Etrian Odyssey V

[OLD GREGG (im back baby)]

Just hit Japan today, so lucky. I did some digging and found that the rigid Famitsu awarded the game a respectable 35/40. From what I know you will have four races to choose from, each with seperate classes. No international release date atm, but it's a sure thing. We got every one prior so I don't see why Atlus would drop the ball on this.

I'm thinking first/second quarter 2017 or even longer considering Sega recently acquired Atlus. I really enjoy EO's old school style and difficult dungeon crawling masochism. These games are tough and I expect V should be no different. I don't expect many changes, but that isn't a bad thing. Any other EO fans here?

 

[Blazade]

I tried to get through Millenium Girl but I didn't grind and I could barely make my way through the first boss, I felt like the fight took forever and I was horribly outclassed. I didn't have time to invest in it then, but I'm curious if it's worth the effort.

 

[OLD GREGG (im back baby)]

Millenium Girl has 30 floors broken into stratums. It's one continuous dungeon crawl. The difficulty ramps up considerably about half way through, so if you didn't make it past the tenth floor without quitting then these probably aren't the games for you. I will say though, it's a very rewarding experience when you devise strategies and overcome that tough boss. Takes patience but definitely a good way to kill some time.

Also...if you really just wanted to beat it there are tons of guides online for optimal parties/strategies, but it takes away from the experience so I avoid them.

 

[Blazade]

Nah it seemed like a game with a lot of potential I just didn't really have time for it. I felt like I was trying to go through dungeons a little too quickly and ended up being behind curve.

I did beat that boss back then and it was rewarding. I want to enjoy a game like that, not cheap out, so it's nice to hear someone else vouch for it before I decide to sink some real time in.

 

[OLD GREGG (im back baby)]

Use a Protector with Max Defense and HP and max Provoke skill with a decently leveled Medic in the back. Always Provoke the target to draws hits away from frailer members and keep your Protector healthy. The game is way easier with these two in your party.

 

[Fishin]

I liked the demo, I preordered it and Amazon.jp says it'll be here tomorrow which is some really fast international shipping considering the game just came out today in Japan. It doesn't seem to be doing anything particularly interesting new with the formula aside from 2nd names but it looks pretty solid nonetheless, Dragoon and Warlock look like good takes on the obligatory tank/mage classes and Cesti (?) look really fun. Current party is:

Reaper/Dragoon/Masurao (might replace with Cestus or Fencer)
Herbalist/Warlock


as far as the series as a whole goes, I started with EO4 and that's probably still my favorite, I really liked having the overworld area with no random battles to explore and I'm hoping they do something like that again (when the eventual remake of 3 comes, it'd be cool if the secondary dungeon was split into different locations accessible by sailing or something). Arcanists and Imperials were both really fun classes too.

Untold 2 was also really good, tons of class variety and Boost/Break skills are my favorite implementation of super movies in the series. Untold I wasn't quite as hot on, the grimoire system was kinda annoying and poorly explained and it felt like it was punishing you if you didn't play Story mode since you couldn't access either of the new classes or the new dungeon.

 

[OLD GREGG (im back baby)]

Hey Fishin,
I'm jealous now thanks :P

Lemme know how it is, I'm really excited for the NA release. I agree with your points about EO4's overworld. I really hope they bring that back. My favorite would have to be EO2 because it's the most challenging to me.

EO4 was a bit on the easy side but I think they did that to broaden the audience. Was still a good experience even though it's difficulty was toned down. I really liked the airships and the choice to avoid enemies on the overworld map and just explore if you want.

 

[PK Gaming]

Words alone cannot express my sadness over not being able to play this.

Like, EOIV is straight up one of my favorite RPGs of all time and it's killing me, killing me, that NA isn't going to get it for a long time.

 

[Fishin]

finished the main game a day or two ago, overall impressions are pretty good but not great.

it feels a bit like a throwback to EO and EO2 for a number of reasons (single labyrinth, no ability to diversify character roles like subclassing/grimoires, a couple other recurring elements like a giant 8F boss that you have to run away from) which I'm not a huge fan of. The 2nd names are an interesting idea but I feel like might have been better with less abilities locked behind them and more in the basic tree, some classes like Reaper feel really bland pre-second name, and ultimately they just feel more restrictive than anything, U2 War Magi were one of my favorites because they could be good at both attacking (in the right circumstances) and healing if you wanted to build them that way.

The classes were generally good, Dragoon and Warlock are the best iterations of tank/mage, but some like Shaman and Herbalist feel pretty boring without the ability to do something productive on their off turns. The new summon/pet system is decent, it feels like it has the potential to be a bit unfair if enemies use too many pierce or all-targeting attacks but otherwise it's a lot better than what EO3 did. Stratums are pretty cool and music is good, probably a bit better than EO4 but not as good as U/U2/3. Story was...mostly not there, even more so than in regular EO games.

Also it bugged me how little voice acting there was for the actual NPCs. There's not a lot of dialogue in EO games in the first place but most of them had probably less than 20 lines total and I don't think there were any properly voiced lines in something like the pre-final boss conversation even. Being able to choose voices for your characters was nice though.

Overall I feel like it got the basics right but generally didn't really try to do anything too special beyond that, which is fine since it's still a solid game.

 

[OLD GREGG (im back baby)]

Thanks for replying Fishin.

I'm looking forward to it even more now. I like the idea of going back to the series roots. I actually like the idea of limiting npc voice overs since I found them to be annoying, mostly, in the other entries. I'm kind of disappointed that they went back to a single labyrinth, but as long as it's lengthy and has variety it'll be fine. The classes sound decent but no way of subclassing or sharing skills between classes is weird.

I'm interested in the new summon/pet system and how it effects combat. The music is these games are always chill and quality so no surprise there. Not really disappointed at the lack of an effort to make an epic story, I assume most people play for the old school dungeon grinding like I do and not the story. I'm curious if there is New Game+ or any post game content?

 

[Catherine Walker]

Arcanists and Imperials were both really fun classes too.