Etrian Odyssey 3

So I picked up Etrian Odyssey 3 the other day. I pre-ordered it, so it came out with a fantastic artbook detailing the artwork for games one, two, and three. I knew what I was getting into, after all, I played games one and two. Then I found out that it had all new classes and craziness.

My initial reaction: "Holy Crap, what is all this???"
My second reaction: "Holy Crap, they fixed it! That's awesome!"

The thing about Etrian Odyssey 3, is that they did something that every gamer who played Etrian Odyssey 2 dreamed of: They recreated all the classes in new forms, streamlined them, got them to sing opera, and then took them on stage.

Take the old Protector class. Now, the protector was pretty simple. He was a big, shiny character in the heaviest armor possible. The entire shtick was this. Protector keeps things protected. You do not damage something the Protector protects. The Protector is hard as balls to kill. Needless to say, that was all the Protector could do.

Meanwhile, Etrian Odyssey 3: The Drowned City has "The Hoplite." As in the traditional term for a greek soldier who wielded his spear and his shield and stood in a line with other Hoplites to form a phalanx and create a vicious line of death. It works. The Hoplite has all the things the old Protector had, with some slight rebalancing. The All-Guard skill is gone, replaced by the Line Guard skill. A Hoplite can choose to give defensive megabonuses to everyone in the line he stands in for a turn. If he is in the line he's protecting, he grants even bigger bonuses. Since there are only two lines for your party in the game, and the back row automatically takes less damage anyway, you effectively have a 1 character defensive bulwark that just doesn't die. Furthermore, unlike the old Protector, you actually gain a weapon enhancement skill and attack techniques. High Level Protectors had no offense, but could defend anything. High Level Hoplites can defend anything and then stab it to death with a spear. And whatever gets stabbed has high odds of dying, not to mention the ridiculously awesome new attack techniques.

And it's like this with every class. Remember the Bard class? Nice idea, megabuffs for everyone...except that that was about all the bard was good for. Fat chance using it to fight, there were just so many better options than playing a bard. The only real advantage at the end of the day was the fact that a high level bard could give megabonuses to EXP granted by all characters in his/her party, and as sweet as that is... it's just not worth it.

Meanwhile, with the Prince(ess) class, you do everything that Old Bard used to do...but when THEY buff a character, they are healed a bit of HP. When the Prince(ess) has full HP at the end of the turn, they heal themselves and everyone in the group a little. They have the same ridiculous TP costs (technique power), but every time they get buffed, they regain TP. Every time a buff they cast on someone goes away, they regain TP. They no longer give EXP bonuses, but the Prince(ess) is now a mainstay of my adventuring party.

And then...there is a class that has become a surprising and lethal member of any good money making operation in Etrian Odyssey 3. A class that will live forever in our hearts and minds, a class that makes monsters everywhere cower in fear:

THE FARMER.

Now, I know what you're thinking: a farmer. This is the absolute most weaksauce sounding class ever brought into Etrian Odyssey. What the hell is a farmer going to do in a bloody endless labyrinth?

For starters, Farmers can Mine/chop/take resources better than any other class in the game. Farmers grant bonus EXP if you take the right skills for the entire party. Farmers have a number of ridiculous sounding, but extremely useful skills that make any party working the long haul in the labyrinth that much more effective. Farmers have godlike potential when it comes time to plan out and equip your expedition.

With all of this said, I put Etrian Odyssey 3 pretty high up there on my favorite games list. If it has low points, I'd say that they're stated up front: this is a hard game. You will need to carefully plan your strategies, level up inside the labyrinth consistently, and make careful use of camping points. Once you choose your characters, you will need to figure out your party combination's strengths and weaknesses, and how you're going to make use of it all. But as hard as it is, when you get things right, the game is so much damn fun.

That said, I've been playing for far too long. It's 4:50 in the morning, and I've got class at 9:30. Hooray.