![]() Although it's possible to put together a questing party with any mix of classes that suit the player's fancy, careful selection and experimentation will yield fantastic results.įor example, by putting a Landsknecht, a Nightseeker, and a Dancer in the same row, I was able to have each of their special abilities trigger special abilities in the others, resulting in an enormous cascade of multiple attacks that drowned enemies in damage. Making note of these things will often reap great rewards later in the game, and it's richly satisfying to start with a blank screen and end up with a beautiful diagram laying bare the secrets of each area.Īnother twist to the dungeon-crawl formula is that the combat system and interplay between character classes is incredibly nuanced and intricate. Shortcuts are revealed, non-player characters (NPCs) pop up unexpectedly, and locked treasure chests will be stumbled across. I can hear the moaning and groaning already, but trust me, drawing this map is incredibly engaging and far more interesting than it sounds.Įvery dungeon holds a number of secrets to be marked and twisting passageways to be assessed. The first is that the player is required to draw their own map on the Nintendo 3DS's lower touch screen. This formula may sound ordinary enough, but there are a few significant twists that set it apart. Once a team is assembled, the player heads out into the first area and starts to poke around while fending off all sorts of nasty creatures that pop up. The player begins by custom-creating five characters from a variety of classes: the armor-clad Fortress, the life-saving Medic, the elemental Runemaster, the blindingly fast Dancer, and so on. Although I'm someone who usually gets a lot of value from narrative, the construction and design of Etrian is so strong that even though I can hardly remember what Legends of the Titan was about, it doesn't matter-all of my fondest memories are of simply playing it.Įtrian Odyssey is all about crawling through a series of dungeons from a first-person perspective and exploring every corner. This is an important thing to note because in this series, the plot takes a very distant backseat to the gameplay. Each new installment is a stand-alone adventure that continues with the same general design and mechanics, but nothing else. The stories do not connect with each other, and no characters reappear. While some thematic elements are consistent throughout the series, no previous knowledge of the older entries is required to enjoy this one. Not only is Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan the best in an already-outstanding series, it's one of the most polished and finely-crafted dungeon-crawl games I've ever spent time with.įor those not familiar with the Etrian games, have no fear. It was already so great, how could it be? Once again, I felt that it possibly couldn't get any better. When that third one came, it was… well, pretty fantastic. When it comes to the Etrian Odyssey series, I never learn.Īfter reviewing the second in the series (and loving it) I didn't see how a third could be appreciably better. WTF Four great games and this series is still largely unknown? LOW Getting stuck (twice) after falling for false in-game information. HIGH Using Deep Forest Lore the first time
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