experience together is well worth investing your time in.