noiseredux plays games
  • Blog
  • Blog

Etrian Odyssey: Nexus

4/30/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Alright, I started to realize just how big Dragon Quest V is, and came to the conclusion that my heart wasn't really in it right now. So I'm tabling that one for a minute because I had a new release game calling out to me from my shelves and I decided it would take precendent. I've never played an Etrian Odyssey game before, but they always seem to be highly regarded. And this one has been sort of hyped as a sort of 3DS JRPG swan song (until Persona Q2 arrives, I reckon). I couldn't resist jumping in now.

I had literally no idea what to expect outside of some anime inspired sprite work. And sometimes, going into a game blindly is half the fun, right? So I started it up and found that you don't have preset characters and instead make up a party out of a huge list of possible classes and customizations. I sort of freeze up when it comes to making new names for characters in games. So the first thing that popped into my head was Xenomorph mythos. I guess cuz Alien Day is approaching. So I named the guild LV-426 and made up a party of five named after characters from various Alien films (and Blade Runner, for good measure).

I haven't played many first person dungeon crawlers, though I did love the original Phantasy Star back in the day, and the auto map makes this far less frustrating. I don't know how I really feel about annotating my map with the stylus (yet), though. We'll see.

I did a few quests - about two hours worth - and am starting to get the hang of things. I'm having a pretty good time, and can see how this could work as a bite sized quest compulsion for sure. So far, I pretty much like my party. I've got two frontline attackers, a healer, a defense and... um, some other one that I guess does like dark spells or whatever but right now feels slightly useless.  I might try to swap in a different fifth and play with the party lineup until it all clicks with me.

Played a bit more Etrian Odyssey Nexus, though still getting the hang of things. I swapped out the Zodiac party member I had in the back line and made a new... um, I forget the class. The one that uses bow and arrows. I like her better than the Zodiac, as now I have a Hero, Defender and one of those spear-wielding warriors in the front, and a medic and archer in the back. Feels like a good (albeit basic) lineup.

Dicked around in the 2nd labyrinth for a while. A limit on what you can carry seems weak. It doesn't take long to pick up 60 pieces of loot, y'know? So I went back to the castle, sold some stuff, bought some better gear, and then did a bit of side-questing. Everyone's around level 8 or so, and I'm probably 3.5 hrs in, which is still super early. But the nice thing about the way the game is set up (IE: selecting quests from a hub menu rather than truly exploring the world map) makes me think that this will be a good "hour before bed" kind of game where I can just make slow and steady progress over time.

I'be been juggling a few games lately, but played s'more Etrian Odyssey Nexus last night. I'm five or six hours in now. My party is around level 14. It's definitely growing on me. Having never really spent much time with a true dungeon crawler like this, I realized last night that I can give it one rather high piece of praise: It sort of reminds me of Phantasy Star Online. Not in execution exactly. It doesn't play similar. This has first person dungeons and you need to make maps and it's turn based battles... but just, the structure. There's like a main hub and you choose some missions and go back and revisit dungeons again to do them. There's def a PSO vibe there in a good way.

It's the sort of structure that can compel me even when it's effectively just busy work. So like I keep revisiting the same dungeon and it's to grab a certain plant for a shop keeper; or a water sample for HQ, things like that. It's all about the grind, right? The turn based battles and leveling and looting - it may as well be clicky clicking in Diablo. Which again, is a compliment. Because even when not much is happening, I'm finding myself lose an hour or two in a flash.

There's allegedly some boss monter for me to kill in this dungeon but I can't seem to find it. Hmm.

Okay, so the claws of Etrian Odyssey Nexus have officially been dug in. You guys ever see the movie Brain Damage where that little alien Elmer sticks his needle in that kid's brain and shoots some weird blue stuff that drugs him all out? It's like that kind of. Less extreme, though. But damn, the loop of going into a dungeon, grinding, looting, going back to town to sell shit, get new weapons and armor, activate side-quests, rinse/repeat... it works. It's almost hypnotizing.

I dug through enough menus to find the automap feature and thank you. I don't care if that makes me less hardcore. It's super helpful. And I mean, you still need to annotate the map for everything, but at least it shows me the walls of the hallways I've been down now.

My party is all around level 17-18 now. Oh, and this is rich... I had leveled up 10 times before I remembered I had skill points to spend for each level. So yeah. I went ahead and upped some stats, haha. Spent a lot of time in the Lush Whateveritscalled dungeon (the 2nd one) and finally managed to beat the boss of that one before I forced myself to get to bed last night. Good stuff.

Also made s'more progress on Etrian Odyssey Nexus cuz I'm addicted. I killed the Wyvern in the third labyrinth. Which... have you ever seen a movie or TV show where someone is playing a video game in a scene and y'know, it's an Xbox One but it's making bleeps and bloops like an Atari 2600 and the dialogue of the characters in the show make it clear that the writers have never played a video game before? They would say something like "I just killed the Wyvern in the third labyrinth!"

I'm about ten hours in and my party is around level 24. At level 20 you unlock new skill options which is cool. Sort of like a job system I guess. Right now I feel like my healer is the one doing the least work. But I have a feeling keeping her leveled for later in the game will be smart. I have no idea how many (main quest) labyrinths are in the game. The only FAQ I can find shows four of them, so I don't know if that's the main story quest stuff, and then there's just a bunch of side quest stuff to flesh everything out, or if the dude just hasn't finished the FAQ. Side-thought: who even writes FAQs? It's such a huge undertaking, and I'd assume a fairly thankless endeavor. I'm impressed that someone could play a game like this and actually create a walkthrough in their spare time.

I continue to play Etrian Odyssey Nexus. And I found a list of all the dungeon bosses, which would seem to confirm to me that - my gawd - there is an incredible amount of content ahead of me here. With that said, it'll probably be the sort of game that I play for a bit before bed and make slow and steady progress on rather than being the sort of game that I can focus solely on, which would totally burn me out. Then again, I know my gaming habbits and probably around the time Persona Q comes out I'll get distracted by that game which is probably a lot like this one. But hey - I'm having a good time. I've sunk in a good 11 hours already and I feel like I'm getting my money's worth.
0 Comments

    Games

    All
    1080 Snowboarding
    Aladdin
    Among Us
    Animal Crossing: New Horizons
    Apex Legends
    Arena Of Valor
    Asphalt 9: Legends
    Assassin's Creed III
    Axelay
    Balloon Fight
    Batman: Arkham Origins
    Batman: The Video Game
    Blaster Master
    Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon
    Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
    Boxboy + Boxgirl
    Bravely Default II
    Bravely Second: End Layer
    Break Em All
    Bust-A-Move Universe
    Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
    Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
    Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
    Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
    Catherine
    Civilization VI
    Code Name: STEAM
    Crash Bandicoot
    Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
    Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
    Crystal Crisis
    Crystalis
    Dauntless
    Dead Cells
    Decap Attack
    Demon's Crest
    Diablo III
    Diddy Kong Racing DS
    Donkey Kong
    Donkey Kong Country
    Donkey Kong Land III
    Double Dragon
    Downwell
    Dragon Ball Fighter Z
    Dragon Quest
    Dragon Quest V
    Dragon Quest XI
    Drill Dozer
    Ducktales Remastered
    Earthworm Jim
    Etrian Odyssey: Nexus
    FIFA 18
    Final Fantasy
    Final Fantasy Adventure
    Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
    Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
    Final Fantasy IV
    Final Fantasy Legend II
    Final Fantasy V
    Fire Emblem: Fates - Conquest
    Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade Of Light
    Fortnite
    Friday The 13th: The Game
    F-Zero
    Gex: Enter The Gecko
    Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars
    Ghosts N Goblins
    Goldeneye 007
    Gremlins 2: The New Batch
    Hades
    Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
    Ice Hockey
    Ikaruga
    Jeopardy
    Joy Mech Fight
    Ken Griffey Jr Presents Major League Baseball
    Killer Instinct
    Kirby's Adventure
    Kirby's Dream Land
    Kirby's Epic Yarn
    Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament
    Lightseekers
    Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
    Lumines Remastered
    Madden NFL 13
    Madden NFL Football
    Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr
    Mario Kart 8
    Mario Kart: Double Dash
    Mario Party: Star Rush
    Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
    Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
    Mass Effect 3
    Mega Man
    Mega Man 11
    Mega Man 2
    Mega Man 3
    Mega Man 4
    Mega Man 5
    Mega Man: Battle Network 6
    Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
    Mega Man X
    Mega Man X2
    Mega Man X4
    Metroid
    Metroid: Other M
    Metroid: Samus Returns
    Miami Law
    Minecraft
    Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
    Mortal Kombat 11
    Mortal Kombat 4
    NBA 2K18
    NBA Jam
    NBA Jam (2010)
    NCAA Basketball
    NES Remix Pack
    New Super Mario Bros U
    New Super Mario Bros Wii
    Ninja Gaiden
    Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship Of Doom
    Nintendo Labo: Toy-Con 04 - VR Kit
    Nintendo Land
    Octopath Traveler
    Okami
    Overwatch
    Pac-Man: Championship Edition
    Pac-Man Vs
    Paper Mario: The Origami King
    Phantasy Star 0
    Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
    Play Action Football
    Pokemon Alpha Sapphire
    Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu
    Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
    Pokemon Puzzle Challenge
    Pokemon Sword
    Pokemon Trading Card Game
    Pokemon Ultra Sun
    Pokken Tournament
    Prince Of Persia
    Punch-Out!!
    Puyo Puyo Tetris
    Quest For Camelot
    Resident Evil: Revelations
    Ristar
    River City Ransom
    Road Runner's Death Valley Rally
    Rocket League
    Rollercoaster Tycoon Adventures
    Scooby-Doo: Classic Creep Capers
    Scribblenauts
    Secret Of Mana
    Shadowgate Classic
    Shadow Of The Ninja
    Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
    Shining Force II
    Shining Resonance Refrain
    Shovel Knight: King Of Cards
    Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope
    Slay The Spire
    SNK Heroines
    SNK Vs Capcom Card Fighters DS
    Sonic & Knuckles
    Sonic Mania
    Sonic The Hedgehog
    Sonic The Hedgehog 2
    Space Invaders Extreme
    Splatoon 2
    Splatterhouse
    Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti
    Star Fox
    Starlink: Battle For Atlas
    Startropics
    Star Wars
    Star Wars Pinball
    Street Fighter Alpha 3
    Street Fighter III
    Stunt Race FX
    Summon Night: Swordcraft Story
    Super C
    Super Castlevania IV
    Super Dodge Ball
    Super Ghouls N Ghosts
    Super Mario 3D World
    Super Mario 64
    Super Mario Bros
    Super Mario Bros 2
    Super Mario Bros 3
    Super Mario Bros 35
    Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
    Super Mario Kart
    Super Mario Land
    Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
    Super Mario Maker
    Super Mario Maker 2
    Super Mario Sunshine
    Super Mario World
    Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
    Super Metroid
    Super Punch-Out
    Super Puyo Puyo 2
    Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
    Super Smash Bros 4
    Super Smash Bros Ultimate
    Super Street Fighter II Turbo
    Super Street Fighter IV
    Tecmo Bowl
    Tecmo NBA Basketball
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up
    Tekken Advance
    Tetris 99
    Tetris Party Deluxe
    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
    The House Of The Dead 2
    The Legend Of Zelda
    The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
    The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
    The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition
    The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening
    The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
    The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Seasons
    The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker
    The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
    The Outer Worlds
    The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare
    Toejam & Earl
    Toki Tori
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
    Toy Story
    Trials Of Mana
    Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince
    Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil
    Vice: Project Doom
    Wargroove
    Wario Land II
    Wario Ware: Touched
    WCW Vs NWO
    Wii Sports
    Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
    XCOM 2
    Xenoblade Chronicles X
    Yoshi's Woolly World
    Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    August 2017

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.