Quite possibly one of the greatest RPGs I have ever played. I remember trying out this game, confident in my MegaTen skills after beating Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4, only to receive a brutal kick to the face for having no Etrian Odyssey experience whatsoever. I decided to give it another go after beating Etrian 1 and 2, and boy am I glad I did.
The gameplay combines crucial EO elements (Teams of 5 separated into two rows, map drawing, status ailments being somewhat useful), with bits and pieces of Persona elements thrown in the mix (Using personas/Fusing personas, obviously using the casts of Persona 3 and 4, as well as re-using the enemies from said games). It still contains the classic Atlus difficulty as well as the early-on EO difficulty, but this time it only feels challenging, not frustrating.
In terms of story, this game has one of the best stories (In my opinion) in the series. I won't spoil it in case you guys want to play it for yourself, but essentially, the casts of Persona 3 and 4 become trapped in a culture festival in another world, with some of the displays being the labyrinths you traverse through. They then meet two original characters and together, they try to find their way back to their own world as well as find out reason they were trapped here to begin with.
The soundtrack is great (especially the boss themes) and with gameplay that's fun yet challenging and never feels repetitive (One of my biggest gripes with the Etrian series), its no wonder I gave this game 5 stars
But you want to know what the best part is?
THEY FIXED ETRIAN'S MATERIAL GATHERING SYSTEM
Thank the fucking lord for that. Etrian's material gathering system sucked major ass because it forced you waste precious skill points just for a little extra money and more weapons/armor. But this game doesn't have skill points so instead they have it to where you can just gather materials at a power spot 3-5 times without the need for any special skills. I swear to god when I found out, I saw the light and heard God's heavenly choir and trumpets playing.
So yeah, pretty great game overall. If you're an Etrian fan, this is an easy recommendation. But if you're a Persona/MegaTen fan, I recommend playing at least Etrian 1 first.
The gameplay combines crucial EO elements (Teams of 5 separated into two rows, map drawing, status ailments being somewhat useful), with bits and pieces of Persona elements thrown in the mix (Using personas/Fusing personas, obviously using the casts of Persona 3 and 4, as well as re-using the enemies from said games). It still contains the classic Atlus difficulty as well as the early-on EO difficulty, but this time it only feels challenging, not frustrating.
In terms of story, this game has one of the best stories (In my opinion) in the series. I won't spoil it in case you guys want to play it for yourself, but essentially, the casts of Persona 3 and 4 become trapped in a culture festival in another world, with some of the displays being the labyrinths you traverse through. They then meet two original characters and together, they try to find their way back to their own world as well as find out reason they were trapped here to begin with.
The soundtrack is great (especially the boss themes) and with gameplay that's fun yet challenging and never feels repetitive (One of my biggest gripes with the Etrian series), its no wonder I gave this game 5 stars
But you want to know what the best part is?
THEY FIXED ETRIAN'S MATERIAL GATHERING SYSTEM
Thank the fucking lord for that. Etrian's material gathering system sucked major ass because it forced you waste precious skill points just for a little extra money and more weapons/armor. But this game doesn't have skill points so instead they have it to where you can just gather materials at a power spot 3-5 times without the need for any special skills. I swear to god when I found out, I saw the light and heard God's heavenly choir and trumpets playing.
So yeah, pretty great game overall. If you're an Etrian fan, this is an easy recommendation. But if you're a Persona/MegaTen fan, I recommend playing at least Etrian 1 first.