Review by: Andrew Webster

Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City isn't the type of game aimed at winning over a new audience. If you didn't care for the previous two games, there's nothing for you here. In fact, the third game in the first person, dungeon crawling series plays exactly the same as its predecessors, with just a few new additions. There's all new classes, and you can explore the ocean in addition to a multi-level dungeon. But the focus is still the same: pure, unadulterated exploration.

Like the previous games, there's little story to speak of. EO3 takes place in Armoroad, a small town surrounded by the ocean. It wasn't always that way though, as Armoroad was once a thriving city filled with advanced technology. But when an earthquake hit, much of the city sunk beneath the ocean and a labyrinth appeared in its stead. A labyrinth teaming with vicious monsters and treasure. A labyrinth just begging to be explored.

At the outset of the game you create your party of five adventurers, choosing from nearly a dozen different classes, which give you a great deal of freedom for customizing your party. There are gladiators who specialize in combat, monks for healing, zodiacs who can perform powerful offensive magic, and even farmers for harvesting plants found in the labyrinth. And while you can't really customize how these characters look--instead you're forced to choose from a small selection of portraits to represent them--you have a great deal of control over their skills. At each new level interval you will receive a point that can be used to improve the character's abilities, allowing you to choose their main focus. And since levelling up is a long and arduous process, each choice is incredibly important. New this time around is the ability to give characters sub-classes, letting them spread their wings enough to learn skills from two different classes at once. This isn't available until some time into the experience, however.

Once your team is set, it's time to hit the labyrinth. Exploration takes place from a first person perspective and, as with the previous two games, you'll have to map your progress yourself. While the first person viewpoint is displayed on the top screen, the lower touch screen is made up of a grid. As you move, squares will change color to represent where you've been, but you're in control of marking walls, doors, and other points of interest like harvest-able plants or safe places to camp out. It may sound tedious, and it certainly can be, but it's also vital: this is not a place you want to get lost in. The enemies are brutally tough and knowing where your exits are can mean the difference between getting out to safety and losing an hour's worth of progress.

Aside from the bountiful monsters, everything in EO3 is in short supply, from experience points to cash. This means that the game requires a good deal of patience. Don't expect to be upgrading your equipment on a regular basis or to make your way to a new level of the labyrinth each time you play. Progress is at times almost frustratingly slow, but all the more rewarding for it. EO3 is a game that requires careful planning.

In addition to the fresh cast of new classes, the biggest change in the game is the new seafaring mode. This plays out a lot like the dungeon crawling, though much less intense. The game automatically maps the areas you've explored and there are no battles. You are, however, limited in how much you can explore each trip. Before setting sail you'll have to purchase provisions, and depending on what kind you have you'll be limited to moving a specified number of spaces. Exploring can net you new items to use or sell and you can fish to earn some extra cash. Since it's only playable in relatively short bursts the mode is really more of a diversion from the stress of dungeon crawling than anything else, a great way to relax before heading back to the grind.

At this point you already know if you want to play EO3. If the first two games left you wanting more, more is exactly what the third game in the series offers. The labyrinth is deep, terrifying, and full of secrets and danger, while you're given an incredible amount of customization to create the exact party you want. There's no sweeping narrative pushing you forward as in most RPGs, instead the incentive is simply to see just what's around the next corner. And for a certain breed of gamer, there's no more powerful incentive than that.