Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City
Encyclopedia
is a 3D dungeon crawl
er role-playing video game
by Atlus
for the Nintendo DS
. The title was released in Japan on April 1, 2010 and in North America on September 21, 2010.
The Etrian Odyssey series is well known for its old-school style and difficult adventures. Players play the role of a guild leader, adventuring into the labyrinth to fulfill quests.
After the "Great Disaster", a labyrinth appeared in the hole of the city created by the earthquake. People from all over the world gathered around Armoroad to find clues that will lead them to the vanished city. Adventurers embarked down into the enormous hole, which devoured most part of the city and the lost technology. Some sought for the truth behind the "Great Disaster", while the others sought the treasures buried deepest under the sea.
-style dungeon, while the other one shows an overhead display of the map that players must maintain.
Like its predecessors, the game only partially maps the terrain for you. Players make use of a mapping system which lets them freely place icons on a gridded map. These navigation icons can represent sea currents, landmarks, and footnotes of the terrain that players encountered.
In Etrian Odyssey III, there are no pre-made playable characters. Players have to build their own guild by creating characters from a number of different character types (classes). Each class has its own skills and statistics, as well as limits on what equipment the character can wear. Although no more than 5 characters can be in the player's active party at the same time, up to 30 characters can be added to a guild, and players can switch out characters in town.
This third game in the series provides 12 all-new classes, as well as the ability to subclass (gaining most of the second class' skill set) with the exception of the unlockable class the droid that cannot be subclassed but can learn sub classes.
Another addition was the option to "set sail" on a ship that you are able to get after the first mission is completed. Your voyages depends on the amount of provisions that you have at the moment, restricting your movement only for the amount of spaces that the provisions allow you to advance. While at sea, the mapping system is the same as on the labyrinth, only with the addition of new navigation icons exclusive for sea mapping (e.g whirlpools and islands). However, while sailing, there are no random encounters and no monsters except for pirate ships roaming the same ways as F.O.E.s on the labyrinth which, on contact, will sink your ship. Mission assignments for the player while on the sea will be to locate and reach foreign ports in order to restore armoroad's trading roads. Once a foreign port has been reached, a sea quest option will be available. The sea quest option will be to get rid of certain unique monsters that can only be found in that specific area, meaning that in order to complete the monster discovery book, the sea quest is mandatory.
Another addition not seen in the first two games is customizing weapons through forging. Forging is the act of including an effect in the weapon of your choice as long as the needed materials have been provided beforehand and the weapon has enough "sockets" or blank spaces to place the corresponding forge, along with the required money to pay for it. In order for this to be available, different "hammers" with the desired effects needs to be found either through quest or in chest located all over the labyrinth.
The 4 categories to forge in to a weapon are:
Bound (e.g head bound, feet bound), Own Status (e.g vitality, strength), Status Effect (e.g poison, blind) and Element Attack (e.g ice, fire).
The Armoroad Ending can be gotten by siding with the ocean city of Armoroad - specifically, by taking the 3rd Stratum mission 'Slay the Gatekeeper' from the Senatus/Flowdia. After the 3rd Stratum the player will have access to the Shogun Class. The 4th Stratum boss will be Kirin. The 5th Stratum boss will be against the coupled assault of the Automaton King (the Abyssal King) and Olympia.
The Deep City Ending can be gotten by siding with the Deep City - specifically, by taking the 3rd Stratum mission 'Protect the Gatekeeper' from the Palace/Seyfried. After the 3rd Stratum the player will have access to the Yggdroid Class. The 4th Stratum boss will be Shin. In the 5th Stratum the player will have to fight through Kujura, after which the Deep Princess (Gutrune) will be the final boss.
The True Ending is more complicated to get, yet it results in both the Abyssal King and the Porcelain Princess surviving and thus saving both sides. To obtain this ending, the player must return to The Eldest One after obtaining the two parts of the Porcelain Offering (these are given to the player by Olympia and Kujura sometime before the end of the 4th stratum) and carrying the completed offering with them through to the end of the fifth stratum. Bear in mind that you will be offered a mission to enter the fifth stratum by whichever side you have been allied with up to this point before you are able to go visit The Eldest One with the new-found crescent key. At this point (the completion of the fifth stratum with the complete offering), the player will be sent to fight The Progenitor, which will unlock the "good" ending and allow the player to proceed into the 6th stratum, The Cylopean Haunt, where they can fight the true final boss, The Abyssal God. They are also given access to the bosses Wyrm, Drake, and Dragon, as well as the dragon, Eldest.
gave it 9/9/8/9 (35 points), saying that "the core charm of the series, with its Wizardry-style gameplay and player-built maps, is as strong as ever." Nintendo Power
gave it 8.5. Gamespot
gave it a 7, and complained about its difficulty. GamesRadar and Destructoid
both gave it 8s, enjoying the new features and classes.
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
er role-playing video game
Role-playing game (video games)
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The title was released in Japan on April 1, 2010 and in North America on September 21, 2010.
The Etrian Odyssey series is well known for its old-school style and difficult adventures. Players play the role of a guild leader, adventuring into the labyrinth to fulfill quests.
Story
The game is set in a sea city known as Armoroad, which is surrounded by the beautiful ocean. Armoroad prospered in the ancient time with high-level civilization. However, because of the great earthquake that happened a hundred years ago, the central part of the city sank down into the bottom of the sea, along with its superior technology.After the "Great Disaster", a labyrinth appeared in the hole of the city created by the earthquake. People from all over the world gathered around Armoroad to find clues that will lead them to the vanished city. Adventurers embarked down into the enormous hole, which devoured most part of the city and the lost technology. Some sought for the truth behind the "Great Disaster", while the others sought the treasures buried deepest under the sea.
Gameplay
This game follows in the footsteps of its predecessors with one screen showing a 3D view of the WizardryWizardry
Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
-style dungeon, while the other one shows an overhead display of the map that players must maintain.
Like its predecessors, the game only partially maps the terrain for you. Players make use of a mapping system which lets them freely place icons on a gridded map. These navigation icons can represent sea currents, landmarks, and footnotes of the terrain that players encountered.
In Etrian Odyssey III, there are no pre-made playable characters. Players have to build their own guild by creating characters from a number of different character types (classes). Each class has its own skills and statistics, as well as limits on what equipment the character can wear. Although no more than 5 characters can be in the player's active party at the same time, up to 30 characters can be added to a guild, and players can switch out characters in town.
This third game in the series provides 12 all-new classes, as well as the ability to subclass (gaining most of the second class' skill set) with the exception of the unlockable class the droid that cannot be subclassed but can learn sub classes.
Another addition was the option to "set sail" on a ship that you are able to get after the first mission is completed. Your voyages depends on the amount of provisions that you have at the moment, restricting your movement only for the amount of spaces that the provisions allow you to advance. While at sea, the mapping system is the same as on the labyrinth, only with the addition of new navigation icons exclusive for sea mapping (e.g whirlpools and islands). However, while sailing, there are no random encounters and no monsters except for pirate ships roaming the same ways as F.O.E.s on the labyrinth which, on contact, will sink your ship. Mission assignments for the player while on the sea will be to locate and reach foreign ports in order to restore armoroad's trading roads. Once a foreign port has been reached, a sea quest option will be available. The sea quest option will be to get rid of certain unique monsters that can only be found in that specific area, meaning that in order to complete the monster discovery book, the sea quest is mandatory.
Another addition not seen in the first two games is customizing weapons through forging. Forging is the act of including an effect in the weapon of your choice as long as the needed materials have been provided beforehand and the weapon has enough "sockets" or blank spaces to place the corresponding forge, along with the required money to pay for it. In order for this to be available, different "hammers" with the desired effects needs to be found either through quest or in chest located all over the labyrinth.
The 4 categories to forge in to a weapon are:
Bound (e.g head bound, feet bound), Own Status (e.g vitality, strength), Status Effect (e.g poison, blind) and Element Attack (e.g ice, fire).
Development
Shigeo Komori, the director of Etrian Odyssey II and III, told the reasons of adding the "sea" element to the new entry of the series during an interview. Komori said that the image of Etrian Odyssey was a green sea of trees and that of Etrian Odyssey II was the chill sky of North Europe. When he came to think about the theme for the third title, he felt really attracted by the warm southern sea.Endings
Etrian Odyssey III is the only game in the franchise that offers different endings; decisions made by the player will determine what ending they may get. There are 3 different endings - which affects the secret class you unlock, the boss you fight for the 4th and 5th Strata, and the powerful equipment you can unlock by selling said bosses' drops. This also means that the player will have to play through all 3 endings in order to fill out the Monstrous Codex and the Item Compendium.The Armoroad Ending can be gotten by siding with the ocean city of Armoroad - specifically, by taking the 3rd Stratum mission 'Slay the Gatekeeper' from the Senatus/Flowdia. After the 3rd Stratum the player will have access to the Shogun Class. The 4th Stratum boss will be Kirin. The 5th Stratum boss will be against the coupled assault of the Automaton King (the Abyssal King) and Olympia.
The Deep City Ending can be gotten by siding with the Deep City - specifically, by taking the 3rd Stratum mission 'Protect the Gatekeeper' from the Palace/Seyfried. After the 3rd Stratum the player will have access to the Yggdroid Class. The 4th Stratum boss will be Shin. In the 5th Stratum the player will have to fight through Kujura, after which the Deep Princess (Gutrune) will be the final boss.
The True Ending is more complicated to get, yet it results in both the Abyssal King and the Porcelain Princess surviving and thus saving both sides. To obtain this ending, the player must return to The Eldest One after obtaining the two parts of the Porcelain Offering (these are given to the player by Olympia and Kujura sometime before the end of the 4th stratum) and carrying the completed offering with them through to the end of the fifth stratum. Bear in mind that you will be offered a mission to enter the fifth stratum by whichever side you have been allied with up to this point before you are able to go visit The Eldest One with the new-found crescent key. At this point (the completion of the fifth stratum with the complete offering), the player will be sent to fight The Progenitor, which will unlock the "good" ending and allow the player to proceed into the 6th stratum, The Cylopean Haunt, where they can fight the true final boss, The Abyssal God. They are also given access to the bosses Wyrm, Drake, and Dragon, as well as the dragon, Eldest.
Reception
Etrian Odyssey III received high marks by most critics. FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
gave it 9/9/8/9 (35 points), saying that "the core charm of the series, with its Wizardry-style gameplay and player-built maps, is as strong as ever." Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
gave it 8.5. Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave it a 7, and complained about its difficulty. GamesRadar and Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
both gave it 8s, enjoying the new features and classes.
External links
- Official Japanese website
- Official English website
- Into the Labyrinth, an Etrian Odyssey fansite