Etrian Excellency
I ordered Etrian Odyssey hearing many reviews about the very high difficulty and the small audience the game appeals to. This made me question buying the game, for quite a long time actually.
Eventually I decided why not? If I didn't like it I could resell and be out a few bucks, but atleast I would get a game to try. And from what I've heard the people who like the game LOVE it.
The game is a typical turn based strategy, except the difficulty is x10. It's a very time consuming game, to get through the first floor took me about 2-3 hours. There was some level grinding, or time when you just battle for the sake of leveling, which is somewhat of a pain, but I dont mind it.
The story line of the game is almost non-existent, but it's one of those games that doesnt need a storyline. The mapping of dungeons makes up for all of the flaws. Everytime you enter a new area you use the stylus on the bottom screen to map out all the walls and path. It seems like it'd be tiresome, but it's actually really fun. Especially when you wander off too far and you are left with a complete mess of paths.
Characters are completely customizable, but more to that of common sense. Each time you level you get a skill point, you can use these points on a selection of skills such as battle skills, weapon skills, stat up (ie hitpoint up), etc., Using points may also unlock new skills, from my experience at level 1, 5, and 10 a skill new skill may be unlocked.
There aren't horribly a lot of skills, and the game doesn't seem too dependant on them. It doesn't seem like a game you need to constantly check a walkthrough on, though checking one for 'secret passages' is extremely helpful in the long run.
Battle interface is excellent, simple, and basically equivalent to any Final Fantasy. Theres a front row and a back row, magic users generally in back, warriors in front. Characters are well balanced too, there isn't really a horrible character or an extremely good one. Though, a healer is always needed. Melee attacks are usually the most common attack, but in harder battles magic is used. Magic is extremely powerful, but not plentiful.
Like I said earlier, everything seems very well balanced, yet completely customizable. The town interface has quite a few useful options also. The first is the typical inn, which allows you to save and sleep for a full heal. Second is a shop menu, which is very unique to this game. To buy items in typical rpgs you defeat enemies and receive gold. In Etrian Odyssey you instead kill enemies and receive item drops. Item drops are sold to shops for gold, but once you sell enough of an item new weapons and armors are unlocked. Therefore, you receive new items based on how much you battle. Money doesn't seem too plentiful, but where I am so far the amount of money seems sufficient. Just remember, always have enough money for the inn!
Also in the town menu there is an explorers guild, which lets you change your party, create new characters, etc., Next is the Hall, which is a beastiary/item glossary. Also offers main quests time to time. Finally is the pub. The pub gives miniquests which are quite fun and give you smaller objectives to accomplish.
All in all I rate Etrian Odyssey a 9.5/10. I will probably buy the sequel coming out soon! Easily my favorite DS game! I'm addicted
If you're not a hardcore RPG player you probably wont appreciate it. But if you're looking for a challenging game pick this title up for sureRead full review
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