9Dragons
- February 14, 2017
- Joongwon Entertainment
Get on Steam"9Dragons is a free, 3D martial arts-based MMORPG set in ancient China, where players can join White or Black clans and engage in intense PvP combat. With a focus on grinding, the game allows players to devote themselves to becoming a true martial artist and uncover the truth behind the tragic War of Nine-Dragons that occurred many years ago."
Reviews
- The game has a genuine martial arts theme with a variety of unique classes and skills, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- It offers a nostalgic experience for long-time players, bringing back fond memories from its earlier days.
- The community is active and pleasant, providing a fun environment for players who enjoy grinding and exploring the game together.
- The game is heavily pay-to-win, requiring significant financial investment to remain competitive, which can be frustrating for free-to-play players.
- The experience rates are extremely low, leading to tedious grinding that can take thousands of kills to level up, making progression feel unrewarding.
- Technical issues such as server connectivity problems and outdated graphics hinder the overall gameplay experience, making it difficult for new players to enjoy.
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is heavily criticized for its excessive nature and poor experience rates, reminiscent of old-school Asian MMORPGs. While some players appreciate the nostalgic appeal of grind-heavy gameplay, many find it tedious and unfulfilling, especially with the added influence of pay-to-win mechanics and unrewarding fetch quests. Overall, grinding is a divisive feature that may appeal to a niche audience but frustrates many modern players.
“Endless grinding with horrible experience rates.”
“To be able to reach anything in this game, you will have to spend hours upon hours grinding, just as in most of the old-school Asian MMORPGs.”
“As explained above, the progress is based on 90% grinding, 9% gearing up, and both are heavily connected to the cash shop.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as outdated and dated, with no updates since 2006, leading to a general consensus that they are visually unappealing. Despite this, some users still find them pleasing in a nostalgic sense, though the overall rating reflects significant dissatisfaction.
“Although now dated, the graphics are pleasing.”
“The game graphics have not seen any updates since then, but the skills and mechanics have changed.”
“The maps themselves are small, and the graphics are extremely dated.”
“The game graphics have not seen any updates since then, but the skills and mechanics have changed now.”
“The graphics are really aged and have not been updated since 2006.”
“The maps themselves are small and the graphics are extremely dated.”
- story8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story of "Nine Dragons" is praised for its intriguing clan backgrounds and the conflicts that arise between them, making it enjoyable for players who invest time in exploring the lore. However, the narrative becomes repetitive across different clans, and the overall gameplay experience is marred by tedious fetch quests and grinding, detracting from the story's potential impact.
“Since I played this game back at release on different publishers and invested overall way more than 500 hours into this game, I can surely tell that the story behind Nine Dragons is great.”
“It is quite fun to read the story behind each of the clans, why the game is actually called 'Nine Dragons' and how the conflicts between the clans were created.”
“The story itself is mildly interesting the first time you play through it, but it isn’t much different for each clan in the game.”
“Sadly, besides the story, the gameplay part is a bit dull.”
“Besides endless grinding, there are a bunch of fetch quests that don’t really give you much for your time.”
“(Not even anything as simple as putting the quest giver in front of the characters. That's a failure in a fairly fundamental way.)”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for being dull and lacking updates, with outdated mechanics that feel unengaging. While some mini-games provide enjoyment, the overall experience is marred by a reliance on microtransactions and gambling elements, which pressure players to spend money to remain competitive.
“There are some mini-games on level ups that I always enjoyed, and it would be cool to see similar mechanics as 'chi breathing' in other games.”
“The game graphics have not seen any updates since then, but the skills and mechanics have changed now.”
“The game mechanics have died horribly.”
“Sadly, besides the story, the gameplay part is a bit dull.”
“The mechanics in place are designed so that players are compelled to spend money in the item mall if they want to stand a chance against other players or even be strong enough to complete higher level content.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game features a diverse range of soundtracks that effectively capture an ancient Asian tone, enhancing the kung-fu style and overall immersion. Players appreciate the distinctiveness of each clan's musical theme, contributing to a rich auditory experience while exploring the game world.
“There are multiple different soundtracks that still sound really good in this ancient Asian tone. The effects of the game fit the kung-fu style perfectly, and the immersion while traveling the land and exploring your clan is great since clans are totally different from each other.”
“Great soundtrack.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized due to server closures at launch, leading to ongoing issues such as lags, bugs, disconnects, and various glitches that affect the overall experience.
“On launch, they closed the server, causing the community to experience ongoing lags, bugs, disconnects, and glitches with the connection.”
“The game is plagued by constant instability, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
“Frequent crashes and server issues have severely impacted my gaming experience.”
