Etrian Odyssey IV was my entrance into the series, and let me tell you, what a LOVELY entrance it was. EOIV is a very fun and very simple game that will beat the everloving shit out of you and kick your ass and still have you coming back for more. I love it! The game is well paced and will have you grinding out every single last drop of a monster until you can kit out your adventurer in the best shit and make even the FOEs a thing of the past.

The game IS very difficult, however, I will say that. You can absolutely expect the game to beat you down until you wind up consulting the internet on just how to beat things, not realizing that you have to bind down something's legs in order to be able to hit it AT ALL. (not naming any names, but the boss knows what it did. smh) The game can be a touch obtuse and kind of throws you in the deep end with little else but a pool noodle and expects you to swim.

But all in all, this was an excellent game. The story was gripping with plenty of twists and turns, and while I never actually completed it, it's a game that sticks out to me as one of the best, even if I can't in good conscience rate it above 4 stars.