Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a wonderful repackaging of three of the best RPGs on the Nintendo DS, maintaining nearly all the benefits of dual screens while offering players respectable quality-of-life features. What Etrian Odyssey lacks in conventional narrative, the series makes up for with its emphasis on player-driven pacing and highly customisable party building. Although the price point is certainly steep, there's no getting around the fact that these are the definitive versions of the first three Etrian Odysseys. Visually crisp with great audio and some of the best dungeon-crawling the genre has seen, all three titles offer RPG fans hundreds of hours of dense dungeon-crawling all on their own. Together, the collection offers audiences a high-class trilogy that'll realistically last them the rest of 2023 - if not even longer. Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is frankly a steal at $80.

I’m torn on these remakes. On the one hand, I don’t think they work on Switch. Not in recreating the original vision of Etrian Odyssey, at any rate. The best way to play these is to jettison the mapping feature that was so core to the experience on the DS and 3DS. This truly is disappointing. On the other hand, even as a stock-standard set of dungeon crawlers, the three Etrian Odyssey titles bundled up here are beautifully elegant, ethereal, and artful. They’re challenging and fundamentally enjoyable, classic dungeon crawlers. If these new releases help a new legion of people discover Atlus’ dungeon-crawling genius for the first time, then I’m ultimately very glad they exist.

Playing The Millennium Girl and The Fafnir Knight on original Nintendo DS/3DS hardware remains the best way to experience the early Etrian Odyssey titles. But the Origins Collection offers a respectable alternative, delivering a trio of gaming’s top-tier dungeon crawls, with only a minimum of sacrifices.

Just like Etrian Odyssey’s identity exists to modernize classics, the Origins Collection successfully modernized Etrian Odyssey. It’s easy to be sad about what isn’t there, but I understand that I have a minority viewpoint in the fanbase and those remakes added a lot of things people didn’t need. These games were always meant to focus on gameplay over all else, and what was preserved has been done so in stunning quality. The games themselves are not perfect, but I think these remasters are as perfect as you can get to recreating them today. They’re simple at their core, and these remasters are simply great. If Atlus decides to bring back more of its extensive DS and 3DS catalog to modern systems, I sincerely hope they continue with this amount of effort going forward.

There may not be any real new features to speak of in Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection, apart from a difficulty selection and a lick of paint, but there is still a huge amount of very enjoyable gameplay.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a great compilation of dungeon crawlers but one that will require a substantial amount of patience to play through so if you're up to the task, it can be one highly rewarding package that'll stay with you for a very long time.

The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection translates these DS classics to the Nintendo Switch in fine fashion. Occasional fiddliness aside, there’s not much more we could’ve asked for with this port. Except maybe, a more reasonable price…

Provided you enjoy old-school turn-based RPGs, the sheer bang for the buck of Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is hard to beat. If you’re just looking for one, then the third one is probably your best bet. While I still think the true experience is best found on Nintendo DS, these remakes are a good alternative for those who don’t want to dig up twenty-year-old hardware and some absurdly expensive second-hand games. I hope this is laying the foundation for a new game in the series, as revisiting these games has whet my appetite for further adventures.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a return to a classic trilogy that defined the dungeon crawler genre. Although it now has HD graphics, a perfect translation into other languages such as Spanish and a decent adaptation to Nintendo Switch controls, it will appeal mainly to players who are already fans of the series.

Very difficult, but very rewarding.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is an excellent collection of three titles that have made the history of their genre. The gaming experience may be anachronistic for the youngest, but it is a nostalgia operation that works very well: beyond some aspects penalized by the console, such as the need to get a stylus not supplied to better map the dungeons, we are facing a return of a piece of history of the Nintendo DS. Among other things, the amount of content within the package is remarkable, to the delight of fans of the series.

Three old school JRPGs that are so perversely old-fashioned they force you to draw your own map - and yet they’re surprisingly captivating and fully deserving of this welcome remaster collection.

The Etrian Odyssey HD Origins Collection is an excellent way to start your expedition into the dungeon-crawling genre. All three titles are excellent, but the first two entries are missing some of the major quality-of-life updates found in the Untold remakes. It’s sad to think those versions were left out, given they greatly improve the experience. Regardless, the dungeon crawling system, character classes, and overall enjoyment of this collection come to a head with the inclusion of Etrian Odyssey III, which takes all the best mechanics and provides a memorable adventure to cap off an addictive and fun collection of titles.

The Etrian Odyssey games have always been a triumph, and Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is the sort of loving proof of concept to convince Switch and PC owners that yes, it’s still just as good on a platform that doesn’t feature two screens. Etrian Odyssey I, II, and III remain fantastic, challenging, and engaging games that will drive players to explore. Even better is that the auto-mapping and difficulty options increase the ease of entry, making them even more appealing. It’s wonderful to see all three games again, and I hope this is a precursor to a seventh installment.

I love these RPGs. I’m psyched that they’ve come to the Nintendo Switch, and I’m overjoyed that they’ve been improved upon. But still, I recognize that these are difficult, imposing, extremely retro games. To say they’re not for everybody is a slight understatement. Even so, if you’ve always wanted to check out the Etrian Odyssey franchise, this is a perfect opportunity. With a little patience, and an open mind, you might find your new favorite series.

The magic of manual map drawing is curbed with the handy auto-map feature, yet pulling off risky expeditions into Etrian Odyssey's dangerous labyrinths remains unmatched.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a great but pricey remaster of three dungeon crawlers that redefined the genre thanks to mapping mechanics from the pen and paper era and a solid combat and build crafting system.

Like the single games when they were first released, the Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is not a product for the masses: it's pricey (too much so), hard and very lengthy, but these are exactly the reasons why some old timer fan will appreciate it.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a nice compilation of the first titles in the RPG Dungeon Crawler series, making the jump from Nintendo DS to Switch. They are not games for all players since their stories hardly have a plot to follow, they are very demanding games and as remasters they offer little. But we will find three games that are strangely satisfying to overcome the challenges.

The Etrian Odyssey games do not feature much story, they are incredibly fun dungeon-crawling experiences. The featured ability to draw maps of the dungeons as the party progresses through the game can become somewhat tedious if played in docked mode using a controller, but with the touchscreen in handheld, it can be quick and very satisfying. The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a well-crafted remaster of the original games and offers hundreds of hours of fun for dungeon-crawling enthusiasts.

The Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection was an interesting title to review. As a newcomer to the series, it was a daunting series to get into without having played this style of dungeon crawler in over a decade. The benefits of including easier modes for people who just want to explore what the dungeons have on offer should not be discounted, but with a notebook, some grid paper, plenty of patience, and a willingness to experiment and try different strategies in battle makes for a compelling trilogy. However, if you do not the patient type of player, or if excessive exploration and dungeon crawling for minimal plot do not sound all that appealing, it may not be the title for you.

Etrian Origins Collection may not be the 'definitive’ re-release that many hoped it would be, but these games are well-respected in the DRPG space for good reason and it's great to see them on Switch.

Etrian Odyssey will forever have a special place in my heart, and I'm happy with how the HD remaster for the Nintendo Switch turned out. Still, despite the thoroughly successful visual, technical and auditory performance, Etrian Odyssey doesn't play quite as smoothly as it does on the DS, though.