Etrian Odyssey
Finally completes its odyssey to Europe on June 6th.
This summer, prepare to undertake a dangerous journey into the unknown! Discover hidden secrets and lost treasures from the depths of the mysterious Yggdrasil Labyrinth in Etrian Odyssey, an enthralling new fantasy RPG for the Nintendo DS. Combining classic dungeon exploring, old school ‘pen and paper’ style map drawing, ferocious and inspired enemies and an absorbing universe, Etrian Odyssey will reawaken the imagination of every player and launch them into a magical world of quest and combat. Etrian Odyssey launches across Europe on 6th June 2008.
Set in Etria, a small village at the edge of the fabled Yggdrasil Labyrinth, heroes from all over the world are drawn to the challenge of reaching the depths of the enchanted caverns, recovering riches, defeating monsters and gaining everlasting fame. However, until this day, no one has ever discovered the labyrinth’s secrets and reached the bottom level and survived to tell the tale. It is now your time to change this. Do you have the courage to lead your party of adventurers to do the seemingly impossible and cement your place in legend?
Overcoming fierce and numerous enemies that live within the maze will not be an easy task and assembling a prodigious band of adventurers who can handle any situation is critical to reaching the inner depths. At the very beginning of the game the player creates a guild that is home to all party members. Up to 30 player-created characters can reside within the guild, however, only a group of five can ever explore the dungeon at once, challenging the player to choose wisely when planning for a mission. Quests will often require an eclectic set of skills to achieve the desired goal and choosing the wrong setup can be the defining factor between success and failure.
A triumphant guild is one that contains an extensive assortment of characters who are experts in different talents, covering combat and magic, and both defensive and attacking abilities. Fortunately the choice available in Etrian Odyssey is vast, with nine unique classes in total that can be further specialised by acquiring specific abilities with skill points. From the Landsknecht - a classic warrior, the Alchemist – a dark magician, to the Survivalist – an archer, players will easily find a winning combination that suits the situation to achieve fame and glory.
Recording your route is crucial for any adventurer when exploring the dungeon and the Nintendo DS’s innovative Touch Screen makes this process intuitive, enjoyable and reminiscent to old school ‘pen and paper’ dungeon mapping. Using the Nintendo DS stylus, players are able to precisely draw walls to map up a 2D representation of the map and identify important places with detailed notes. Updates to the map are continually saved, which is great news if your band comes to an untimely end within the labyrinth.
Combat is a core feature of Etrian Odyssey and players need to master different techniques, tactics and items to beat the monsters encountered. Fighting is turn based and takes place in a specific battleground where enemies are represented in classic 2D. Throughout the game, the player’s party will come face-to-face with extremely powerful boss monsters known as F.O.E.s. These are the only enemy to appear on the map and players are often warned by non-player characters (NPCs) to avoid where possible. However, the rewards from defeating such foe are often too tempting to ignore, leading to intense and closely fought encounters.
Character development occurs continually throughout the game giving players access to new talents and more potent abilities. Gaining experience is at the heart of any RPG and Etrian Odyssey is no different. Completing quests and defeating monsters are the most rewarding routes to obtaining experience points, and upon reaching a new experience, level skill points are received that are spent on improving existing or learning new areas of expertise. The higher the level, the more lethal the character will be, making it possible to unleash new deadly techniques to torment the enemy. Players will learn very fast that choosing talents wisely when developing your party can alter the course of a skirmish for the better.
Even the strongest of parties need to take time-out from questing every once in a while, whether it be to buy and sell equipment, cure illnesses and mend cuts and bruises, or simply find extra work. The village of Etria satisfies all these needs and is a hive of activity for the budding adventurer. Equipped with an inn, apothecary, general store, pub, guildhall and town hall, the player will find that everything needed is within touching distance.
So what are you waiting for? Etria is in need for a hero and you are more than worthy to answer the call. Don that armour, grab that spell book and sharpen your trusty sword, Etrian Odessy is calling for you to defeat the Labyrinth!
Etrian Odyssey is available from 6 June 2008 for the Nintendo DS at an estimated retail price of £34.99.
About Nintendo
The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 2.5 billion video games and more than 430 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in Europe.