Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection review: As hardcore as it gets

The Etrian Odyssey series has quietly enjoyed a steady but dedicated user base since its inception on the Nintendo DS. In short, this dungeon crawler RPG series from Megami Tensei developer ATLUS is old-school personified. Built around the popular 2004 dual-screen handheld capabilities, this franchise prides itself on its high difficulty curve and lack of handholding. As such, it is not for the faint of heart. Over a decade later, this franchise finally finds its way to modern platforms, including PC, for the first time.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection repackages and remasters the first three Nintendo DS entries into one big bundle. So how do they fare? Does the series touch-screen reliant mechanics translate well to a single-screen setup? Are there any significant changes from the original? Let's find out.

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Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a bombastic package of three incredibly challenging RPGs

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection consists of the following three games:

• Etrian Odyssey HD
• Etrian Odyssey 2 HD (originally called Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard)
• Etrian Odyssey 3 HD (also known as Etrian Odyssey 3: The Drowned City)

Each was released for the Nintendo DS. This collection includes the original games, which have been repurposed for a single-screen platform like the PC and Nintendo Switch. As such, developer ATLUS has enhanced the visuals with beautiful HD artwork. Minus a few other additions, these are the same games as a decade ago. That may or may not be a good thing for everyone.

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Welcome to the Labyrinth

The basis of the Etrian Odyssey series is dungeon crawling. Players create a party of brave explorers fully customizable to the names and portraits. Once a well-rounded party has been created, they can explore the Labyrinth in each entry. Dungeon crawling is done in first-person as the team of five heroes walks across a tile-based maze that scales across various floors - think Legend of Grimrock or Revelations: Persona.

Think before you act (Screenshot from Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection)

As they navigate the dungeon terrain, they encounter traps, treasures, and, most commonly, enemies. A crystal on the side of the screen represents encounter probability. It changes color as the team walks, changing from green to red, with the latter spawning random encounters against various monsters. The combat is turn-based, like many other traditional JRPGs.

Characters have an HP bar for health and TP for skills. They can attack, use skills, defend, or use items. Defeating foes grants EXP, and leveling up strengthens characters and grants skill points to learn new Skills. Managing the party is vital to survival, and there is no shame in retreating to the surface when things get dicey. While players create their characters, they are little more than pawns to help turn the cycle of dungeon progression.

The second significant feature of the Etrian Odyssey franchise is cartography. The games allow players to chart their maps by filling in walls and paths. Various pins enable players to jot down key locations to return to later. It is handy and indeed a novel feature. However, I recommend turning on Auto Map to fill in most of the paths automatically so players can focus on other aspects of mapping.

The town is the only safe space in the series (Screenshot from Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection)

The town NPCs have more personality. However, their interactions are limited to being shopkeepers or quest-givers. Players can visit Inns to rest, enter guilds to obtain new side missions and browse shops to buy and sell items.

The latter will be most used as players can sell gathered materials for money and new gear stock. At the same time, they can purchase new armor, weapons, and consumables to allow adventures in the dangerous Labyrinth to last longer.

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The story takes a backseat

With all that said, the franchise does have a story, even though it's incredibly barebones. Etrian Odyssey HD explores the Yggdrasil Labyrinth that the town of Etria is known for. With much of its economy and fame fueled by the resources gathered from this dungeon, players must traverse every corner to learn its secrets.

Etrian Odyssey 2 HD takes place in High Lagaard. With newfound wonder over the floating castle in the sky, explorers gather worldwide to reach it. Unfortunately, they must brave the dangers of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth to get to it.

Etrian Odyssey 3 HD is set in the large island city of Armoroad. After calamity struck, the city's central and most advanced section sinks underwater. With a new labyrinth manifesting around this sunk region, a new band of explorers must try to unearth the mystery behind what happened.

Unlike the previous two games, this third entry also features a sea-exploration mini-game where players steer a ship across an ocean, trying to map it while managing supply rations and various events like pirate encounters across the waters.

This was also the last Nintendo DS entry in the series and is considered the best among the three. If players are only interested in one of the three games, I recommend picking this one up. After all, the story is not essential in the grand scheme of things.

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Buckle up for a challenge

Again, I should iterate that all three games are very highly challenging. Those who intend to play on the Basic difficulty should still expect to face encounters that will wipe out the party if players are not careful. Even regular enemies hit hard, and since resources like healing items can dwindle over time, players must strategize an escape route while managing random encounters.

Beware the FOEs (Screenshot from Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection)

This is especially true when navigating the Labyrinth, as many traps and tricks can harm the team. To make matters worse, a few enemies called FOEs patrol the map in a set path. Run into them and be prepared to face a humiliating defeat, as they can one-shot each party member, even if players are over-leveled for the rest of the encounters in that area.

Thankfully, the RPG mechanics that back the team-building are robust. Players pick between different archetypes, like Berserker, Monk, and more. Each has different stat specializations, distinct gear requirements, and unique skill trees. The latter may look daunting at first, but players will soon realize they are free to focus on the build they want for their hero.

Note monster weaknesses to gain the upper hand (Screenshot from Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection)

This can range from a tanky debuffer that uses poison to an agile ranged attacker that snipes enemies and binds them. Various monsters encountered in the open have different ways of dealing with and boast distinct powers and abilities. Having the proper knowledge is winning half the battle. Pair this with the varied character builds and steady progression; all three games can be hard to put down.

This sense of power amidst the Labyrinth's countless powerless moments and underlying depth makes for the crowning achievement of the Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection. On that note, this collection has three difficulty modes to pick from:

• Picnic: A direct challenge for newcomers. Not recommended unless players are new to RPGs in general.
• Basic: A balanced but still challenging adventure that players should not take lightly
• Expert: This is the only difficulty that the DS originals came with. Only intended for veterans and, perhaps, masochists

Note that it is possible to build your character wrong, and no difficulty option can fix that. Players can respec their characters at the cost of 5 levels, increasing the grinding required to progress.

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Something feels amiss

The Labyrinth is beautiful yet dangerous (Screenshot from Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection)

For all its successful encounters, Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection also misses the mark in many ways. For one, as these are the original games, they offer no quality-of-life upgrades for the player. On that note, Etrian Odyssey 1 and 2 were remade for the Nintendo 3DS under the "Untold" banner. These featured rebalanced combat, new story elements, and more. It baffles me why ATLUS did not port those over instead of the originals.

The grind is the most prominent issue players may feel quickly looming over them. It can become tiring having to stroll through dungeons to fight the same enemies repeatedly for meager EXP gains. But again, that is a part-and-parcel of these titles. Besides that, the only gripe I would have is the map system. The originals cleverly utilized the second screen of the Nintendo DS for the map while the first screen took care of everything else.

Here, the map can either be toggled between a mini-map or eating up half the screen. The former feels cumbersome, while the latter creates a cramped gameplay experience. Yes, it does get the job done in the long run, and the cartography feels intuitive enough with a mouse. However, nothing beats the versatility of the second DS screen, and this collection highlights how not all games translate flawlessly over to other platforms.

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Graphics, sound, and performance

Visually, Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection looks crisp indeed. While the 3D navigation of The Labyrinth makes the game's handheld origins obvious, the beautiful 2D artwork and portraits make up for it. The soundtrack has also been remastered, featuring many adventurous and upbeat fantasy tunes. As for performance, it is rock-solid. These games are not incredibly intensive, considering the primitive 3D graphics. There are no bugs to report, so it's a straightforward ordeal.

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In conclusion

The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a fascinating bundle of hardcore dungeon crawlers that will primarily only appeal to newcomers at this point. There is nothing here for veterans to make it worth double-dipping, and the map feature feels like a downgrade on a single screen. Furthermore, its unforgiving difficulty will frustrate players who wish to enjoy the authentic experience.

Despite that, the engaging RPG mechanics and hand-crafted dungeons will keep perseverant adventurers returning for more. Those who trudge through the bushes of thorns and failure will find the Labyrinth a source of joy and wonder. This is true even more so if you are a hardcore RPG fan.

Final verdict for Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection (Image via Sportskeeda)

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Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection

Reviewed on: PC

Platform(s): PC, Nintendo Switch

Developer(s): ATLUS

Publishers(s): SEGA

Release date: June 14, 2023