Etrian Odyssey HD Origins Collection Review - Missing Some Features, But Still Great 

Original Etrian Odyssey is definitely an acquired taste. It’s not for everyone but it’s a taste I can’t get enough of.

Honestly, I just wished they ported Untold 1&2 and surprised us with Untold 3. Because I really wanted to fight the Abyssal God in 3D so bad :/

I just got the Collection and I'm really happy with what I've seen so far. I LOVE Untold 1 and 2 for what they are, I also feel glad that this Collection exists and that I can also replay the original 1, 2, and 3 in a way that is very true to my experience playing those games for the first time -- no added core game mechanics, no major changes to the class skill trees, etc.

The point about the Untold versions fleshing out the NPCs and setting more is fair, but in gameplay terms I think it's best to just treat them as separate installments rather than improved updates of the originals. They're just so different in so many ways; the labyrinth layouts, the enemies, the items, the adventurer classes' abilities. It's absolutely worth it to play both the original 1 & 2 and the Untolds if you find you enjoy the series. As for the HD Collection in general, it seems like a competent port job but there's a few major stumbling blocks that make it less attractive for me. One is obviously the pricing, while I may swallow it as a fan who knows just how good these games are, it makes it difficult to recommend them to friends. Atlus are shooting themselves in the foot by turning potential newcomers away like this. The other is a bit less obvious, but the western localisation's typeface choices for the UI and text boxes look very flat and boring, which is not good when a major part of the gameplay consists of reading. This is something Atlus West previously nailed with the 3DS installments, so dropping the ball here with such a dull-looking end result is strange.

I really don't like the new font, but I absolutely adored Etrian Odyssey III back in the day. Will definitely pick it up on a sale.

Given Sega's price gouging on this collection I fully expect the Untold remakes to be their own separate collection, likely collected with the Shiren the Wanderer crossover and for EO 4 through Nexus to be a third collection. All at the $80 price point.

Can't be upset about loss of QoL improvements if 3 never got an upgrade 🥲 3 was the only one I planned on picking up anyways. I still have the artbook from the og DS release ❤️

I heard great things about Etrian Odyssey games but never got a chance to play back then. I am glad the series come to Steam as well.

Not sure if these games are for me and at $80, seems steep.

This would be my first Etrian Odyssey games. Excited to start them too. Missed opportunity to include the best versions of I and II though. Maybe on the next installments, hopefully they could :)

Never played this series. Will wait for a sale. 1 thing that seems odd is that it doesn’t include all of the games. Are they doing a 2nd collection? Kinda weird omissions

Great review! I picked up both Untold games for 3DS before the eshop shut down, so I'm only looking at picking up 3 from this collection. I'm glad to hear that they work so well on Switch!

I can't wait for somebody to rip all those characters and monsters' portraits. They look so good in HD.

Gonna set a notification on my Steam list when it goes on sale :)

I’d start with the 3rd for that banger as battle theme

ohhhhhh, I remember playing this game way back. Guess Imma but it now.

For those bummed they didn't use the Untold versions of EO 1 and 2, let this be clear, they called this collection ''Origins'' for a reason: they've brought the original DS versions of them alongside EO 3 to modern platforms as they want to show everyone where the series first started. If this collection sells well enough, ATLUS will eventually port the Untold duology and then EO 4 - Nexus as well. Also, for those complaining about the high price point of the collection, you got 3 full RPGs for the price of one, so that's a justified asking price. Plus it also has the ATLUS tax, so you know their games are more expensive than any other RPG from any other developer/publisher.

I bought this on Day 1, too. Excellent Trilogy

I thought about the hd collection and bought it for my love for the EO series. It was a big purchase for me, but definitely worth it. I’m loving the game so far!

Persona Q please, both of them.....

Most likely depending on how well the Origins Collection is received they may do 3D collection with 4-Nexus and Untold collection

Yet more to add to my backlog lol

I was excited when this was announced, but when I realized that this wasn't going to add anything not in the originals (which I still own) I was disappointed. I see that at least the skill trees have been made actual trees, which is nice, but it doesn't look like there's enough to make the experience feel different (especially at that cost--yikes). I'm hoping this is just a PoC for a new EO game on Switch.

40 bucks a pop for games that are ultimately prettier but (damningly) less convenient versions of their DS originals turns me off from picking them up. While 3 was the game that got me interested in the franchise, Mom couldn't find a copy for me when I was young and I had to wait for 4. I've played every mainline Etrian game from 4 onward, so this should have been a pickup for me without question. Now I feel that 3 is the only one that really deserves my attention and I probably will wait for a discount even then.

1:18 hey, i guess you mistakenly used the wrong release date. It says April 20,2023

There is audio distortion in the video about 1:50, just a heads up

I'm curious about the automapping since the manual stuff always sounded like it could be a lot

I only buy EO3 for now, for rest of them i wait for sale.

Yeah, gonna pass on this. The asking price is downright insulting, especially considering 1&2 aren't the untold versions.

Thanks for the review

I can FINALLY play etrian Odyssey 3 without paying a premium! And playing the originals after playing the untold versions will be cool too, very very nice.

Etrian Odyssey is my favorite game series, played all but EO3 several times over, have been looking forward to this, especially 3.

Huh... not suppose to put medics in the front line... Ive always put them in the front line lol. Also. I hope in the next game for EO they have more than one spellcasters or Zodiac magic wielding class.

I am interested in trying out this series, but unsure where to start. Which out of the three in the Origins Collection would be the best entry point?

This series deserves more love from the players and from devs. Why they took so long to make switch releases? Why left behind enhancements from the 3ds version? Why 4, 5 and Nexus are not on this collection? Nexus is the best game of the series in the sense that it has all the features and QoL from all of the other titles... And to be honest? Why they don't release a android version of EO? For me would be perfect, the game is not and don't have to be heavy or to have graphics, the game is huge and you will be playing for hundred of hours. And I'm not asking for a gems crap game, just sell the app and it's done.

Still pisses me tf off how theirs no physical western release for this

I wish they had did the remaster for the untold games

Nintendo DS screen resolution is 250x200. It is literally impossible to port any of these games to 1920x1080. Impossible, if the goal is to sell emulated copy&paste code as a "new" game. And looks like this game solved the "impossible feat" via.. split screen? Instead of, you know, making a couple of menus, but this would of course require actual work done.

Since I already own the 2 Untold versions on the 3DS, the Collection itself is a hard miss for me. Being able to buy Etrian Odyssey III as a standalone game on the other hand is not though. Unless you used an Emulator, you couldn't even play EO III legally before this announcement.

Etrian Odyssey games can be fun. However…. The difficulty, and game pacing (slow, by design) will turn off some gamers. It’s a game that is rewarding if the player is willing to be patient, read, and learn. I enjoy the etrain odyssey series, but, I also prefer slower turn paced gameplay. So, naturally fit for me.

Ive been excited for this release, and it was worth the wait, loving it =) The only negitive for me is the character portraits, their legs just look wierd and some of them have the same body, just different heads, I would like to see a "character portrait DLC" done by a different artist

Not sure if I should get this as I've already played it before. Especially on the steep PC prices.

Hm? Subclassing is missing? I don't remember subclassing being in Untold or Untold 2, just the Grimoire system, and we can't even use fafnir apart from the grimoire stones so we only had the transforming burst if you played story mode, then in Untold the extra dungeon I remember we couldn't do it while in U2 we could, though in U and 2U there were no voice acting for the characters you made sadly unless you played story mode in which case they will have voice acting disregarding the voiced npcs then though haha, and subclassing were only there from the 3rd game onwards then again I never actually really used the highlander or fafnir too much anyways so I didn't have too much of an issue, still listened to the whole review and for the most part I can agree

So there's no auto map/icon feature? looks so tedious to make them after a while (even on 3ds to me)

What's the track playing for most of the review?

Some games like EO were specifically made to be played on the DS and 3DS. I just can't imagine playing on a normal platform like PC or Switch. It just doesn't work.

I dont think the 4/20 release date is accurate...

No Untold features? Good, it was a bit much with the Grimoire system. I'm looking forward to this release sticking close to the DS versions.

I'd say since I've played eo3 onwards I like coming back to where it all started. But like bring formaldehyde to eo1 and eo2 plz

It’s rather nice to see the resurgence of the franchise…but it is difficult to ignore that, indeed, the parts that were included as early as the third game being outright unavailable in the remasters of 1 and 2 are…rather sorely missed. Not least of all being the detailed wall textures that shows shortcuts…which, for actually locating shortcuts when you’re actively searching for them, is downright essential for exploration and *especially* backtracking, when you’re going through the same stratum. Between this, a lack of the ability to chat with people in the tavern, and especially how the ability to heal and revive is put behind an Ental premium (which only gets worse as your characters get higher in levels, and while the latter is always a thing in the series, we’re still stuck with the shop, inn and apothecary being *all separate areas in the hometown*, which breaks the pace…almost as badly as the difficulty. As someone who’s playing Etrian Odyssey HD on Basic Difficulty…it definitely feels like playing all of the 3DS titles would be a better introduction to the series…even if the 3DS side is fairly different, in a good few ways. If anything, the biggest appeals for the Origins Collection would be experiencing the original games as they once were (albeit with the quality of life changes anyone could see), and being able to play III without either paying an unpleasant premium for a DS copy or piracy. …also kind of wondering where the option to turn on the Remastered Tracks is unlocked…slightly concerning, there. Especially since it was one of the announced features of the Origins Collection overall.

Must have for the Steam Deck! I am really looking forward playing these games again, but now on the Deck!

It sucks that Origins is literally just the DS games but prettied up. I really appreciate the speed changes (I have the JP digital version so I beat 1 yesterday) but it sucks that the horrendous balance, lackluster random encounters, and bad quests (1 and 2) still remain. I'm indifferent on wanting the new classes. I personally think subclassing is really stupid in all three games it's in (especially in 3 where most of the roster has awful synergy), and you can't just slap in subclassing or grimoires into games that aren't balanced with them in mind. 1 and 2 are already super simple and basic and adding subclassing would just make them worse.

The price tho

It's very much debatable whether the Untold remakes are superior to the originals. I'm glad that many of those 'features' weren't included, as they would radically change the games.

Honestly the price tag is just way too high to try out this series. Maybe in a few years when it reached an acceptable price, i might try it

"Also available on PC" Thank you, blessed gods of gaming 😭

Still too much of a massive price tag for me, I'll wait for a sale.

😊😅😊

they put denuvo on this so i'll never ever get it.

On the one hand, not getting the Untold versions is kind of a bummer. On the other hand, having the original Labyrinth layouts, monster packs, and skill trees (now with fewer dead skills and the bugs fixed)... on PC... with clean, up-rez'd textures... is really really really really damn good. Even if the collection *is* horrendously overpriced, I'm willing to pay it simply to tell Atlus "Etrian Odyssey is one of my favorite game series of ALL TIME, here's my money, please give us PC Ports of the 3DS games and/or EO 6 and/or Untold 3 someday kthx."

The 3ds had dlc you can no longer get too

I DON'T own a Switch so unless it gets a PS4 version I can't play it.

not a fan of the font

seeing people in the comments bend over backwards to defend these DS ports being $40 when Atlus just released Persona 3 and 4 ports for only $20 that are much bigger games, with much bigger budgets, much higher production values, etc is pretty damn funny.

I'm a fan of this series but come on, no changes from Untold, no 3D models, shitty font from a mobile game... I'm waiting for the next full-fledged Etrian Odyssey, VI or whatever it will be called... if it ever gets made, but I hope so!

I'm still mad about the pricing and the lack of Untold 1 and 2. This is just a cheap cash grab

too expensive

The untold games were inferior to the originals and Japan tends to agree with this. This is why Atlus didn't port them to the switch.

I hate the fact that the first two games were just ports of the original versions. What a bummer.

It looks like you play a menu

I was interested until i heard the stuff about the story as they all sound like there isn't much and the fact that you create your group of characters pretty much tells me that they are just blank characters with zero personality. Is there a game in this style that has a deep story and good characters?

I just wish they gave you all 6 in one shot. Then it'd be worth $80