Etrian Odyssey Nexus

Genre: First-Person Dungeon Crawler / Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1, StreetPass Support

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Review:

Etrian Odyssey Nexus, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2019, is as of this writing in 2023 the final entry in the Etrian Odyssey series, once again combining a fairly straightforward RPG with a strong focus on using the Nintendo 3DS touchscreen to chart out the dungeons you explore. Nexus aims to be a tribute of sorts to the Etrian Odyssey series, combining gameplay mechanics, job classes, and dungeons from the previous game into an amalgamation of sorts.

The game starts with the same sort of menus we saw in Etrian Odyssey V, along with the same sort of superficial character customization. However, this game unfortunately does not allow players to re-spec your characters into new classes, instead reverting to the sub-class system of Etrian Odyssey III and IV. Players can build a party from a wide variety of classes pulled from throughout the series, though Etrian Odyssey V’s job classes that created additional “helper” minions are conspicuously absent.

This game also doesn’t reprise Etrian Odyssey IV’s overworld map, though like Etrian Odyssey IV, it does feature multiple dungeons rather than one continuous dungeon, as the rest of the Etrian Odyssey series does. These dungeons are selected from a map that acts as a menu rather than territory that players explore. Gone too is Etrian Odyssey V’s “Union” mechanic, and in its place is the return of the Force system from Etrian Odyssey Untold 2.

To me, seeing these changes is agonizing, because it’s like Etrian Odyssey Nexus is indeed trying to mix-and-match multiple elements from throughout the series, but it seems to be going out of its way to avoid including the best elements of the earlier games in the series. As if to emphasize how this game is worse, the way Etrian Odyssey Nexus re-uses dungeons from previous games in the series just feels like a lazy retread rather than an exciting return to an old friend. Returning to Etrian Odyssey IV’s Lush Woodlands, for example, just makes me wish I was playing Etrian Odyssey IV instead.

When it comes to the presentation, you know the drill – some nice anime-style 2D artwork for the game’s characters, some nicely-detailed 3D dungeons to explore (with noticeable pop-in), with a little voiced dialogue for the characters (not for every line, though), as well as a decent anime-style instrumental soundtrack. I will note that this time, the music often doesn’t seem to suit the game in the same way as prior Etrian Odyssey soundtracks did. Also, it bears mention that Nexus doesn’ty see fit to revisit the character-driven story elements of the Etrian Odyssey Untold games.

After all the complaining, all the disappointment, Etrian Odyssey Nexus is still an Etrian Odyssey game, which means it has some strong JRPG gameplay with fun touchscreen-enabled dungeon mapping. However, for a game that is currently the series’ swansong, this is a pretty big disappointment, a “tribute” game that mixes elements from throughout the series while deftly avoiding all of the best elements, resulting in a game that feels like a retread without the magic the earlier titles had. If you’re a series fan, this may be worth a look for nostalgia’s sake, but most players will be better off with any other game in the mainline series on Nintendo 3DS.

tl;dr – Etrian Odyssey Nexus once again combines Turn-Based RPG gameplay with First-Person Dungeon Crawling, with the Etrian series’ big hook being that players are using the touchscreen to map out the game’s dungeons as they explore. Nexus aims to be a tribute of sorts to the Etrian Odyssey series, combining features and elements from throughout the series. Unfortunately, this game steadfastly refuses to revisit the best elements of earlier games, ande the reused content makes it feel a bit like a tired retread. This is still an excellent RPG with the same great core gameplay the series is known for, but it’s the worst 3DS entry in the mainline series.

Grade: B+

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