Meet Wolf, sole member of the Cruiser guild. (Yup, that's totally a reference to 'lone wolf'. Sue me for my poor taste in MC names, I don't mind.^^) She's one of the character models featured on the game's cover art, which gives me the satisfying feeling that she's somehow supposed to be the hero of the game to begin with; and she's also a Protector (in other words, a tank), which is undoubtedly one of the best suited classes for solo endeavours in EO. High defense, decent attack and healing skills, what more could you ask for for your one and only? Well, probably better foraging skills and a higher agility, because little Wolfie lacks a bit on that front. But hey, solo runs are all about choices and sacrificing some stats and abilities for the sake of others, so I won't complain — all the less so as my lone Protector is doing a stellar job at exploring Yggdrasil so far.
The Death Row. |
EO's atmosphere is something else, really. None of the FPDC I've played so far manages to combine so perfectly and expertly a peaceful and soothing vibe with a sense of menace and impending doom. Class of Heroes has the latter without the former, Demon Gaze has the former without the latter, but only EO has the whole package. The crystalline colours, the mellow soundtrack and the exquisite sound of crushed grass under my feet make me want to to roam endlessly; yet at the same time, every step feels like a step closer to a Game Over. I genuinely feared going deeper into the labyrinth during the early stages, and I swear I felt my throat tighten the very first time I lay my eyes on a FOE. This is a potent and striking mix, and I'm not going to forget my first impressions of that game any time soon — even though by now, Yggdrasil has lost a lot of its chilling power thanks to my dutiful grinding.
I'm surprised that such a fuss was made about the map drawing feature, when it's a totally superfluous task that can be ignored for the most part. There is an auto-drawing map option; and while it doesn't show walls, doors and harvesting spots, those can be added afterwards — like, when one is safely back to town. Drawing walls is by far the most time-consuming task, and it's not even necessary to navigate the labyrinth. Check the map on the side: the left half shows a fully completed map, while the right half is solely the product of auto-drawing, with a couple of door icons added — as you can see, the latter is explicit enough and perfectly serviceable. For all intents and purposes, map drawing in EO is just a flashy gimmick that's here primarily to help the series stand out from the dungeon-crawler crowd. Mind you, I'm not complaining; I was actually afraid of disliking the series because of that very feature, and I'm glad that it turned out to be nothing more than an innocuous gimmick. In fact, I even enjoy fine-tuning my map once I'm done exploring a floor.
In a nutshell: I adore that game, and I'm gonna keep playing it for a long time. Brace yourself, second stratum, for here I come! I'll see you soon with a second progress report, dear fellow gamers; until then, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
Wow, you're really tough, taking on Etrian Odyssey solo. And here I am planning in advance what kind of party will get me through with the minimum amount of suffer (I'm not naive enough think I won't suffer at all in a dungeon crawler). It will be a while before I get round to playing the EO remake on the 3DS, though.
ReplyDeleteAnd the map thing is a big deal for me but only a minor issue for most EO fans so you're safely in the majority methinks.
Why, thanks for the compliment! To be honest, running solo is so much second nature to me that I actually consider it the path of less resistance. ^^
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