Etrian Odyssey

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Etrian Odyssey

Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Atlus, Nintendo (Europe and Australia)
Designer(s)	Kazuya Niinou
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date	^JP January 18, 2007 ^NA May 15, 2007 ^EU June 6, 2008
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	CERO: All Ages (A) ESRB: T (Teen)
Media	Nintendo DS Game Card

Etrian Odyssey, formerly known as Yggdrasil Labyrinth, ^[1] is a 3D dungeon crawler RPG by Atlus for the Nintendo DS. In Japan, the game is known as Sekaiju no Meikyū (世界樹の迷宮, Sekaiju no Meikyū^? lit. "World Tree Labyrinth"). It was released on January 18, 2007 in Japan, and May 15, 2007 in North America.

1 Development
2 Gameplay
3 Reception
4 Sequel
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Development

The title was first announced by Atlus through Famitsū after demonstrating it behind closed doors at E3 2006.

The development team within Atlus was led by Kazuya Niinou who also directed the development of Atlus' first in-house game for the DS, Trauma Center: Under the Knife. The game features character designs by Yuuji Himukai, monster design by Shin Nagasawa, a story by Shigeo Komori, and FM-like music by Yuzo Koshiro.

[edit] Gameplay

Drawing comparisons to titles such as Wizardry and The Bard's Tale [1], Etrian Odyssey challenges players with exploring and mapping a vast dungeon. In classic fashion, players navigate through the dungeon a single "step" at a time, moving and turning in fixed increments. Time passes only when an action is taken, causing movement, random encounters, and combat to all be entirely turn-based. The game uses a first-person view to present the dungeon using a combination of relatively simple 3D graphics for environments and single-frame 2D sprites for enemies.

As in the era prior to the inclusion of automatic mapping in the genre, Etrian Odyssey requires that players maintain their own map. However, rather than doing so on a separate sheet of graph paper, players do this by directly annotating (with the stylus) a small map displayed on the DS' touchscreen. The accuracy of the map is entirely controlled by the player, so he or she is free to map accurately or haphazardly. However, since the ability to successfully navigate back out of the dungeon (in order to save the game by returning to town) relies on keeping an accurate map, doing so is highly advantageous.

Players create their own characters from several different character types. Each character type has at least one special skill or aptitude. While only five characters can be in the party at a single time, a much larger number can be created and kept in waiting back at the "guild hall". Characters can be switched in and out when in town, so if a given specialty is needed for a specific obstacle, the party can be tailored appropriately. The player customizes characters by allocating skill points to specific skills during level advancement.

[edit] Reception

Although the title was recognized as accomplishing its goals (in terms of presenting a very classic RPG experience), it was noted that this greatly limits its appeal to a certain "hardcore" demographic. The IGN review noted, "[...] if you gave this game to ten players you may find one or two in the group that truly enjoy it."^[2] GamePro concurred, remarking "Ultimately, this one is for fans of the genre and not for the short-on-time."^[3]

Most reviews noted that those who enjoy rigorous dungeon crawls or fondly recall similar titles from years past may greatly enjoy the game. 1UP.com summarized this sentiment by concluding "Etrian Odyssey will definitely appeal more to the OCD'd than the ADD'd, and its punishing difficulty and very deliberate pacing may turn off younger gamers who grew up on flashier roleplayers. But it offers a real sense of wonder and a sense of accomplishment -- feelings missing from far too many modern games."^[4]

[edit] Sequel

Atlus announced a sequel for this game[2]. It was reported that the game will feature up to 12 job classes and that Yuji Himukai, Makoto Nagasawa and Yuzo Koshiro will reprise their roles, while Shigeo Komori will take the role of director. All original character classes will be included, along with three new classes, the Pet, Gunner, and War Magus. Released screenshots also show that the mapping system has been improved, with new symbols that can be added to the map for more detailed and accurate maps. The game was released on February 21, 2008 in Japan. It will be released in the USA on June 17 under the title Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard.