EO3 was the capstone to Atlus’ trilogy of seminal Wizardry-like RPGs on the Nintendo DS. It came after the mostly noodling, at times quite experimental, changes of EO2 and displayed much more confidence and gusto in changing up the formula.
EO3 introduced sub-classing, alternative narrative routes and new game plus options, as well as the addition of an extensive sailing mini-game. Despite the galant seafaring visual theme, the game carried the narrative themes of the first game in a darker direction and the addition of a “true” ending made replaying the game a much more compelling endeavour.
All these additions create a more expansive RPG experience than the first two games. This is still very much a menu-driven Wizardry-like, but with a much grander sense of adventure.
Exploration
Dungeons in EO3 still feel very much the same as previous entries in the series. They are set over a series of ‘strata’ which have their own visual and gameplay motif. Each strata has four floors (reduced from five in the previous two games) which usually have a mini-boss midway through and culminate in a climactic encounter with a larger boss. Within the dungeon players are challenged to navigate FOE monsters, which are powerful enemies seen on the map, and mostly demand the player avoid them on their first encounter. Later, the player will want to return to these enemies with a higher level party, either to farm xp or materials for equipment.
One appealing aspect (to me at least) of EO is that the player must draw their own map. Coupled with the threat of FOEs and managing the party’s HP and MP reserves this makes EO3 (like the first two games) a tense and slow-paced game to explore. Frankly, I love this deliberate pace. Each dungeon acts as a maze with dead ends, hidden shortcuts, dangerous traps and incidents where the player can decide to act or move on. EO3 has a greater number of these incidents than its predecessors which makes exploration feel more eventful.
Discovering the theme of each new zone is a massive part of the appeal of these games and I don’t want to spoil any of them. It suffices to say these settings stand up to the first two games as imaginative and enticing environments to explore. This is the meat of the game and, to me, it’s flawless; beautiful, threatening, tense, compelling dungeon design.
EO3’s most radical departure from the series thus far is the inclusion of a sailing mini (though actually quite big) game. Sadly, I feel like this doesn’t quite match up to the quality of the game’s main premise but it’s still a welcome addition. To me, ‘sailing’, as a concept, perfectly compliments the slow deliberate pace of exploring a dangerous dungeon. The dungeon is tense and claustrophobic. Sailing is freedom. The open expanse of ocean; the natural force, the momentum of the wind carrying you along. Propulsion and openness. But EO3’s ocean is a grid. Movement is square by square. Furthermore, the ship is on a tight leash, dictated by the rations and equipment available to you. Thus sailing is a fun diversion but it’s more like a puzzle than an adventure.
For this reason, I’m going to mark down EO3’s exploration from perfect to just…4/5
Atmosphere
I’m a sucker for Etrian Odyssey’s atmosphere on the whole. EO3 retains the spirit of adventure from the previous games, combining colourful map designs and lively sprites with a sense of danger and mystery. The game starts in a mysterious coastal city. It’s a gorgeous and evocative setting but, like all good high fantasy settings, a hidden power struggle is happening just below the surface. It’s the player’s job to figure out which side they want to support.
This continues the series’ clear Studio Ghibli influence, with two sides believing their route is the right one to take - while ultimately neglecting a third, more primordial path. There’s an added dread to the game as questions about each faction’s motivations begin to be questioned. To be honest, the game doesn’t fully exploit this choice and it has minimal impact outside of the narrative. There is a new class linked to each faction but it feels like they wanted to go further; for example they have a setting for each faction but you can still visit both freely with very little acknowledgement from the NPCs about your alignment - in some cases supporting your party to become stronger despite being enemies.
Like with the sailing, it feels like the game doesn’t fully embrace the strong concepts at the heart of the game. And, despite adding new elements, it still plays it a little too safe with the formula. As such, the atmosphere suffers in my opinion. Despite still retaining the series’ central quality - that spirit of adventure - it fumbles the ball a little in creating a new atmosphere for the series. 4/5
Combat
Combat is where EO3 shines brightest in this initial trilogy of DS games. There are more classes and they feel much more balanced. As such, there are a greater number of viable party combinations. The addition of sailing also gives the player more opportunity to gain xp, meaning the player can explore more avenues on each character’s skill tree. The new classes are good additions to the series, with the Farmer and the Princess being particularly helpful. Like previous entries, there is a focus on synergy in the party and the addition of multi-classing means this is easier to achieve in the later game. My medic became a medic-prince, meaning he could support and heal the party simultaneously. This can sometimes feel at odds with the series’ previous emphasis of “making do” with an abnormal party (especially with the Ninja skills allowing for a [gasp] sixth party member!), but in terms of gameplay it just makes it more fun and versatile.
EO3’s enemies always feel like a threat the first time through a stratum. There’re never really scrub enemies in the game (unless revisiting a previous area) which makes encounters feel meaningful. I also continue to love the series’ “random encounter radar”. EO3’s FOEs have some fun designs with a few returning from 1 and 2. My favourite new type is the one which only moves when you’re in an encounter - and then it heads straight for you. The fact that FOEs can bust in on a fight mid-way through is exactly the kind of bastard DM move you’d expect from a Wizardry-clone.
Combat here continues to be both challenging and satisfying. EO3 offers the most versatility on the DS with more classes, sub-classing and more opportunities for party synergy. I’d argue it’s the best in the first trilogy of games for combat - and combat is a big part of this series! 5/5
Conclusion
We finished on a high with combat and I can’t stress enough how much thoughtful design, charming art and downright charisma this entry has. It’s not perfect and that’s illustrated by the final score, but it’s probably the best in the DS trilogy, even if I still regard EO1 as my favourite. I’ve reviewed the DS version but with the remaster available on modern consoles it makes it much easier to recommend to anyone wanting to get into the genre or the series. It’s so much fun while at the same time maintaining that meaningful, threatening experience which first person dungeon crawlers are the perfect vessal for. It’s a bastard at times but you just can’t stay mad at it.
Final score: 13/15
