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GAME: Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan




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RoverTX



Joined: 17 Dec 2008
Posts: 424
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 12:30 pm Reply with quote
Glad to hear the latest entry lives up to the series good name. Mine is coming in the mail today and I can't wait to start playing. This game to me proves that a focus on game play and simple but wonder graphics is still really a true recipe for success.
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Kimiko_0



Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 1796
Location: Leiden, NL, EU
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 1:53 pm Reply with quote
Very Happy Etrian Odyssey was the first game I bought for my first DS (Lite) back in 2008. This year I bought a (N-American) 3DS XL to prepare for Etrian Odyssey 4.

I haven't received my copy of EO4 yet though. Hurry up, DHL, I want to play too!
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DG_Nick



Joined: 10 Feb 2013
Posts: 23
Location: Chicago
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:24 pm Reply with quote
EO 1-3 have been out of print prior to the weeks leading up to EO4's release so I picked them up, but I have a problem. I need a new game after VLR to play that preferably has a generous save or save suspend feature because I'm playing in 25 minute chunks at work. The problem is I want to start playing EO and also Fire Emblem but I doubt either of those titles support the kind of saving I need. Would either of these games suit my needs?
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daveriley



Joined: 12 Aug 2003
Posts: 117
Location: Philadelphia
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:29 pm Reply with quote
Both games have sleep saves, so you're good to go with either.
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yamata no orochi



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 137
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:35 pm Reply with quote
I'm not sure why reviewers keep making this mistake, but the truth is that there's no difference between Casual and Normal modes besides a)being sent back to town after you die and b)having access to an unlimited Warp Wire. The battles should be the same difficulty in both modes I think! So if you want to be challenged but don't want to risk losing all your progress, by all means pick casual--though part of the experience of these games is walking on the knife's edge, so know that you'll be missing out a bit.

Otherwise, this is a surprisingly enthusiastic review! I'm a pretty big fan of what the Etrian Odyssey series is trying to do, but at times it seems like it operates at a world removed from the expectations of game journalism. If people want to read more about these games I'd actually recommend a long article/nominal fanfic notable critic Jeremy Parish wrote a while ago:

http://www.telebunny.net/toastywiki/index.php/Games/EtrianOdyssey
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daveriley



Joined: 12 Aug 2003
Posts: 117
Location: Philadelphia
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:44 pm Reply with quote
Well, the game literally says "In Casual mode, battles are less difficult," when selecting a difficulty. If I can't take their word for it who can I trust? Very Happy
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Ryu Shoji



Joined: 15 Jul 2009
Posts: 671
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:34 pm Reply with quote
Iirc, this game was only just recently confirmed for European release. I haven't played an Etrian Odyssey game before, but I want this one.
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williamflipper



Joined: 16 Jun 2010
Posts: 32
Location: London UK, Trieste Italy
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:01 pm Reply with quote
Sweet!
Waiting for the European release. Damn region locked 3DS.
Does it have any street pass functionality?
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yamata no orochi



Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 137
PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 12:58 am Reply with quote
daveriley wrote:
Well, the game literally says "In Casual mode, battles are less difficult," when selecting a difficulty. If I can't take their word for it who can I trust? Very Happy


This is true! I just checked the difficulty setting in the demo and it does indeed say that "battles are less difficult."

That said, I'm a lurker over on the Talking Time forums (where Nich Maragos, the head editor of the game, apparently visits) and I was pretty certain that he said at one point that there was no difference in battle difficulty between the two modes. And I was right!

I'm pretty sure this is the real Nich Maragos because the Etrian Odyssey promotional materials over in the US have a past history of Talking Time injokes (naming characters in trailers after forum users, etc.) That said Nich could be wrong, but then you'd have the chief editor of the English version of Etrian Odyssey IV being wrong about the game he edited and that would just be weird.

That said, with that in mind the wording in the game is super confusing and I guess I'm no longer surprised how so many people have been making that mistake. The more you know, I guess!
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Clarste



Joined: 06 Feb 2012
Posts: 424
PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:34 am Reply with quote
Well, this was a surprisingly glowing review. It inspired me to check out the demo though, which transitioned into an instant purchase. Why haven't I heard of this series before? Well, I mean I've heard of it, but no one ever seems to talk much about its gameplay other than the mapping thing, which on its own hardly sounds appealing.

A+ though? Really?
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victor viper



Joined: 18 Jun 2011
Posts: 630
Location: The deep south
PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:47 pm Reply with quote
Clarste wrote:
Well, this was a surprisingly glowing review... no one ever seems to talk much about its gameplay other than the mapping thing, which on its own hardly sounds appealing.


I too was surprised to see how positive the review was. After all, Etrian Odyssey is at its core a very, very, old-school gaming experience. I do agree with the reviewer that the franchise has gotten better with each iteration. EO1 had extremely unbalanced character classes (you almost had no choice but to have a Protector in your party), EO2 significantly upgraded the mapping system, and EO3 had a better system when it came to the flexibility of the skill system. I've vowed to either buy a Vita or a 3DS but not both, now EO4 and Persona 4 Golden are both tempting me.

I'd have to say though that the mapping part of the game is arguably the best part. Having a complete map of a level of the labyrinth can be quite satisfying, considering the game makes you work.
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Taiyz



Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 202
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 11:13 pm Reply with quote
yamata no orochi wrote:
daveriley wrote:
Well, the game literally says "In Casual mode, battles are less difficult," when selecting a difficulty. If I can't take their word for it who can I trust? Very Happy


This is true! I just checked the difficulty setting in the demo and it does indeed say that "battles are less difficult."

That said, I'm a lurker over on the Talking Time forums (where Nich Maragos, the head editor of the game, apparently visits) and I was pretty certain that he said at one point that there was no difference in battle difficulty between the two modes. And I was right!
I don't want to be argumentative, but considering that you keep saying "head editor," I feel the need to point out that if he has confirmed that Casual mode battles are *not* easier, why does the in-game text suggest such a thing? He IS the head editor, after all. Just thought I'd point that out. =P
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2013 1:12 am Reply with quote
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