A worthwhile update
It sounds crazy, but 2008 was a long time ago. That’s when Etrian Odyssey II was first released for the Nintendo DS, and seven years later, Atlus has decided to bring it to a new audience with The Fafnir Knight.
While a few of the advancements from later games don’t translate perfectly, it’s still a worthwhile dungeon romp, and another great entry in this storied series.
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight (3DS)
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Curve Digital
Release Date: August 4, 2015 (US) / February 12, 2016 (Europe)
MSRP: $49.99 (Atlus tax)
For those unaware, the Untold portion of the moniker denotes the inclusion of an all-new story mode, complete with preset characters and a new narrative. It sounds weird, but any Etrian fan knows that the series started off with dungeon-crawler roots, and thus, allowed players to basically create and customize whoever they wanted –with a loose story binding it all together. Thankfully, The Fafnir Knight includes both gametypes and multiple difficulty options for players of all backgrounds
If you spring for the new setup, the tale starts off with low-key princess protection duty with your childhood friend Flavio, but quickly evolves into a grand tale of adventure to seek out the city at the bottom of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. Early into the fray, your hero awakens their true power — the Fafnir Knight class, capable of transformation. While the story itself isn’t as memorable as a lot of recent JRPGs, it’s still a fun enough narrative with a cast of likable characters. The dialog in particular isn’t riveting stuff, nor is it laugh-out-loud funny; it’s serviceable, which is essentially how I feel about Etrian in general.
Dungeon crawling is basically the same as always (now with the enhanced 3D style), and with Fafnir Knight, you’ll have the ability to manually map out your findings on the bottom screen. Or, if you’re feeling a bit more conservative, it can automatically populate. FOEs have returned, which are basically giant superbosses present throughout the game.
Like many JRPG superbosses, they aren’t easy to best. You’ll generally have to avoid them early on or risk instant death. Since they’re visible on the screen, it’s easy to see where they’re coming from however, and you’ll have to either deduce their patterns or use trap items to fool them. It’s a nice little diversion, and returning later on to defeat a pesky FOE is a great feeling.
Don’t think that a more concise campaign implies that the formula has been dumbed down, as players will still be able to create an initial avatar and customize the classes of story characters. There is a caveat: you’ll need to sacrifice five levels to switch classes. Additionally, you can’t just call upon the guild to create new characters at will. To further muddy the waters, the Grimoire system seeks to mix things up a bit, as you can now equip party members with items that allow them to tap into additional classes. However, it feels extremely limited in nature, as most of them are a random drop, and it took me hours to find the few specific tomes I really wanted. It’s an odd gambit by Atlus even in the confines of the Fafnir story, as the Etrian series has always prided itself on full customization.
It’s a bit easier to forgive once you dig into the new cooking mechanic, which has been expanded in an unprecedented manner. Now, you can customize ingredients and discover new recipes to craft as you cook your way to statistical bonuses for your adventures. Eventually, this diversion works its way more and more into the story. The Duke of the main town allows you to potentially earn a profit from the restaurant as you expand and re-invest in the town. It’s a nice little meta-narrative and adds some lightheartedness to the game.
Classic mode is of course, utterly different. It’s a less limited tale featuring a mysterious labyrinth, and the experience is more about the journey than a real story. You can register new party members at will, and you’re free to choose from over 10 classes at the start. It’s very intimidating for non-RPG fans, so I recommend trying out story mode first. And really, that’s what’s so great about the Untold series — it allows new players to acclimate without holding their hand too often, and still provides a way for hardcore fans to create limitless combinations of parties to their heart’s content.
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight is a remake that’s perfectly timed and well crafted, despite the fact that the formula isn’t quite as fresh as the wholly new Etrian IV (I really miss the more open-ended maps). Now all Atlus needs to do is remaster Etrian III, and it’ll have all four core entries ready to play on the 3DS.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the developer.]
