The president of developer Nihon Falcom, Toshihiro Kondo, was recently interviewed by multiple Chinese outlets in the lead-up to the launch of the latest mainline entry in the Ys franchise, Ys X Nordics.
Thankfully, two of these interviews by outlets Bonfire and A9VG have been translated by Falcom community member Hansuke and several collaborators. These discussions are quite dense and address plenty of facets regarding Ys X Nordics and the franchise as a whole.
A9VG asked a question pertaining to Ys X’s exact chronological placement in relation to the series of the series. Because while we have been aware that it takes place after Ys II, we were never aware of how long. Well, until now.
You can view the question and response from the A9VG interview below, translated by Hansuke and edited by Karvan:
Q: How long after Ys II does Ys X takes place? Since Adol and Dogi’s main goal was to help Lilia find the medicine to cure her illness after they left Eresia, and before that, they accomplished their goal at the Sea of Trees, does this trip to the Northern Sea have that same significance?
Kondo: It’s not explicitly stated in the game, but Ys X takes place about a month after the story of Ys II. Dr. Flair also appears in Ys IV, where he goes on an adventure in search of the Celceta Flower, so he has to make an appearance in Ys X in order to fit in with what happens after that. In fact, at the beginning of the game, Flair explains why he’s traveling with us. And players will get to know Dr. Flair as a character a little better throughout the course of the game.
This is neat trivia, as I didn’t think this entry would be so soon after Ys II. The earlier Ys games left a lot up to the imagination due to the limitations of the time, so even seeing a character as minor as Dr. Flair from Lance Village return is pretty exciting.
Ys X Nordics will launch in Japan for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on September 28, 2023.
Ys X Nordics will also launch in Traditional Chinese and Korean for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on September 28, 2023, the same day as the Japanese version.
