Etrian Odyssey

"A Gift From Atlas...."

Hmmm? A new Atlas game? Sure I'll pick it up....

Anyway, this is my first review for anything on GameFAQs. Anyhow this game brought back many of the styles that made role playing games famous, namely the random encounters, the serious thought process that goes into making a party, and of course the risk of losing by coming into contact with an enemy that is far too strong to handle. As I assume many of you gamers are aware of, Atlas has been making rpgs for a while now, back to the first Wizardry game back on the Nintendo. Their particular style has almost always been strategy based, most often requiring the gamer to think and plan ahead for what they know is coming.

Now for those who are not too familiar with their two bigger names, Wizardry, and Disgaea, I will tell you this, that the game takes elements from both games to put it into this one, the anime style graphics for the characters (Disgaea) and the first person view adventuring(Wizardry). To the more finicky gamer out there this would undoubtedly seem like nothing original, but there is more. The character creation is simplistic, meaning even a new player to this genre of game could make one without too much problem, and party formation is just as easy to work with. The only major deficiency that I found with this game thus far is that there is very little animation involved in it, and to those out there that are more accustomed to console rpgs, it would potentially turn them off to this game. But the challenge of going through each level and mapping it all out yourself is what truly makes this game worthwhile. Other than the lack of animation, the graphics are fairly solid, and work quite well with the available resources that are given by the DS's hardware.

Now for the final word. As a log time gamer and connoisseur of the video game arts, I would have to recommend for all gamers who own the Nintendo DS to either buy this game from your local game distributor, or to borrow it from a friend to try it out for yourself, you will definitely NOT be disappointed after you get into the game (I myself have not been able to put it down). If you get the game and try it, then pat yourself on the back for being open minded enough to play something new, if not, then TRY IT ANYWAY! (just kidding....don't hurt me....)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/07