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Etrian Odyssey 2 remake coming to 3DS in Japan this year
An upgraded version of 2007's dungeon-crawling RPG Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard will premiere for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan later this year, Japanese publication Famitsu reports. Like its updated predecessor Etrian Odyssey Untold, the Etrian Odyssey 2 remake will feature a story mode that replaces player-chosen party members with a default character cast. The 3DS upgrade also boasts new animated sequences and voice acting, along with a new mechanic that allows characters to transform during battle for stat boosts. Etrian Odyssey 2 is slated to hit the 3DS in Japan this winter. Responding to questions regarding the possibility of a North American release, an Atlus representative told IGN that it currently has "nothing to announce for the United States." [Video: Atlus]
No map required: the latest Etrian Odyssey video is right here
If you haven't played any of the Etrian Odyssey games ... well, at the rate Atlus is releasing videos, you'll get to watch the entire game of Etrian Odyssey 3 before it comes out in September. But before that, you can learn about the series' trademark map-making element.
DS Fanboy Review: Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard
If you played Etrian Odyssey (parte the firste), then the beginning of the sequel will be no surprise to you. If you haven't, you're in luck -- Etrian Odyssey II takes the same approach as the first title, with a mini-tutorial hidden in the beginning of the game. In the early stages, you can't go wrong. Enjoy that little feature while it lasts ... and it doesn't last long. After that, Etrian Odyssey quickly becomes one of the most difficult experiences to date on the DS -- but it's also one of the most fun. Heroes of Lagaard isn't for the faint of heart, though, so if you glaze over when we wax philosophic about Shiren and Izuna, this one may not be for you. If you're willing to jump in, though, Heroes of Lagaard will deliver one of the best gaming experiences of the year.%Gallery-15249%
DS Fanswag: Map your way to Etrian Odyssey II
If you're having trouble finding your way to a copy of Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, then try your luck in our current contest! The giveaway winds down tomorrow, but since you can enter once per day, that means you have two more chances to get your name into the DS Fanboy hat. To enter, just head over to the original post and leave a comment. It's that easy!
Games to help curb your addictions
The "self-help" era is upon us, even finding its way into the video game industry as of late. Aside from the obvious fitness awareness game on Nintendo's other system (we mean Wii Fit, of course), there have been quite a few attempts to help gamers improve their lifestyles and habits. Take, for example, the upcoming My Weight Loss Coach and Ubisoft's "Easyway" title to help people quit smoking.Our favorite approach so far, though, was when DS Fanboy reader Dan used Pokémon to quit smoking. If there's anything we've learned from Dan's inspiring story, it's that the best way to curb an addiction is to replace it with another. We then decided that we wanted to help more of our fine readers that are suffering from such torments day in and day out. Pokémon may cure smoking, but what about other plaguing ailments? We're happy to say that after months of testing on monkeys and small children, we've finally come up with a few perfect video game cures.So, look no further than Dr. DS Fanboy, and check out our ultimate self-help guide to find the fixes for your addictions. Master that addiction!
DS Fanswag: An Etrian reminder
Interested in giving Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard a try? Then don't forget to drop by our latest giveaway for your chance at one of two copies we're giving away. If you're lucky, you might even pick up a bonus accessory. What are you waiting for?
DS Fanswag: Etrian Odyssey II
Last year, DS Fanboy was one of the few places you could find a copy of Etrian Odyssey, and in anticipation of the eventual rarity of the sequel, we've doubled up this time around, and have two copies on offer for two lucky readers! And just to sweeten the deal, we'll throw in the Monaco aluminum case for one of our winners. We know Etrian Odyssey can be a little difficult -- this way, your handheld will be safe when it accidentally falls right under your shoe. Well, safer, at least. What do you need to do to win? Just tell us about some of the most difficult games you've played on the DS here in the comments on this post. You may enter once per day. One grand prize winner will walk away with a copy of Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard ($29.99), as well as the Monaco case ($24.95), and a second winner will pick up the game as well. The contest will run through Monday, June 30; that night, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, entries will close, and we'll choose two winners in a random drawing. To enter, you must be 18 or older, and a current legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). Have questions? Check the official rules.
Metareview: Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard
Etrian Odyssey was a surprise -- it disappeared from shelves into an immediate shortage, as the demand far outstripped the supply, particularly after word got around that it was such a great game. It was so good, in fact, that it went head-to-head with some of the year's biggest titles right here at DS Fanboy, in our year-end poll. It might surprise you, then, to learn that its sequel, Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, is picking up even better scores in early reviews. We'll be taking a look at it ourselves soon, but for now, check out what everyone else has to say about the sequel.Electronic Gaming Monthly (A average) says, "This sequel feels like the original game on expert mode -- and that's a good thing. Etrian Odyssey constantly surprised me with its ability to keep me on my toes with a fairly limited palette of gameplay, and its successor throws in plenty of new wrinkles to make things even trickier."RPGFan (89%) says, "While this frame story to the dungeon hack may seem trite and unengaging (and it is to a large extent), it contains enough zest to keep the players interested in finishing the game. This is completely different from the original Etrian Odyssey, which included a marginal narrative and provided the player with almost no motivation to finish the main quest outside of sheer will and determination. In addition to the main story, Etrian Odyssey II contains more than 100 side quests that provide the player with more information surrounding the region of Lagaard."%Gallery-15249%
DS releases for the week of June 16th
What a fabulous week! We've got breaking, cooking, exploring, invading, and so much more, in all the major regions! If it's all a little painful on the wallet, well ... the last few months have been lighter on releases, and now we're gearing up for summer -- and the DS just went from zero to sixty in nothing flat. Arkanoid DS Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard Imagine Rock Star Petz: Dogz Fashion Space Invaders Extreme Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3 Wacky Races: Crash & Dash
Etrian Odyssey, FFTA2 developers want to speak with you
Even if it is really all about plugging their products, we love it when game developers choose to communicate directly with us, the dirty, huddled masses, and today has brought news of two studios who are inviting questions from gamers.First up is Atlus, or more specifically Nich Maragos, Atlus USA Editor and Project Lead for both of the Etrian Odyssey games. Between now and June 17th, he'll be answering as many of your Etrian-related queries as he can here. Maragos is accepting questions about either of the two DS games, perhaps to accommodate for PAL region players, who only just received the first game last Friday. Ask him why Europe had to wait so long, if you like. Go on, do it.Next in line is the entire development team for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, who are clearly pretty confident that they'll be receiving an absolute avalanche of questions, as they're doing this as a group. You'll have to be a signed-up Square Enix member, though, which will mean having to fill in this form.Ask Atlus!Ask Square Enix!%Gallery-15249%%Gallery-5422%[Via Go Nintendo and NeoGAF]
Etrian Odyssey II director speaks about the unexpected hit series
Kazuya Niinou, director of the original Etrian Odyssey (as well as Trauma Center) left Atlus last year before any work began on the sequel. The design responsibilities were given to Shigeo Komori, who wrote the scenario for the first game, and who seems to understand what made it so great. 1up's Jeremy Parish interviewed Etrian Odyssey II's director about the classic style of the Etrian series and its surprising popularity.The decision to almost blank out the party's storyline (as in, they don't really speak or have backgrounds, nor do they appear) is unusual for a Japanese RPG, but not for a classic dungeon crawler. "But I thought, on the other ... There must still be those players who like classic RPGs where you create your own characters and go on an adventure," Komori said. "As a developer, I like those types of games." Despite this, the characters have become popular among fans, which Komori attributes to the art by Yuji Himukai.Due to the mapping feature, Komori feels that the Etrian series is at home on the DS. "The foundation of this game is drawing a map on the Nintendo DS' touch screen, so if we were going to bring it to a home console, we'd have to come up with a new 'hook.'"%Gallery-15249%
Etrian Odyssey localization lead on 'The Naming of Stuff'
Nich Maragos, localization product lead for Etrian Odyssey 2 (and Gaming Intelligence Agency alum), has taken us inside the English naming process for Etrian's characters and items in a new Production Diary post. Like classic RPGs, Etrian has an 8-character restriction on all monster, character, and item names. This isn't so much of a problem in Japanese, in which a single kanji can express a very complicated concept, but in our phonetic writing system, it's a bit more of a restriction.This means that not only is Maragos and his team encouraged to be a bit creative with English names, they are required to be creative. They have to condense concepts like Fundo No Gankou-Nushi "Owner of the Malicious Glare" into something that can fit into eight characters: in this case, "Illgaze."A lot of work goes into translating text-rich RPGs like this. Mythological references, in particular, are trouble, as some random Japanese word could actually be a transliterated Old Norse name.
Meet the heroes of Lagaard
Atlus revealed some of the characters and classes in the upcoming Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, and while Etrian veterans will recognize the Alchemist and Landsknecht classes, there's also a new Gunner class in the game. As you might imagine, Gunners are marksmen who use guns and ammunition to deal out single-target damage. On the other hand, the Alchemists are magic users and Landsknechts specialize in swords and axes.Based on those descriptions, you should be able to tell which class each character belongs to by their pictures. If you'd like to give them a look, then, be sure to check out our updated gallery below.%Gallery-15249%
Etrian Lottery: Win Etrian Odyssey II's soundtrack
Atlus is conducting a unique contest on their message board -- one which, if you're an Etrian Odyssey fan, you should be entering right now. The prize is a 3-disc soundtrack CD set featuring game music legend Yuzo Koshiro's score for Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, as they are heard on the DS and in totally retro PC-8801 versions!All you have to do to be eligible is post a continuation of the ongoing Etrian story being crafted in the contest thread. The best contributor, as judged by Atlus staff, will be awarded the soundtrack. There are resources available to introduce you to the world and the characters, in case you care more about Yuzo Koshiro than Etrian, or you didn't pay any attention to the first game's story. You have until 5:30 Pacific time on May 13, so put on your robe and (thinking) wizard hat!Atlus has also created an official Etrian Odyssey II Facebook page. If you're enough of a college student to be all about Facebook, be sure to check it out.
Etrian Odyssey II: Trailer of Lagaard
"There is a legend of a floating castle ..." the new trailer for Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard begins. It may as well have gone on to say "The legend holds that the floating castle is a big dungeon in which thousands of adventurers will get lost and/or killed several times!" Sure, it's not the most poetic telling of the legend, but it has the benefit of accuracy.Etrian Odyssey II is shaping up to be exactly what it should: the same exact game, with new dungeons, monsters, and classes. Etrian isn't really the kind of game that needs flashy new graphics or features, being a refinement of a very old genre. It just needs to be brutally difficult.%Gallery-15249%[Via press release]
DS Daily: Tough choices
The next few months will be filled with a lot a great releases -- perhaps too many. Super Dodgeball Brawlers, Bangai-O Spirits, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Etrian Odyssey II, Space Invaders Extreme, Arkanoid DS, Rondo of Swords, Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles, Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, and The World Ends With You are just a few that we can name on the spot, and all of these will be out before July starts. Unless you have abundant amounts of currency, though, you probably can't afford to buy that many games in such a short period of time. Also, money isn't the only problem. Supposing that you could afford everything you wanted, you wouldn't even have the time to play them all. Narrowing down the field is tough, but necessary. What games that are coming out in the next three months do you consider must gets? And they don't have to be chosen from the games listed above, so go nuts.
Etrian Odyssey II details and videos
Still reeling from the news of a localized Etrian Odyssey II? Well, so are we -- June 17th can't come fast enough. That's why we've brought you some more goodies and details from one of our favorite (albeit punishing) dungeon-crawling RPGs.If you've never played the original and don't know much about the series, the video above may baffle you a bit. Essentially, in the Etrian Odyssey-verse, not only do you have to battle monsters like in most turn-based RPGs, but you also have to navigate and map out the labryrinth-like dungeons.The sequel will include twelve different classes, each of which are customizable in numerous areas (name, sex, skills, spells, etc). This game will also own your soul should you choose to play it, as Heroes of Lagaard will have over 100 side-quests. Furthermore, Atlus promises an improved mapmaking tool, which will add some new features. Sounds good to us!We've included another video after the break for your viewing pleasure. It's only a short sampling of buying items, but we'll take any small morsels we can get at this point. Gallery: Etrian Odyssey II
Etrian Odyssey II coming to NA in June
Atlus, we knew you wouldn't let us down!Those of you who have been clamoring to play Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard because you either enjoyed the first game or wanted to play it and couldn't find it, have no fear! Atlus announced today that the game will, in fact, be localized. Heroes of Lagaard will hitting American shores in June, adding to the DS's awesome Q2 schedule. There's still no announcement for Europe, but getting the game in English is half the battle, right?If you just can't wait three months for this title, you can dabble around in Atlus' official (English) site. Of course, if you're an impatient wench like this blogger, seeing all the pretties might just make you want it more. A Catch-22, indeed. The site also promises to update every Monday, so if you have an interest in the game, you can check back every week to get your Etrian fix. %Gallery-15249%[Via press release]
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/10-3/16
"If you bundle a game with a special brush stylus, they will come," the heavens whispered to Nintendo. While we expected Beautiful Letter Training (also known as Bimoji or Calligraphy Training) to do well, we didn't expect it to sell 66,000 copies in its first week. This first-party effort by Nintendo looks as polished and full of content as a calligraphy nongame could get, but we're still surprised by the high demand for this game in Japan. Nintendo has understood sales markets better than anyone else this generation, though, so we probably should have expected this.Also appearing on the charts are both versions of Hayate the Combat Butler, as we predicted. The mansion edition was slightly more popular, as preference was given to the little girls in little black dresses. At the sixth spot was Shugo Chara!, which, in case you were wondering, is yet another manga/anime-based game about a school girl.Harvest Moon: Shining Sun and Friends, meanwhile, jumped back into the top ten, while Soma Bringer dropped down a few notches. One other notable game on the chart is the infamous Duel Love, which debuted at spot twenty-seven. That's not a great start for the title, but perhaps nipple rubbing is more niche in Japan than we thought.Despite making a killing in software and having fifteen games in the top thirty, the DS remained in third for hardware sales. Still, considering that everyone and their mother already owns a DS in Japan, we're somewhat surprised that it comes so close to the top, week after week.Mosey on after the break to see the numbers in full, folks.
Etri-scan Odyssey II
Click image to enlarge Sekaiju no Meikyu II, or Etrian Odyssey II as it's better known in these parts, is due out in Japan next month, and we await its arrival on western shores with a stomach-churning mixture of anticipation and fear. Yes, fear, a feeling that is not assuaged by the regularity with which the first game handed us our asses.These new Famitsu scans contain a smattering of screens we've yet to see, as well as artwork of the new pet job class. Meticulously map your way past the post break for the second scan.
