Etrian Odyssey III takes Japanese number one

Role-playing sequel Etrian Odyssey III has entered straight in at number one in the latest weekly Japanese sales chart, with Atlus' hardcore dungeon crawler recording its best opening yet for the series.

Although Etrian Odyssey III's first week sales of 88,000 are low by the normal standards of a Japanese number one they easily eclipse the 33,000 unit sales of the original game and 69,000 record of the first sequel.

The game's success knocked previous number one, Tecmo Koei's Fist of the North Star anime tie-in, down to second place with 72,000 unit sales.

The second highest entry of the week, at number three, was Konami's annual iteration in the Pro Baseball Spirits series. The PlayStation 3 version of the game was the biggest seller with 57,000 unit sales, with the PSP version just behind at number four on 51,000.

The PlayStation 2 version also entered the charts at number 10 with 21,000 unit sales.

With the rest of the chart composed of the usual evergreen Nintendo titles, and recently dethroned number ones such as Yakuza 4 and Pokemon Ranger, the only other new entry in the top 10 was Tecmo Koei's Dead or Alive Paradise for PSP.

Although critically mauled for its lack of content and sexist overtones in the West, the game entered the Japanese charts at number nine with 32,000 unit sales.

• 1. Etrian Odyssey III (DS)
• 2. Fist of the North Star (PS3)
• 3. Pro Baseball Spirits 2010 (PS3)
• 4. Pro Baseball Spirits 2010 (PSP)
• 5. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Wii)
• 6. Friend Collection (DS)
• 7. Yakuza 4 (PS3)
• 8. Pokemon Ranger: Tracks of Light (DS)
• 9. Dead Or Alive Paradise (PSP)
• 10. Pro Baseball Spirits 2010 (PS2)