DarkDragoonX
05-23-2007, 05:36 AM
As anyone who's seen enough of my posts in GGD knows, I'm a big oldschool gamer, particularly in the realm of RPGs. When most folks are raving about FFXII, I get halfway through, get bored, and settle in for another fun-filled trip through Wizardry III.
So, when I heard about Etrian Odyssey on the DS... a first-person RPG modeled after the RPGs of yore (Wizardry in particular), well, I practically crapped a bucket. Etrian Odyssey released about a week ago, and I've been playing it ever since. And it is everything I hoped it would be.
So, basic premise is, there's a big wonkin' dungeon, right? It's essentially a big forest that emanates from somewhere deep underground. A town has sprung up around it, catering to the adventurers who would explore the depths and try to discover the secret of the forest. Those adventures, are, of course, you.
You create your own party of adventurers in this game, just like the RPGs from back in the day. There are 9 character classes to choose from: Protector, Landsknecht, Dark Hunter, Troubadour, Survivalist, Alchemist, Medic, Ronin, and Hexer (Ronin and Hexer aren't available until certain requirements are met). The Dark Hunter, incidentally, is the best character class in any game, EVER. When specialized in whips, Dark Hunters can Bind the opponents body parts (removing their ability to perform special moves requiring that body part), with abilities such as Gag, Shackle, and Cuffs. An opponent with every part under the effects of Bind can then be subjected to a highly damaging whip attack called "Ecstasy." They also gain an attack that can instantly kill a low-hp enemy while draining their HP called "Climax." I mean really... who could ask for more?
You can have up to 5 characters in your party at once, and up to 16 (I think) characters total, allowing you to return to town and swap one PC for another if so so desire. Likewise, characters gain skill points upon leveling, allowing you to specialize your PCs exactly how you want them. Your Landsknecht can be either a sword-using blender designed to tear through groups of foes with ease, or an axe-wielding berserker designed for massive single target damge with the added bonus of being able to Bind an opponent's arms (synergizes very well with the aforementioned Dark Hunter).
Speaking of synergies, the classes are all brilliantly designed. The old standby of "meatshield/melee/nuker/healer/other" still works, but there is almost no end to the amount of effective unusual class combinations you can develop thanks to the amazing synergies classes share. A sword-based Landsknecht, generally a build best suited for multiple-enemy damage, can become a single-target powerhouse when using his elemental attacks with support from an alchemist. A Ronin (a melee class) can sub in for an Alchemist (a mage) with support from a Troubadour. And the list goes on.
Dungeon exploration is a blast, too. View is from a first-person perspective using a tile-based system (ala Wizardry, Eye of the beholder, etc.). Remember the old days when you would carefully map out the dungeons floors on graph paper to avoid getting lost? Well, the same thing applies here, only now you use the bottom screen as your graph paper! With the stylus, you can mark floors, walls, doors, chests, and make notes at points of interest. It's one of the best uses for the touchscreen I've seen in a while, as it is actually useful and functional, rather than being a largely worthless gimmick.
The game is also actually challenging. Not quite Wizardry difficult, but harder than, for example, Shining in the Darkness. Early in the game (as in, on the first floor of the dungeon, before I even finished the tutorial) I had my ass handed to me when I threw caution to the winds and decided to rest in a grove of flowers when given the option. My party of level three adventurers were quickly violated by a group of poison moths that you normally don't encounter until the second floor of the dungeon. Even at level 6 or so, a single turn of being afflicted by their poison is enough to reduce a PC's health by half. Ow. You learn very quickly that the dungeon is to be respected... don't think you can just waltz through it! Progress will be slow and painstaking, but delivers a great sense of satisfaction upon successfully clearing a floor.
I could go on and on, but you likely don't want to read five pages of me gushing about the awesomeness of this game. Suffice to say in closing that this game IS awesome, and anybody who enjoys the first-person RPGs of the past will find one of the best RPGs in quite some time. Even if you haven't played any of the old RPGs, it's worth at least giving it a shot, as this type of gameplay, while not fast-paced, or having a dramatic story, nevertheless is challenging, solid, and satisfying like most RPGs aren't these days.
EDIT: Oh, and for those who want to take a look at the game...
Official site: www.atlus.com/etrian/
Preview video, a good sumamry of the game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ5KGg6Bk5A
(Also, the phrase "hardness of your core, and oldness of your school" is an excellent phrase... note to self to remember that!)
So, when I heard about Etrian Odyssey on the DS... a first-person RPG modeled after the RPGs of yore (Wizardry in particular), well, I practically crapped a bucket. Etrian Odyssey released about a week ago, and I've been playing it ever since. And it is everything I hoped it would be.
So, basic premise is, there's a big wonkin' dungeon, right? It's essentially a big forest that emanates from somewhere deep underground. A town has sprung up around it, catering to the adventurers who would explore the depths and try to discover the secret of the forest. Those adventures, are, of course, you.
You create your own party of adventurers in this game, just like the RPGs from back in the day. There are 9 character classes to choose from: Protector, Landsknecht, Dark Hunter, Troubadour, Survivalist, Alchemist, Medic, Ronin, and Hexer (Ronin and Hexer aren't available until certain requirements are met). The Dark Hunter, incidentally, is the best character class in any game, EVER. When specialized in whips, Dark Hunters can Bind the opponents body parts (removing their ability to perform special moves requiring that body part), with abilities such as Gag, Shackle, and Cuffs. An opponent with every part under the effects of Bind can then be subjected to a highly damaging whip attack called "Ecstasy." They also gain an attack that can instantly kill a low-hp enemy while draining their HP called "Climax." I mean really... who could ask for more?
You can have up to 5 characters in your party at once, and up to 16 (I think) characters total, allowing you to return to town and swap one PC for another if so so desire. Likewise, characters gain skill points upon leveling, allowing you to specialize your PCs exactly how you want them. Your Landsknecht can be either a sword-using blender designed to tear through groups of foes with ease, or an axe-wielding berserker designed for massive single target damge with the added bonus of being able to Bind an opponent's arms (synergizes very well with the aforementioned Dark Hunter).
Speaking of synergies, the classes are all brilliantly designed. The old standby of "meatshield/melee/nuker/healer/other" still works, but there is almost no end to the amount of effective unusual class combinations you can develop thanks to the amazing synergies classes share. A sword-based Landsknecht, generally a build best suited for multiple-enemy damage, can become a single-target powerhouse when using his elemental attacks with support from an alchemist. A Ronin (a melee class) can sub in for an Alchemist (a mage) with support from a Troubadour. And the list goes on.
Dungeon exploration is a blast, too. View is from a first-person perspective using a tile-based system (ala Wizardry, Eye of the beholder, etc.). Remember the old days when you would carefully map out the dungeons floors on graph paper to avoid getting lost? Well, the same thing applies here, only now you use the bottom screen as your graph paper! With the stylus, you can mark floors, walls, doors, chests, and make notes at points of interest. It's one of the best uses for the touchscreen I've seen in a while, as it is actually useful and functional, rather than being a largely worthless gimmick.
The game is also actually challenging. Not quite Wizardry difficult, but harder than, for example, Shining in the Darkness. Early in the game (as in, on the first floor of the dungeon, before I even finished the tutorial) I had my ass handed to me when I threw caution to the winds and decided to rest in a grove of flowers when given the option. My party of level three adventurers were quickly violated by a group of poison moths that you normally don't encounter until the second floor of the dungeon. Even at level 6 or so, a single turn of being afflicted by their poison is enough to reduce a PC's health by half. Ow. You learn very quickly that the dungeon is to be respected... don't think you can just waltz through it! Progress will be slow and painstaking, but delivers a great sense of satisfaction upon successfully clearing a floor.
I could go on and on, but you likely don't want to read five pages of me gushing about the awesomeness of this game. Suffice to say in closing that this game IS awesome, and anybody who enjoys the first-person RPGs of the past will find one of the best RPGs in quite some time. Even if you haven't played any of the old RPGs, it's worth at least giving it a shot, as this type of gameplay, while not fast-paced, or having a dramatic story, nevertheless is challenging, solid, and satisfying like most RPGs aren't these days.
EDIT: Oh, and for those who want to take a look at the game...
Official site: www.atlus.com/etrian/
Preview video, a good sumamry of the game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ5KGg6Bk5A
(Also, the phrase "hardness of your core, and oldness of your school" is an excellent phrase... note to self to remember that!)