Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard

I'm not a "hardcore" gamer, but I have played many RPG's over the year, and I really like this one. I haven't finished it, but so far it consists almost exclusively of dungeon delving. The combat system is pretty basic, swinging swords and throwing spells/skills at groups of monsters who appear before you--not a lot of tactical maneuvering here. One interesting thing, you collect seemingly worthless items to bring back to the store, where the weaponsmith will make progressively better items for sale to your characters. The mapping is pretty basic, but still engaging. And the story is original (you don't have to sit on the A button watching dialogue for hours).

Once again, I'm not a hardcore gamer, and I haven't played the first Etrian Odyssey, but I love this one.

I bought the first one played it for a few minutes and decided I didn't like it. Well I saw the second one and the improved controls and decided to give it a try. It is a wonderful game.

Mapping: Not as hard as it sounds, the floors are mapped for you, you just need to add the walls, doors and other notes.

Characters: I love the chracter portraits so cute. It is fairly easy to get a good balance party. And the skills the characters can learn you are told what the prerequisite skills are for other skills so if you want to work towards a particular skill it is easy to plan.

Monsters: Arghh! The pain of the roaming monsters leads to death of the party from time to time, but with strategic planning on how to move around and saving up of your force points you can take them down. I enjoy seeing what new monsters I am going to come across with each new level I come to.

Overall I am currently quite addicted to the game and I highly recommend it for others that like dungeon crawls.

This game has made no effort at all to be accessable to the general public. It will not bring new fans to the gaming world. It will not convert gamers who like other gaming styles, like real time strategy. Clearly it was made by, and for, hardcore role players. I mean the real hardcore, not the wannabe hardcore. Seriously, if you have never played an RPG before, or if you think that Diablo was an RPG, try Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest instead.

That said, by golly, there is no more authentic RPG on any platform. Lots of stats, lots of reloading after your whole party was wiped out, lots of items, lots of monsters (many of them willing and able to kick your sweet patootie). And just in case you thought it might be a little too forgiving, you make your own maps here. I mean it, it's not an option, it is how you do it. Keh. Bwahahaha.

This is for the few, the proud, the nerdy, the un-math-challenged, and the very, very, patient.

I love it.

PS: Wait a sec. I'm trying to get over certain materialistic tendancies, so let me amend.

I *love* my wife.

I *like* this game.

A lot. I do.

2008-08-27

Etrain Odyssey II retains much of what made the first game a treasure and expands on the franchise in a few key ways. Interface enhancements and additional map icons are just the beginning. Three new classes have been added: War Magus, Gunner and Beast along with sprite updates and an all new story. This time you are going up the tree.

Game play is essentially the same: A dungeon crawler with extreme rpg elements and the unique requirement to map out your progress. This time around there are more side quests and event areas in addition to environmental obstacles. The levels are more winding and maze like so be on the look out for plenty of hidden doors to reduce your back tracking as you make frequent return trips into town to sell your findings, stock up on goods and recover.

Heroes of Lagaard is a lot harder than the first game. Expect to run a lot, especially from FOES who are much tougher and no longer give that extreme boost in experience points. To assists and new set of skills and items have been built around stopping or luring FOES to a different location allowing you to use some guile or skill in passing difficult areas without altercation.

The skill tree for each class has been reworked with some new skills added and older ones either paired down or enhanced to even out the characters more. While you will definitely want to take a medic, the War Magus is a valuable asset in place of the Protector to provide both tanking and healing capabilities.

If you liked the first game, you'll love this one. If you enjoy dungeon crawlers, and have not played the first game, what are you waiting for? This is a game for you!

Etrian odyssey II is a great game. so great I paid $60 for it plus $3 tax. I had to buy it from a local shop as the ordered one from Amazon was left on my doorstep by the Post office despite instructions otherwise and stolen either by local kids or by the postman. Who knows? Nothing that can be done about that. It is a great game though. seriously worth picking up for $30 if you are tired of games that are childishly easy. Etrian will challenge you.