Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection review – the best games you’ve never played-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection – it’s better than it sounds (Picture: Sega)

GameCentral favourite Etrian Odyssey gets a remaster collection that includes three of the most underappreciated JRPGs on the Nintendo DS.

It seems a fair generalisation to suggest that modern tastes in Western gaming are strongly against random battles and level grinding, and largely indifferent towards traditional Japanese role-players as a whole. We’d certainly go along with the first two and yet for reasons even we don’t fully grasp we’ve always loved Etrian Odyssey.

The original was released in 2007 on the Nintendo DS and was always intended as a throwback to the very earliest days of video games. Back in the early 80s first person role-playing games were surprisingly commonplace, with Wizardy in particular proving very popular with Japanese gamers. But while that was no doubt an influence on Etrian Odyssey the best point of comparison for most Western gamers will be Atari ST classic Dungeon Master, and modern homages such as Legend Of Grimrock.

If those names mean nothing to you it doesn’t really matter, as Etrian Odyssey is not a difficult game to describe – even if it is harder to believe it exists. It’s a turn-based dungeon crawler where you can only turn round in 90° steps, as you move around a series of grid-based dungeons where you are forced to draw your own map on virtual graph paper. But honestly, it’s a lot more fun than it sounds!

This collection includes the three original DS titles, but not anything that was originally released on the 3DS, such as the quasi-remakes of the first two games, the various spin-offs (including pseudo-crossover Persona Q), or any of the later mainline entries – which is unfortunate because Etrian Odyssey 4 is one of our favourite Japanese role-players of all time.

To prove our point about the concept’s marketability, the second and third entries were never originally released in Europe. The first one was though and while the series did see a major evolution with part 3, which we’ll get into in a moment, the set-up for all the mainline games is fundamentally the same, as you play as a team of adventurers who arrive in town to explore a labyrinthine dungeon for nothing more than fortune and glory.

There are no player characters in the modern sense of the concept. You just choose a portrait (include a range of new Atlus cameos, if you pre-ordered) and a class and imagine the rest for yourself. The plot has barely any more meat to it but surprisingly the script is always very good, with an unexpectedly eloquent writing style for both descriptions and the dialogue for the small number of recurring non-player characters.

Combat is as old school as it gets, with non-animated monsters attacking you in strictly turn-based fashion. As unappealing as that sounds battles are made interesting by the very different abilities of each class and the unusual way in which you have to unlock them from each of their skill trees. You can only have five player characters in your party, so you have to make some difficult strategic decisions about how many fighters, magic users, and range combatants you take with you – as well as more specialised classes like medics and protectors.

You have complete freedom as to who is in your party and what their specialities are and can swap them in and out whenever you return to town, where you pick up both story missions and simpler side quests.

As an old school first person role-player Etrian Odyssey is highly compelling despite, or perhaps because of, its complete lack of hand-holding. You have to work out most things yourself, including how to tackle environmental dangers, randomly appearing monsters, and roaming high-level enemies called FOEs. But, as we’ve already given away, that’s not all there is to the games. You also have to make your own map as you go.

In the original release you had to do everything manually, using the touchscreen to draw in corridors, mark traps, and annotate discoveries. In line with the more recent titles, these remasters will fill in the floor for you, so if you don’t like the map aspect there’s relatively little for you to do. But as boring and perverse as it may sound to draw your own map, it’s peculiarly satisfying as you fill in every last corner of the game world.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection – that’s what a FOE looks like until you start a fight (Picture: Sega)

The way this works on the Switch is surprisingly elegant, with the screen splitting in two vertically (although you can view the dungeon in full screen if you want) and the option to use the touchscreen in portable mode or the right stick and shoulder buttons on a TV. We found the latter convenient enough that we still used them even when we were playing the game in portable mode, so while this is fundamentally a portable game it works perfectly well when docked.

Etrian Odyssey 2 is a fairly straightforward sequel, with a change of scenery and bestiary, new character classes, and various quality of life improvements (such as an auto-battle option, which has been retroactively added to all the remasters). Overall, it’s a better game than the first but the differences are negligible, but that’s not the case for Etrian Odyssey 3.

The third game is very similar in most terms and, like the first sequel, adds a new location, new monsters, and new classes and abilities – as well as the new option to forge weapons with additional attributes.

However, it also introduces a meta game where you can explore the oceans around the main town, to discover additional resources and lost settlements and trade routes – as well as earn money from fishing and fighting unique sea monsters.

At first you only have the means to explore a short distance from town but as you upgrade your boat and provisions, you can journey further and further, which is just as rewarding as the standard dungeons and a useful change of pace if you become bogged down or run out of cash.

There’s also an embryonic multiplayer element, which in the original allowed you to trade items and engage optional monsters in co-op. It wasn’t available pre-launch, but judging by the menus it seems to work the same way in the remaster.

The meta exploration is a great addition and it’s expanded further in Etrian Odyssey 4, which is so far the pinnacle of the series. For no reason that we can understand the subsequent two games removed the meta element and all sense of franchise progression ground to halt, especially with Etrian Odyssey Nexus – the final entry so far – which was essentially just a greatest hits collection.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection – cartography is fun (Picture: Sega)

It’s at this point that we’d like to give the collection an unequivocal recommendation, even and especially if you hate random battles and level grinding. What prevents us from doing so is that the collection is priced at a staggering £72/$80. Each game is available separately for £36/$40 each, but even that’s more expensive than the original DS versions.

If you’re still intrigued, we’d definitely suggest giving Etrian Odyssey 3 a go. It’s ugly and purposefully archaic but also captivating and immersive in a way that has nothing to do with its graphics or storytelling. Etrian Odyssey is the oldest of old school experiences but being completely out of step with modern fashion also means it’s unlike anything else around right now, and that is very refreshing.

Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed) and PC
Price: £71.99*
Publisher: Sega/Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Release Date: 1st June 2023
Age Rating: 12

*Each game also available separately for £35.99.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.

MORE : Exclusive: get a first look at Etrian Odyssey Origins’ Persona and SMT cameos

MORE : Persona Q2 review – Etrian Odyssey: The Movie

MORE : Etrian Odyssey Nexus review – greatest hits

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Entertainment – MetroRead More