Etrian Odyssey Nexus Reviews
A fine finale for the series on 3DS, even if it looks backward more than forward.
It's easy to look at Etrian Odyssey Nexus and say that there hasn't been a lot of mechanical changes when compared to previous entries, but there really isn't much that needs to be changed to make it a wonderfully enjoyable time.
While some of its sense of celebration can feel dampened by sheer franchise fatigue, on the whole, Nexus does a great job of ushering out its series, as well as the hardware that it has been beholden to all this time.
Etrian Odyssey Nexus is an excellent dungeon crawler, overland locations and all. It’s not only the perfect antidote to grimmer adventures but it’s an addictive, creative, appealing outing that will have you coming back for more and rarely regretting your return.
This really feels like the end of Etrian Odyssey. The series has felt indelibly linked to the 3DS (and Nintendo DS before it) by way of the dual screen mechanics. That, combined with the wonderful send-off of a game here that revisits so many aspects and elements of previous entries in the series, feels like Etrian Odyssey Nexus really is a farewell. Atlus has already hinted at a future for the series, and if it can reach anything close to what has come before, it will be something truly special. While this entry is clearly made for long-time fans, and they will get the most out of it, this is also completely viable for people to enter right here and find a new series to get obsessed over. This is wonderfully old-school, in all the right ways, insanely addictive, and a perfect swan song.
Although I prefer Beyond the Myth by a slight margin, Etrian Odyssey Nexus offers a familiar and rewarding dungeon crawling adventure that retro RPG fans will surely appreciate.
While we may be waiting on the jump to new platforms for future entries, Atlus brings together a greatest hits package in Etrian Odyssey Nexus for its farewell outing on the Nintendo 3DS, which is the definitive version of the series to date.
Adhering to the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, Nexus takes the tried-and-true Etrian Odyssey formula and does well with virtually all of its components: music, battles, interactions, and world-building.
The marketing material summed it up best when they described Etrian Odyssey Nexus as ‘a love letter to Etrian’. Not only have the longtime series character designers and composers come back to produce a great send off for the 3DS, it’s also a great sendoff for the Etrian Odyssey series if it has no plans to move to Nintendo Switch and this is in fact the final entry in the franchise.
Etrian Odyssey Nexus is a bittersweet farewell to the series as we know it. It does not add much content to the classic formula, but gives to the players the biggest Etrian Odyssey adventure up to date.
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Etrian Odyssey Nexus is a satisfying culmination of all the games thus far, even if there’s very little to set it apart from its predecessors. Wherever the series goes next, I hope there is at least enough of a change to shake up the all-too-familiar formula these games are known for.