Etrian Odyssey is Venturing to the Next Stage
When Atlus announced Etrian Odyssey X for 3DS in Japan, they mentioned that it would be the last installment of this type. These titles were designed for the dual-screened format of the DS and 3DS, and they couldn’t continue the series in this form for future systems with the lack of that feature. EOX will play like a mainline game, but it’s not a numbered title because it takes the best elements from previous installments and combines for one final culmination.
This is shown through how nearly all the class artwork is taken from all the previous games, outside the new main character design. This has created some fun art style issues, as despite Yuji HImukai being the character artist throughout the series’ duration, his style has changed over the years. And that’s not getting into how the preorder bonus designs from other artists clash, one of which is from Persona artist Shigenori Soejima as a tie-in for the upcoming Project Re: Fantasy. For EOX, practicality took precedent over aesthetics, as most players won’t mind the clashing art when they have so many class options at their disposal while roaming through perilous dungeons to fight difficult enemies and bosses. It’s a fitting installment for the franchise’s potential end.
There’s a new twist, though. The keyword there was “potential,” as the EO series has been successful enough for a low-tier series from Atlus that they want to keep it around. Atlus recently held a pre-release stream for EOX before its release, and couldn’t resist ending it with a tease for a new project. EOX represents the end of one era, but the development team apparently couldn’t wait to slightly preview the “next stage” for the franchise.
It’s a “teaser” in every sense of the word. It starts by showing a series of gravestones, for… some reason. I prefer to think of it as a jab towards the assumption that EOX would truly be the last game in the franchise, to show they have no intention of burying it. Several silhouettes are also shown, likely for classes the next game will have. It ends by saying “to the next stage,” which shows that, well, the Etrian Odyssey series will advance to the next stage.
That’s the correct phrasing to use, as the next EO game — and potentially the series from here on — will need serious changes. The series has depended on the dual-screened setup in being a throwback to old dungeon crawlers, those which contained dungeons so labyrinthine that players needed graph paper to draw them. The EO series included the mapping features within the game, and allowed players to draw them and include marks and messages with the stylus on the touchscreen while playing. But that will no longer be possible, and the ability to draw while travelling will be considerably more difficult to do on a single screen. The next installment will be different, but whether it will entirely discard these features remains to be seen.
There were plenty of character silhouettes shown in the teaser, but they interestingly don’t resemble Himukai’s typical designs. His characters tend to stick to super deformed proportions, with the kind of cute and round faces that represent the “moe” style. But some designs have veered from that style, especially in recent years. Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold’s characters were a little taller and more mature-looking than previous characters in the series, and that also applies to NPCs from EOX. It’s also possible the silhouettes aren’t meant to tease what the characters will actually look like, and could be red herrings. Hopefully they won’t keep us waiting too long to find out, but I have a feeling they will.
To no surprise, the teaser said nothing about what platform the game will hit. It won’t be a 3DS game, since EOX is explicitly stated to be the last. It’s most likely a Switch title, since EO titles haven’t released on any system outside Nintendo’s. But the franchise could expand to other platforms, especially since it won’t need the dual-screened format. There’s also a chance this could be a mobile game or MMO; Atlus doesn’t tend to tease games due for those platforms, but it’s never too late for a change. Atlus notably hasn’t made many mobile or MMO titles in a while, and note that the recent Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation is developed and published by Sega.
It could be a while before this new EO project surfaces, let alone releases, but at least fans will have Etrian Odyssey X to tide them over… in Japan. It’s tough to tell whether it will leave the country. It’s almost time to give up on Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2’s localization, which released on August 31st last year. Atlus USA may not have given up on localizing 3DS software overall yet, thanks to Persona Q2 still coming, a game announced a year ago that we still know nothing about. But Persona is by far Atlus’ most popular series, and the same can’t be said for EO. I think they’ll still take a chance on it, as it could release alongside the possible last 3DS games from Nintendo like the Luigi’s Mansion remake and Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey. But cross your fingers.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
