The Etrian Odyssey series has brought an interesting and challenging dungeon crawler RPG experience to players. In particular to the Nintendo 3DS, we saw the release of Etrian Odyssey IV thanks to Atlus. Now, we get to see a classic title to the series brought to life with a little make-up. Called Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl, this game will let players relive the experience on the current Nintendo 3DS portable console. Additionally, it has included the ability to adjust the difficulty at any point in the game as well as improve on the game’s story.
In Etrian Odyssey Untold, you start with very little to work with as you face on various battles involving a diverse number of enemies. As a result, you are encouraged to determine what is the best way to make use of and arrange your characters’ skills and tactics.
As expected from a game like this within the series, Etrian Odyssey Untold’s gameplay involves creating a guild. Specifically, you’ll be building your characters initially by assigning a name, character class, and skills to them. Additionally, the game will be having the player mapping out the dungeons using the stylus on the bottom touch screen. So there is some degree of interactivity outside of the dungeon crawling RPG gameplay.
The real distinction of Etrian Odyssey Untold is the additional story mode, which includes an alternate quest that features some narration. Here, you assume the role of a Highlander, who has come to Etria to find out the cause of the earthquakes that have been taking place in the city.
During your investigation, you meet a group of researchers from the Midgard Library as they have come to explore the ruins to gather information on the disturbances. As well, you wake up a mysterious girl who happens to be sleeping for a very long while. Using the help from this girl with her fragmented memories, you and the group of researchers venture into the labyrinth that spans far below Etria’s surface in hopes of finding the secrets behind both the girl’s past and the earthquakes.
In this particular story mode, you are free to re-assign classes to the characters within your group as well as allocate skill points to their attributes as you see fit. From this, you get quite a bit of autonomy and freedom in building up your group. So even though your characters have a pre-assigned role, you can adjust and customize each of them accordingly.
If you are an absolute fan of the original Etrian Odyssey from the Nintendo DS, you’ll be happy to know that there is the Classic mode offered in this title. But in this case, you have an improved version of the original quest of entering into the depths of the dungeons. You’ll be battling away against the monsters and creatures that lurk within the darkness as you progress and travel through a number of floors.
In addition, you’ll be mapping out your quest with the help of the bottom touch screen. This is vital since getting to the end of a floor heavily depends on your planning and strategizing. Going through this gameplay experience of discovery turns out to be both satisfying as well as uplifting.
In terms of the presentation, Etrian Odyssey Untold looks pretty nice when you factor in the animations and character designs. However, the graphics can seem a bit monotonous in terms of appearance due to the repetitive dungeon background scenes you come across during your adventures. Consequently, it may not be the best looking game out there. Luckily, the 3D effects help to keep things looking exciting and interesting for the time being. The sound effects are well-done as you get both the original and arranged versions of the soundtracks. As such, the audio does enhance the gameplay a bit more.
With two modes that offer a complete diversity in story and experience, Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl can have a place for various players. Although the gameplay can be potential repetitive and the graphics can be a bit bland in due time, this game does have an epic story along with a well-executed dungeon-crawling RPG system in place. Those who are true fans to the original will find comfort in knowing that a classic mode with some enhancements are included in this title while those who want a bit more out of the series will find the story mode to add a little spice to the adventure.
