Adol’s Fine in Ys IX

Falcom announced Ys IX: Monstrum Nox near the end of last year, and early details, while vague, showed how this next installment will apparently come with notable changes compared to prior titles. The biggest among them appeared to be the apparent absence of franchise mainstay protagonist Adol Christin, whose appearance wasn’t immediately confirmed. He didn’t appear to be part of the lineup in the silhouettes, and the descriptions at the time implied he was missing in action. This wouldn’t have been the first installment that Adol was missing from, which happened to be Ys Origin, a game that occurred before his time. But this still would have been a big deal.

It was confirmed that Ys IX will occur after Ys Seven (Ys VIII took place before Ys VI and Seven — it’s a little confusing). So, his absence would have made an impact here for story purposes and fan reactions.

However, Falcom team members later confirmed that Adol will indeed be in the game, but mentioned how he’ll appear at his oldest age yet and will have an unexpected appearance. Fans concocted their own interpretations of what they meant, but I was personally hoping he’d appear in a punished form, where he’d be ripped and bearded. This game will take place after Ys Seven, after all, where he appeared in artwork like this. It was a reasonable expectation.

Now that Adol’s been revealed, it’s humorous that not a single person figured out what they actually meant. His “unexpected appearance” is coming in the form of a disguise where he wears a casual outfit, a marked departure from his red-haired and armored appearances from other titles. In fact, Falcom posted a picture of him from behind on their Twitter account prior to the reveal, but most fans thought it was a new character instead of the hero they know.

Adol will at least temporarily go by the name “Adol the Adventurer” here. He’s detained by Romun (not Roman) soldiers in Prison City, thanks to being an apparent witness in the disappearance of a Romun Fleet. In his efforts to escape, he finds himself in the middle of a currently-vague incident that involves Prison City and Monstrum after encountering a mysterious girl, which apparently explains the getup. The concept art implies that he’s donning a stealthy disguise, given how he’s holding a scarf near his mouth and has his hair dyed. Adol’s trusted friend Dogi will also return, though his appearance hasn’t changed much. Dogi encounters the Romun soldiers with Adol, though whether he’s also apprehended is unclear.

Like previous titles, several new characters will be involved, though details about them are currently even vaguer than they are for the returning cast. One other character introduced is White Cat, a thief who robs from the rich to provide for the poor and fights with her fists, and who’s familiar with the inhabitants of Prison City. Another character is Hawk, a dual-wielding fighter who refers to himself as “Heaven’s Justice,” and likes to fight battle enthusiasts and start trouble. Nothing about him sounds heavenly or justified, but it sounds like he’s a good fighter. Both characters were previously seen in the silhouette provided with the game’s announcement.

It also appears that Adol will be the protagonist again, meaning this installment won’t be quite as unique as initially expected. That’s a good thing, given some early virulent fan reactions. The gameplay videos have shown several characters being played without party members accompanying them like in the last few games, but it’s more likely that Falcom simply isn’t demonstrating those functions here.

These videos demonstrate some of Ys IX’s new features. The areas will be larger than Ys VIII’s, thanks to how this title will be the first to be made for an HD platform after the last three were made for handhelds. This is presumably in exchange for the visuals not looking that much better than the last installment, even though it’s coming to PlayStation 4 instead of Vita.

It will also be easier for characters to travel around the larger areas. White Cat will be able to run up certain structures, while Hawk can glide. The mysterious red-haired individual who definitely isn’t Adol can use the Crimson Line, a move that can be used to transform the character from one place to another after throwing the line to that specific place. It can also damage enemies if it’s thrown at them. I will eat a left shoe if that isn’t the Adol Christin fans know in the video and the main artwork.

Ys IX will release only on PS4 in Japan on September 26th, so actual gameplay should come soon. It could come westward sometime next year, and given the trend with Falcom localizations, absolutely expect NIS America to handle it instead of XSeed. How The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III’s localization turns out will determine whether they can be trusted to handle Falcom games from here on, after the snafu with Ys VIII’s localization.

Before that, though, we should hear about whether the port of Ys: Memories of Celceta for PS4 will release in western territories. It already has a translation and was released on PC in addition to Vita in English-speaking territories, so it shouldn’t take too much work to release outside Japan.