History VideoGame / YsIXMonstrumNox

''Ys IX: Monstrum Nox'' is the ninth primary installment of the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' franchise, developed and published by Creator/{{Falcom}}. Originally released on September 26, 2019 in Japan for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, it launched internationally for the same platform on February 2, 2021; the PC and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch versions are due some time in the summer of the same year. ''Ys IX'' takes place after ''VideoGame/YsSEVEN'' in "Balduq", a "prison city", located on the Eresian continent northeast of Esteria in the Gllia Erdlingen region, with a mystery surrounding the titular "Monstrum", a group of people who possess supernatural powers.

* LegacyBossBattle: Nygtilger and Vagullion from ''Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished - Omen'' and the Avalodragil and other Primordials from ''Ys VIII'' show up as bosses and regular enemies. [[spoiler:{{Justified}} when they are re-created from Adol's memories]].

** Silhouette, one of the associates at the Dandelion bar, acts as this with regards to general shopping: by finding new vendors around Balduq, she will register their respective non-crafting, non-prsent goods for sale at the Dandelion without needing players to remember which shop sells what items.

* ActionGirl: Female Monstrums, Aprilis, and Iris.

** Silhouette, one of the associates at the Dandelion bar, acts as this with regards to general shopping: by finding new vendors around Balduq, she will register their respective non-crafting goods for sale at Dandelion without needing players to remember which shop sells what items.

** Everything comes to a head for Chapter 8: [[spoiler:Chatelard reveals the Crimson King is a homunculus, as is the rest of the Monstrums except Doll, who served Saint Rosvita in The Hundred Years' War. Chatelard wants to use alchemy for an army of homunculi out of the captured citizens to take back Gllia from Romn. When he is defeated, Chatelard's body crumbles, as he himself is a homunculus of the actual person. Zola also makes his appearance, whom Anemona recognizes as her alchemic creator. Finally, Aprilis is still alive as a homunculus and the Crimson King merges with the real Adol to preserve the former's memories and soul]].

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:The Adol still incarcerated in Balduq Prison ''is'' the real deal. The Adol players control for the majority of the game, the Crimson King, is a homunculus created by Zola's alchemy. Even Chat]].

* FusionDance: [[spoiler:The Crimson King and the real Adol do this after Chapter 8, as the former's lifespan is running out because of his homunculus nature]].

* TheMagicGoesAway: [[spoiler:The destruction of the Egg of Draupnir causes the permanent end to the Grimwald Nox, resulting in the Monstrums losing their curse and Gifts, becoming regular human beings]].

** When speaking with Adol's allies in the epilogue, if players choose the dialogue option about him not minding the mask that Silhouette wears, she'll say that [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises no one cared who she was until she put on the mask]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the {{Sidequest}} "Inscription Inspection", the stone fragments speaks of an "egg" that the Nors gods sent to man in ancient times to house their "Impurity" that arose from their suffering due to war, disease and poverty. [[spoiler:This metaphorical egg would be Draupnir's Egg that Adol destroys to end the Grimwald Nox forever]].

* TheMagicGoesAway: [[spoiler:The destruction of Draupnir's Egg causes the permanent end to the Grimwald Nox, resulting in the Monstrums losing their curse and Gifts, becoming regular human beings]].

''Ys IX: Monstrum Nox'' is the ninth primary installment of the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' franchise, developed and published by Creator/{{Falcom}}. Originally released on September 26, 2019 in Japan for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, it launched internationally for the same platform on February 2, 2021; the PC and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch versions are due some time in the summer of the same year. ''Ys IX'' takes place after ''VideoGame/YsSEVEN'' in "Balduq", a "prison city", located on the Eresian continent northeast of Esteria in the Gllia Eldligen region, with a mystery surrounding the titular "Monstrum", a group of people who possess supernatural powers.

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: The Grimwald Nox is an obscure part of a dead religion that faded into mythology centuries ago. As such, the general public has no knowledge that the Monstrums are protecting Balduq from it.

* JeanneDArchetype: Saint Rosvita, a Gllian farmer who went to war against Britai during "UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar" five centuries ago after hearing a mandate from a deity, and would be ultimately burned at the stake after the conflict by her enemies.

* CloningBlues: [[spoiler:Not only is the Crimson King an alchemic clone of the real Adol, but the rest of the Monstrums (except Doll) are clones of the historical allies of Saint Rosvita from 500 years ago. Even Chatelard is one, as the real Chatelard was truly killed during the Romun invasion into Gllia eight years prior to ''Ys IX'']].

* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: All Monstrums except Adol and Doll are this; {{Justified}} when [[spoiler:they are actually clones of Rosvita's allies in the Hundred Years War five centuries ago, meaning they never had real parents to begin with]].

* TheGreatOffscreenWar: The Hundred Years War between Britai and Gllia five hundred years before ''Ys IX'' and the more recent Erdlingen War between the Romun Empire and Kingdom of Gllia eight years ago, both of which form the crux of the villains' motivations in the game.

* TheHeartless: [[spoiler:Lemures are the AnthromorphicPersonification of negative enmity by the Gllians that arose since the Hundred Years War between Gllia and Britai, which is further accentuated by the Romun Empire's victory from the Erdlingen War and their annexation of Gllia eight years ago upon conquering the Kingdom of Gllia, including their present day occupation of Balduq]].

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:The Adol still incarcerated in Balduq Prison ''is'' the real deal. The Adol players control for the majority of the game, the Crimson King, is a homunculus created by Zola's alchemy]].

** Chapter 7, "Capriccio of the Prison", has a boatload: [[spoiler:Marius betrays the real Adol just before he can reunite with Dogi outside of the Dandelion, Chatelard wants to raise an army to liberate Gllia from Romun occupation and he kills Aprilis, stating YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness in front of the Monstrums. Furthermore, Anemona has regained most of her memories as Saint Rosvita's doll and the Hieroglyph Knights are starting their coup d'etat by seizing the governor-general's office in Balduq]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the {{Sidquest}} "Inscription Inspection", the stone fragments speaks of an "egg" that the Nors gods sent to man in ancient times to house their "Impurity" that arose from their suffering due to war, disease and poverty. [[spoiler:This metaphorical egg would be Draupnir's Egg that Adol destroys to end the Grimwald Nox forever]].

* HybridMonster: The BonusBoss, Vaf Medios, is an amalgam of the many Lemures encountered during Grimwald Nox events throughout the game.

** During Chapter 8, when Yufa hands Silhouette a potato, she ends up mashing it due to her strength. Silhouette says they're versatile that way. [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew]].

** In Chapter 8, [[spoiler:when Chatelard talks about alchemy and its origin]], which is central to the main plot of this game, the character will refer to it as something that Adol previously encountered in Xandria, the setting of ''Ys V''.

* WhamEpisode: The end of Chapter 2, "The White Cat's Melancholy" - the story's perspective switches [[spoiler:from Adol to "Adol", who's still locked up in Balduq Prison, despite the former already having escaped in the previous chapter]]. This is the first sign that nothing in ''Ys IX'' is what it appears to be.

** General Leo, one of the supporting characters from ''Memories of Celceta'', is mentioned to be the one responsible for capturing the city of Balduq during the war between the Kingdom of Gllia and the Romun Empire which occurred eight years before ''Ys IX''.

* TheHeartless: [[spoiler:Lemures are the AnthromorphicPersonification of negative enmity by the Gllians that arose since the Hundred Years War between Gllia and Britai, which is further accentuated by the Romun Empire in their annexation of Gllia eight years ago upon conquering the Kingdom of Gllia, including their present day occupation of Balduq]].

* SeenItAll: When Doll asks Adol about not reacting in shock that she's not human, considering he's seen quite a lot over his journey, such as meeting the Eldeen, encountering thought-to-be extinct Primordials [[spoiler:and conversing with [[TopGod Earth Goddess Maia]]]], an ArtificialHuman like Doll is an {{Understatement}}.

** Back in ''Ys VIII'', the ability to equip an accessory that changes the attack attributes of piercing, slashing and striking for a party member was only available upon beating the Ruins of the Sanctuary Crypt. ''Ys IX'' unlocks these accessories for purchase once the fourth Monstrum is recruited into Adol's party on the first play-through.

* CloningBlues: [[spoiler:Not only is the Crimson King an alchemic clone of the real Adol, but the rest of the Monstrums (except Doll) are clones of the historical allies of Saint Rosvita from 500 years ago. Even Chatelard is one, as the real Chatelard was truly killed during the Romun invasion into Gllia eight years prior to ''Ys IX'']].

* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler:Zola]]'s plan to [[spoiler:create a super-homunculi]] to end the Grimwald Nox once and for all didn't consider precisely ''how'' it would do so.

%%* JustFrameBonus: Flash Guard and Flash Move from previous games return.

* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: [[spoiler:Homunculi are biological clones of the living created through alchemy by using a subject's memories and are practically identical to their original source. However, homunculi created as an infant has a higher chance at surviving long-term than a homunculus created when its origin is older, something the Crimson King painfully discovers during the story's intervals]]. Notably, the franchise has already established that homunculi aren't unique to the ''Ys'' setting, when members of the Clan of Darkness used them as {{Fairy Companion}}s.

* SeenItAll: When Doll asks Adol about not reacting in shock that she's not human, considering he's seen quite a lot over his journey, such as meeting the Eldeen and [[spoiler:[[TopGod Earth Goddess Maia]]]], an ArtificialHuman like Doll is an understatement.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Chatelard wishes to free Gllia from Romun occupation. Unfortunately, he goes about it by making clones of extraordinary people across Eresia in order to raise an army. The same applies to Zola, whose alchemic experiments are meant to bring the threat of the Grimwald Nox under control, but having done so for 500 years has turned him full-on MadScientist, ultimately creating a godlike entity from Adol's memories]].
* WhamEpisode: The end of Chapter 2, "The White Cat's Melancholy": the story's perspective switches [[spoiler:from Adol to "Adol", who's still locked up in Balduq Prison, despite the former already having escaped in the previous chapter]]. This is the first sign that nothing in ''Ys IX'' is what it appears to be.

** Back in ''Ys VIII'', the ability to equip an accessory that changes the attack attributes of piercing, slashing and striking for a party member was only available upon beating the game. ''Ys IX'' unlocks these accessories for purchase once the fourth Monstrum is recruited into Adol's party on the first play-through.

** The "A Legend of Heroes" quest is one to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel''.

** During the epilogue, if players choose the dialogue option about not minding the mask on Silhouette, she'll say that [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises no one cared who she was until she put on the mask]].

* WhamEpisode:
** The end of Chapter 2, "The White Cat's Melancholy": the story's perspective switches [[spoiler:from Adol to "Adol", who's still locked up in Balduq Prison, despite the former already having escaped in the previous chapter]]. This is the first sign that nothing in ''Ys IX'' is what it appears to be.

* GiantSpider: "Tarantiels" are aggressive spiders that are several times larger than a human in the game, with bright blue eyes and equally blue spots on their carapace. A particularly large one, "Regirania", serves as a boss in Chapter 4, "The Doll's Search".

* GiantSpider: There are some aggressive spiders that are several times larger than a human in the game, with bright blue eyes and equally blue spots on their carapace. A particularly large one serves as a boss in Chapter 4, "The Doll's Search".

! This page contains spoilers for every ''Ys'' game up to this point. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.

* BonusBoss: Vakh Medios, the Lord of all Lemures is this - a level 95 MarathonBoss that can only be accessed by achieving all S-ranks in Grimwald Nox events. Defeating it nets an achievement and the "Crown of Dawning" accessory that adds all three damage attributes of piercing, slashing and striking, while [[LifeDrain absorbing 6% of damage dealt to enemies]].

* TheCameo: In one of the illustrations regarding Credo during the end credits, Geis from ''Ys SEVEN'' can be seen from the group of mercenaries.

* CardboardPrison: Despite Balduq's infamy as the largest prison in the Romun Empire, lots of people escape from it throughout the game. To be fair, most of the escapees are the result of the Monstrum repeatedly breaking ''into'' the prison rather than the prison guards being unable to keep prisoners in their cell. Despite repeated success by the Monstrums, the guards don't bother closing off all the underground passages leading into the prison.

** The entire plot is kickstarted by Romum officials arresting Adol for interfering/foiling with their plans throughout the series. The events of ''VideoGame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim'', ''Ys SEVEN'' and ''Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana'' in particular are brought up by Warden Belger during Adol's arrest.

** There are several returning monsters from previous games, which Adol can point out in his dialogue options.
** General Leo, one of the characters from ''Memories of Celceta'', is mentioned to be the one responsible for capturing the city of Balduq during the war between the Kingdom of Gllia and the Romn Empire which occurred eight years before ''Ys IX''.

** The gift for Dogi is an apple from Esteria, the setting of the first game where Adol and Dogi met each other for the first time. Similarly, the gift for Jule is a book about the Five Dragons of Altago, which is central to the plot of ''Ys SEVEN''.

** In Chapter 8, [[spoiler:when Chatelard talks about alchemy and its origin]], which is central to the main plot of this game, the character will refer to it as something that Adol previously encountered in Xandria, the setting of ''Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand''.
** Collecting enough Azure Petals and giving them to Marguerite will make her start speaking as if someone was speaking through her. [[spoiler:It's implied that Dana Iclucia, the Goddess of Evolution from ''Ys VIII'', is using her as a medium to let Adol know she's still with him]].

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Despite being wanted for various reasons, the Monstrums can transform and use their Gifts right in front of townspeople and guards without any reprecussion during game-play.

* TheHeartless: [[spoiler:Lemures are the AnthromorphicPersonification of negative enmity by the Gllians that arose since the Hundred Years War between Gllia and Britai, which is further accentuated by the Romun Empire in their annexation of Gllia eight years ago after conquering the defunct Kingdom of Gllia and their current occupation of Balduq]].

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: In the segments where [[spoiler:players control "Adol" who is still trapped in Balduq Prison]], DoubleJump, attack skills, Gifts and Sacrements are locked out. The focus of game-play changes to avoiding traps and solving puzzles.

* AbilityRequiredToProceed: In each chapter where a Monstrum joins Adol's party, it's impossible to progress through the story dungeon without using his or her respective Gift. Later dungeons require uses of multiple Gifts to proceed.

* AlchemyIsMagic: As ''Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand'' establishes, alchemy can be used to temper metals that goes beyond simple blacksmithing. [[spoiler:However, Zola has found a way to create clones of the living, bringing their memories and thoughts to life]].
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: Every now and then, control of the game shifts from Adol and other Monstrums to [[spoiler:another "Adol", who is still trapped in Balduq Prison]].

* BrokenBridge: Certain areas of Balduq are unavailable until Adol and his party defeat enough Lemures to fill the Nox gauge and overcome Grimwald Nox events, which tend to be TowerDefense mini-games.

* CartographySidequest: Like ''Memores of Celceta'' and ''Ys VIII'', Adol can report this to Parks; filling up the map at 10% intervals will reward players with accessories or items.

** Adol, after receiving this game's InfinityPlusOneSword, the "Tír na nÓg", players can choose a dialogue option where he monologues to himself "(I'm going to lose this too one day, aren't I?)", alluding to the fact that he suffers BagOfSpilling between his adventures.

** Collecting enough Azure Petals and giving them to Marguerite will make start speaking as if someone was speaking through her. [[spoiler:It's implied that Dana Iclucia, the Goddess of Evolution from ''Ys VIII'', is using her as a medium to let Adol know she's still with him]].

* GiantSpider: There are some aggressive spiders that are several times larger than a human in the game, with bright blue eyes and equally blue spots on their carapace. A particularly large one serves as a boss in Chapter 4.

* TheHeartless: [[spoiler:Lemures are the AnthromorphicPersonification of negative enmity by the Gllians that arose since the Hundred Years War between Gllia and Britai]].

* LegacyBossBattle: Nygtilger and Vagullion from ''Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished - Omen'' and ''Ys Origin'' and Primordials from ''Ys VIII'' show up as bosses and regular enemies. [[spoiler:Justified when they are re-created from Adol's memories]].

* OneWingedAngel: Grandmaster Chatelard and [[spoiler:Atra]] go through this using the power of alchemy.
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: [[spoiler:Homunculi are biological clones of the living created through alchemy by using a subject's memories and are almost identical to their original source]]. Notably, ''Ys'' has previously established that homunculi aren't unique, when members of the Clan of Darkness used them as {{Fairy Companion}}s.

* SchrodingersButterfly: {{Discussed}} in the opening quote of the game - according to Adol's journals, thanks to [[spoiler:his experiences as both prisoner of Balduq and from the memories of the Crimson King]], he decides that the answer to the question is "Yes".
* SeenItAll: When Doll asks about Adol not reacting in shock that she's more mechanical than human, considering he's seen quite a lot over his journey, such as meeting the Eldeen and [[spoiler:[[TopGod Earth Goddess Maia]]]], an ArtificialHuman like Doll is an understatement.

** During Chapter 8 when Yufa hands Silhouette a potato, she ends up mashing it due to her strength. Silhouette says they're versatile that way. [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew]].
** During the epilogue, if players choose the dialogue option about not mind the mask on Silhouette, she'll say that [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises no one cared who she was until she put on the mask]].

* WasOnceAMan: The late-game sidequest reveals that this is the case for [[spoiler:Xavier. Similarly, the chimeras that serve as [[MiniBoss guardians]] of TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon]] are also this.

'''All spoilers for every Ys game up to this point are unspoilered. You have been warned.'''

** The entire plot is kickstarted by Romum officials arresting Adol for interfering/foiling with their plans throughout the series. The events of ''VideoGame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim'', ''VideoGame/YsSEVEN'' and ''Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana'' in particular are brought up by Warden Belger during Adol's arrest.

** In Chapter 3, upon heading to Balduq's amphitheater, there's a juggler on the stage. Krysha will ask if Adol's ever seen one and players can choose a dialogue option about "one of a deserted island", referencing ''Ys VIII'' party member Hummel Trabaldo.

** The tail end of Chapter 2: the story's perspective switches [[spoiler:from Adol to "Adol", who's still locked up in Balduq Prison, despite the former already having escaped in the previous chapter]]. This is the first sign that nothing in ''Ys IX'' is what it appears to be.
* YouAreNumberSix: Prisoners in the primary cell blocks don't have names, just numbers. Adol's is 217.