Etrian Mystery Dungeon Reviews
If you're the type that wants to find and fight everything, Etrian Mystery Dungeon will keep you occupied for days and days. If you just need a quick fix here and there, it's a great five-minute excursion (or a few hours of digging down per trip). And if you like on-your-toes strategy, this will do you good. Really, if you like a deep experience with plenty of replay value in portable dungeon-crawling, this is about as good as it gets.
While not as strong as a core Odyssey title, this blending of games succeeds in being challenging, lighthearted, and entertaining.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon has a few good twists on the roguelike formula but could have strived for a little more diversity in the dungeon experience. There were a few kinks in gameplay, which are minor issues they will hopefully fix. The classes are fun and diverse, allowing for interesting combinations. This is not a revolutionary title, but it will be a great experience for people unfamiliar with rogue-type games or for those who want an easier time of it. Purists may not be as happy with its challenges.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon is not a game that I would recommend to everyone due to its occasionally high difficulty and style of gameplay.
Make no mistake: Etrian Mystery Dungeon is hardcore game. With every floor the difficulty and pressure increases, leading to a point to where only those with nerves of steel and the patience of a saint will do well. But as the difficulty scales, so does the enjoyment. Successfully crawling out of a dungeon is supremely rewarding.
Wrapping Mystery Dungeon' time-tested gameplay in an evergreen Etrian aesthetic, Etrian Mystery Dungeon is another excellent RPG in the 3DS' already impressive lineup. It's not always a perfect mashup - the randomly generated Mystery dungeons aren't a patch on Etrian Odyssey's memorable mazes, and the elaborate skillsets feel better suited to menus than button mappings - but the masterful mix of addictive exploration, strategic combat, extensive customization, and a real sense of adventure remains engrossing throughout. Fans of either series - or anyone up for a challenging dungeon-crawl in a idyllic setting - will have a great time combing through these charming catacombs.
A beautiful marriage of the Mystery Dungeon and Etrian Odyssey franchises resulting in a brilliant and fun game.
The more I played Etrian Mystery Dungeon the more I fell in love with it. While the learning curve is pretty steep and the rewards are fairly low-end early on, you really do get as much as you put in. It gives existing Mystery fans a lot to stick around for, and serves as a nice entry point for newcomers, so long as you are willing to learn.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon provides a refreshing change of pace for Etrian Odyssey fans by infusing the dungeon-crawler with challenging elements from Spike Chunsoft's venerable Mystery Dungeon franchise. Unfortunately, some clunky controls and curious design decisions prevent this roguelike from reaching the greatest heights of the genre.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon is a punishing RPG that's difficult to put down thanks to a rich supply of loot and deep dungeons.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon is almost confusing in its complexity beyond the first few dungeons, though seasoned RPG-ers will relish in this aspect. It's a game with few real faults, and well worth every penny.
While mechanically sound, too many conveniences make Etrian Mystery Dungeon more mundane than it needs to be
'Etrian Mystery Dungeon' really isn't a title that seemed as though it would work out: 'Etrian Odyssey' and 'Mystery Dungeon' are both very different types of games and blending them together just seemed off. However, the end result is a surprisingly great and addictive title for fans of both series alike. It's hard to tell if gamers outside the fandom will want to dive into this 3DS title, but the barrier of entry difficulty wise is low enough that most any RPG fan can jump in and have an enjoyable time, regardless of their knowledge of the series at hand.
There is no shortage of appeal to this game for those who can appreciate a classic dungeon crawler. Unfortunately for non-fans, there isn't much else on the table.
Anyone looking to spend a solid 40+ hours on a roguelike should look no further than this.
For those willing to invest the effort and time, Etrian Mystery Dungeon is a phenomenal game that will challenge and reward you in equal measure.
While it offers enough familiar touchstones to appeal to fans of both Etrian Odyssey and Mystery Dungeon, EMD manages to establish its own distinct style... enough so that it should appeal to players who couldn't quite get into either of those franchises on their own. With tons of content and a similarly expansive level of challenge, it quite impressively sidesteps the tendency of Mystery Dungeon spinoffs to feel slight and insubstantial. Admittedly, there's no shortage of either Etrian or Mystery Dungeon games these days, but this combination of the two deserves a look on its own merits.
Neither a very good Etrian game nor a very good Mystery Dungeon game.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon is a solid game that conveys the strengths of both franchises involved. It has the tactical and brutal combat and exploration of Shiren the Wanderer and the character-building and style of Etrian Odyssey. Only a few things, like awkward AI design, hold back the game. The problems are annoying but can be reasonably worked past, especially once you understand the game mechanics. If you're a fan of both franchises, you'll find a lot to like here, and it's a great starting point for fans of one to get into the other. It doesn't break new ground for either franchise, but it's a simple, fun and addictive synthesis of both.