Quests are toned down to a minimal extent in this game. Early levels may offer a handful of simple quests, but as you progress further, the number of available quests lessens in a stretch of a couple of levels or so. Most of the quests have the simple recipes of item gathering, mob killing, or NPC talking formula that sometimes reaps less than generous rewards. You will rely on grinding continuously to reach the next level. Gaining exp at higher levels becomes exasperatingly tough; it takes a great deal of patience to even get a fraction of exp percentage to rise.

"I know Kung-fu!"

The features in 9Dragons are very intuitive, keeping you up to your toes. The thankful sight of various interplaying gameplay systems drives the player to grind and improve the character more, in a feel of attaining perfection and mastery. The game offers a unique level system, wherein there is a major level in form of a title / name having 12 minor levels called "cheng." Adding a distinctive touch, players engage in a mini-game of "chi breathing" in order to advance to the next level tier. In a way, this form of advancement provides perfectionists and skill-heavy characters the chance to master more skills before proceeding to the next major level. In addition to this, a Karma and Epithet system also comes into play. You gain good or bad karma based on your actions towards your fellow clan members and the opposing factions. Depending on the amount of karma or your rank inside the clan, you can gain different titles on your name or stat bonuses or modifiers. Another feature to focus on is the skill acquisition and mastery. Players can approach a "sifu" or master, buy skills and train them at the training grounds before putting them to good use and leveling them in actual combat. The game bestows players with around 500 skills distributed in the different jobs of every clan and also lists the passive weapon masteries separately, allowing you to improve your desired arsenal independent of your skill build. All these aspects give players the feel of a labor-intensive character growth, posing as either a challenge or a chore.

With the complexities of narcissistically perfecting your martial arts master, other common features have been toned down to a simpler context. Stat building for your character is straightforward depending on the type of job you assume, spending most of the points basically on one or two major attributes. The party system can be disregarded at higher levels when sharing exp merits an almost-negligible amount. But thankfully, this is evened out by the game‘s contribution of party quests. The friend / buddy system looks basic, providing a friend and ignore lists, an in-game messenger and a mailbox accessible from the UI. The refining system is a rudimentary, yet arduous, task of collecting the material called "blood essence" and using it to upgrade weapons. As commonly seen in other games, the higher the level, the higher the risk of breaking the weapon, and the higher the amount of blood essences needed to progress. Even trading and vending your wares is elementary for beginner and pro gamers alike. Sadly, bank storage needs to be rented for a high fee and the inventory is so simple, there‘s little space to put items in.

Supplementing 9Dragon‘s already vast features are Collection quests and Elixir items. Collections pose as a character‘s sidequest, where you are asked to gather a certain set of items and exchange it for usable equipments or items to the designated NPC. Collection quests are either a one-time experience or repeatable, either of which are thankful sighs of relief from the monotonous grind. Elixirs, on the other hand, affect a player‘s stats and skills positively or negatively, a welcome addition to those wish to maximize benefits from a certain stat.

Talking about simplicity, controlling the character is through your typical point and click. Targeting or clicking can be troublesome at times due to camera angles positioned beneath graphical elements (doors or trees) or targets clumped together. Keyboard movement through the typical WASD or arrow keys is not available. The UI is clean, having every other intended window arranged into tabs inside the character window instead of showing up as individual icons outside. Shortcut keys are available from numbers 0-9, set in three easily exchangeable groups. A unique feature is the use of the tab button to switch between combat and "peace" (non-combat) mode. Fortunately, the game‘s response to keyboard shortcuts and mouse clicks are smooth and trouble-free. Plus, players can also opt to undergo an extensive tutorial via the starting quest and numerous video presentations.

The fruits of one‘s labor won‘t go to waste for players wanting PvP action. The game has a dedicated PK ser ver where almost all maps are open PvP zones. PK mode will automatically activate once the character reaches a certain level. Even in the non-PK servers (or so-called "Pleasant" servers), there are still a few PK-enabled zones. For massive scale action, the black versus white wars satiates even the hungriest of the PvP gamers. With an astounding number of skills at your disposal, there‘s no shortage of intense action and unparalleled strategy for everyone to take pleasure in.

"The grasshopper is now a dragon!"

Aesthetically, 9Dragons is not as intense as the other newer MMOs out there. Despite the lack of brilliance, environments in 9Dragons still manage to capture a fictional Ming Dynasty with amazing depth. Every map is huge and is flooded with a milieu of calming or violent ambiance that defines ancient war-torn China. Kung Fu shines the brightest with a plethora of visual effects present in every skill. Day and weather effects are portrayed in dazzling detail, however, the night effects look bleak and lifeless. NPC and monster models are most often repeated, repainted or renamed. And it gets boring to attack the same model time and again despite differences in level and name. Even character customization is sadly limited to a few face and hair options. Music complements each map or area, mixing traditional Chinese melodies with modern tones. Sometimes, the BGM falls disappointingly silent with ambient nature sounds taking over, only to pop out again a few minutes later. Sound effects, just like the monsters, are recycled by the same model.

Kung-fu and tea-drinking all in one!

To sum things up, 9Dragons is still a well-crafted adventure with its excellently woven epic storyline and incredibly addicting gameplay despite the heavy grind. The graphics might not be topnotch, but it delivers well enough to revel in the sights with near-satisfactory sounds and effects. The heavy dependence on cash shop items may cause the demise of international players. But for those who don‘t mind the long grind, fans of oriental-style action, or PvP lovers, you can consider 9Dragons part of your list. For the rest of us, it‘s a nice game to pass up time until another game comes out.

Review Kenny Mallari
September 15, 2009