Topic: Nine Parchments

Can we have some first impressions?

First impressions!!

The demo will honestly cover all the imporant basics of the game, so assuming you've given the demo a whirl, I'll focus on the stuff related to the full version.

The first bit I noticed was that you only start with the same 2 character options from the demo, and will need to unlock others along the way. Characters are unlocked by finding their wand during your playthrough, and completing the mission associated with it. Which I have not been able to quite figure out how to fulfill just yet. (Nor did anyone I payed online with... not much variety in characters and spells online Day One.)

The points you put in your skill tree can be re-adjusted at the beginning of each game. Mostly subtle passive traits like magic recharge and damage up, with bigger skills opened down the way I haven't reached yet. I can see this shaping your character more as you progress in levels.

Where this game shines the most is the local co-op. I had a blast playing with my friend. I thought friendly fire would wreck the game, but it really doesn't. Theres also options to adjust exactly how friendly fire is dealt, if it all.
Online was great, but the lack of communication is not ideal. You can change your "mood" between 4 options that other players can see, but it mainly comes down to jumping and spinning to convey your feelings to others. I'll definitely be playing more online, but I think I want to progress the single player campaign a little more before I jump back in.

Lastly, is that there is no stage select. The game is intended to be beaten from begenning to the end, picking up a new magic spell each time you beat a boss. When you restart the game, you go back to your 3 begenner spells. I've started the game over a few times already to switch between the girl and boy characters and between single player/online games.

I have a feeling that the long-term goals will be more about the unlockable characters and post-game content, rather than a single playthrough to beat the boss. Still trying to wrap my head around a few mechanics, and I really really really want to start unlocking new characters, since all the other characters seem far more interesting than the 2 starters.

So far I would absolutely recommend buying for the co-op features, but I'm still not sure if this is a "must buy" for the single player campaign, given how many worth while games are currently stuffed into the eShop.

I tried the demo, at some point it says that I have to press B to view the skill menu, but when I press B the character simply jumps. When I press + nothing happens. It seems there is no pause menu norr any other kind of menu. I don't understand. I like this game, I'd like to buy it but I want to make sure everything works properly, right now it seems the character management could be broken or at least inaccessible

The full version allows you to start the game by redistributing all your skill points any way you want for that run through. It also has a menu where you can equip gear and view your skill info, but you can only apply points at the end of a level.

And for what it's worth, the aiming system is way better in the full version as well.

Ok thanks!

I bought this and played all online coop all last night. For games like this especially, the Switch could definitely use system-level voice chat with party members.

I like the game and, not for nothing, it's one of the best looking games of the year, or at least the environments are. I really like how beam spells can combine, although the weird auto aim kinda ruins it and creates a lot of situations where you're blasting your coop partner in the face with lava beams. Like I said the environments are awesome, however they would feel a lot better if they had unique enemies outside of bosses. The enemies don't look very good since they all become glowing elemental jellybeans with no real relation to the space in which you're fighting them.

I really don't like how elements work in this game. I think elements are one of the coolest themes a game can possibly have, but so many games — this one included — only use them as different types of damage. It's a big pet peeve of mine when elements are represented without much deeper consideration of their physical properties, or by simply excluding elements that might behave differently than simple beams of light like water, earth, and wind.

That being said what they do have is still fun for a top-down game. The combat could have progressed by adding new, more elaborate enemy types instead of just a whole bunch more enemies to make it super chaotic. That progression kinda backfires when you have five or six spells to manually rotate through and the UI slows your reaction time and takes your eyes off of the battlefield, alight with the rainbow. The spell effects could use some work — beams could look nicer. I love that they put a jump button in a top-down game, although the shockwave effect is really simple looking and doesn't really convey depth as much as the environment around it. There are a lot of glowing circles surrounding things, and it isn't always clear what deals damage and what is just a potential attack radius.

But I like how the environments gradually transition from biome to biome, and I'm excited to play to the end just for that if not because I'm still really interested in the combat.

So I've completed the Single Player story and have unlocked a couple of the characters already and I gotta say: this one of my favourite multiplayer games of the year. Its replayability value is top notch purely because of all the spells, enemies and environments are so distinctly different from one another. Yes, there are a couple of enemy types recycled throughout the game, but the different combinations of them and their various magic barriers are what make the battles fresh and interesting. I think the game has a major problem with difficulty, and I've seen more than a few bugs here and there - but that I'm sure those can be corrected down the line. Though, there's one I've seen where some enemies that are killed go flying around wildly across the screen and its hilarious. But there's another that stops you from being able to progress in the game because the camera won't move at all. I think this has happened to me twice, and both times I was with a couple of other random players. So, maybe its their fault or something...

Anyway, the game's pretty addictive, and I'm totally looking forward to trying out every single character at some point. Starting with different spells from other characters/variations makes you lean towards using certain spells for certain situations more than others. And by the looks of it, the game recognizes that on some level and will usually (can't confirm if this is the case for others or not) offer you an advanced spell of that same element whenever you gain a new parchment. Which I think is pretty interesting. I often found myself leaning towards fire due to its explosive power, so I'd often find myself picking the fire spells most often of the three choices I'm given. But there's been a small playthrough where I've leaned towards death-spells and I've been getting a few interesting choices from that category too! So that's been pretty interesting!

Final boss needs a-tweaking though. Was way too easy once I figured out what I needed to do. And compared to a certain other boss, it clearly needs to step up its game. On the whole, for the price - the game is totally worth it. I'd recommend it to anyone, especially to those who have found enjoyment in the demo.

@ThatNyteDaez Any advice on unlocking characters, actually? I've got a few staves, but have no idea what I'm looking for. I've gone through the Tundra a couple times to no avail.

@Desrever You'll need to look for their statutes dotted around throughout the story. And the one's I've unlocked are able to be done solo or together with others. However, one in particular cannot be unlocked unless 4 players are present. Basically, just keep an eye out for large human-like statues that stand out, and pay attention to the hint they give (you'll need to approach them for that to appear). A door/new path will often open up nearby, so keep your eyes peeled on the immediate area, but again, that's not true for all of them. Fulfil their requirement successfully and you get a new character for it.

Luckily you don't have to go through the same scenario for each new variation of that character. But, the ability to use them at all comes from doing each statues quest at least once.

Sorry if that made literally no sense but you should be able to get what I mean from that. xD

I didn't realize that the Tundra area kept going after the Icebeak boss. Once you see the bright yellow exclamation point over the statue, it's pretty obvious. I was just concerned that it was something I was overlooking.

Unlocked Marvek and Carabel, and feel like I can get a decent local team together now.

This any good single player? How long to beat?

@JRJalapeno I took my sweet time and dove back and forth between Single Player and Multiplayer before committing myself to finishing the campaign. But I did it within a few hours, give or take. If anything, single player makes things easier on yourself because you don't have to worry about reviving teammates, team kills or even stronger enemies. So I'd say there's a lot to look forward to in that regard as well.

That said, I think the game shines best when you're playing with friends etc.

Cool thanks for the info. I'm on the fence since I'm primarily interested in solo play. I'll wish list it for now 😊

Fun Fact! Closing the game while it's on a load screen will cause you to lose all your save data, aside from the unlocked acheivenents. So, don't do that.

Anyone encounter a glitch where you're unable to change magic? It's happening to me and even restarting the app fixes it only for a bit

As Nine Parchments is currently on sale I thought I'd see if I can help persuade a few people to pick up the game now that a lot of the issues people had with it are patched.

Here's my initial review I did a while ago:

My Let's Play series:

And if you do pick it up, my Quill Guides:

I'm really enjoying this game! Multi-Player is a ton fun.

I was in a game yesterday where it seemed as if we had a healer and a tank. One player was healing everyone while the other was playing melee style.

Has anyone seen this as a method of play? I was surprised (happily) by this, not even sure how they did it.

Been playing a lot over the last month and I have to say, this is an under appreciated game!!

We got to the last level and encountered a glitch where the monsters never walked out of their cave, leaving them invulnerable. And when we did manage to kill them through the wall after a while (they sometimes moved back and forth, indicated by their elemental ring), the camera never went back to following us. So we were stuck on a screen with no enemies. I wish we could have gotten to the last boss it's a fun game

I finished the game pretty quickly but then went back on Hardcore mode to get the Guilded toons and it's still a ton of fun. I haven't solved it on Hardcore yet, the groups are too unstable at this point.

Hope to see you guys out there! My in-game name is Rick (wish I could change that)...