Ys X First Playthrough: Chapter 7
0After dozens of hours, Ys X is finally upping the ante with the plot... and even in some other respects, just a bit.
The chapter's main plot rather quickly gets the Sandras into a rather dicey situation, as it seems the Griegr are finally throwing down the gauntlet for real. Meanwhile, in terms of sidequests, after one more dose of way too many puppet Griegr, we're presented with the information that we've surprisingly rescued everybody? (This may come into play later...)
The chapter rounds out with Adol, Karja, and Grimson taking on the Griegr's main fortress (which, to no one's surprise, is again just a handful of linear rooms); but other than spouting off every so often, Grimson is never actually visible except in cutscenes. This is another instance that honestly makes me wonder if there were loftier goals for this game originally but its resources were constrained or downright gutted.
This short """dungeon""" also marks the second time the game has evidently had a mechanic that it did not clearly indicate is further affected by holding the button in question rather than just tapping it. This time around, that involves mana string, which is especially confusing coming from having played Ys IX where Crimson Line would seem extremely comparable but is quite a bit different and more straightforward. Suddenly, my exasperation at just about every gap in this game designed around mana string being too wide has an explanation: hold the dang button! This also would have made the moving hook point sections far easier! Why couldn't they have clearly phrased this in the tutorial where the ability was introduced several dozen hours ago?!
There are even more surprises in store within the final segment of the chapter, including a short jaunt through a unique location with a completely new aesthetic (sure would've liked to see more of these over the past few dozen hours...) and a boss fight that mixes things up a bit... and still isn't the end of the chapter, as we have one more "rematch" before the twist finally happens. Things get pretty dicey for Adol... and I have to suspect that if I hadn't rescued everybody, a bad end might be involved. (I'm not sure I want to bother spending the time to verify that lol)
Clearly, there's going to be plenty to unpack in the next chapter. I've been holding on for the plot this entire time, and now it's got my attention.