Etrian Odyssey Untold:The Millennium Girl Review

The 3DS has become a bit of a JRPG haven, with last year seeing the release of titles such as Fire Emblem: Awakening and Shin Megami Tensei IV. Lately the 3DS hasn’t seen the kind of quality releases it was seeing this time in 2013, with much of Nintendo’s focus moved onto the Wii U. Does that mean the 3DS isn’t getting good games anymore? Definitely not, and Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl is here to prove it.

Now let’s get one thing straight: If you’re not willing to dedicate yourself, you won’t enjoy this game. Despite the portable package, this is a game which demands your attention. Read every quest, embrace every dialogue scene and map out your location with precision. If you’re not paying attention, the game isn’t going to go well, because this game is hard as nails, even when you’re giving it your all.

The town of Etria is your backdrop and you are tasked by the Radha (Etria’s government) to explore a dangerous Labyrinth which is filled with precious items and materials. A map of the labyrinth would greatly assist the government and citizens of Etria, and so your journey begins… Until you discover Fredrica, a mysterious girl with partial amnesia who you find inside a time capsule built with ancient technology. Honestly, the storyline is fairly normal JRPG fare, and it’s the characters and their interactions with one another that really make up the bulk of the endearing dialogue.

 

Unlike many Etrian Odyssey games, here you are given a cast of characters instead of tasked with finding your own crew. This is helpful because it’s easier, and the characters can actually have fully-fleshed personalities and interactions with one another.

Mapping the dungeons works incredibly well with the bottom screen. Your movement is grid-based, which is ideal, because it makes mapping that much easier. Basic lines represent walls and you are given a selection of icons to represent treasure, enemies, minable spots, healing areas, helpful soldiers, etcetera, etcetera… Map building is robust, and seeing a complete map for a floor that you know you drew all yourself is very satisfying indeed!

Battles are turn based, with you selecting moves for your entire team before watching the battle unfold. It’s fairly standard, and your partners may occasionally start the battle with a word of advice such as “it’s weak against ice!” or “use elemental attacks!”. Those short lines of dialogue honestly made me incredibly grateful for the English voices, even if they aren’t heard very often! Your team has a healer, caster (“alchemist”), tank, yourself (Highlander) and a girl who shoots pistols (for some reason…). The cast is generally likeable, if a bit generic.

Your RPG basics are all here; sell collected items, complete quests, equip your squad with the best gear… Collected materials can be sold to the shop, not only will you be paid for them, but you will unlock new items to purchase once you have sold enough of certain items. I often had less money than I needed for the latest gear, which kept me returning the store to sell my latest item collection and update the gear of my Guild.

You acquire a home base eventually, which is tended to by a friendly maid. You can purchase incredibly useful boosts and power ups from her, as well as organise your equipment and Guild whilst there.

New additions to the game include FOE enemies which visibly roam the map. These enemies are not always hostile, but are more often than not much stronger than you, although defeating them would usually earn rare materials or even shortcuts through the dungeon.

The voices are all cute and perfectly serviceable, and the music changes from calming to eerie. The game’s atmosphere complements the gameplay perfectly, more often than not.