Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan

 3DS
  • Publisher: Atlus
  • Release Date: Feb 26, 2013
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 177 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 149 out of 177
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 177
  3. Negative: 23 out of 177
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  1. JustinWayne
    Jul 17, 2017
    3
    I'll give it this, I have no-one to blame but myself for this one.

    I played the first one without having read any of the reviews and hated it. I saw this game and didn't even think of it until I kept seeing it as "best RPG on the 3DS" and "like the great dungeon crawlers from yesteryear" and thought that maybe I had been hasty in dismissing this 4th entry. Perhaps the series had gotten    I'll give it this, I have no-one to blame but myself for this one.

    I played the first one without having read any of the reviews and hated it. I saw this game and didn't even think of it until I kept seeing it as "best RPG on the 3DS" and "like the great dungeon crawlers from yesteryear" and thought that maybe I had been hasty in dismissing this 4th entry. Perhaps the series had gotten better since the tedious, charmless grindfest of the first game. Nope.

    I will clearly never see what other people apparently like in these awful games. The graphics are quite nice and mapping out the dungeons is a nice novelty at first but the tedium of the grind sets in very quickly. Grinding for experience, grinding gear, endlessly warping between dungeons and towns to offload all the worthless rubbish you accumulate from the hundreds of boring monsters you kill over and over again. The combat sytem isn't even engaging enough to distract you from this, as bog-standard as it is (oh, the strategies being more for those with a love of spreadsheets than a love of tactics *yawn*). It got to the point where i literally automated my guys movement in a circle, had something depressed on the A button and left my 3DS on overnight to level my character quicker so I could get through the game faster. Didn't make the game any less dull though.

    So the story... I think is there. None of the characters have much of a personality so it is difficult to be sure. There's certainly nothing dynamic about it and zero sense of urgency to anything. Aside from my characters' build there's not very much Role Playing to be done in this Role Playing game either. Calling it a throwback to the dungeoncrawlers I still play on my PC from time to time is a bit of an insult really, because at least those games have a sense of personality.

    I hate to come across as a moaning Michael but other than the graphics and mapping, I found nothing to enjoy here. If you are the kind of RPer who likes metagaming primarily with stats and skill trees and stuff, you might get a kick out of this. That must be the audience for this. Otherwise, just why?    … Expand
  2. Dreaducate
    Apr 9, 2014
    4
    I personally found this game boring after logging about 6 hours in the first dungeon and not making any discernible progress on top of my compounding main frustration with the game: The game is one of the least immersive experiences I've had in a long time because of it's weak and effortless narrative, poor character design, and uninspired locales.

    I understand why some people like this    I personally found this game boring after logging about 6 hours in the first dungeon and not making any discernible progress on top of my compounding main frustration with the game: The game is one of the least immersive experiences I've had in a long time because of it's weak and effortless narrative, poor character design, and uninspired locales.

    I understand why some people like this game, and I'm just getting my opinion out there for consumers like me. I probably would have enjoyed this game in the 1990s. Not now.    … Expand
  3. ricklongo
    Apr 25, 2013
    3
    Ever since the SNES era, I've been a huge RPG fan. From Japanese masterpieces like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and EarthBound to American franchises like The Elder Scrolls, I'm always enthralled by the epic storylines, memorable characters, and ridiculously immersive gameplay.

    There are, however, plenty of pitfalls in the genre. Sometimes, a game with all of the above qualities    Ever since the SNES era, I've been a huge RPG fan. From Japanese masterpieces like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and EarthBound to American franchises like The Elder Scrolls, I'm always enthralled by the epic storylines, memorable characters, and ridiculously immersive gameplay.

    There are, however, plenty of pitfalls in the genre. Sometimes, a game with all of the above qualities will simply force you to grind way too much (hello, Secret of Mana!). Other times, games turn into a slugfest of item and/or stats management that makes it a lot harder to enjoy their other qualities (much like The World Ends With You).

    To be blunt, Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan features none of the qualities I mentioned above AND all of the hassles. The game is an endless grind, with no real compelling story and no memorable characters (all of your party are almost-faceless, player-created drones).

    Everything you do in the game, you do in the coldest way possible, through a crapload of menus and submenus. You don't get to wander around towns, approach townsfolk, look for secrets in the back alleys... you simply choose what to do from a list, suffer through boring dialogues, and proceed to grind the next dungeon.

    As if all of this wasn't enough, the game (apparently, the series) forces you to draw your own map as you go along. Words can't describe how aggravating I found that experience. Of course, it's something that real life adventurers would have to do, but it's also the sort of minutia I really don't want to have to deal with in a game. It makes adventuring seem more like a job than, well, an adventure.

    I know there are stat-grinding aficionados out there. For them, this game must be heaven (and the excellent graphics will definitely help). If that's not your case, however, chances are you'll find it a soulless, charmless drag.    … Expand
  4. TemplarGR
    Sep 10, 2016
    0
    Typical overrated Atlus trash. A game i should have liked, since i am an oldtime hardcore PC RPG fan, but if you think this game has anything to do with the classics, you need to change your hobby and begin stamp collections.

    There is no challenge in this game. The gameplay mechanics are very simple and boring, all you have to do is grind like your life is worth nothing and you can    Typical overrated Atlus trash. A game i should have liked, since i am an oldtime hardcore PC RPG fan, but if you think this game has anything to do with the classics, you need to change your hobby and begin stamp collections.

    There is no challenge in this game. The gameplay mechanics are very simple and boring, all you have to do is grind like your life is worth nothing and you can throw hours upon hours in the garbage bin. Grind=win type of game, like most of Atlus trash, with a nice anime/manga presentation to appeal to the kiddies.

    Just avoid if you value your time.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best 3DS Game of 2013
18
#18 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2013
11
#11 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 41
  3. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. The Digital Fix
    Oct 15, 2013
    80
    It all comes down to your affinity for JRPGs, but credit falls to Atlus for offering curious newbies that helping hand, a hand that has the strength and power to pull you into the world and become entranced.
    Read full review
  2. Official Nintendo Magazine UK
    Oct 6, 2013
    89
    Mixes trademark difficulty and accessibility with surprising finesse. Not just a brilliant entry in the series, but a benchmark for other games of its type.
    Read full review
  3. NZGamer
    Sep 26, 2013
    85
    There is a tonne of game here, too - the main storyline can easily get you 30 hours or more of gameplay, and then there are a multitude of side quests, post-game content, and replayability to stretch that out even further.
    Read full review
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