Y's IX: Monstrum Nox | PS4 Review

Going into this review I had high expectations. From the trailers the game looked really good. It looked like a modern release with action packed combat, and a newer visual style for the series. It looked promising. Getting into the actual game though I found what best could be described as a port of an older release. Possibly a PS2 or PS3 era Y's adventure. While this assumption of mine has nothing to back it up it honestly looks, and plays like an older port with a fresh can of paint slapped on it. Throw in the constant barrage of loading screens, and it's about as bad as the nightmare Adol Christin finds himself in within Monstrum Nox ...

How did we get here? ...

Like all Y's adventures the latest game is prefaced with Adol's entry into a brand new situation which is a slight continuation from where he last left off. His history trailing along beside him like a proper haunting, or badge of honor. Depending upon how you look at it. Also along for the ride is his tag along partner from a previous entry, Dogi. Almost immediately the duo finds themselves in hot water with the local authorities of Balduq, and are plunged forcefully into a dire predicament where they face threats of all kinds, and a deeper mystery surrounding their current whereabouts. In Monstrum Nox it's not only about the place, but the people involved. Some of those people being village folk, and authority figures while others are the ones who are the prime targets of the pursuing prison warden. 

In a nutshell we find Adol a prisoner of Balduq prison for supposedly related crimes tied to his adventurous life. A place his journey took him to in the company of his best friend Dogi. Arrested on the spot, and escaped shortly thereafter with the forced assistance of a mysterious girl known as Aprilis, Adol becomes entrenched in a curse that binds him to the locale. A curse that allows him to see into another realm, and utilize special powers. As it turns out Adol is not alone in his curse though, and with him are five other curse endowed individuals who make up the Monstrum Nox. A rag tag group of themed girls, and boys with their own accompanying moniker and stylish look. Under the guidance and command of Aprilis, who inflicted them with this accursed gift, the sextet must deal with the monsters within the Grimwald Nox realm while Aprilis does that mysterious thing she does with the crystal structure known as the Sphene. A structure that wards off invading monsters.

When it comes to plot points the multiple choice answers you give to key characters asking questions of you along the way will open up different story paths, and opportunities. Some key characters will opt to give you additional services depending upon your chosen reply. Either that or skip it, and move forward with main objective directions. There's even hidden vendors that will offer special services if you choose your reply correctly. Reply choices, in general, usually come in simple pairs with emphasis on added attitude, or subject matter. It adds a bit of replay value alongside the handful of different difficulty settings that will also change certain elements of the game. With the likes of EASY being for beginners, NORMAL for those looking to partake of the base story and RPG elements, and the latter few difficulty settings for that extra challenge.

Gameplay ...

The mechanics within Monstrum Nox are not overly complicated, and feature some similar mechanics from older Y's releases. As Adol, alone, you can run, lock onto targets, do a basic melee combo, evade, and perform one of four equipped skills tied to a MP using wheel assigned to R1 and the four face buttons. For extra damage Adol can use built up combo meter as well to go into a boosted Monstrum form, and follow up with a boosted attack that deals significantly bigger amounts of damage. Adol can also pull himself towards objects highlighted with red as well as bosses that he fights with. He can even perform timed evasions in a well timed flash version of evasion that opens up punishing opportunities on enemies. Something former Y's players will be familiar with.

Where the game differs mostly though is with the accompanying AI controlled Monstrum Nox allies. In the Grimwald Nox area you will work alongside the five other characters as they either play offensively or defensively as determined by a setting in the OPTIONS menu. These characters, like Adol, can equip skills and attack with melee combos. You can set their settings to use all skills, or only specific skills as well as how the behave in combat. Speaking of combat the gimmick is a wave based ordeal within the Grimwald Nox realm. Meaning Adol, and company will be facing off against waves of lesser, and greater enemies. Overcoming the battles will reward you with materials, and items. It will also tally your performance according to various feats, and grade you from C-S depending on how poorly or well you performed. With the 'S' ranking being the most rewarding of them all.

Outside of the Grimwald Nox you will be playing as Adol in disguise as he interacts with NPCs, and key characters. Forwarding the chapter by chapter story as you gain context on the world around you. It is in this village, and prison area where you'll also find the usual lucrative opportunities, and vendors that will help you get better equipment and weapons as well as partake of other side activities. Things like landmark spotting, and lemure spawn encounters will offer up rewards for said activities. The lemure spawns in particular gift an arca treasure chest which houses more pricey or hard to get items, and equipment. For the most part though it's your standard RPG experience, but with a Y's twist. That twist including three different types of battles. Battles in the Grimwald Nox realm, battles in dungeon areas, and lemure spawns. The tacked no mapping system which also shows detailed secrets, and key NPC or objective locations will give the player plenty to do outside of battle as well. There are hidden chests, and items that can be collected for benefit.

In the way of menu offerings you'll find the all in one information compendium that is Adol's Journal. In this journal you'll find character, creature, and lore details. You'll even find your playthrough feat history in great detail as well. Other menus in this main menu of sorts include the equipment, and item menus. Adol can equip your basic RPG setup of attire, weapons, and accessories. This, and skills that he will unlock with further experience. The party menu resides in there as well, and is where you can micro-manage your party's equipment as well as their skills. For the best experience possible NISA, and Falcom added in several setting switches, and toggles tied to the camera functionality, assists, and textual speed applications. For those wondering about language, and voiceovers that too is included in the mix. Finally there is an additional DLC tab that owners of the deluxe edition, and players of the previous Y's games who still have save data on their consoles can partake of. Unique to Monstrum Nox is the ability to use saved data files from the two earlier PS4 Y's ports for special items. Selecting these items from the DLC tab will add them to you inventory.

Menus aside the map which is brought up through the Dpad, and more detailed through a pressing of TRIANGLE is a crucial part of traversal within Barduq, and it's branching districts. By bringing up the map you'll find key points of interest marked by specific icons tailored to what said key points offer. Vendors are marked with rings, bags, and other shop related icons whereas hidden chests are marked with chest icons, and travel pads marked with their own blue marker. Speaking of travel pads these are the recover portals that are placed in and around the Barduq districts for HP, and ailment recovery. Once stepped on you can fast travel to them through the map. Additionally objectives, both important to story progress, and otherwise are also placed conveniently on the map. For easy tracking you can highlight any key point by pressing the touchpad, and following the yellow pointer on the mini-map outside of the map menu. 

Presentation ...

How can I put this lightly? The game looks bad, and plays equally as poorly. It looks severely dated, and the world you find yourself in is as bleak and barren as a game you'd consider to be a work in progress. There are no real cutscenes. No anime intro. The game is lacking big time in those departments. Chapters also seem bland in content, and the combat is not as rewarding as it should be. There are times of noticeable framerate drops, and the animations as well as level design are not something to be proud of. It looks like most of the effort was spent on storytelling, and character design. This too pales in comparison to previous entry's content though.

The verdict ...

I was disappointed. As a series hopeful I felt misled. This game definitely seems like a port, and slight visual overhaul of an older release. It does not look or play like a proper PS4 JRPG. The story itself, while interesting, feels rushed. It seems spastic, and with so many loading screens leaves a lot to be desired. I think the developer actually realized this because they added in fast travel via the map menu so that you don't have to run along barren locales just to get to where you need to be. The camera work is also problematic as are some of the other setting based features. It was obvious to me after playing that the settings were added in as a fix for the game's glaring issues, and not as optional toggles for preferences in play style. There's so much wrong with this release, and honestly I wouldn't have bought it knowing what I know now. I expected better from the NISA brand.