Today Nihon Falcom released another batch of screenshots and more details of the upcoming JRPG Ys X: Nordics.
We start with the reveal of four new characters, starting with Grimson Balta, 40 years old and voiced by Kazuhiro Yamaji.
He's the leader of the Balta fleet and Karja's father. He's known as one of the most powerful pirates on the seas and he has both the charisma required to keep his crews or roughnecks together and the political acumen to stand up to the Romun Empire. He controls strong mana power and can freely use the Norman "Berserkization" power.
Next is Gunnar, 29 years old and voiced by Shuhei Sakaguchi. He's a strong warrior serving as an officer under Grimson. He leads the second Balta fleet calmly and accurately. He's very methodical and he's a strong opponent for Karja, but he actually watches over her growth as a Norman warrior.
Hugill is a chubby raven that has been living for some time on the Island of Balta, the base of the Balta Fleet. He's curious and mischievous but he's treated with great care by the Normans because they believe a raven is the watchful eye of their god Harl. He's voiced by Kosuke Kobayashi.
Flare Ral, 47 years old and voiced By Keiichi Sonobe is a doctor from the village of Lance which Adol has met during his adventure in the Kingdom of Ys.
He's very proactive and often faces danger to go where his medical treatment is needed. He's looking for the seed of the flower of Celceta, that are said to be able to heal incurable diseases. In this game, he ends up helping out at Karnak's hospital.
We also learn about the Recapture Battle mechanic. Various islands have been conquered by the Grieger and while you sail around, you can liberate them.
You can approach an occupied island with your ship and a naval battle will start. Besides fighting against the enemies, you need to destroy barrier pillars, dissolving the shield around the island.
You can then land with Adol and his companions and a ground battle will start, with the objective of capturing the Grieger base. Once that is done, the island will be liberated.
Winning Recapture Battles will increase your crew's tension, making their Recapture Battle skill easier to activate. The tension level accrued during the naval part of each battle also provides a variety of bonuses at the beginning of the land part.
By liberating islands from the Grieger, you'll be able to use them as fast travel points and get more details of the area around them on your map.
We also hear that, while you travel on your ship, Hugil will deliver a variety of messages, some of which may even contain quests in various areas of Obelia Bay. You can check out all the screenshots below.
Ys X: Nordics will release in Japan and Asia on September 28, 2023, for PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. An announcement for a Western release has not been made just yet. Usually, the localization of Nihon Falcom games is done by NIS America, and they're usually slightly faster with Ys games than with Trails games, mostly because they're not several titles behind. Hopefully, we'll hear more relatively soon.
If you want to see more of the upcoming game you can take a look at another recent gallery of screenshots, more images, another batch, a slightly older gallery with more details, a trailer, more gameplay, and a video providing a sample of the soundtrack.
