Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (Demo)

I've been delving into the world of JRPGs recently and I've had many people recommend Falcom's games to me. I'm not really the biggest fan of turn-based games, though. That's why I knew I had to try this demo, especially after what I had read about its action combat and open world/exploration mechanics. The typically linear fashion of storytelling I had witnessed in the genre in the past was something I wasn't super keen on so that really appealed to me... ... which is why it's disappointing that this demo doesn't give any sample of that aspect of the game. Instead, what you get here is an apparently standalone set of two dungeons that give you a delicious taste of how the fantastic combat system works. By the time I got to the end of the second dungeon, I felt like I had a very good grasp on how to use the system overall. Not only that, but I quickly came to understand where the different characters' styles truly balanced each other out. With the action-based combat and the ability to switch out your party members on the fly, it makes for a combat system where you truly feel like you're fully in control over the way you face your enemies. This is particularly evident in the four different boss fights across the two dungeons; each boss was challenging enough, but challenging in a FUN way. As someone who hates the 'git gud' mentality with video games of any sort, I want to be challenged in a way that's fun, rather than frustrating, and this game appears to do just that. It also doesn't hurt that the dungeon design and overall art style are both aesthetically-pleasing and superbly atmospheric. As I ran through them, I felt that glorious feeling you get from old school dungeon crawlers, which is really refreshing as many studios have forgotten how to do that. Altogether, I wish I could have gone free roaming a little but this demo certainly convinced me to keep an eye out for a good deal on this game because I'll absolutely be buying it someday!