Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection brings the classics to modern times

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection brings the classics to modern times

The DS RPG series makes an HD comeback

One of the biggest surprises of Nintendo’s most recent Direct was the reveal of Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection, a full on HD remake of the first three Etrian Odyssey games that were birthed on the Nintendo DS. The series capitalized on Japan’s love of first person dungeon exploring RPGs like Wizardry, and while it wasn’t a massively popular game it did spawn several sequels, remakes and spin-offs over the years. The last game, Etrian Odyssey Nexus, was released in 2019 on the 3DS — and things just sort of fizzled out after that.

Until now, that is. The HD remake collection is perhaps a tease towards a full new game in the series, at least according to the dev team. As translated by Persona Central, the devs seem to hint that a full game, though maybe not coming any time soon, would benefit from the feedback of how fans react to the update and changes in the collection:

Hello everyone, this is the “Etrian Odyssey” development team. It’s been a while. First of all, thanks to all of your support, the “Etrian Odyssey” series is able to celebrate its 16th anniversary this year. This is all thanks to all those who enjoy playing the games, thank you very much.

To all of you who have been looking forward to the new game, we thank you very much for your patience… The hardware has changed from the two-screen DS, and we have to admit that it will take more time to create a new “Etrian Odyssey.”

In the course of our research, these remasters were produced based on the concept of “We want people to be able to play the original trilogy, which is no longer accessible, on current consoles.”

The play style has changed significantly from the two-screen DS, but we have also prepared methods for those who want to enjoy hand-drawn maps.

We would like to make use of opinions on this remaster for the new “Etrian Odyssey” game. We would like to hear your feedback, whether you’ve played previous titles in the series or are playing “Etrian Odyssey” for the first time.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Anyhoo, one of the best aspects of the games on DS was the ability to draw and annotate maps on the lower screen. Thankfully, the map-making will still be here in the new versions, allowing players to relive nostalgia from the early days of gaming when all we had was graph paper to keep track of play sessions.

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection comes to PC and Switch on June 1st as one bundle or three games individually.