My copy of the DS game Etrian Odyssey arrived last Thursday — I finally broke down and ordered the damned thing on eBay. I’ve been playing it with some regularity since it showed up in my mailbox. Thus far I’m very, very happy indeed.
I’ve been wanting to write about it, but I’d rather not just dump yet another review onto the interwebs, particularly when I’m not even close to any kind of conclusion. Instead, I thought I might write a little about what it’s like to play it. I suppose it’s a bit like a diary.
First a little background: Etrian Odyssey is a DS RPG released by Atlus. The entire game is centered around a single massive dungeon. There’s only one town with a single shop for all of your standard RPG needs. Battles are turn based with the participants taking one action per turn roughly in order of their speed. It’s pretty much the very same system that has been in place as long as these sorts of games have been, well, video games.
And that’s just it: the most refreshing aspect of Etrian Odyssey is its dogged use of formula. It’s almost soothing, in a way. Now I can see why Dragon Quest has been such a consistent draw in Japan. It’s like video game comfort food. I know that when I pick “attack” my dude will attack as soon as he’s allowed. I can set down the DS at this point, leave it for as long as I want, and when I pick it up I won’t have missed anything. I didn’t need to play a little rhythm game to get more damage. I didn’t lose any actions because I wasn’t paying attention. I can sit back and contemplate strategy. Or not.
The other big thing about Etrian Odyssey is the map. You have to make it yourself. Because it’s a DS game there’s that second screen to do something with. Instead of using it to move or enter commands the touch screen always displays the map, which you draw with the stylus. Because everything is at 90° angles it’s not too difficult. It makes the labyrinth seem that much more sinister and rewarding. I really feel like I’ve found something when I peek around a corner and scribble it onto my map.
After naming my guild — Badger, after my rambunctious 3-legged cat who in turn was given this name due to the badger’s tenacity and burrowing prowess — I made one each of the game’s 7 character classes1 and put together an expeditionary force of 5. My first team consisted of a Landsnknecht (what other games might just call a “warrior,” he’s a straightforward attacker), a Protector (or knight), a Dark Hunter (a debuffer), a Survivalist (woodsman type that uses bows), and a Medic (the necessary healer). I played this team for a little while before realizing that I was probably going to need some magic and swapped the Dark Hunter for an Alchemist (this one casts spells like the ubiquitous fire and ice). Then a bit later I swapped out the Survivalist for the Dark Hunter again. I thought those debuffs might come in handy. Her poison strike certainly does when it hits. I’m still not quite satisfied. Once I get those last 2 classes I’ll probably do some more rearranging.
1 There are actually 9, but I’ve yet to unlock the others.
