My Etrian Odyssey

I'm digging Etrian Odyssey a whole lot, it's got a ton of of game play in it and while it does occasionally touch on the monotonous it's leveling periods don't really take that long. It's not a game for those that like to swap out games in their DS often. You can't save just anywhere, and there are long moments when you really don't want to leave where you are and thus sleeping the DS is the only option. I've heard rumor of a level that insists you stay on it for a long stretch (many game days) and I'm planning ahead for the time when EO is the only game in my DS.

It's variety of characters to play is quite awesome, they are all each rather unique and the game does allow the player to form an experience unique to that player. The gem invites the player to write their own story, to ignore the character artwork even, if you desire and focus more on what is in you mind's eye. It inspires that very rare gift: imagination.

The inability to save within a dungeon lends itself to a much stronger feeling of anxiety surrounding some events. Dying wastes a lot of time and money so players really don't like it when it happens however the game seems quite happy with decimating the party given one wrong step. EO inspired topics listing turn based games that you could game over by death in fewest number of steps. I have a respect for games that invite that sort of comparison. It certainly proves that Save Anywhere systems lose some measure of effect. Especially when you're sweatin' it out on a fifth floor long haul because your stupid Bard forgot to buy a warp wire.

My party's first stalker killing is fresh in my memory because a previous incarnation of said party had been obliterated by one of those mantis shaped monstrosities only weeks before. We still lost our rogue in the fight but he enjoys that sort of thing and we had a feather to relight his flame, anyway.

I like the fact that you can search for "Etrian" at gamefaqs and it's the only hit.

I like all the fan stuff around the game, there's a lot of talent on board. IOSYS's tracks are something not to be ignored.

I wish the mapping feature would have been more appropriate and integrated (visually, a parchment and map completeness rewards) but my complaints of that element aside it is a near perfect game for what it set out to do (and I'm only five floors deep right now with tons of play ahead of me.) I highly recommend it to those who are tired of today's overabundant story-driven (such as the stories are) RPGs.

I'd like to see a game with EO's mechanics but a top-down rogue-like perspective...on a console...prefer a handheld. I thought D&D Tactics might be one of those but haven't had the time to focus on it yet, it's dungeons are pre-manufactured but I can deal with that if they're good and I really do appreciate line of sight taken into account in these things.

Bah, enough with the opinion, game on.