Etrian Odyssey Nexus

[Grazza]

Just a reminder that the game once known as Etrian Odyssey X is out next week.  It's the 3rd Etrian Odyssey on 3DS and appears to be something of a "best of".  The much-loved sub-classes from III and IV are back, seemingly instead of the advanced classes from V.  I can't imagine how it will fit in so many classic jobs, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

 

 

[Dcubed]

I'd love to pick this up, but I know I'll never finish it.  Hell I'll probably never even finish 4, let alone Untold, Untold 2, 5 and EO Mystery Dungeon!

[Grazza]

It's that time again when I get to play a new Etrian Odyssey!  My copy arrived today and I've been playing it on and off today.

 

I must admit, I was never that taken with the idea of a "greatest hits" EO, and although I'm as hooked as usual, my impressions are not as positive as with previous entries.  There are 19 classes to choose from, which I'd say is too many.  The satisfaction in previous games was largely about choosing which five classes to use out of a possible ten or so - which ones can do binds, elements etc.  Here, there's too much choice.  I'm not convinced they've used the best character portraits they've ever had either, although to be fair it's understandable they've gathered them from 3DS assets rather than DS.

 

What does make it feel a little bit shoddy is that there's only Japanese voice acting this time around, which is a shame as the English voice actors in previous games were particularly good.  It's the first time an EO game's localisation has felt less than perfect.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving what I'm playing, and can't wait to get back to it.  It's just that it feels less essential than usual, that's all.

[Ike]

My copy arrived yesterday as well, I thought it was out on Friday?

Unfortunately it's going into the backlog, not sure when I'll get round to it.

[Grazza]

1 hour ago, Ike said:

My copy arrived yesterday as well, I thought it was out on Friday?

Unfortunately it's going into the backlog, not sure when I'll get round to it.

 

Just a heads-up - there's a lot of free DLC at the moment.  You can download all the portraits from I & II, III, IV, V and a couple of other specialist pieces of artwork.  Actually, one of the "New Challenger" versions of the Landsknecht is really good, but it's specifically the Landsknecht from IV, whereas I'm more nostalgic about the one from the first game.

[Grazza]

This game is quite hard to get your head around.  Instead of one huge labyrinth, there is a map screen with various locations on.  These host text-based quests, NPC events or small collections of dungeon floors.  At the moment I've defeated the equivalent of one stratum boss, which felt a lot like a re-tread of IV.

 

My party is looking like this:

 

Hero / Pugilist

Zodiac / Survivalist / Medic

 

They seem to have the best skills at early levels, although I've registered all 19 classes and they are gaining EXP at the Guild.  Overall, the team feels a little bit weaker than it should, especially the Pugilist, although I like them for the binds.  The new Hero class is excellent.

 

Interestingly, the art book that came with the game pairs up various classes on double pages:

 

Protector + War Magus

Highlander + Pugilist

Nightseeker + Arcanist

Shogun + Sovereign

Landsknecht + Zodiac

 

...So perhaps that's Atlus giving us a hint of some good combos.  I knew about the Nightseeker/Arcanist combo and also Landsknecht/Zodiac, but not the others.  I might add a Highlander or Landsknecht to give me more oomph.

[Grazza]

After approx. 110 hours, I have finally finished the main game of Etrian Odyssey Nexus.  It was quite a departure from the tried-and-tested formula.

 

For one thing, I was surprised to find myself at level 99 just before I fought the final boss.  In the first game, the level cap was 70 (which you could strengthen by Retiring), with EOII having a similar system (technically, you could get to 99, but it wasn't worth it).  Ever since, 70 has been the level cap for the main game, with level 99 being possible to unlock afterwards.  In this way, Etrian Odyssey Nexus reminds me of the first game, as the only way to strengthen my level 99 team now is to Retire and build them up again.  Interestingly, the main game boss was easy to fight at this level, although it would be hard to get to without being 99.

 

Structurally, Etrian Odyssey Nexus is quite indistinct.  From a map screen, there are what I call "retro" levels - several floors celebrating classic EO - which are quite easy and enjoyable.  There are also single-floor mini-dungeons, which are puzzle heavy and designed to sap your TP if you just muscle your way through them.  Most of the new content is in the "Shrines", which are fairly tough in terms of combat, and also make you consider the environment a lot.  There are times when you need to think about every step.  Even after completing the game I couldn't tell you the exact ratio of Retro/Mini/Shrine levels, so it's not the best entry in the series for those who like the order of going up or down a single labyrinth.

 

In terms of the smaller technical aspects, though, Nexus may be the best so far.  Like EOV, blacksmithing, is confined to boosting your weapons by a +5 factor, compared to III and IV which allowed you to add all sorts of elements and status effects to them.  However, unlike V, the best weapons are exempt from this.  No more getting a conditional boss drop six times!  Wisely, cooking has also been dropped.

 

Best of all is the Force Boost/Break mechanism.  EOI just allowed you to emphasise each character's action for one turn, which in hindsight was rather mean.  EOII gave each character a unique move.  For III and IV there was some variation of using one special move as a team (with V sharing moves between races).  Nexus handles this brilliantly, with each character being able to Boost for three turns; at the end of the 3rd turn, you can choose to use your powerful, individual "Break" move (and forfeit your use of the Force gauge for the rest of the battle) or just wait until the gauge builds up again.

 

All in all, Nexus is a very good, even great, entry in the EO series, but has some questionable game design choices.  It has lots of fresh idea, many of which are too much of a departure for my liking, but mechanically-speaking it has been refined to perfection.

[Grazza]

Well, that was a surprise.  In every Etrian Odyssey (apart from V) there are post-game dragons.  Beating them usually raises your level cap from 70 to 99.

 

Spoiler

"Your level cap has been raised to 109."

 

Genuinely thrilled at this!  Presumably the total level cap is 129!  I'll actually be able to max-out my characters' class skills for the first time.

 

[Vanilla]

I've been playing the game on and off throughout this past week and so far it's been holding up really well! Honestly, after having EOV being the last one I cleared, having a diverse ensemble of classes to choose from is a breath of fresh air. Also, no more Necromancer Meta! ^^

It's great to have a dungeon crawler to satisfy that itch. Not many games around do it particularly well. Labyrinth of Refrain was the last one I played and nothing up until now was able to fill that void. 

 

[Grazza]

Spoiler

I've defeated all three dragons and so can get to 129, but am currently at about lv 110.  Not sure whether I'm on the final floor or not (it's hard to tell with this game, but I actually feel quite weak).

 

18 hours ago, Vanilla said:

I've been playing the game on and off throughout this past week and so far it's been holding up really well! Honestly, after having EOV being the last one I cleared, having a diverse ensemble of classes to choose from is a breath of fresh air. Also, no more Necromancer Meta! ^^

 

Out of interest, what was the Necromancer Meta?

[Vanilla]

3 hours ago, Grazza said:

Out of interest, what was the Necromancer Meta?

Essentially, Necromancers tended to excel in every role a party could need. Need a tank? Get your Necromancer to pump out a 9999HP Wraith on some FOEs. Need chunky damage? Discard said Wraith before they're due to vanish for nearly 10k damage. Heck, they even get access to a very early and reliable AOE poison attack that can cheese most mobs with a decent tank in the party.

That being said, maybe Pugilist was the true "OP" class, but they required mid-game ability investment before they see any sizable returns.

[Grazza]

1 hour ago, Vanilla said:

Essentially, Necromancers tended to excel in every role a party could need. Need a tank? Get your Necromancer to pump out a 9999HP Wraith on some FOEs. Need chunky damage? Discard said Wraith before they're due to vanish for nearly 10k damage. Heck, they even get access to a very early and reliable AOE poison attack that can cheese most mobs with a decent tank in the party.

 

I think I'm too conservative to fully use classes like that, though I did have one to use if I wanted it.  Genuinely had no idea they were overpowered - did you manage to beat the post-game boss with them?

 

1 hour ago, Vanilla said:

That being said, maybe Pugilist was the true "OP" class, but they required mid-game ability investment before they see any sizable returns.

 

Yeah, I love Pugilists, although you do need loads of skill points.  Thankfully that's not a problem in this one.

[Vanilla]

4 minutes ago, Grazza said:

I think I'm too conservative to fully use classes like that, though I did have one to use if I wanted it.  Genuinely had no idea they were overpowered - did you manage to beat the post-game boss with them?

Just about. They actually do drop off in terms of usefulness towards the later parts of the game, but having two Impact Pugilists more than made up for that.

4 minutes ago, Grazza said:

Yeah, I love Pugilists, although you do need loads of skill points.  Thankfully that's not a problem in this one.

I think my current party layout consist of a Hero & Farmer in front row being backed up by a Arcanist, Sovereign and Ninja. Probably not the most efficient party but they've been doing well so far!

[Grazza]

19 hours ago, Vanilla said:

I think my current party layout consist of a Hero & Farmer in front row being backed up by a Arcanist, Sovereign and Ninja. Probably not the most efficient party but they've been doing well so far!

 

Hero is just unbelievably good, isn't he/she?

 

I really enjoyed one of the post-game puzzle floors last night.  It was a giant sliding block puzzle similar to the ice blocks in Zelda.  Took me ages to access every nook and cranny, but it was very rewarding.

[Vanilla]

3 hours ago, Grazza said:

Hero is just unbelievably good, isn't he/she?

Yup! I'd honestly say they're the best all-rounder for reacting to any situation the game can toss it you. That being said, I'm still undecided whether I should replace them with a Highlander or keep going as the party currently is. Their damage potential is pretty appealing.

3 hours ago, Grazza said:

I really enjoyed one of the post-game puzzle floors last night.  It was a giant sliding block puzzle similar to the ice blocks in Zelda.  Took me ages to access every nook and cranny, but it was very rewarding.

Nooooo. I hate those! Anything with a sliding mechanic makes my brain fart itself into oblivion. ^^;

But recently I went into Giant's Ruins and hated it. Honestly the most No-Fun-Allowed dungeon I've encountered in the series.

[Grazza]

20 hours ago, Vanilla said:

Yup! I'd honestly say they're the best all-rounder for reacting to any situation the game can toss it you. That being said, I'm still undecided whether I should replace them with a Highlander or keep going as the party currently is. Their damage potential is pretty appealing.

 

Hmm, I wouldn't replace the Hero.  If anything, I'll probably replace my Pugilist with a better attacker when I've got all the conditional drops.  Actually, there's a Hero skill I want to get rid of - the one where your Afterimage jumps in to take damage for you (and so might disappear).  Having two Afterimages in play is incredible.

 

20 hours ago, Vanilla said:

Nooooo. I hate those! Anything with a sliding mechanic makes my brain fart itself into oblivion. ^^;

But recently I went into Giant's Ruins and hated it. Honestly the most No-Fun-Allowed dungeon I've encountered in the series.

 

Yeah, I agree about that one.  I've learned to love the sliding blocks though - you just have to work backwards and work out which direction the block needs to slide in from, and what it needs to stop against.

 

By the way, have you noticed any skills that do Untyped damage?  The Arcanist can do it by dismissing a circle, but so far that's the only one I've found (Zodiac can't do it in this game).  Actually, I think the Nightseeker might be able to do it as well - I'll have to investigate.

[Grazza]

Despite having reached the level cap, I just don't feel strong enough.  The final floor is the toughest since the first game, and my team aren't powerful enough to muscle through it.  I think I'm just going to have to train at least three, possibly five, Imperials.  It's going to cost a lot to equip them, but I can't see anything else being sufficient.