Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City - Nintendo DS

Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City for Nintendo DS is a deep, dungeon-crawling RPG that challenges players with first-person exploration, strategic turn-based combat, and complete party customization. Developed by Atlus, this third entry in the beloved Etrian Odyssey series takes adventurers to the ocean-side city of Armoroad, where legends speak of a sunken civilization and untold treasures hidden in a labyrinth beneath the sea.

As the leader of a guild of explorers, you recruit and customize your party from 12 unique classes, including favorites like Zodiac, Gladiator, and Arbalist, as well as newcomers like Prince/Princess and Buccaneer. Each class offers distinct skills and abilities that can be further specialized through dual-classing, allowing for highly tailored strategies and synergies in battle.

The game’s signature mechanic—the map-drawing system—returns, using the DS touchscreen to let players chart their own maps of the labyrinths they explore. With secrets, shortcuts, gathering points, and dangerous FOEs (Formido Oppugnatura Exsequens) lurking around every corner, careful planning and cartography are essential to survival.

The Drowned City enhances the formula with a nautical twist: players can outfit and navigate their own ship, exploring the open seas, finding hidden islands, and battling sea monsters in grid-based encounters. These sailing segments add a fresh layer of adventure and discovery between dungeon dives.

With beautiful sprite work, a rich orchestral soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro, and a brutal-but-fair difficulty curve, Etrian Odyssey III is a rewarding experience for hardcore RPG fans. It encourages experimentation, perseverance, and a sense of ownership over every inch of progress you earn.