Developed by Sobaka Studios and published by Buka Entertainment, 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a new classic beat em’ up title that uses the iconic side-scrolling gameplay mechanics and combines it with unique and powerful combat mechanic. Side-scrolling beat em’ up is a classic genre that has been long forgotten however 2020 has seen the return of many classic titles in this genre. 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a brand new entry in this iconic genre. This is our review of the PC version of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin in which we use our Qi energy to blast some enemies into oblivion.
9 Monkeys of Shaolin revolves around the story of Wei Cheng who is a fisherman and has been living peacefully in his village along with his friends and family until one dreaded day when his village comes under attack by pirates and everyone is killed and the village is burned down. Wei Cheng gets mortally wounded but is rescued by some monks from a nearby monastery and they take Wei in. Wei then stays with them and helps them push out the pirates along with other enemy factions that have destroyed his village and threaten the peace of the entire continent.
While I can say that the visual art design of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is my favorite aspect of the game but I will have to go here with its combat. 9 Monkeys of Shaolin features one of the most satisfying combat that I have ever seen in a beat em’ up game. You have your slashing attack, combined with a thrust attack and a kick attack. Each of these attacks can be landed in the form of combos and you can even mix them together to land mixed combos. You can also dodge attacks and parry incoming attacks to gain an advantage over your enemies in combat. These might sound like a generic combat setting however what really sets it apart from other beat em’ up titles is the Power Attacks and additional stance attacks that you unlock as you progress in the story.
Additional stances such as the Aerobatic Stance allows you to use your stored Qi to execute powerful attacks that deal some serious damage to your enemies. These include spinning attacks for crowd control, targeted overhead attacks that deal great damage to enemies and stun them along with additional kick attacks that allow you to take your enemies to the air and kill them in the air with different stylish combos. All of this is executed perfectly and once you get used to the controls, you are literally slashing and kicking your way through the enemies. Apart from enemies, sometimes, certain elemental obstacles also hinder your gameplay such as lightning strikes during cloudy and rainy weather and traps such as fires and saws running around in the ground.
All of this combines together to deliver a combat mechanic that is not only brutal but also extremely satisfying. All battles end up in a very satisfying manner and you actually feel good after beating the bad guys. The enemies start off with soft grunts and shooters but as you progress in the game, the enemies start to get tougher and tougher with armored and shielded enemies along with invisible ghosts start to join their ranks who can only be damaged with charged or Qi attacks. However, by this time, you are quite powerful yourself as you unlock additional weapons and other bonuses which make you really powerful. Later in the campaign, you also unlock the special Magic Seals which completely transform the combat of the game.
Apart from new items and weapons, you can also level up your abilities and skills to make them more powerful. You earn ability points for completing levels and you can later use these ability points to upgrade yourself. Investing in these upgrades allow you to become even more powerful as your attacks deal more damage, they generate more Qi energy and their range is improved drastically. This makes you the ultimate badass if you grind a little and then you really start to enjoy the game in its full glory. While playing the levels, you can also break some random stuff for some different types of tea that can buff you up with bonuses such as additional health or a temporary damage boost and more.
The story of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is presented in the form of beautiful, artsy cutscenes complete with audio narration. Even the dialogues are completely narrated with each character having its own voice actor. Normally, you notice that very few lines are actually voices in such games but in 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, this is not the case. Each and every line is voiced by voice actors and it is brilliantly done. Each character shows emotions in their voices and the traditional excitement and calmness in the voices of your masters and other characters are fairly evident during different cutscenes. The art style of the game is just brilliant and the cutscenes really look well-made. Apart from the main story missions, you also get some side quests in the game which are great for delving deep into the lore of the game and also grant you some additional unlocks for weapons and items that you might miss if you just stick to the main story missions. These unlocked shoes, necklaces, and weapons each come with unique bonuses that you can avail by equipping them for missions.
I can say the very same thing about the soundtrack of the game as well. Throughout the game, you will get to listen to a soothing and filling soundtrack that really puts you in the mood. As you engage in combat, the music picks up the pace and then dies down when you are done beating around the bad guys. While normal exploring in missions and the main hub of the game, you get to listen to more soothing Chinese music which perfectly complements the art style of the game. Apart from the soundtrack, you can easily tell that the developers have not held-back in the audio design of the game as well. Every swing of your or your enemy’s weapons have specific sounds and hitting something gives that satisfying ‘thud’.
While you are not out completing quests or missions, you will be roaming around in the central hub of the game which is your safehouse. It is a temple that serves as your HQ and you can perform different activities here. The temple is in a round shape and you can interact with different masters for various activities. You can take on new missions and quests, replay completed chapters for some more upgrade points, upgrade your skills and abilities. You can also access your inventory and change your weapons, shoes, and necklace here.
Apart from this, you will unlock the masks of all the bosses that you defeat in the main story and wear them at the display table. You can also switch to an online co-op or local game here. Once you are done here, you can select your mission and exit through the door to begin your selected quest. You can replay completed chapters as many times as you want to grind and level up your skills and abilities. The rewards are certainly lowered after you finish it initially but you can always grind missions.
Technically, the game is very sound as well. However, I did encounter one annoying problem during my playthrough. It was pretty rare but whenever it happened, it forced me to restart the game. One of the most common problems I faced during my review was that the character would randomly get stuck in the boundary fences or vines in different stages. This was completely random and after restarting the level, I would not get stuck in the same place which means that it was random. During the very first boss fight of the game, I got stuck in the green fence on the lower side of the arena and no matter what I did, I was unable to get free. I had to restart the level just because I could not get free and dying simply makes you feel bad at the end of a perfect run. Apart from this, I don’t think I remember any sort of other glitch or technical issue with the game.
Final Verdict:
9 Monkeys of Shaolin is an extremely satisfying beat em’ up that not only features a beautiful visual setting but also great combat and audio design. I loved my playthrough of the game and will definitely return to try the game on a much harder difficulty this time around. We saw some great beat em’ up titles return to life this year including Streets of Rage 4 and Battletoads and I am happy to write here that 9 Monkeys of Shaolin proudly sits with both of these titles as a solid beat em’ up game with its own unique identity. It will surely please the side-scroller and beat em’ up fan in you with its pleasant aesthetics and solid combat mechanics. I will highly recommend that you give it a shot if you love classic beat em’ ups.
Final Score: 9.0/10
