Review: Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection Preserves the Games’ Unique Qualities

First-person dungeon-crawlers aren’t that uncommon. Since games like Wizardry set the stage for them, we’ve seen plenty of one-offs and series succeed. But there’s always been something special about Etrian Odyssey. Atlus purposely setting out to pose incredible challenges, while also giving people opportunities to be meticulous about map-making. That’s not even getting into the end-game reveals about the nature of entries’ world. These are special titles and, while there will always be something special about playing Etrian Odyssey I, II, and III on the Nintendo DS, Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection shows the series can maintain its individuality and thrive even on the Switch and PC.

Each Etrian Odyssey game in Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection begins in a similar fashion. Players are a newcomer to a town that’s also home to a mysterious dungeon of sorts. Adventurers form guilds and head into these labyrinths in search of knowledge, glory, and monetary rewards. You can only take five people into a dungeon with you on each journey, but 30 members can be registered to your guild in each installment. Due to every installment being set in different towns, this influences the classes, dungeon elements, and even surrounding areas due to different biomes. So in the original game, you explore Etria’s Yggdrasil Labyrinth with the Alchemist, Dark Hunter, Landsknecht, Medic, Protector, Survivalist, and Troubadour. In Etrian Odyssey II, you go to High Lagaard and the Gunner and War Magus join the party. Etrian Odyssey III sends you to Armoroad and the seas around it with the all new Arbalist, Buccaneer, Farmer, Gladiator, Hoplite, Monk, Ninja, Sovereign, Wildling, and Zodiac classes. (Each game also features between one and two unlockable classes).

Image via Atlus

Success comes from building up a sense of routine. Each floor of the dungeon is a blank slate for your party to map. You get various tools to do so either via buttons or the touchscreen in the Switch versions of all games in Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection. Enemies randomly appear, with an encounter being more likely as a gauge turns red on-screen, resulting in a turn-based fight against a foe. Once beaten they drop parts, which you then sell to gain access to new equipment and items and earn money. (Similarly, materials can be found at gathering plots where you chop, mine, or take, provided a character invested in that skill.) That money you earn is invested back into weapons and armor to ensure your survival as you journey deeper into dungeons.

Experience gained from leveling up makes you stronger, while also unlocking skill points you put into the trees for each character’s class to determine their build. However, these skill trees get incredibly intricate, especially in Etrian Odyssey III. If you create a mage-like character, such as an Alchemist or Zodiac, they’ll probably primarily focus on one sort of magic and feature a second type as a back-up option. A Dark Hunter could focus on swords or whips as a weapon, which then determines if they gain status effect skills tied to sword attacks or binding ones with the whip. A good starting party would include a tank-like character, such as a Protector or Gladiator, a healer like a Medic or Sovereign, an Alchemist or Zodiac mage, a melee damage dealer, and someone who can inflict status ailments or binds. But as you go through certain floors or face particular bosses or FOEs, you may find yourself needing specialized parties that feature more people who can bind extremities to block specific attacks or a dedicated supporter for buffs.

Image via Atlus

In general, your goal is always to go deeper into the dungeon. However, the government for each city in the game will offer official quests. (These tend to involve fighting specific bosses.) There are also sidequests you can pick up at the local tavern, which can involve going to specific spots in the dungeon you might have already marked as being suspicious or finding certain monster materials. The latter of which can be tricky, as they might involve defeating a monster in a certain way. I also like to make defeating FOEs a priority, as a point of pride. These are the hallmark opponents who appear as marked monsters on the map, are much stronger than the standard enemies on the floor, and can essentially feel like trickier boss-level opponents scattered across areas. Getting powerful enough to take one on, even if it decides to drop in on a fight you’re finishing with some ordinary opponents.

In general, it feels fantastic to return to all three of these games. Etrian Odyssey I, II, and III look fantastic on the Switch. The multiple default control schemes also means its easy to find one that’s comfortable for the person playing. The new character portraits are mostly fine, though I found I got more use out of the DLC imagery of folks from past Atlus games that appear as a bonus. The remastered NPC character and monster art all looks really great, and the newly designed character portraits for classes fit in well with them.

Image via Atlus

But what really shocked and impressed me about Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is how well it handles the series’ signature cartography. I loved making maps in the DS and 3DS installments. It’s my favorite part of those games. I enjoyed it even more than the actual turn-based RPG fights and character customization, though those elements are quite strong in each entry. But getting to map out walls, leave notes for yourself, highlight certain elements, and apply appropriate icons is so enjoyable. I worried the touchscreen Switch controls for Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection would be lacking. To my surprise, using the actual buttons is my favorite part. I play with full auto-mapping on, to take care of more tedious tasks like drawing walls and painting floors. But I genuinely appreciate how easy it is to press a button to bring up the mapping menu, which essentially divides the screen in half and is a great way to play on its own, and then use the directional buttons and triggers to place icons and make notations. It feels seamless and I’m a convert to the new control scheme.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection also presents the most accessible versions of Etrian Odyssey I, II, and III on the Switch. All three entries offer the Picnic difficulty option, which makes the experience much easier and also allows you to use a single Ariadne Thread multiple times to warp out of the dungeon to the safety of town. Combine that with the “full” auto-mapping option, and anyone who’s ever been curious about the series can fearlessly venture into any dungeon. Especially since the autosave option can also be enabled and disabled, and you have multiple save slots. But what I also really loved about the presence of this is that at any time, someone can adjust the difficulty. So someone who is getting more accustomed to exploring could head on up to Basic if they preferred a more traditional experience. Someone who is familiar with the games, but leery of Expert, could toy with it after fully mapping out a floor to see how they’d handle it. It’s incredibly open-ended, with no penalties for pushing your boundaries or retreating to a more forgiving option.

Image via Atlus

The Etrian Odyssey games have always been a triumph, and Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is the sort of loving proof of concept to convince Switch and PC owners that yes, it’s still just as good on a platform that doesn’t feature two screens. Etrian Odyssey I, II, and III remain fantastic, challenging, and engaging games that will drive players to explore. Even better is that the auto-mapping and difficulty options increase the ease of entry, making them even more appealing. It’s wonderful to see all three games again, and I hope this is a precursor to a seventh installment.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is available on the Nintendo Switch and PC.