Casual fans need not apply. This is for you RPG veterans that have the patience of Sun-Tzu.

I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I started playing Etrian Odyssey for the DS. Having been subjected to more mainstream and dare I say, diluted role playing games over the last few years, it was a feeling of falling head first into icy water when I booted up this old school title brought to you courtesy of Atlus. If you don't recognize the developer, then perhaps you'd recognize another DS game they published, entitled Trauma Center: Under the Knife.

What Atlus is offering up will certainly only appeal to a small segment of gamers. With the increasing focus over the years of turning RPGs into experiences that focus more on Hollywood caliber cut-scenes, real time combat, emotional attachment to the characters, etc, Etrian Odyssey stands out like the lonely, awkward looking teenage girl at the high school prom. Most guys don't understand her and they would rather seduce the young, bubbly blond cheerleader who often has very little substance. But, give the nerdy girl a chance and you might just discover she has incredible depth.

So enough with the comparisons already. What is Etrian Odyssey, really? It's a big time role playing experience in portable size and if you are thinking of taking up this journey, you need to know full well what you're getting into. If you think that no RPG experience is worthwhile unless it's molded in the image of a Square Enix game, then you can stop reading this review right now. This is not for you. If you have an open mind and want to experience RPGs the way they were originally conceived, then by all means keep reading. 

The first thing that may grab your attention, especially if you've ever participated in pen and paper role playing sessions, is how similarly Etrian Odessey is to old school role playing games. From the beginning, you are in total control of your characters and must put together a party of explorers. Because you will spend plenty of time reading text, it is all very much in the vein of those sessions you remember so fondly from your late nights in the university dormitory. Success or failure will depend on your ability to execute.