The games industry is a land where mad dreams thrive and die. Oftentimes, they thrive - and then they die. I've not yet met anyone whose job involves chronicling explosive fairy dust incidents at a Lisa Frank factory, but I can't imagine it'd be more wonderful and horrifying than writing about games. That's why it's so easy to appreciate Nihon Falcom. The long-lived studio are happy to stay in their corner and whittle new entries for their decades-old RPG franchises, while the chaos of the industry sloshes around them. Falcom is a purveyor of perfectly pleasant games — and yes, they deserve that bit of whimsical alliteration.
You generally know what you're getting into with a Falcom game (unless you're attempting to untangle the politics behind the Tales Of titles, in which case I'll send your next of kin a consolatory ham). If you pick up Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, for instance, you can expect to enjoy a rock-solid JRPG adventure game alongside the red-haired adventurer Adol Christin. In fact, if you're a fan of action RPGs, I'd say the Ys series is a must-play, and Ys IX is as good a place to start as any.
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