Developed by: ATLUS
Published by: ATLUS
Date of Release: October 1, 2013
Price: $39.99
I'm going to be straight up honest here. I've played plenty of dungeon crawlers over the years, however I am a newbie to the Etrian Odyssey series. That said, I have played through many masterpieces such as Wizardry, Dungeon Master, Eye of The Beholder, and the recently release Legend of Grimrock. The dungeon crawler genre can certainly be a daunting trial for the uninitiated, as after your create your party you are generally turned loose into a world with scant provisions, and no general sense of where to go, in fact you often have to draw your own map as you go along.
The situation is quite similar in Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl, with a few minor details. For one, you have an actual story to contend with, rather than merely being dumped into a labyrinth and being told "find your way out". Plus the art of mapping is taught to you from the get go (it's actually your first quest!). The difficulty is quite nicely scaled as well, with options for players of all skill levels. Newcomers and genre veterans alike will find EOU to be quite accessible. The controls for both gameplay and mapping are incredibly intuitive, and the battle system is finely tuned and easy to understand.
But what of the presentation? From anime cutscenes to awesome voice acting, ATLUS has gone the extra mile to ensure that Etrian Odyssey Untold is the premiere dungeon crawler for the 3DS, and it shows. The visuals are nothing short of gorgeous, with 3D effects that seem organic and natural in their nature. It may in fact be one of the prettiest 3DS titles to date. Add to that an absolutely rocking soundtrack by veteran composer Yuzo Koshiro (Ys, Dragon Slayer) and it is clear that EOU is the complete package.
So to reiterate: Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl packs a power and punchy presentation, a stunning soundtrack, captivating cutscenes, and gorgeous graphics. If the thought of mapping your adventure turns you off, do not fear: the game has an auto mapping feature that will make your life easy. Backtracking is made less of a drag by letting you warp between previously explored areas, and the Picnic difficulty will certainly tone down the stress if you are new to dungeon crawling. So if you have a 3DS and are looking for a damn good time, get out there and buy this awesome game already!
