Nab some fantastic RPGs before the 3DS eShop boards the doors

Nintendo eShop purchases for both the 3DS and Wii U are set to close up next spring. So today's Sega s??ale, which feat??ures some great 3DS games, is a good time to fill out your library.

Sega and Atlus games are on sale on the eShop, from now until April 17 at 11:59 p.m. PT. The Sega Spring Sale has plenty of good Switch deals, including a bunch of the Sega Ages releases and a 50% off deal on Persona 5 Strikers. Plus, the Valkyria Chronicles Remastered + Valkyria Chronicles 4 dual pack is onl?y $28—a great deal for tactical RPG fans.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C3VS4yg6LM

But let me turn your attention to somewhere further down the page: the Nintendo 3DS part of the sale. Several excellent Atlus RPGs are on sale, and this will probably be one of the best shots at getting these games in your library for a good price before ??the 3DS eShop closes.

The Shin Megami Tensei series, including SMT IV and both Devil Survivor and its sequel are on sale for $8 a pop. Some Etrian Odyssey games and Persona Q are also on sale, for a similarly low price. Also, it wasn't listed on the sale page, but Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is also on sale for $10. (Thanks for the spot, Wario64.)

These are some stellar deals on some spectacular RPGs. The Devil Survivor series is a favorite of mine in particular, mixing Shin Megami Tensei ideas with tactics and social sims to make for a really fun, replayable duology. Plus, Etrian Odyssey and Radiant Historia are solid games worth grabbing.

I've already loaded up my cart with a bunch of games I'll want ?to maintain access t?o in the years ahead. If you're keen on keeping your Nintendo 3DS around for years, this is a good time to load up.

The post The Sega Spring eShop sale is live, so gra??b some good 3DS d??eals while you can appeared first on Destructoid.

Cool dood!

Good news, Europeans! The wait for Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan is nearly over. Atlus' acclaimed dungeon crawler will make the voya?ge across the pond on? August 30, kindly distributor NIS America has announced.

Until then, you should probably check out our guide to the Nintendo 3DS exclusive role-playing game. It'll teach you everything you need to know for becoming a real Etrian Odyssey pro and includes?? helpful tips such as, "don't di?e."

The post Etrian Odyssey IV ventures to Europe on August 30 appeared first on Destructoid.

Thanks, NIS America

NIS America has partnered with Atlus to bring Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan to Europe this summer. This a-maze-ing dungeon crawler is ??too ??good to be missed by our friends on the other side of the pond, so our hats off to NIS America for making this happen for them.  

Summer isn't too far off, but it's still a bit of a wait. Good news for the impatient: A 2-dungeon demo of the game will com?e to the Nintendo eShop early this summer,?? too. 

European RPG fans, know that ??I say a little prayer for you every night. 

The post Etrian Odyssey IV comes to Europe this summer appeared first on Destructoid.

A-maze-ing

This past week has been very refreshing for this late thirty-something, old-fashioned gamer. While I'm finally starting to embrace the sweeping changes to how we buy and play videogames, at my core, I sti?ll just want to buy a cartridge, stick it in a console, and spend 30+ hours of my life getting stronger, working up to killing a big boss with spells, numbers, menus, and jars of magic. This is what makes me most happy as a gamer.

Atlus' Etrian Odyssey IV has rejuvenated me this past week with its not-afraid-to-be-old-fashioned gameplay. In the midst of countless high-budget, high-resolution, super flashy wham bam internet-connected franchise sequels, we have this classic, ?challenging dungeon crawler? that has you drawing your own maps on a grid, just like you used to do in the old days. Again, incredibly refreshing.

Surprisingly, seeing similarly-minded gamers enjoying Etrian Odyssey IV as much as I have this past week has been just as refreshing. This is?? a game that I would say is of limited appeal these days, yet it seems that those around me? cannot stop singing its praises. 

Etrian Odyssey IV (3DS)
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Release: February 26, 2013
MSRP: $39.99

Etrian Odyssey IV is a classic dungeon crawler and it makes no apologies for that. This means the focus is solely on getting lost in and eventually finding your way out of a constant string of increasingly difficult dungeons, with? random-encounter turn-based battles stopping you every few steps. The focus is on how to get stronger ?in order to kill bigger monsters. The focus is on doing everything you can to stay alive. 

This is not your epic yarn abou??t legendary heroes with pink hair that fall in love and travel through space and time. There are no cutscenes or voice overs, and the game doesn't really have much of a cast. It really is just your created party marching through mazes in a first-person view, looking for the bad guy that caused all the trouble. 

You'll start off in the town of Tharsis as a group of adventures answering the call of the city's Count to join other adventures in exploring the mysteries of th??e massive tree that looms in the distance, called Yggdrasil. In this quest to learn more about its rumored mysterious powers, you'll encounter other races that have been affected by the tree. You'll eventually get pulled into a deeper story that actually manages to br??eak out of the typically shallow dungeon-crawler story type into something a bit more satisfying.

Creating the best initial party in an Etrian Odyssey game has always been a critical first step for series fans. Thoroughly considering each of the classes' abilities and how they'll unify with others' is part of the challenge and fun of the franchise. That depth is still here Etrian Odyssey IV's seven starting classes (with more that unlock later), allowing you to roll your party of five in any way you wish, mixing your typical healers, archers, and swordsmen with some of the more specialized classes, like the status-jamming Nightseekers, or the healing/swording hybrids, Dancers. With this outing, it seems that Atlus has put some work into making sure t??hat there are no bad combinations of classes. More than ever before, it feels like you can pick whatever classes you think look fun and go with them. And if that doesn't work, you're free to visit the guildmaster and roll another, as dozens of slots are open for storing your character creations. 

With a party formed, you'll venture from the game's hub town of Tharsis into the unexplored worlds that lie under Yggdrasil, taking on missions from the Count, reporting back afterwards to earn your rewards and then moving onto new missions. This loop is exactly how the past series games have played out, but Etrian Odyssey IV is the first gam?e to offer free, limitless exploration of the w?orld outside these assigned missions. 

You'll explore in an airship, which also doubles as a mode of transportation from Tharsis to mission dungeons. From early on, you'll have the ability to take a break from mission dungeons, called Labyrinths, to take that airship to find caves and attractions where you might find new monsters or spoils. There's a proper overworld now, complete with varied attractions and city-sized enemies to deal with. This welcome change makes EOIV fee??l more like an adventure than previous series titles. Even if you love first-person dungeon views, getting out into the sky and flying around an open world makes for a nice change of pace.

With all of these dungeons and unexplored lands to navigate, charting your way is more important than ever. The engrossing mapping function from Etrian Odyssey III returns with several improvements worked into the cartographical system, which now extends to the sky. You'll use the bottom touch screen of the 3DS to hand draw every wall of every maze in a grid, dropping in various icons, markers, and now annotat??ions, so that you may return after you die.

Hand-mapping every stage and dungeon may sound tedious to some, but it ends up being one of the most rewarding aspects of this game. Carefully plotting to make sure that every doorway and item spawn point are marked feels a lot like working in customization menus to make sure every member of your party is optimally equipped. Role-playing game fans are planners by nature, and this gives them one more thing to plan, and eventually one more aspect to look back at and be proud of after succeeding. Besides, old-school RPG fans would probably want to graph ou?t the dungeons anyway. This function gives you the virtual pen and paper.

More planning fun awaits in the game's skill system. Each level earned lets you drop a point into the various skills of each of your party members' skill trees. Exploring the synergies between members skills lets you craft some really complex interactions on the battlefield. Other than some tree branch progression level requirements, EOIV has very little in the way of limitations on how you customize your characters. Things become even more interesting when you unlock sub-classes, which let you mix one classes' abilities with another. By the end of the game I had what felt like the most complex, specialized party I've ever used in an RPG. That's ?a geeky kind of fun that we don't see in a lot of games of this genre these days.

Also returning are the series' FOEs, or the Field-On Enemies. These are roaming sub-bosses that you'd do best to avoid at low levels. The??y're big and bad enough that they're represen??ted by on-map icons, and they're challenging enough to warrant a color-coded icon warning system. Red means run -- you can expect to die in a single hit in an accidental encounter with one of these guys. With even the movement being turn-based, you can watch your map to try to avoid them. That works fine until late in the game, where they manage to appear out of nowhere. 

You'll take on FOEs as well as standard encounters in fast-paced, turn-based battles. It's nice that you can bl??ast quickly through standard fights as the encounter rate is fairly high. For low-level baddies, you can simply hold down the confirm button to blast through your last string of attack commands, or tap the L button to start an auto-hit round. Grinders will definitely appreciate this.

The battle system isn't anything new or fancy, but it's deep and well-rounded, and packed with many different options to keep you interested. Beyond normal attacks and magic from this two-row, turn-based system, Atlus adds Burst skills, which let you use earned points from an attack-filled meter to use special spells to give you advantages in battle. You'll spend from this pool to do things like boost party defense, or cast a huge fire spell. And a tip of the hat, as always, to Atlus for making RPGs that actually make use of status ailments. Yes, poisoning an enemy is actually a valid and worthwhile attack EOIV.

Of course, for FOEs and bosses, you'll want to watch that finger on that confirm button and carefully consider every command input. Most of my enjoyment of this game came from its almost unforgiving difficulty. Anything less than my most focused, well-planned attack plan would result in death. Every advantage, from equipment to elemental weaknesses, must be considered. Deaths happen often in Etrian Odyssey IV -- one-shot kills are not uncommon. If you like challenging games, this one w??ill have you both grinning and wincing.

EOIV is more approachable for first-timers with its new Casual mode, but you'll still find yourself having to work up to gain levels and get the best equipment to stand toe t?o toe with the bigger enemies. My few hours in Casual showed that exploration and dungeon navigation are a bit less challenging, but that bosses are still pretty mean. Deaths hurt less as you'll be beamed back to town, ready to heal up and head back out. Standard enemies go down easier, too. This mode is freely switchable from any point in the game outside battles.

Etrian Odyssey IV looks better than ever on the 3DS. This game is one of the most colorful titles available on the platform with its vibrant green and blue world and attractive character art from Yuji Himukai. The new, superbly animated 3D monsters seem to pop off the screen, even with the 3DS 3D function switched off; some of the designs for the larger monsters are outstanding. Taki??ng the flat, stand-in graphics of past titles and turning them into moving, breathing monsters does wonders for the title.  

It's not all pretty, though. The increased graphical power allows for more detailed dungeons with more moving visual cues (like swaying tree branches, for example) over the last installment, but they're still really just flat walls with fancy textures on them, and it gets old after awhile. The lower-resolution wall textures pale in comparison to the monsters and foreground art, sadly. Worse, NPCs in missions aren't graphically represented in dungeons. I don't know if Atlus ran out of graphical resources in these situations, but it's maddening to go stepping around a cave ??trying to find the invisible guy you were just talking to. Finally, the 3D view for the top screen gives some depth to battles, especially with multi-row encounters, but makes the action feel a bit farther away, and actually a bit harder to follow. I kept it off after a few rounds of trying it out.

The musical score in Etrian Odyssey IV comes courtesy of game music legend Yuzo Koshiro. He has been the series composer from the first title, but he goes nuts with this latest outing, working in every genre he could muster to make for the most varied and enjoyable soundtrack yet. The sound is new for fans, but I'm sure none of them will mind as his work here is fantastic. Every piece, from the jazzy town tunes, to the rocking battle theme?, to the sweeping orchestral exploration beds, spill over with musicianship. Thes??e aren't just background songs -- these are recordings of inspired performances. It's strange to say, but a 3DS game has set a new high bar for RPG soundtracks.

It's a shame that the audio quality seems compromised. It may be a case of over-compression for storage sake, ??or it could be that the audio was "overcooked," but these songs are slightly marred by an equalization curve that makes them sound thin and brash. High frequencies are over-pronounced coming through the 3DS speakers, which sadly had me suffering from ear fatigue while trying to enjoy the excellent music. Headphones made things slightly more bearable, but it also made the hit on audio quality more apparent at the same time. Fans will want to check out the full soundtrack on CD.

Finally, Etrian Odyssey IV has some neat socia??l features built in. The game uses QR codes to let you trade Guild Cards with other players without the need for StreetPassing, though that option is still available. You can also use QR c??odes to unlock special items and quests that Atlus has distributed on its webpage and others. 

For as much as I loved this game, it must be said that Etrian Odyssey IV isn't for everyone. There are no character arcs to drive a story, and there's nothing even close to a CG cutscene at the end to serve as a reward. There's really no avoiding the need to grind to work against the considerable difficulty level of EOIV, e?ither. And if drawing maps sounds like a bad time to y??ou, you're going to hate this game.

The rewards her??e are smaller than your big-budget RPG, though they come more frequently from the work you put in. They come from the deep, almost limitless planning possibilities of the game's customization system. They come from plotting a path so well that you always know where you're going, and where you came from. They come from returning to that FOE that kicked your ass earlier to show it who's boss.

Etrian Odyssey IV the best series title yet, and an excellent place to start if you've never played one before. It is, by far, the most accessible series game yet, with its Casual mode and its wide-open, free-exploration gameplay. And for the first time, despite being a dungeon crawler at heart, an Etrian Odyssey title feels like a sprawling adventure. 

For series fans, everything you love about Etrian Odyssey is here, and then some -- better music, art, monsters, and mapping. You will not be disappointed. For everyone else: fans of classic dungeon crawling, fans of planning and plotting, or fans of a sizable challenge, I cannot recommend Etrian Odyssey IV enough.

The post Review: Etrian Odyssey IV appeared first on Destructoid.

Tip 1: Don't die

You asked for it, so here it is -- our essential tips guide for Etrian Odyssey IV.

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan is such a hard game that our review isn't even done yet! Many of you jumped head first into Atlus' latest dung??eon crawler yesterday expecting to plow straight ahead, only to find that you're dying. Dying often. I've enjoyed the mails and social messages from some of you on how you're dying so often. Tr??ust me, I feel your pain. 

Or, I did. Not to brag, but I'm about to finish this engrossing RPG, and at this point my party is so strong that I find myself giggling in batt??les. It's&?nbsp;ridiculous how strong the Guild Corgis is. 

I? think I have some pointers that?? might help some of you out.

Starting out:

• Baby steps -- You don't suck. The game is just that hard. The biggest single piece of advice I can give for EOIV is to not go charging in blindly. The game is structured so that only through careful work will you progress. One-shot deaths are the norm. This means you're best off fighting low-level enemies until you can comfortably take on the bigger ones. Don't go looking for trouble in another dungeon until you can comfortably stroll through earlier ones. 
• Don't be lazy about mapping -- It may seem like a hassle at first, but you'll later find that it's strangely fun to plot out your every step on the bottom 3DS screen. In later dungeons you'll need highly accurate maps to survive, let alone progress. Be sure to use the notation icon to drop in notes for yourself, too. You can use any of the icons for anything you wish, but come up with a reliable system for yourself. For example, pick one for secret passages and always use that one.
• Stock those escape items -- Especially starting out, you're going to want a way to get the hell out of town when things get rough. Always have at least one Ariadne Thread on hand to instantly get back to town, and later grab the Pole Stone and Silver Whistle to let you jump from dungeons on the quick.
• Sell everything -- By default, you have 60 slots for items found while adventuring. Fill those slots up and go back to town to sell them all. There's no need to save items unless they're for specific quests. Selling items unlocks new weapons and armor. They'll do you no good stored.
• Lost? -- Don't know where to go next? Explore. Chances are you're not proceeding because you missed something. This is where mapping is key. 

Party:

• Diversify your party -- There are no bad classes for your first picks, but you'll find that some work better than others later on. When that time comes, even though you may have invested many hours into your original party, don't be afraid to roll another character for a specific use. Sure, you'll have to start from level 1 to build them up, but it happens quick. Some of the classes you'll unlock later are definitely worth the trouble. 
• Runemasters are the best class -- I think that the Runemaster class is the best. They need to be on the back row, but from back  they can do heavy damage with their elemental spells. Just make sure to use all item and skill advantages to get their TP and defensive numbers up so that they can survive. 
• Fortresses are the second best class -- The Fortress class can take a hit and give one back. Their Taunt ability lets them attract attacks from enemies to protect weaker party members. This becomes quite useful later on, especially when you're trying to roll a new character and level them up.

Combat:

• Use status effects to your advantage -- Unlike some other RPG franchise's games, Etrian Odyssey IV's status effects are actually useful and effective. Go ahead. Throw some poison down on those baddies and watch them suffer. Blind, paralyze, bind -- they all work. In my opinion, the best party has one member throwing out status-based attacks every round.
• Use those Burst skills -- You'll eventually unlock Burst skills, which are party wide-equippable perks that let you do everything from cast attacks to escape from battles. Don't forget about them. Here's one of my favorite uses: think about the elemental nature of your current dungeon and equip a Burst skill that fits, like a fire attack for an ice dungeon. Remember, Burst effectiveness is tied to the stats of the character using the skill.  For example, have your magic-loving party members (like Runemasters) throw elemental stuff out for a big bang.
• Breakers - Make use of the breaking abilities you'll find in some of the classes' skillsets. These skills will temporarily lower the physical or elemental attack power of an enemy -- very useful. 
• Be smart about how you level your skills -- You get a point to up skills from your tree every with every level gained. Don't go nuts dumping points into skills you don't need yet. Start from the bottom and think about each party member's role before spending. Make sure your healer can properly heal, for example. You'll get all the fancy stuff in time. Oh, and this Skill Simulator may come in handy when making those decisions. 
• Monsters still too hard? Go explore -- If you're up against baddies in a dungeon that you can't take down, exploring often pays off more than mindless grinding. EOIV is set up so that optional dungeons will give you more things to fight, and more treasures to take back. You'll get much more out of the game by flying around and looking for trouble. 

Leveling:

• Go back for those FOEs -- I know that they're big and scary, but at the precise point in your progression where they're not quite as scary, they're the most useful when it comes to earning experience. EOIV never lets up, so you might as well take those FOEs down when they're near to get your level up for the next dungeon.
• Get those World Map baddies, too -- When you can, that is. They can be bastards. If killed, they are great for experience, and they give you items that can be used to make new weapons and armor.
• Kill all the shiny things! -- Randomly, shiny enemies will pop up in battles. Kill them as fast as you can, before they get away. Success brings about huge EXP boosts. 
• Use that 6th party member -- Later in the game you'll see guest characters added to your party. They'll eventually leave, but while they're helping out you might as well use them take on some of those FOEs to gain experience. 

Advanced:

• Take advantage of subclasses -- Later in the game you'll be able to add a secondary class to your characters, giving them access to new abilities from any of the other nine classes. Smart mixing and matching will let you do neat things like have technique points regeneration running for a tank-style character that uses techniques often. The possibilities are endless; explore and be rewarded. 
• FOE caught up to you? -- Here's my default "Oh Shit" coming out round when being caught by a FOE: Use my Landsknect to lower enemy damage with Power Break; use my Fortress to cast either an elemental or physical defense spell to help with it; use my Arcanist to cast a binding or poison circle; have my Runemaster throw out an elemental debuff (usually a guess); and have the Medic heal the rest up for round 2. Oh, and pray.

The post Essential tips for Etrian Odyssey IV appeared first on Destructoid.

Scan this QR code to access the Destructoid Quest

How are you liking Etrian Odyssey IV so far? I've talked to several of you and it seems that everyone is digging it. Some have asked for gameplay tips, so here they are.

For now, Destructoid has an exclusive quest in Etrian Odyssey IV called "An Unforgettable Peak." It can be accessed by scanning t??he above QR code into the game, though you'll need to have met some in-game requirements to access it. You should know that you'll need to be above level 30 to comfortably mo?ve around in the area you'll need to access to complete it. I'd be amazed if any of you are there yet.

It's a fun little quest that gives a nod to our site. I ?won't spoil it for you, th??ough.

Have fun, and let? us know when you've completed the quest.

The post Free DLC: Download a new Dtoid quest in Etrian?? Od?yssey IV appeared first on Destructoid.

This game is long and hard

When I'm old, I?'ll look back fondly at stretches of days like these past few. I've done this so many times.

Since last Friday I've done nothing but play Etrian Odyssey IV. I played for 14 hours yesterday, for example. My 3DS has been with me non-stop; the 3DS power ?cord has tethered me to my home, connected to my person like some kind ??of IV drip. I probably need some kind of real intravenous drip as my personal food log app shows that my dietary intake this past weekend is at 81% carbohydrates. I look shrunken and gross, and I really need to shave. 

Here's the deal: For reasons beyond Atlus' control, review copies for Etrian Odyssey IV just went out this past Friday. Anyone that has played any of these series games knows that they're all long and very difficult, and that a three-day turnaround is insanely unrealistic. Etrian Odyssey IV is ?available in stores today, but because of this we will not have our review ready for launch.

Please bear with us. I don't review RPGs until I've played them to completion, so please wait a bit longer. It shouldn't be too long, though. I'm pretty far into the game, and my party, the Corgis Guild, are beefed up to ?unrivaled levels. I'm currently in my airship, the SkyCorgi, exploring the final land section.

Wish me luck!

The post Bea?r with us: Etrian Odyss??ey IV review is coming soon appeared first on Destructoid.

I just want it in my 3DS already

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan is nearly here, and a new cl??ass trailer for the Arcanist has been released to placate you until then. The video shows off the various forms you can take as an Arcanist, from damage dealing to debuffing -- i?t looks like one of the more fun playstyles, that's for sure!

The full game boasts a pretty slick looking atmosphere and musical score, as well as the ability to customize skyships and Streetpass functionality. Like pretty much ever??y Atlus RPG ever, I'm pretty damn excited to try it out.

The post Etrian Odyss?ey IV gets a new Arcanist class trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Demo progress transfers to full game

Atlus announced today that a demo for upcoming 3DS game Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan will be released on the Nintendo eShop on February 7. The demo lets you get a taste of the first bit of the game, including the obligatory tutorial dungeon, some of the first dungeon, and the first skyship area. Nice! Even the main dungeon's sidequests will be available, complete with all th?e skills, equipment and classes that would be available to you in this early part of the game. 

In towns, QR code Guild Exchages and QR gifts are also available for use. Best of all, all progress in the demo transfers over to the full game. Now that's how you do a demo, folks

The full game lau?nches on February 26 for both retail and on the eShop. A limited edition art book and CD are included.

The post Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the T??itan demo hits Feb. 7 appeared first on Destructoid.

My 3DS is ready

Upcoming 3DS RPG Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan gets the royal treatment from A?tlus. It will come with a limited edition art book and music CD while supplies last. 

The art book looks wonderful. Atlus says that a new piece of original art by illustrator Alexandra Douglas will be featured in the book. You can check out a two-page preview of the art book here.

Yuzo Koshiro is one of my favorite composers, so I'm really ??looking forward to the included "Rough Drafts & Outtakes" CD. On it you'll hear early arrangements and tracks th??at did not make it into the final game.

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan will hit retail and Nintendo's eShop on February 26, 2013.

The post Etrian Odyssey IV art book and CD gift revealed appeared first on Destructoid.

The Etrian Odyssey series makes its 3DS debut with Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan, which has been announced for North America by Atlus. The RPG series will bring with it a greatly improved graphics engine and, of course, 3D support. Titan brings a new Casual mode option for those that don't like their balls busted (these games tend to do that), or for those new to the seri??es.

Atlus says th??at enemies are rendered in 3D and that the world is more intricate than ever. Things are certainly looking nice in the new screensh??ots, found below.

And for game music nerds, composer Yuzo Koshiro is back with a fully orchestrated score.

Expect to get your hands on Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan sometime in early 2013, for a price somewhere a?round $39.99.

I'm real??ly happ??y to see another RPG lined up for the 3DS.

The post Etrian Odyssey IV: Le?gends of the Titan announced for 3DS appeared first on Destructoid.