JRPGs are well-known among fans for their long play times. Ys 9: Monstrum Nox is no exception, featuring more chapters and side content than Lacrimosa of Dana. With Nordics releasing later this month, let’s take a look at just how long it takes to beat Monstrum Nox, including its side quests and pursuing 100% completion.
Completing the Main Story
Ys 9: Monstrum Nox’s story takes place in the city of Balduq, over the course of 9 chapters plus a prologue and an epilogue. Finishing the main story without experiencing any of the optional content can take anywhere from 20 to 30 hours, across much of the game’s map. This includes 11 mandatory Grimwald Noxes, as well as 4 mandatory side quests.
The Grimwald Noxes are very similar to Lacrimosa of Dana’s beast raids, with multiple waves of enemies to defeat and an object to defend from the enemies. Unlike the beast raids, however, they are unlocked only when the party collects 100 Nox points. Nox points are obtained by completing side quests or by defeating Lemures that spawn from black pillars across Balduq. Clearing the black pillars awards fewer Nox points than completing side quests, but they respawn indefinitely until the game’s prologue.
Optional Content
Monstrum Nox features 40 side quests, plus 7 longer ongoing quests. Many of the ongoing quests span across the entire course of the game, while several of the side quests are only accessible during one chapter. The ongoing quests give rewards at designated progression points, whereas the side quests’ rewards are given upon completion. Pursuing optional content alongside the main story, without going after full completion, takes anywhere from 40 to 50 hours.
Ongoing Quests
Grimwald Noxes
There are 6 optional Grimwald Noxes. Like the mandatory Grimwald Noxes, they are unlocked by obtaining Nox points. However, the Nox points go to the chapters’ mandatory Grimwald Noxes first. The Nox Gauge expands to have room for 200 Nox points in Chapter 3. Be careful to clear all Grimwald Noxes before finishing a chapter, as otherwise, you won’t get any bonuses for clearing it.
If you clear all 17 Grimwald Noxes with an S rank, a final Grimwald Nox will appear in the Prison Outskirts. Unlike the rest of the Grimwald Noxes, this one houses a boss fight. This is the game’s hidden boss, Vakh Medios. It’s a tough fight, but defeating the boss rewards the party with the Crown of Dawning, which can be equipped to a character to set their damage type to All.
Donating Meals
In the Central District of Balduq is a cathedral. Inside this cathedral is a nun named Sister Mel. The party can give her meals, of which there are 13. For every 3 donations, Sister Mel will give a reward to the party, as well as a final reward for the 13th donation. Each meal can only be donated once. For players familiar with Lacrimosa of Dana, this side quest is similar to Mishy’s side quest in that game. All four of this side quest’s rewards are worth unlocking, including an elixir that increases a party member’s level by 1 and the crafting rubric for a Sacramental that increases the amount of time that Gifts can be used.
Landmarks
Another quest that will be familiar to players who have played Lacrimosa of Dana is the landmarks quest. Starting in Chapter 2, the party can meet Alex, a tour guide who wants to know about locations around Balduq that tourists would be interested in. There are 21 landmarks across the city, and the tour guide will give rewards for every 3 locations you tell him about. The rewards include elixirs that increase the party’s maximum SP, the crafting rubric for a Sacramental that increases the chances of rare items dropping, and a book that teaches the Crimson King a new skill.
Azure Petals
In Chapter 2, the party can meet a character named Margurite in the Central District. She will talk about Azure Petals supposedly being a sign of great fortune. There are a total of 120 Azure Petals hidden across the city, and Margurite will reward the party for every 10 they bring her. For every 20 Azure Petals brought to Margurite, something strange will happen involving characters from prior games in the series. Though finding every Azure Petal can be a very tedious venture, many of the rewards are worth it, with the final reward being an item granting the party an additional Sacramental slot.
Map Completion
This quest will be familiar to players of either Lacrimosa of Dana or Memories of Celceta. Exploring the city of Balduq (and later, some designated areas outside of the city) will gradually increase the map completion percentage. Starting in Chapter 3, Parks will be in the Dandelion. Every 10% of progress made on map completion can be reported to Parks, and he will reward the party. Every reward from this quest is well worth the effort, again culminating in an item that grants the party an additional Sacramental slot.
Graffiti
Scattered across Balduq are pieces of graffiti, some of them legible and some of them too faded to read until Doll joins your party. In Chapter 4, Vallin joins the Dandelion and asks about the graffiti around the city. There are 44 locations with graffiti, ranging from regular text to curses that spawn Lemures or blessings for a particular Monstrum. Every 11 graffiti locations reported to Vallin will be met with a reward. The final reward is another elixir that increases the party’s maximum SP, while another is a Sacramental that draws dropped items to the party.
Feeding Morbihan
In Chapter 4, the party can find Morbihan staring up at them from the river in the Main Square. He expresses an interest in the 8 preserved foods that can be obtained. Giving him 4 of them rewards the party with a meal recipe, while the second reward is an empty bottle (which is a very useful item, much like in the Legend of Zelda series). However, completing this quest also rewards the party with an elixir that increases their maximum SP.
Side Quests
There are 40 side quests in Monstrum Nox. Many of them are added to the Dandelion’s bulletin board starting in Chapter 2, but some are only available by finding their markers on the map. These quests range from collecting items or defeating enemies to chasing other characters. Once the quest is accepted, it gets added to the Journal in the Quests tab.
Some of the better and more important quests to complete are the following:
- Missing Family Report (Chapter 3) – Reward: 1,000 gold, Tito and Arche join the Dandelion, People entries for Tito and Arche
- Illness Inquiry (Chapter 3) – Reward: 10 flour, 10 tomatoes, People entry for Saradhi
- Pickpocket Pursuit (Chapter 3) – Reward: 2000 gold (drops to 300 if you skip the chase scene)
- Maid in Amiss (Chapter 3) – Reward: Leather Bracelet, Silhouette joins the Dandelion, People entry for Silhouette
- Bathhouse Debauchery (Chapter 4) – Reward: Blinding Bangle
- Prison Rescue (Chapter 4) – Reward: 2500 gold, Iris joins the Dandelion, People entry for Maxim and Iris
- One in a Bouillon (Chapter 4) – Reward: Bouillabaisse Recipe
- Prison Liberation (Chapter 5) – Reward: 5000 gold, Lucien joins the Dandelion, People entry for Lucien
- Scam on the Lam (Chapter 5) – Reward: 4000 gold (drops to 1000 if you skip the chase scene)
- All That Glitters (Chapter 5) – Reward: Golden Gloves, Saradhi joins the Dandelion, People entry for Saradhi
- Calling all Strongmen! (Chapter 6) – Reward: 3500 gold, People entry for Dogi
- Tobacco to Go (Chapter 6) – Reward: 6000 gold, Margot joins the Dandelion, People entry for Margot
- Warehouse Stakeout (Chapter 7) – Reward: 8000 gold (drops to 2000 if you skip the chase scene)
- Iris of the Storm (Chapter 7) – Reward: Empusa’s Gloves, People entry for Iris
- Tree Stumped (Chapter 7) – Reward: Tempest Elixir, People entry for Silhouette
- Peril of the Bells (Chapter 8) – Reward: Full Potion
- A Fool and Her Treasure… (Chapter 8) – Reward: Gorgon Gloves, Genius Green, People entry for Saradhi
- Prison Infiltration (Chapter 8) – Reward: 10000 gold, Maxim joins the Dandelion, People entry for Maxim
- The Errant Knights (Chapter 9) – Reward: Slash Crown, People entry for Lucien
- Life by the Sword (Chapter 9) – Reward: Holy Sword’s Hilt, People entry for Xavier
- Wanted: Bualadh-Orgh (Chapter 9) – Reward: Crystal Shield, People entry for Aprilis
100% Completion
Fully completing Monstrum Nox is an undertaking that requires dedication and thoroughness. The game features a Records menu, which becomes essential for pursuing 100% completion. In addition to completing all of the side quests, 100% completion also means finding all of the treasure chests scattered across the map, logging all monster entries, logging all People entries (some of which are missable), logging all material entries, earning max Affinity with every character who has an Affinity score, discovering all shops, and getting every skill to their max level.
Monster entries are logged by defeating the monster at least once, including the Lemures that spawn in Grimwald Noxes. The Grimwald Noxes can be re-cleared by talking to Dogi, again very similar to the raids in Lacrimosa of Dana, though the first-time clear bonuses can’t be obtained on re-clears. Once you start the epilogue, you don’t have any more monsters to fight.
Material entries are logged by collecting said material at least once. These aren’t missable, and once Morbihan joins the Dandelion they can also be purchased from his store. Many of the materials are obtainable just by thoroughly exploring the areas as you go through the main story, though some of them are rarer than others. The Silver Hare Clasp, which is a Sacramental unlocked by showing the tour guide 12 landmarks and giving the rubric to Tito, is useful for these rarer materials. Starting the epilogue locks you out of finding more materials.
People entries are unlocked by talking to the other characters, both party members and some of the people who work at the Dandelion, as well as other storyline characters. Some of them are also unlocked by progressing through the main story without any other conditions. Raising characters’ Affinity (for the characters who have Affinity scores), which can be done by giving them presents or by completing quests for them, will also often unlock more entries in the People section. Some of these entries are missable, particularly if they’re tied to quests or if the character is central to the story. A small handful of People entries are only available during the epilogue.
Undiscovered shops are marked on the map as long as you’ve walked in the area where the shop can be found: while discovered shops show an icon that signifies what type of wares the shop sells, undiscovered shops’ icons are question marks. Finding these shops has an added benefit, in that once Silhouette joins the Dandelion staff she can purchase items from any discovered shops as long as you’ve told her about them. Shops can be discovered until the epilogue.
Leveling skills is by far the most tedious part of obtaining 100% completion in Monstrum Nox, though thankfully with the game taking after Lacrimosa of Dana it isn’t as tedious as it was in Ys Seven. In both Lacrimosa of Dana and Monstrum Nox, skills’ levels cap out at level 3, compared to Seven’s 10. Skills are leveled by repeatedly using them. One use of a skill earns 1 point of that skill’s EXP. Like in Lacrimosa of Dana, leveling a skill lowers its SP cost and increases its damage. To make this somewhat less tedious, items called Warrior Seals can be equipped to characters to grant them bonuses in skill EXP gain.
Final Thoughts
Ys 9: Monstrum Nox has the most side content of the Ys series so far. While some of this optional content can be difficult to find, many of the rewards are worth going after. With Nordics releasing later this month, how much optional content will that game have? Will the ship also feature a character like Silhouette, who can obtain items from any discovered shops? What overarching storylines could be told over the course of several quests, like with some of the chase scene quests in Monstrum Nox?
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