Has anyone picked up Etrian Odyssey yet?

[Simply Dave]

I've heard a lot of good things about it that has me interested. Any impressions?

[Damaniel]

I picked it up the day it came out. It's very much an old school dungeon crawler -- the entire thing reminds me of Wizardry with much nicer graphics. The game is fairly hard, but not as unforgiving as some of the classics of the genre (like the previously mentioned Wizardry, The Bard's Tale, etc.) I've been to the third floor (out of 30), and one of the biggest challenges so far has been to figure out ways to avoid running into FOEs, which are overpowered boss-like creatures that visibly wander the maze in different patterns. As you progress, you can take on quests and missions that involve finding items or locations in the dungeon or that somehow advance the storyline. As you find items and sell them to the shopkeeper, she will learn to create new pieces of equipment that you can buy, so more advanced weapons and armor become available as you descend to the lower floors.

I've put about 5 or 6 hours total into the game so far, and I'm not ready to quit anytime soon. There's some strange addictive quality to the game which keeps me coming back. Plus, the Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Actraiser, Ys) soundtrack is excellent, too.

If you like challenging RPGs and don't mind turn based combat, then you'll probably enjoy Etrian Odyssey. If you're an older gamer and miss the days of the old school CRPG classics, then you'll probably love it.

[The-Bavis]

I read the reviews in EGM and they were all over the map. I think it got a 4, a 6, and an 8. I'm intrigued by the game, though. Looks like it could be fun in an old-school type way.


EDIT: I was writing while Damaniel was. Sounds pretty good!

[Damaramu]

So in other words, if I enjoyed the hell out of games like Shining In The Darkness and Eye of The Beholder, EO would be right up my alley?

Dude, I'm there.

[Damaniel]

I read the reviews in EGM and they were all over the map. I think it got a 4, a 6, and an 8. I'm intrigued by the game, though. Looks like it could be fun in an old-school type way.

Modern reviewers tend to score old-school games on the lower end of the scale, since they don't appeal to everyone. As a modern take on a classic style of game, Etrian Odyssey is excellent, but the gameplay mechanics are pretty archaic compared to more 'modern' RPGs -- not that that's a bad thing if you know what you're getting yourself into. :)

[Xexyz]

I also picked it up on release day. I'm not the biggest RPG fan, but I've developed some interest in them lately. After finishing off the original Dragon Warrior on the NES, I feel like I'm ready for anything.

This game is very addictive so far. The main draw of course will be the dungeon crawling, but the storyline doesn't seem to take a total backseat. Also, the F.O.E.'s add a nice sense of alarm to the game, especially when they chase you. Not too many games give me a sense of panic these days.

I made a big mistake earlier today trying to confront the Stalker right at the beginning of floor 3 with my level 11 party. One attack took my Landschnet (sp, lol) right out. You can't just go into a battle with full HP/TP, healing items, etc. expecting to win, you definitely have to think about what you're doing in this game.

[Damaniel]

I found out something new about the FOEs -- when you're in battle with other creatures, all the FOEs get to move around on the map after every round of the fight. If one is chasing you and you get into a random battle with something else, the FOE will eventually catch up and push away the weaker creature mid-fight, leaving you to fight it unprepared! I almost got wiped out once because of this. ;)

[pookninja]

i preordered it and picked it up this week,buy i havent even opened it up yet.but i really dig old school style dungeon crawlers,so im sure i will be enjoying the game.

[PDorr3]

Are there any sorts of towns or villages to speak of in the game? or are you basicaly in a dungeon the entire time (like deep labyrinth on ds)

[Overbite]

There is a town where you can rest and buy stuff as well as get quests.

I picked it up a few days ago and having fun with it. I have a Landschneckt/Protector/Medic/Survivalist/Alchemist party and it works well so far. I just started on the second floor :)


Also, I made a party of 5 Survivalists and put all their points into the Chop skill. I go to the closest chop point to the exit on the first floor and load up and then sell it at the shop. I get about 1000en in a few minutes!

[Habeeb Hamusta]

Picked this up yesterday and am having fun with it. Really hard though. Glad to see a difficult game is finally on ds besides puzzle quest. Anyone els epick this up?

[FantasiaWHT]

Sounds pretty sweet! Although I have to say... if puzzle quest is your idea of difficult, this game might be a cakewalk! I spent the last 2/3rds of that game winning every single fight without the enemy even getting a turn in.

[walrusmonger]

There is a town where you can rest and buy stuff as well as get quests.

I picked it up a few days ago and having fun with it. I have a Landschneckt/Protector/Medic/Survivalist/Alchemist party and it works well so far. I just started on the second floor :)


Also, I made a party of 5 Survivalists and put all their points into the Chop skill. I go to the closest chop point to the exit on the first floor and load up and then sell it at the shop. I get about 1000en in a few minutes!

That's a fantastic idea! Thank you for sharing :)

[Habeeb Hamusta]

I've been playing and at first it was ok but to be honest I'm really bored with it now. There is absolutely no story which was ok at first...but you do is fight fight fight the same things over and over and the overpowered boss-like guys just slow down your progress drastically. You'll have to put lots of hours into this game to get anywhere. Also at levl 3 and it's pissing me off so much I just quit this mourning. Probably take it back to gamestop and return it as defective.

[Habeeb Hamusta]

Oh well yeah puzzle quest gets a little difficult but not nearly as bad as this. I've just changed my opinion about etrian odyssey...it's boring as hell.

[mailman187666]

I just tried looking in a couple different stores for this game. Has anybody had a little trouble finding it? I really wanted to try it but they dont seem to carry it in many places around me.

[FantasiaWHT]

Any more opinions on it? Even filtering for typical retro-hate in modern reviewers, the reviews don't seem too positive... and I've been burned lately with games appealling to a retro sense that just turn out bad, heh

[mailman187666]

I finally found a copy of the game after going to about 5 stores. I like it so far but it is one of those games where you gotta level up a lot right in the beggining. So far I enjoy playing it, but it isnt the type of game thats for everybody.

[ubersaurus]

I have a few friends who bought it and love it, but they acknowledge that you have to be a fan of the old style dungeon crawlers where you had to make your own map to get any enjoyment out of it.

[8Ways2Tuesday]

I don't think it's awful, but the difficulty curve is insanely frustrating at the beginning.

[PapaStu]

Thread merging BUMPO!

[PDorr3]

I have been considering picking this up lately and was wondering if anyone had any new impressions on it.

[Damaramu]

I picked this game up from a younger gamer who had no appreciation for the old-school dungeon crawlers (ie, he hated this game) and sold it to me for $20. He barely put in 20 minutes into the game.

Yeah, I'm really digging it. I'm playing it with the automap feature turned on. Anyone else playing that way as well?

I don't mind leveling up in games like this at all....I think I'm one of the few people out there who actually enjoys walking around and just fighting; it makes for good quickie games when I don't have much time to spare. I think also, I'm going to try out that wood chopping Alchemist trick. I could use the cash!

So far, so good! Really digging the game!

[Raedon]

I'm down to lvl 14 .. cant talk now ... *RUNS OFF*

[PDorr3]

I had no idea that it even featured an auto map feature, I guess using that can help out alot if you hate making the map, however I would probably end up using the automap feature since mapping the map myself would just probably feel really sluggish.

[notoriusvig]

I think the idea of making the maps manually is the main selling point for me on this game. I love dungeon crawlers that mostly involve combat and little story depth. I bought Deep Labyrinth late last year expecting something really good and was disappointed in it. How does this game compare to Deep Labyrinth, for anyone who has played both games?

[mailman187666]

Etrian Odeysee beats the shit outta Deep Labyrinth any day. I'm pissed right now cuz I was really getting into Etrian Odeysee. I went away for the weekend and brought it with me, put the cartridge down somewhere, and never found it again. Every RPG I own for the DS, I end up putting it somewhere and losing it. I'm on my 2nd FF3.

But I reccomend anybody that like dungeon crawlers, and Dragonquest style turnbased role playing. Its kinda hard to find in stores for me right now so I may have to buy another one soon.

[FantasiaWHT]

Etrian Odyssey >>>>> Deep Labyrinth

The game is brutal tho... I suggest aiming your medic straight for revive to get it as soon as possible... otherwise it's a long trek back when just one character dies.

What parties do people have? I'm running around with Landsknecht, Protector, Survivalist, Medic, Alchemist. I hated the Dark Hunter, but I haven't really tried a troubadour yet.

Oh I'm almost finished mapping out the 4th floor, to give you an idea where I am.

[spunibard]

i picked this up a week ago last Monday. it was very engaging at first. after the first 5 floors it wasn't as exciting but was still pretty fun. now that i'm approaching the 10th floor it is getting more exciting again. i wish there was an in game timer, i can only guess that i've played it 12-13 hours but that's only a wild guess.

i find most modern rpgs to be easy to their fault, this one has more challenge which seems to make it more interesting.

on a side note i really like the sprites / artwork which have a unique feeling to me.

regarding automap, i've played with it off until just Today. all it does is paint each floor grid you step on. stepping on every square has benefits (you can only see FOEs on the grid where you have stepped) so i only paint where i've actually stepped. automap makes that more convenient without taking away the fun of obsessively mapping out the walls and other items.

[calthaer]

I just obtained two copies (one for me, one for future trade fodder) of this game recently. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised to be enjoying this game so much.

Back in the day I really used to enjoy The Bard's Tale, and I had always meant to go back and finish BT2 & 3 via Apple emulator, but I couldn't get my Laser 128 to transfer my old Character Disks...

I thought that the days of me enjoying this sort of dungeon crawler had long gone, but EO has me somewhat hooked. I can see myself putting it down at some point in the future and coming back to it, but it's solid. IMO the difficulty level is very spot-on: you need strategy to go in there and win the tough fights, but if you're careful you can usually survive...unless it's against a FOE, which are supposed to be really hard - I'm waiting until I can defeat the other foes on the level with ease before I go up against that thing. For now my strategy is to avoid them.

The "shortcut" warps, the events, and the item-selling / "forging" process add a lot to the playability. The mapping feature is genuinely fun, and the quest system is easy to get into. I also like the skill system - reminds me quite a bit of Valkyrie Profile and games like that (in fact, it's almost ripped right from VP, it seems).

The only thing that this game seriously lacks - and could use - is a random map generator. The maps are simple enough that they really could use this to good effect.

I like it; I would recommend it. It's a little slower-paced, but if you at all like the old-school dungeon crawlers, you should definitely pick this one up.

My current party consists of a Protector, a Dark Hunter, an Alchemist, a Troubadour, and a Medic.

I will probably make a second party that uses the same Medic but switches out the others for some survivalists and a Landsknecht (needed for one of the quests). The cool thing is that you can switch out equipment among your "league" members.

[shoes23]

I really got into it for about the first 5 hours and then I couldn't take the level grinding anymore. The first and second floors were relatively easy, but from the third on you better have a great party and be at a high level. I might go back and pick it up with some help from a FAQ since it seems that many of the skills are useless to throw a bunch of points onto and without some of the better abilities your party can be decimated fairly quickly.

The mapping system was pretty cool though, reminded me of the days when I would map the levels of Wizardry.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I finally got the game a few weeks ago off eBay. I can't put it down...

Started the fifth stratum (21st lvl) yesterday, what a twist! :D

I was running with a;

Landsnecht/Protector front row and a Survivalist/Alchemist/Medic back row until the second stratum.

I then changed to 5 Troubadours 3 in front 2 in back. By the time my party was lvl 22 they all had Divinity maxed. With 5 Troubles this nets you a xp bonus factor of 3.8 - I hit the lvl cap of 70 by the end of the Third Stratum! :D

I'm retiring one of the Troubadours at a time to start off my new original party of LPSAM so they can all start lvl 1 with 9 skill points and I'll finish the game with them. I'm expecting to hit a wall when 5 bards won't cut it... but, I haven't yet. With HP Up maxed a lvl 70 Trouble will have ~600 HP. In battle, a lvl 10 Stamina Song will make it ~900 HP and a maxed Healing Song heals each member of your party for ~120 each turn. Maxed Bravery Song gives you a 50%-100% (dependent on enemy being weak to physical attacks or not) damage increase for the entire party. Best part of Bard Songs is they don't stop and only cost TP once. Troubles can use swords and bows which make them good fighters in either line... I <3 Trouble. :D

If you can't tell... I like this game... A LOT. It's now among my all-time favorite list. Time to go back into the labyrinth. :)