Dang, it's hard to save some spoilers for it. All I can say is, once you reach the final stages (the final Stratum), you'll be taken aback.
...and you don't know how much I'm trying to hold the juicy spoilers the game has, but I respect your opinion.
If it weren't because my DS is getting a bit problematic, I would be close to finish EO. It's certainly different from most of the inheritors of Wizardry-style gaming, since you can customize your builds to do mostly anything and the game is quite easy with some of the choices. Most people won't appreciate the game, though, but Atlus has apparently realized the game is great and it's going to bring the 3rd installment (which completely changes the game, though not the battle system).
The first is that it's first-person type combat (a la Dragon Quest), but there's no main character or whatnot. Instead, you lead a guild and you undertake missions for the people of the town, while exploring one big, big, BIG dungeon. You can take from several classes, each with its own unique quirk:
The Landsknecht, which is basically your warrior type: decent defense, high offense, no magic, etc.
The Protector, which is your tank and basically a Paladin: huge defense, pathetic offense except for Smite which is really good, and some minor healing.
The Survivalist, which is somewhat like a Ranger: back-row special attacks, some minor speed-related buffs and abilities to use in the map.
The Dark Hunter, which is some sort of S&M thievish/roguish type: deals status effects and debuffs, and depending on the line you can either drain your enemies dry out of HP or bind them completely for massive damage.
The Medic, which is basically your healer type: loads of healing spells and one or two buffs, but one of those buffs is better than any other buff in the game. Oh, and much like the Protector, one single offensive ability that it's basically a build in itself.
The Troubadour, which is your bard-like buffer type: loads of songs that provide bonuses to attack, defense, speed, hit points, HP regen, TP (think MP) regen, defense against the elements, imbue elements with weapons (think what the Mystic Knight/Sorcerer does in FFV, but not limited to itself)...
The Alchemist is your blaster guy, somewhat like a mage: elemental attacks ranging from your basic fire, ice and thunder, to poison attacks.
There's also two "secret" classes which you get during the game, but that might count as a spoiler so I won't tell you.
The big points are the luscious backgrounds of the game (load of power on a flash cart), the amazing soundtrack job from Yuzo Koshiro, and the character creation and class system. The low points...well, it has a learning curve, and while it's easier than most Wizardry-likes, it gets to be hard enough. The ugly points (the ones that will make you insult your DS without mercy) are the F.O.E's; basically mid-bosses that tend to follow you or move with you, and that are tougher than anything else in the map (usually tough enough to defeat you mercilessly in around 5 rounds when you first meet them, but manageable later on), and the difficulty curve that jumps sharply as you progress.
That should be enough to cover most of the aspects of Etrian Odyssey. If you want, play the first game until you finish it, and then get the second game and use the first game's info for it; gets you minor benefits, and you can transfer a specific item if you do well on the first game.
Originally Posted by Aadria
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