Two new games from two of my favorite Japanese RPG series have been dropped at the same time and I’m driving myself into a wall trying to give them the same amount of time. It feels like I’ve entered into a polyamorous relationship with Ys IX: Monstrum Nox and Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, and I desperately try to show them that I love them both equally.
If my circumstances were different this would be a good problem. Between the two games, I have over 100 hours of fighting, exploring, collecting, crafting, and generally screaming about attractive anime characters doing cool things for me. If I wasn’t in a profession where there are constantly new games on the horizon I feel obliged to play, I wouldn’t be so afraid to split my time between these two. If I didn’t have kids to help out with and treat ongoing medical issues, I’d be in Japanese cartoon pigs (or pigs) heaven.
Instead, I log into my PlayStation 5 and switch back and forth between these two game icons. I am playing the PS5 version of Atelier Ryza 2 for a few hours. Then I start to feel neglected so I switch to the PS4 version of Ys IX.
It would be helpful if one of these two games were bad, but not that luck. Atelier Ryza 2 maybe the best Atelier game transitioned from 2D to 3D since the 24-year series. The extraordinarily delightful alchemist Ryza and his friends have never looked better than in the PS5 version of the game. The dynamic combat system, a combination of turn-based and active time-based combat, is even more exciting than when it was revamped in Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout in 2019. I love the sleek alchemy system, where Ryza uses skill points to unlock new recipes on a massive skill tree. And it’s fun to join the young alchemist as she travels from her home island to a sprawling metropolis.
Meanwhile in Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, we are treated to a new version of Adol Christin, the incredibly unfortunate adventurer who has run into trouble since debuting in 1987 on Nihon Falcom’s series. Upon arrival at the Prison City of Balduq, Adol finds himself “gifted” with the ability to transform into a Monstrum, supernatural warriors with strange powers tasked with protecting the city from the invasion of evil spirits known as Lemures. Adol soon discovers that the town’s name has a double meaning, and that as a monstrum, he is unable to escape the sprawling city. Adol and his constant companion, Dogi, settle in the city and rally allies for their cause as they try to unravel the mystery of the Monstrums.
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What’s really cool about the latter Ys game – aside from finally acknowledging how much trouble Adol has gotten into over the years through his fun, cheeky dialogue – is the game’s new travel system. Rather than just running through streets, Adol and his friends can use Monstrum powers to run up walls and warp to grab points, adding a whole new dimension to the action RPG. Together with a combat system that allows you to instantly switch between characters, these are very exciting things.
I would just have to pick one game, see it to the end, and move on to the next. That would make sense, but I can’t choose. Both Ys IX and Atelier Ryza 2 feed various JRPG cravings. Atelier Ryza 2 is all about sifting through menus and exploring ancient ruins casually with friends. Ys IX is more direct and action-packed. Atelier Ryza 2 let me jump, dive, swim and swing in the fields in search of ancient secrets and alchemy ingredients. Ys IX let me fight my way to a prison through a sewer called the Cloaca Maxima. Go ahead and Google “cloaca.” Maybe not search for images.
That’s why instead of being halfway through one or the other game, I spend only five or six hours. I play Ryza for a moment, then I start to miss Ys. In the middle of playing Ys, I suddenly remember where to harvest materials for an alchemy recipe Ryza, and I downshift. If the PlayStation 5 had the Xbox One S / X fast resume feature, the two games would run one after the other for easy switching.
Long story short, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox and Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy are two very good, very different JRPGs that are both worth checking out. Maybe not at the same time.
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