EO:U Gameplay impressions

The core EO gameplay returns here in the form of an EO 1 remake. The gameplay is actually closer to EO IV though because the new interface, battle system, and skill trees seem most like that. This is good because EO IV was an improvement. I find it kind of hard to go back to the older games now that we are in the current generation.

It is quite cool you get one point in skills in the Mastery tree just by putting points into the Mastery skill itself. For instance, on the Highlander, putting 5/10 into Spear Mastery unlocks all the skills down to Spear Assist, which is useful in doing Elemental damage. It is kind of like the Landsknecht's links in EO IV, although I think it only does one attack.

Otherwise, Alchemist, story character Arthur, was my party's most consistent highest damage dealer. Maybe that's because I was using the 4/10 Fire spell bolstered by the Highlander's elemental buff. I was playing on Standard  difficulty by the way, and I will likely stick with that for my first playthrough.

I'm excited to see the full game in October. Thanks, Atlus.

Etrian Odyssey Untold first look

Demo impressions:

I'm excited to have a new game to play so soon after the last one...

Story mode is cool right off the bat and looks to be very compelling. It's nice not to have to try to come up with your own party for once, and the starting party seems well balanced. Highlander is a nice addition to play with.

Otherwise, all of the classes from the original Etrian Odyssey game return, although classic mode is not available in the demo.

Since it's on the 3DS, it doesn't even feel like a remake; it feels new and fresh like EO IV did.

Atlus has done it once again! For me, this is a must-buy.

EO 4 Skills

Now that I'm playing the demo of the new EO, one of the first things I noticed were the skills...

I didn't post this before, because you can see them in the game. However since I made my own list of some classes' skills, here it is:

Landsknecht

Sonic Raid - Close-range attack against 1 enemy at turn's start

Blazing Link - melee fire attack on 1 enemy. Adds Fire attack to ally's next strike

Freezing Link - " ice

Electric Link - " volt

Power Break - melee bash attack to 1 enemy. Lowers physical damage 3 turns

Mind Break - melee bash. Lowers elemental damage 3 turns

Power Boost - Increases physical attack power

Vanguard - Lower defense for 5 turns while acting first and increasing attack

(Initiative) - when attacking before enemies, damage and acc increases

Double Strike - attack twice with weapon

Spiral Slice - melee cut attack that splashes

Penetrate - (rapier) stab attack that pierces enemy lines

Iron Wall - increases defense against physical attacks

Swordbreaker - Chance of halving physical attack damage to allies on your line

Improved Link - For 3 turns, more allies gain added attacks from Link skills

Sniper

Leg Snipe - leg bind

Arm Snipe - arm bind

Head snipe - bind head

Chase bind - passive chase bind

Long Shot - ranged stab attack 1 enemy

Steel Arrow - ranged stab that pierces across enemy lines

Flank Shot - ranged stab to an entire line of enemies

Lock On - Increases critical rate for 5 turns

Scavenger - Increases drop rate for materials from defeated monsters

Spotter - Increase party's hit rate 5 turns

Silver Arrow - Ranged stab attack to 1 enemy that ignores buffs and physical def

Squall Volley - Ranged stab attack to enemies at random

Bullseye - Increase crit rate (Passive)

Eagle Eye - Decrease 1 enemy's phys def for 3 turns

Camouflage - Decrease encounters

High Caution - can prevent party from being surprised

Bushi

Proficiency - Recover TP when performing normal attack

Nerve Strike - melee bash attack 1 enemy. May paralyze (4/8) - story character's starting skill allocation

Moon Slash - katana, melee cut entire line (1/8)

Skull Crusher - mace, melee bash 1 enemy, head bind (1/8)

Blood Surge - Lose HP/TP when you act for increased damage (2/6)

Endure - Once per battle, recover HP when you get to 0 (2/4)

Roar - eliminates buffs on enemy and does untyped damage (2/4)

Power Boost - Increases physical attack (2/10)

Shockwave - Ranged cut to all enemies, costs HP (4/8)

Ice Slash - ice cut (3/8)

Fire Strike - fire bash (3/8)

Deep breath - recover from blood surge (1/4)

Charge - physical attack power next increased (2/4)

Defiance - pays attack power increases with two weapons (2/8)

Imperial

Proficiency - Decreases drive cool down by 1 turn (*)

Sharp Edge - Melee cut 1 enemy. Reduces cooldown by 1 turn (3/6)

Impulse Edge - Melee cut 1 enemy. Recovers TP. used after Sharp Edge (3/6)

Assault Drive - Melee cut to 1 enemy. Lowers DEF until use. 8-turn cooldown (4/10)

Heat Sink - Reduces cooldown by 3 turns (2/4)

Rear Guard - Has 1 ally act last and increase def, 5 turns (1/6)

Power Boost - Increases phys atk power (2/8)

Cool Edge - Melee cut 1 enemy. Reduces cooldown 2 turns. Used after Sharp Edge or Impulse Edge (3/6)

Charge Edge - Melee cut atk 1 enemy. Increases atk power next turn. Used after Sharp Edge or Impulse Edge (2/6)

Flame Drive - Melee fire cut. Lowers Def until use. 9-turn cooldown (4/8)

Freeze Drive - Ice " (4/8)

Shock Drive - volt " (4/8)

Hawkeye - Decreases 1 enemy's ele def 3 turns (2/4)

Absorber - Recovers some TP after striking enemy's weakness (2/6)

Hunter Sense

Ignition - Cools drive blade and prevents from overheating 3 turns (1/8)

Overdrive - Null Ignition for ranged untyped atk to all enemies. Lowers Def

Finisher - Recover TP when defeat an enemy

Wide Effect - Skills that target 1 enemy may gain splash effect

Accel Drive - Melee untyped cut 1 enemy. Lowers DEF. 9-turn cooldown.

Drive Mastery - The more your drive blade overheats, the more damage you do.

Element Boost - Increases ele and untyped atk (3/8)

Etrian Odyssey IV Info

Food

Bird - Golden Goose (1st Land) - Omnihunter(y), Tusked Crusher(y)

Plant - Gold Stinkhorn (2nd Land) - Dream Eater (y)

Beast - Happiness Hare (3rd Land) - Ice Pincer (y)

Fish - Dragon Carp (4th Land) - birds (Raging Raptor-y), Omnihunter, Death Mantis (y), Tusked Crusher(y)

Special Foods

Golden Egg (1st Land) A5 Fire/Panic

Black Diamond (2nd Land) D4 Volt+++, Vit+8, Luc+8

Golden Crab (3rd Land) C5 Ice/Death/Zzz+++, Vit+8

Albino Taurus (1st Land) D1 - Rare Breed+,Exp+

Immortal Peach (2nd Land) A1 - All stats increased

Ice Pomegranate (3rd Land) B1 - Tec5,Hp50,TP25

Emperor Peacock (4th Land) A5 - Rare Breed++, Drop Rate+++

Cloud Boar (4th Land, Outside Maze 6) - stats

Dragon Crystals

Ice Crystal (3rd Land) - Rare Breed+++

Flash Crystal (2nd Land) - Drop Rate+++

Fire Crystal (1st Land) - Exp+++

Other Useful Food

Bird - 1st Land Rare, Tec+3,Agi+1,Exp++

Fish - 2nd Land Rare, Galaxy Catfish - Ice/Volt+++, TP+20

Fish - 3rd Land Rare, Sweetfish - Fire/Ice+++, Vit+3, EXP++

Beast - 4th Land Rare, Furry Goat - Str+6,Vit+6,HP+80

Pookas

Pooka - Vigor Book (2nd Land)

Red Pooka - Power Book (3rd Land)

Gold Pooka - Luck Book (4th Land)

Metal Pooka - Speed Book (4th Land)

Rainbow Pooka - Int. Book (4th Land)

Medica IV?

Items: D R L B I F N A S M

Armor

Fairy Chain - D - Effulgent Horn

Mythic Nithsdale - R - Berserker Skin

Demon Mail - L - Kingly Skin

Hihiirokane - B - Dream Carapace

Great Coat - All - Deathly Bud

Royal Byrnie - I - Colorful Tongue

Knight Armor - F - Raptor Talon

Mirage Vest - N - Frozen Skin

Verdant Attire - A - Cursed Eye

Panacea Vest - M - Poison Wing

Sylpheed - S - Chaos Feather

Weapons

Dragonbane - LNDI - Dragon scales

Durandal - LNDI - Bone Shard (from 5mazeboss)

Yagrush - FMB - Cursed Bone

Fragarach - LA - Fire Fang

Tristan's Bow - Damascus Claw

Kerykeion - pumpkinhead rares

Gennou - FMB - Charged Horn

Shiden Ex - I - Sealed Core

Ameno Habakiri - B - Fallen Scale

Nectar II - Raptor Claw

Amrita III - 3 Eerie Scales

Metopon - 

Dragons

Great Dragon - weak freeze

Storm Emperor - weak fire

Blizzard King - weak volt

Hammers

Poison Hammer - S. Orchard

Fire Hammer - S. Orchard

Speed Hammer - Q:Treasure on My Mind

Luck Hammer - Q:Defeat a Violent Baboon

Aim Hammer - 1B2 B2

Arm Hammer - 1B2

Crit Hammer - 1B3

Volt Hammer - 2B1

Power Hammer - 2B2

Leg Hammer - 2B2 C4

Spread Hammer - U.Lake

Curse Hammer - 4B1

Pierce Hammer - Q:A Storied Book

Addle Hammer - Q:Find the demonic voice

Luck Hammer - Q:Defeat a violent baboon!

Speed Hammer - Q: Treasure on my mind

Head Hammer - Q: Curry courier

Stun Hammer - Q: Capture Golden Deer

Stone Hammer - Misty Ravine, B3F

Ice Hammer - Quest

Smart hammer - Quest

Death hammer - 6B3 C5

Burst Skills

Dual Fangs - Explorers Guild

Shield Tactics - Explorers Guild

Book of Flight - Explorers Guild

Zoologics - Miasma F.

Flame Wall - 2B1 B4 (from Wufan)

Black Mist - 2B3 (from Wufan)

Spear Tactics - N.Marsh

Star Fall - 3B1 (from Whirlwind)

Slash God - 3B3 (from Kibagami)

Zeus Wrath - South S.

Ice Coffin - Q: Lost:One Ring

Astrologic Terror - 4B3

Rich Hare's Gift - Q:Small flower's needed!

Pranayama Guide - Q:Mist monster (Burst slot)

Protection I - Q:Rise of baboons (Burst slot)

Fast Hare's Gift - Q: Investigation

Protection II - C. Nest

Ill Star Chart - Golden Keep

Cloudy Records - Maze 5 B1F A3

Snake and Bowl - Maze 5 B1F A1

Might of Stars - Quest: Fallen one

Retiring

30: +4 skill points, +1 all stats

40: +5 skill points, +2 all stats

50: +6 skill points, +3 all stats

60: +7 skill points, +4 all stats

70: +8 skill points, +5 all stats

99: +10 skill points, +10 all stats

Conditionals

Forest Frog – Frog Fluid: kill with bash damage

Mandrake – Sealed Neck: kill while head is bound

Ghost Owl – Shocked Talon: kill with lightning

Lynx - Sealed Claw: kill while arms are bound

Petaloid – Dangerous Bud: kill with instant death

Hollow Believer – Panic Chakra: kill while confused

Claw Beetle – Broken Horn: kill with bash damage

Maya Owl – Sealed Skull: kill while head is bound (3B1)

Magma Spawn – Scorch Stone: kill with a non-attribute attack (3B2)

Glacier Spawn – Frigid Stone: kill with a non-attribute attack (3B1)

Baboon – Toxic Bone: kill with poison (3B2)

Flame Rat – Flame Tail: kill with cut (4B1)

Medusa Tree – Scorched Sap: kill with fire (4B1)

Purple Anoir – Stunned Tongue: kill while paralyzed, low probability (4B1)

Cursed Shroom – Sealed Cap: kill while head is bound (4B3)

Dragonfly – Shocked Bug Eye: kill with lightning (5B1)

Magma Beast – Magma Core: kill with a non-attribute attack (5--3 B3)

Glacier Beast – Glacier Core: kill with a non-attribute attack (5--3 B3)

Ice Bulb – Icy Seed: kill with petrification (5B1)

Wrath Bloom – Scorched Petal: kill with fire (6B1)

Hollow Magus – Frozen Heart: kill with ice, low probability (6B2)

Muskoid – Deathly Bud: kill with instant death (6B2)

Red Lion – Red Lion Fang: low probability (6B3)

FOES

Nightmare Ram – Toxic Eye: kill with poison (6B1) - Formaldehyde

Trigourd – Pumpkin Head: low probability (6B2)

Hexgourd – Pale Bone: low probability (6B2) - Kerykeon for all three

Flygourd – Cursed Vine: low probability (6B2)

Moth Lord – Eerie Scales: low probability (6B3) - Amrita3

Overworld FOES

Raging Raptor – Raptor Claw: kill while legs are bound (Land 3) - Nectar II

Death Mantis – Stony Scythe: kill with petrification (Land 4)

Boss

Berserker King – Berserker Skin: kill in one turn (1B3) - Mythic Nithsdale

Hollow Queen – Cursed Eye: kill with curse damage (2B3) - Verdant Attire

Boiling Lizard – Effulgent Horn: kill with fire (3B3) - Fairy Chain

Cradle Guardian – Dream Carapace: kill while asleep (The boss himself, the head doesn't have a conditional) (4B3) - Hihiirokane

Quest Boss

Baboon King - (Kingly Skin): kill while confused (Old Forest Mine)- Demon Mail

Chameleon King – Colorful Tongue: kill with ice (South Sanctuary) - Royal Byrnie

Hraesvelgr – Raptor Talon: low probability (Land 4) (Water-Earth-Wind-Fire-Water) - Knight Armor

Sand Leviathan – Poison Wing: kill with poison (Land1 B3F) - Panacea Vest 

Blizzard King – Frozen Skin: kill with ice (killing without ice will get you the scale instead) - (Land 3)Mirage Vest

Storm Emperor – Charged Horn: kill with lightning (killing without lightning will get you the scale instead) (Land 2) - Gennou

Great Dragon – Fire Fang: kill with fire (killing without fire will get you the scale instead) (Land 1) - Fragarach

Iwaoropenelep – Chaos Feather: kill while confused (Moth's Garden) - Sylpheed

Fallen One – Sealed Core: kill while head is bound - Shiden EX

Monster List

Maze 2

B1F

Forest Hare

Petaloid

Fire Bulb

War Bison

B2F

Raging Boar

Great Lynx

B3F

Glutton Vine

Largebill

Hollow Roamers

Maze 3

FOEs - Plated Chaser

B1F

Magma Spawn

Glacier Spawn*

Cave Bat

Claw Beetle*

Maya Owl*

Demon Hopper

B2F

Glacier Spawn

Magma Spawn*

Jumping Frog

Hexroot

Baboon* (kinda rare)

B3F

Zapper Frog

B3F-5

Maze 4

FOEs - Cold Watchman, Cruel Slayer

B1F

Purple Anoir*

Medusa Tree*

Flame Rat*

Flame Lynx

Proto-Bot

Steel Barb

B2F

Peach Crow

Proto-Hunter

B3F

Cursed Shroom*

Eviloid

White Ape

Blue Wallaby

Maze 5

FOEs - Rafflesia (Giant Petal)

B1F

Curse Locust

Flying Beetle

Thunder Hare

Sleeping Lion

Vampire Bat

Venomfly

Dragonfly*

Volt Cat

Evilroot

Ice Bulb* (nw)

Maze 4 B3

FOEs - Silent Killer, Scorching Beast

Dragonfly

Volt Cat

Clawed Mole

Bloody Knuckle

Maze 3 B3

FOEs- Calm King

Glacier Beast*

Magma Beast*

Cold Claw

Maze 2 B3

FOEs - Huge Moa

Ice Bulb (east)

Venomfly

Hollow Hoplite

Maze 1 B3

FOEs - Desouler

Angry Ape

Maze 6

FOEs - Pumpkinheads. Nightmare Rams. Moths

B1F

Mauler Mole

Beetle Lord

Stun Eryngii

Plated Roller - Sky Iron Shell

Wrath Bloom*

Muskoid*

B2F

Hollow Magus*

Thunder Spawn

B3F

Gasser Tree

King Dragonfly

Red Lion*

Caves

Noisy Marsh

FOE - Spotted Frog

*green white blue red yellow

Notes on B3F Maze 6

Test 1 white not effect before or after yellow

Test 2 - no red-- red not directly before green

3 blue, no effect before or after green

4 - green: green not directly before red

5 - yellow has an effect. yellow not before green

6 - not green directly before yellow

7 -  yellow not before or after blue

3/8 Update

I got Nano Assault Ex yesterday. I played through the first 9 or so levels. The game has 32 levels in total. I am honestly kind of disappointed. I like Metal Torrent better, but it's a completely different type of shoot 'em up. I'll keep playing this, maybe it gets better. I hope it's not too hard so that I can beat it.

I've been playing EO3 and 4. I am on the postgame of 4 and still playing casual. I will switch it after I do everything in the game. I'm on the second to last floor of Maze 6. It's pretty tedious...in a good way. Haha.

Can't wait to try Harmoknight next Thursday.

The other game I thought of that I might be interested in is Donkey Kong 3D (summer).

Next Games

The next games for the eshop I will probably get are Nano Assault EX, March 7, and Harmoknight (demo March 14). The next retail game I will probably get is SMT Soul Hackers on April 15.

In the distant future I am interested in the next Zelda, perhaps EO5, Smash Brothers, SMT 4, Devil Survivors 2 remake...

And when it's on sale, Ketzals Corridors from the eshop.

EOIV final thoughts

Just finished beating Casual Mode of Etrian Odyssey IV. It was an amazing game. I felt a little choked up at the ending. I guess it was fairly emotional. It definitely feels like an accomplishment. The series feels like it's coming into its own. I felt like I was playing something very polished and cutting edge. The 3D enemy models look good. The only issue was that they had way too much recycling and reusing of the models. There's another term for this - reused assets?

Anyway, according to my activity log, I played 60 hours and 27 minutes up to this point - beating the main story, basically. Throughout the game, I used story characters in my party, along with a Runemaster and Sniper. My Fortress got dropped at Level 40 and Landsknecht at level 55. My Dancer, Medic, and Nightseeker didn't make it much past level 20 or 30. My endgame party was Bushi (Arcanist), Imperial, Arcanist, Runemaster, and Sniper. One of my goals early on was to get the unlockable classes unlocked quickly. I think using one of each classes was my idea originally. However, I built up so much momentum that they got set aside for the playthrough.

There is a ton of things I want to try on a replay. Anyway, money in game wasn't much of an issue because drops are worth a lot, and I only upgraded when I needed to. I'm wondering how much of a difference playing on Normal difficulty will make. EO games are definitely not known for being easy. I think that they get their replay value (which is important to me as a gamer) from the battle system. The mazes are not randomly generated and starting the maps over from scratch might be tedious. There is a lot of experimentation in the battle system, and so much customization that everybody will play it to suit his or her own play style. One of my favorite parts are the mazes. The series has excellent design. There might be a couple confusing parts, including some of the bar requests, but I'm sure there will be threads and FAQs on the internet in case you get stuck. It happened to me only really once or twice in the same line of quests, when looking it up on gamefaqs very easily explained what you had to do. Otherwise, despite being labyrinths, it's hard to get lost if your map is good.

Very good and I hope to find things to do so that I can continue to play and replay it.