{"id":178,"date":"2025-01-05T14:54:19","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T14:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/engadget.vip\/?p=178"},"modified":"2025-03-05T14:50:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T14:50:39","slug":"ys-ix-monstrum-nox-tech-review-out-of-the-red","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/?p=178","title":{"rendered":"Ys IX: Monstrum Nox tech review \u2014 Out of the red"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'><\/div><p>When\u00a0<em>Ys VIII<\/em> launched on PC, people were\u00a0<em>not happy<\/em> with the port. They were so unhappy with it, modders cooked up a SpecialK injection specifically to bring it up to modern standards. The game did receive a major overhaul a while after launch, however, which alleviated many of its issues. We were gritting our teeth for the PC release of\u00a0<em>Ys IX<\/em>, as we simply didn\u2019t know what kind of port we\u2019d be getting. Thankfully, lessons appear to have been learned, as this port is of better quality. The localization is also quite good, so anyone who felt let down by the quality of the previous game will likely be a lot happier in that regard as well.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at the specs.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>MINIMUM:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU:<\/strong>\u00a0Core i3-2100 3.10 GHz<\/li>\n<li><strong>RAM:<\/strong>\u00a08 GB RAM<\/li>\n<li><strong>GPU:<\/strong>\u00a0Geforce GTX 650 Ti<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU:<\/strong>\u00a0AMD FX-8320 8-Core<\/li>\n<li><strong>RAM:<\/strong>\u00a016 GB RAM<\/li>\n<li><strong>GPU:<\/strong>\u00a0Radeon R7 370<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>REVIEWER:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU:<\/strong> AMD Ryzen 3 2600x<\/li>\n<li><strong>RAM:<\/strong>\u00a016 GB RAM<\/li>\n<li><strong>GPU:<\/strong> Radeon RX 5700 XT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those are some low requirements, aren\u2019t they? Well, they\u2019re not accurate. On my rig, which is roughly four times as powerful as the recommended one, I got solid performance at 1440p and max settings. In the city, where most of the game takes place, I\u2019m able to average 60-70 fps in<em> Ys IX<\/em>. Going by the above specs, I should be able to do a lot better. In closed sections, however, I easily hit 120 fps and stayed there, though. In some areas, the fps can drop below 40. The performance while in the city simply varies wildly. Granted, since it\u2019s generally fine and I\u2019m not overly vexed by not having over 100 fps outside, the fact remains that I should still be able to.<\/p>\n<p>As for any other issues, I\u2019ve had very few.\u00a0<em>Ys IX<\/em> crashed on me one time. The game can chug when there\u2019s a ton of foliage onscreen at once. It didn\u2019t detect my DualShock 4 without the Steam Controller settings enabled via Steam. There are a few players reporting that they\u2019re unable to save, though, which I hope the devs get on quickly. Overall, though? This is a good port, and it leaves me pleased. It doesn\u2019t need any external workarounds and has plenty of options. Next up, let\u2019s take a look at the graphics settings.<\/p>\n<p>Loading times on an SSD are often lightning quick. When fast traveling in the city, I noticed things were nearly instantaneous. Loading new areas is also quite fast, although the initial boot up when you first load a save is noticeably longer. All of that adds up to a smooth experience. Additionally, saving is so quick and seamless that I can\u2019t help but be impressed. It takes no time at all and is so easy to pull off compared to how many similar games handle it.<\/p>\n<h2>In your eyes<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210706161918_1-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"20210706161918 1\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210706162115_1-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"20210706162115 1\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210706162116_1-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"20210706162116 1\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As you can see, the big three display options are present and accounted for. Low bar, I know. The frame rate limiter works great and there are no issues with any animations above 60 fps. Changing your FOV is a breeze, too. You can choose your supersampling rate, as well as mess with antialiasing. Granted, supersampling will obviously massively cut into your fps while in the city, and running <em>Ys IX\u00a0<\/em>at 4K with respectable frames will require either greatly lowered settings all around or a stronger card. For whatever reason, you can hit the equip screen with supersampling too if that looks a bit too jagged to your eyes.<\/p>\n<p>One of the biggest surprises here is simply the number of options on display here, as well as how the menu illustrates their resource costs. The highest forms for some of these go up to red, indicating the largest draws for your GPU. The draw distance, foliage density, and shadow options are impressive. Although, even at the highest draw distance setting, you\u2019ll see pop-in while in larger spaces. Interestingly, you can completely turn shadows off by disabling dynamic shadows, which will be great if you\u2019re running <em>Ys IX<\/em> on a weak rig. Let\u2019s take a look at some comparison shots between lowest and highest settings.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/draw-distance-low-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Ys IX tech review\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277678\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Draw Distance Low.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/draw-distance-ultra-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Ys IX tech review\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277679\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Draw Distance Ultra.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dynamic-shadows-none-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Ys IX tech review\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277680\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dynamic Shadows None.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dynamic-shadows-on-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Ys IX tech review\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277681\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dynamic Shadows On.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/shadow-filtering-normal-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Shadow Filtering Normal\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277682\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shadow Filtering Normal.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/shadow-filtering-PCSS-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Shadow Filtering Pcss\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277683\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shadow Filtering PCSS.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/shadow-resolution-low-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Shadow Resolution Low\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277684\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shadow Resolution Low.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/shadow-resolution-ultra-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"Shadow Resolution Ultra\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-277685\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shadow Resolution Ultra.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the options, such as foliage density and, surprising, anisotropic filtering, will require you to reload the map before changes are applied. But there was clearly a lot of effort put into making the PC port of\u00a0<em>Ys IX<\/em> not only much better than its predecessor, but a huge step up from its console brethren. Now let\u2019s look at the input options.<\/p>\n<h2>Input in the corner<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210706162743_1-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"20210706162743 1\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d30xqvs6b65d10.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/20210706162757_1-750x422.jpg\" alt=\"20210706162757 1\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I have to say, for a Japanese port,\u00a0<em>Ys IX<\/em> plays very well with a mouse and keyboard. The camera control feels fine, as does moving and attacking. While I\u2019d normally recommend people play this type of game with a controller, it\u2019s not necessary here. All of the keyboard inputs are completely rebindable, and most of the controller ones are as well. However, analog movement and the skill buttons cannot be rebinded on controller at all, as the above picture demonstrates. It\u2019s not exactly what I\u2019d call a deal-breaker. There are multiple submenus for all of the game\u2019s inputs, so the bases are totally covered. You can even get the correct button icons.<\/p>\n<p>I was worried, but NISA has stepped up its game with their <em>Ys IX<\/em> port. As long as you\u2019re not having the aforementioned save issue, you\u2019ll probably be quite happy with what the game has to offer, especially if you\u2019re looking to take advantage of higher framerates and use supersampling. I just wish Koei Tecmo was paying attention, as this is the level of attention that all ports of Japanese games should be given. And although it took too long to come to the West in general, I\u2019m glad that we didn\u2019t have to wait all that long to get the game on PC considering that it launched on PS4 earlier this year. I love me some\u00a0<em>Ys\u00a0<\/em>and this was a pretty hard wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When\u00a0Ys VIII launched on PC, people were\u00a0not happy with the port. They were so unhappy with it, modders cooked up a SpecialK injection specifically to bring it up to modern standards. The game did receive a major overhaul a while after launch, however, which alleviated many of its issues. We were gritting our teeth for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[292,293,294],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1260,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions\/1260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}