What 9th Dawn Remake Is
This is a top-down 2.5D action RPG, a full reworking of the original 9th Dawn that came out in 2012 and started the series. You land on the continent of Montelorne after the local lighthouse keeper disappears under strange circumstances, and your investigation leads toward an evil power gathering at the Castle of Maltyr. That castle draws the strongest monsters in the region and threatens everything around it, so becoming a champion is the whole point of your trip.
The world itself is the main attraction. There are more than 45 hand-built dungeons scattered across the map, each stuffed with enemies and loot to carry out. On top of the main quest there are side quests for the villages of Montelorne, which raise local prosperity and pay you back in rare items. Between quests you spend time crafting: forging weapons, brewing potions, and upgrading what you already carry so your gear keeps pace with what you're fighting.
Playing With Friends
You can run the whole thing alone or bring a friend along through online co-op or local co-op. Dungeons, quests, side quests, and the minigames all work in co-op, not just a trimmed-down subset. Local multiplayer needs a separate game controller for each player, so plan for that before you sit down together.
Combat is hack-and-slash with character building layered on top. You unlock spells and abilities, spend attribute points where you want them, and pick your own equipment upgrades rather than following a fixed path. The creature system runs alongside that: you hatch pets from eggs and raise them into a team that fights with you, so half your build ends up being the monsters you've collected.
Things Worth Knowing Before You Start
There is a lot of collecting here. Loot fills up collection journals, and completing those journals hands back rewards, so sorting through what you find is a real part of the loop rather than inventory filler. If that appeals, the game leans into it heavily.
When you need a break from dungeons, two minigames sit inside the game. The deck-building one has you collecting maps, leveling up card champions, and assembling a deck. The fishing one puts you in control of worm-warriors surviving waves of enemy fish. Both are playable in every mode, co-op included.
The story has been rewritten and expanded for this remake, with bigger dungeons and more content than the 2012 version, so it holds up on its own even if you played the original.