Etrian Odyssey Trilogy reissued by Atlus

[Unofficial Who]

For those who missed out on 2 and 3 on the DS you can now reorder new stock from Amazon and PlayAsia. (The first one has also been reprinted.)

Thanks to http://tinycartridge.../etrian-odyssey for the news.

The first three Etrian Odyssey games, which have been pretty hard to find for a reasonable price for some time now, are all back on Amazon for around $30 each, thanks to Atlus’ recent reprints for the DS releases.

[Jonzo]

Are these games really as impenetrably hard as everyone says?

Tempted to pick one up.

[smac]

Yay! Amazon UK shows supply from VG Plus, so I take it these attract the usual import taxes?

[pinholestar]

FOE! FOE!

I lost days to the third one, I think it was. They're great games if you tend towards an obsessive personality.....

[Opinionated Ham Scarecrow]

Are these games really as impenetrably hard as everyone says?

Tempted to pick one up.

Only played the first and to be honest, it wasn't all that...

[Urya]

Any point to playing the old ones when you've played a newer version? Always figured these games only iterated.

[mrpranny]

Having finished the first game and received the very long code to transfer your characters do I need to play 2 and 3 if I want to use them in 4?

[Guan]

Since Nintendo - I think - is planning to release Etrian Odyssey IV this Q2 and I've been playing it for 20+ hours now (importing a 3DS has proven to be a wise decision), I decided to bump this topic and answer some questions.

Having finished the first game and received the very long code to transfer your characters do I need to play 2 and 3 if I want to use them in 4?

Since III is considered a stand-alone instalment, you were only able to transfer your party from I to II. In case of IV, you can instruct the game to write additional data on your sd-card for "future titles," whether that be V or New Etrian Odyssey, which has been leaked/announced yesterday.

Any point to playing the old ones when you've played a newer version? Always figured these games only iterated.

Basically, going chronologically back lets your appreciate the refinements of the instalment you played before that. The reason why the first one was considered to be a much tougher cookie than the latest one is primarily because it wasn't just as well-balanced and polished (such as selling your loot en masse) as III and IV.

Are these games really as impenetrably hard as everyone says?

Tempted to pick one up.

I wouldn't say they're impenetrably hard, but it really strongly differs per person. I myself love the dungeon crawling Shin Megami Tensei and both Souls games, therefore Etrian Odyssey was a logical extension of that interest. As long as you are willing to invest in each game, it's sufficiently rewarding.