Etrian Odyssey: The first fight is the hardest

I'm mad, mad, mad about that game. I'm hooked, hypnotized and glued to my DS screen, craving for more. If Ray Gigant made me doubt my undying and ardent love for first-person dungeon crawlers for a split second, Etrian Odyssey gloriously reasserted the vibrancy and intensity of that love. I'm loving that game much more than I ever though I could, actually: I half-expected an unpolished early-era DS game with clunky controls, crappy graphics and player-unfriendly features up the wazoo, but what I got instead was a well-crafted and challenging game with an unique and enthralling vibe. I've been playing for one week and just cleared Yggdrasil's first stratum, so now's the perfect time for a small break and a progress report.

Meet Wolf, sole member of the Cruiser guild. (Yup, that's totally a reference to 'lone wolf'. Sue me for my poor taste in MC names, I don't mind.^^) She's one of the character models featured on the game's cover art, which gives me the satisfying feeling that she's somehow supposed to be the hero of the game to begin with; and she's also a Protector (in other words, a tank), which is undoubtedly one of the best suited classes for solo endeavours in EO. High defense, decent attack and healing skills, what more could you ask for for your one and only? Well, probably better foraging skills and a higher agility, because little Wolfie lacks a bit on that front. But hey, solo runs are all about choices and sacrificing some stats and abilities for the sake of others, so I won't complain — all the less so as my lone Protector is doing a stellar job at exploring Yggdrasil so far.

The Death Row.

As expected from a hardcore FPDC, the early stages were hard. Like, soul-shatteringly, weepingly hard. It was all about surviving the very first battle, i.e. the hardest battle of them all: I knew that if I could survive that first battle and make it back to town, I would be on a roll. It took me many a try and many a Game Over, but I finally succeeded and could breath a long-awaited sigh of relief. Or, to quote Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill, "hard's part over"! Well, not quite yet — or, to quote O-Ren in Kill Bill, "you didn't think it was gonna be that easy, did you?" The following battles were just as tough, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I died dozens of times on the first floor and spent my first hour of play roaming the six squares right in front the exit and retiring to town to save after every single battle. That being said, I also have to admit that I unwillingly made things harder for myself by not checking the local shops and purchasing better gear and healing items before venturing into the dungeon; but hey, what's done is done, and it was a thrilling challenge anyway, so I regret nothing.

A lot of time has passed since those fateful first steps (although I cannot tell exactly how long, because EO doesn't track playing time) and things have changed for the better. I roamed, grinded and grew stronger, going from a wimp cowering in fear at the sight of a butterfly to a ruthless fighter eating FOEs for breakfast — and lunch, high tea and dinner, for that matter. Game Overs have become few and far between, and I can safely claim that no battle on the first five floors poses a genuine threat anymore. Even first boss Fenrir couldn't resist the assaults of my lone ranger, and I put the nasty beast to rest after using a couple of devious tricks to separate him from his vulpine minions. (Why is a saber-toothed tiger the leader of a pack of wolves, I wonder.) You didn't think I was going to fight all of you at once, did you? I'm kinda overleveled, sure, but not that overleveled. Not yet, that is. (Cue evil grin.)

EO's atmosphere is something else, really. None of the FPDC I've played so far manages to combine so perfectly and expertly a peaceful and soothing vibe with a sense of menace and impending doom. Class of Heroes has the latter without the former, Demon Gaze has the former without the latter, but only EO has the whole package. The crystalline colours, the mellow soundtrack and the exquisite sound of crushed grass under my feet make me want to to roam endlessly; yet at the same time, every step feels like a step closer to a Game Over. I genuinely feared going deeper into the labyrinth during the early stages, and I swear I felt my throat tighten the very first time I lay my eyes on a FOE. This is a potent and striking mix, and I'm not going to forget my first impressions of that game any time soon — even though by now, Yggdrasil has lost a lot of its chilling power thanks to my dutiful grinding.

I'm surprised that such a fuss was made about the map drawing feature, when it's a totally superfluous task that can be ignored for the most part. There is an auto-drawing map option; and while it doesn't show walls, doors and harvesting spots, those can be added afterwards — like, when one is safely back to town. Drawing walls is by far the most time-consuming task, and it's not even necessary to navigate the labyrinth. Check the map on the side: the left half shows a fully completed map, while the right half is solely the product of auto-drawing, with a couple of door icons added — as you can see, the latter is explicit enough and perfectly serviceable. For all intents and purposes, map drawing in EO is just a flashy gimmick that's here primarily to help the series stand out from the dungeon-crawler crowd. Mind you, I'm not complaining; I was actually afraid of disliking the series because of that very feature, and I'm glad that it turned out to be nothing more than an innocuous gimmick. In fact, I even enjoy fine-tuning my map once I'm done exploring a floor.

In a nutshell: I adore that game, and I'm gonna keep playing it for a long time. Brace yourself, second stratum, for here I come! I'll see you soon with a second progress report, dear fellow gamers; until then, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!