by 7 people |
Welcome to Etria!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the difficulty of your favorite RPG? How many times have you sighed to see 'GAME OVER' plastered across your DS screen? In today's game market, most games are designed to be easy. People often are able to beat these games quickly, and with little effort. Some of these gamers might even call these games TOO easy, and fondly look back to Old-School, do-it-yourself RPG's like Wizardry. That's where Etrian Odyssey comes in. Hailed as 'maschoistic', 'the oldest of old school', and 'a breath of fresh air', this game has become a cult classic for its user-made characters, deep, mysterious dungeons and above average difficulty. Produced by an all-star class of artists, musicians, and programmers, this game series (the first one's been out since '07; the sequel, Heroes of Lagaard, was released in June of '08) has brought first-person RPG's back into the public eye. Be sure to read below about these fantastic games!
Contents
If only navigation in the game was this easy...
- The Story
- The Classes
- Character's Poll
- Gameplay
- Buy Etrian Odysssey!
- FOE! FOE!
- Buy Etrian Odyssey II!
- Adventurer's Poll
- The New Classes
- War Magus
- Beast
- The Gunner
- Which is your favorite new class?
- If you liked Etrian Odyssey...
- The 1st Stratum makes for great trainin'.
- Useful Links
- Blogging on Etria
- Golden Deer Pub
- More Stuff from NeonZeppelin
The Story
The Labyrinth swallowed all...
Innocents were stranded;
sinners drowned in the depths;
the damned vanished there.
The great power was lost to Man,
and Mother Earth turned her back to the New World.
Only the cursed king on his throne in the abyss remembers that golden age.
With that, Etrian Odyssey begins. You find yourself in the forest town of Etria, at its center the Radha Hall. This town has gained fame for the legend that surrounds it, the legend of the mysterious Ygg'Drasil Labyrinth, and the labyrinth's vast, uncharted depths have the end of countless explorers. Now, it is your turn to take on the task of plunging into its depths with the hope of solving the mystery to this strange land engraved in your mind. But before you can begin, you're going to need to enlist an exploration party.
The Classes
Make your characters; create your world...
Before you can begin your jouney into the depths of Ygg'Drasil, you'll need to stop by the Explorer's Guild to name your organization and create a party. In Etrian Odyssey, there are nine playable classes, seven available for you at the game's beginning, two more unlocked later on. Here, I'll show you the classes you have to choose from. Landsknecht
The Warrior Class
The Landsknecht is your basic hack 'n' slash fighter class, and likely to be your main fighter in the game. They are a solid class, and all of the skill they can learn are likely to work well in the Labyrinth. Landsknechts can specialize or either swords or axes, and although swords are less expensive, axes can do more damage. Protector
The Crusading Tank
The Protector, like the Landskecht, is a strong attacker, but unlike her warrior counterpart, she(or he) is also able to protect the rest of the party with skills like Front Guard and Defender. With effort, Protectors can also learn the Smite skill, which is a big help against bosses and stronger monsters. Alchemist
The High-Powered Magic User
Designed to pound down on monsters with cool-looking magic and venom attacks, Alchemists often are life-savers in boss battles. Be careful, though: these guys run out of TP fast, and will go down quickly if they themselves are actually attacked. Survivalist
The Bow-Wielding Forest Master
Survivalists are your bow-and-arrow class. With their focus on tracking/evasion, item gathering, and cool-sounding arrow attacks, they're a useful, pretty versatile class. Best of all, they hold up as powerful attackers with skills like Multihit and Apollon. Medic
The All-Essential Healer
All right, you NEED this class. Without a medic in your party, even the most powerful group of explorers will quickly run out of health and be killed. It's a good idea to put a lot of skill points into TP at first, as you'll be using loads of it. If you'd like, you could also put some time into maxing out Attack, learning Cadeucus, and putting your healer on the front line as a battle medic. Dark Hunter
The Cold-Blooded Trapper
The Dark Hunter is a very specialized class, and players of Etrian Odyssey either love them or can't stand 'em. They're expertise lies in binding the opponents so that they can't attack, and then finishing them with powerful strikes. Although I haven't used one myself, with the right preparations they're a force to be reckoned with. Troubador
The Kind-Hearted Booster Class
Although they are weak by themselves, the Troubadors are a useful class in that they are able to raise and lower the stats of others through song skills. They can also attack with bows for a fair amount of damage, though they shouldn't be relied upon for attacking skills. Ronin
The Oriental Katana Master
The Ronin is, in a word, risky. Although they are able to deal massive amounts of damage with their swords, both their health and TP are below average, and they must adopt particular fighting stances to use specific attacks. Don't doubt their power, though, these guys might cut you to shreds. Hexer
The Morbid Curse-User
The Hexer, like the Ronin, isn't available at the start of Etrian Odyssey, and some people have debated whether or not its worth it to train one of these guys up. Hexers specialize in making your opponent's lives miserable: they are able to curse their targets to remain unmoving, turn on their fellow monsters, or even commit suicide. Depending on your playing style, the Hexer class may or may not be worth your time. Character's Poll
Give your explorational opinion.
Loading poll. Please Wait...
Gameplay
How the world works (in Etria, at least)
In Etrian Odyssey, you'll be spending your days going back and forth between the town of Etria and the Ygg'Drasil Labyrinth. While the town is shown in an illustration and menu format, the Labyrinth is in a beautiful first-person 3D. One of the most unique things about EO is that, unlike in most RPG games, you have to make your own maps on the DS touch-screen. Maps can be as accurate (or sloppy) as you want, and are easily drawn with the tools provided. Be aware of an important fact, the monsters in Etria are by no means pushovers. Many a time first-time players will find their party taken out by a rampant mole or butterfly. What you should really fear, though, are the FOE's- high powered sub-bosses that could beat you into a pulp within two turns. Lucky for you, they show up on the map, so with careful planning they can be avoided. Oh, and don't get ready for monsters to drop gold everywhere on their death beds- all you'll be getting is carcasses. You can then take what you find and sell it back at the local weapons shop to unlock new weapons, armor, and items to further your adventures. Buy Etrian Odysssey!
Experience the labyrinth...
Etrian Odyssey
Amazon Price: $100.98 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $29.99
Used Price: $14.99
FOE! FOE!
If EO has a classic vid, this is it
This viral little video has practically become the anthem of Etrian Odyssey fans in Japan and America.
Buy Etrian Odyssey II!
Reach for the skies in this exciting new adventure...
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard
Amazon Price: $31.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
Featuring three cool new character classes, bigger, tougher monsters and bosses and a whole new realm to explore, Etrian Odyssesy II: Heroes of Lagaard starts of in the glorious duchy of High Lagaard, where the duke of the land is hiring adventurers to search for the treasure of an ancient, floating castle said to have been a sort of Noah's Ark for his ancestors. Adventure, mystery, and a good load of monster-bashing awaits in this great continuation of the series.
Adventurer's Poll
Express your opinion here.
Loading poll. Please Wait...
The New Classes
Update your party for a new odyssey
With the release of Heroes of Lagaard came three cool new character classes: the War Magus, Gunner, and Beast. Here, I'll explain how these cool new additions to the game work and how to use them in your party. War Magus
The Versatile Hybrid Class
An exceedingly interesting class, the War Magus is a Jack-of-all-trades, essentially able to function as a supporter, healer, and one-of-a-kind battler all at once. Use these guys right, and they can be a real blessing. Beast
The Ever-Loyal Tank
If you've ever played Pokemon, just imagine a Snorlax and you'll get an idea for what these guys are like. Don't invest in Loyalty, though, as you'll find you furry companion quickly brought down in FOE battles. The Gunner
The Stalwart Soldier
A viable alternative to the Alchemist, Gunners have access to a wide variety of skills based on their magical firearms. Their biggest flaw, though, is a severe lack of speed. Which is your favorite new class?
The best of the new
Loading poll. Please Wait...
If you liked Etrian Odyssey...
Some other great games for the RPG enthusiast
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
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Rondo of Swords
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Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns
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Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
In days now long past, the War of the Lions rent t more...0 points
Kingdom Hearts II
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The 1st Stratum makes for great trainin'.
Useful Links
Links for the budding adventurer
- Etrian Odyssey's Official Website
- Come see the place where the adventure started!
- Heroes of Lagaard's Official Website
- The adventures continue in Lagaard!
- An EO Fansite
- Visit Into The Labyrinth, the only EO fansite!
- An Etrian Fan Forum
- Into The Labyrinth's great fanforum!
- The Official EO Forums
- Come see Atlus' official forum for the game.
- The European EO Website
- People from Europe can now experience the adventure, too!
Blogging on Etria
Golden Deer Pub
Spin tales of your adventures here
submit
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Reply
- tirial tirial Jun 19, 2009 @ 6:31 am
- Great Lens - I was going to turn a review into a lens, but I think you've said everything I was going to. Are you looking forward to the sequel?
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Reply
- pyrox02 pyrox02 Jun 14, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
- Nice lens. I found it because I was considering making one for this game! You beat me to it, and I won't even try to top you.
More Stuff from NeonZeppelin
To Etria and Beyond...
- My Debate Lens on Guitar Hero
- A cool debate lens about Guitar Hero and games like it.
- My Fire Emblem Lens
- My personal fan-lens for the totally awesome Fire Emblem games.
by NeonZeppelin
Just your average teenage writer-to-be and comics keeper (as well as musical maniac, grinding gamer, & senseless squid). Hope you like my lenses, I kn... (more)
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