Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard

 The sequel to Etrian Odyssey, and while Kazuya Niino had no involvement (opting instead to work on the first entry of the competing series 7th Dragon), it follows the same basic format - building a party, traversing a grid-based dungeon and constructing your own maps on the touch screen.  In addition to all the classes from the first game returning, three new ones are introduced - the Gunner serves as a strong ranged attacker, the War Magus as something of a "Red Mage" with healing, fighting and support abilities, and the Beast as a party-protecting animal companion.  Skill sets were tweaked seemingly as an attempt to address the awkward balance of the first game, but they severely overcorrected in this regard - the underpowered classes from the first Etrian Odyssey are now ridiculously strong while all the returning ones are nerfed, becoming average at best.  Case in point, the Ronin and Dark Hunter are now absurdly powerful damage dealers, while the lowly Hexer becomes the single most broken class in the entire series.  Inversely, the Landsknecht, Survivalist, Protector, and Medic have their skills and damage potential severely nerfed while the Troubadour and Alchemist are now almost entirely useless.  It puts the player in a strange place - the party they used in the first game is now almost entirely obsolete while all the classes they probably ignored now get the spotlight.  Some other questionable tweaks are made too; gathering skills are nerfed, topping off at level 5 and only allowing one use per skill per day, and when gathering you have a chance to randomly be attacked by a powerful monster, making it a risky enterprise.  FOEs no longer give experience, which eliminates your primary means of quick re-leveling from the first game.  The Boost mechanic, rather than adding five extra levels to whatever skill you use that turn, is now more of a "limit break" that varies by class - usually a powerful attack or a temporary party buff.  Another interesting, if underutilized addition, is that you can import your guild from the previous game, which changes a few story events and allows you to import the Town Medal or Town Crown if you earned it there (albeit with a major nerf to its stats so it's only really useful in the early game).  Etrian Odyssey II is a pretty standard sequel, though its lackluster balancing and minimal story earn it the unenviable reputation of being the black sheep of the series.  If you got it on the HD collection you'll probably give it a playthrough regardless, but it's definitely eclipsed by every later game in the series, especially its remake (considered one of the franchise's best!).

Developer: Atlus, Lancarse

Publisher: Atlus

Released: 2008, 2023

Platforms: Nintendo DS, Switch, PC

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

After a number of spinoff franchises and taking the series into true 3D, Strange Journey was a bit of a throwback for Shin Megami Tensei, returning to the first person dungeon crawler format that it began as.  But does Strange Journey prove to be a worthwhile return to form, or is this just an example of an uninspired cashin made to get a few bucks from old-school fans?

Shin Megami Tensei as a franchise has long had a presence in Japan, but for a long time went unreleased in the west; probably in no small part due to prominently featuring religious deities and the pervading theme of making deals with demons to secure more power for later challenges.  It's also one of the very few franchises I know of to unabashedly portray Jehovah (rendered in the Hebrew spelling, YHVH) as a power-mad antagonist bent on control of everything, so there's that too.  Regardless, it finally got a foothold in the west in the Playstation era with games like Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (the latter half of a two-part story - ironically the first wouldn't be released until over a decade later), Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga.  Probably the first big break for the series, though, was Persona 3 and 4, an innovative blend of school sim and dungeon crawling elements with a flashy presentation and some very well-written characters.

Still, the franchise's earliest entries retained a cult following among fans, particularly those of old-school PC RPGs like Wizardry.  It certainly showed its inspiration from that franchise to a T, with its first-person perspective, maze-like dungeons with plenty of traps and frequent encounters with huge hordes of enemies, and having to carefully manage one's limited resources in order to complete major battles (all of which were seemingly designed to be insanely difficult).  Not to mention some very grim themes throughout their storylines, including a nuclear war on Japan - more than a bit ironic considering that country's history.

Strange Journey seemingly was made as a throwback to that, albeit utilizing the same engine as another Atlus game heavily inspired by the old-school dungeon crawler RPGs of yore - namely, Etrian Odyssey.  Still, they do a good job capturing the essence of classic Megami Tensei, putting heavy emphasis on making deals with demons and fusing them to create new ones.  The distinctive moon phase system returns too, affecting a number of gameplay elements (most prominently one's chances to recruit demons during a particular attempt - they're more willing during a new moon and completely wild during a full one).   As in the older games, the protagonist is an unnamed character and the only one of the group who can use traditional equipment, and commands a somewhat more limited (though freely changeable) skill set that can be affected by equipping different guns and "Apps".  The latter work a bit like the skills from SMT: Nocturne, allowing for not just extra abilities in battle, but playing a supportive role too - lowering or increasing the encounter rate, allowing you to speak to enemies that normally can't be spoken to (generally unintelligent ones like zombies and slimes), or boosting item drops after a battle.

Some conveniences of the newer SMT games are retained, though.  Unlike earlier titles (and Etrian Odyssey), Strange Journey does have an auto-map on the bottom screen at all times, allowing for easier navigation through the samey-looking mazes.  The annoying Magnetite system of earlier games (a resource earned by defeating enemies and depleted as long as you had demons of your own summoned) is still gone as well, eliminating an arbitrary and annoying resource management/time limit element from the proceedings.  Finally, while the game can require a lot of grinding and micromanagement, there is an option to import another player's demons via a 32-bit password system, giving you an out if you ever find yourself stuck and unable to proceed.  Granted, it's not an ideal solution, as powerful demons can be extremely expensive in terms of money (hundreds of thousands of Macca, if not more), but the option is there at least.

Similar to Etrian Odyssey (and Persona 4), a significant mechanic in Strange Journey is defeating enemies to win items from them, then selling them to the shop to unlock equipment upgrades for purchase - effectively a "crafting system" of sorts.  Thankfully the game is fairly generous with these and there are few "rare" enemy types to encounter, so it doesn't end up being as tedious as one would expect.  As for equipment itself, the player gets a basic, elemental-free melee weapon in the form of a knife, a plethora of guns that can have various elemental properties, and armor that almost always resists one or more elements in exchange for being weak to another.  Naturally, knowing what enemies to expect in a given area and changing one's equipment to meet it accordingly is just as important as managing one's demons, particularly as the game ends immediately if the main character dies.

So, does Strange Journey work as a throwback game for classic Megami Tensei?  Well, I certainly think it does a good job.  While it does retain a lot of modern quality of life upgrades and a handful of mechanics from later games in the series, it also very much keeps an eye on what made the franchise a hit to begin with - first person dungeon crawling with a heavy emphasis on party management and keeping abreast of elemental strengths and weaknesses to see one through battles.  It even learns from many of the more broken tactics present in earlier games, with most bosses punishing the player for abusing stat buffers too much, for example, or even adopting such strategies themselves in a few cases.  And of course, it doesn't skimp on the dark themes either, with some very twisted scenarios and bizarre characters throughout, as well as the series' trademark sense of choice that will take the player down multiple story paths and lead them to one of several endings, giving it some replay value as well.  Fans of old school Megami Tensei, or just the old, super-challenging dungeon crawler archetype in general, should have a lot to like with Strange Journey.

Developer: Atlus, Lancarse
Publisher: Atlus, Deep Silver
Platform: Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS
Released: 2010, 2018
Recommended Version: I've only personally played the original release on DS.  However, the game did get a rerelease on the 3DS in 2018 which adds in new content on almost every front - characters, story elements, paths, items, skills and voiceover throughout.  I've heard conflicting reports about it, with a handful of people criticizing these new elements as feeling out of place in the original story.

Zanki Zero: Last Beginning

An odd dungeon crawler with some survival horror elements developed by a relatively unknown company and released by Chunsoft, who have made a name for themselves lately by releasing numerous high-profile visual novels.  But does this latest collaborative effort pan out into a worthwhile adventure, or is this just another forgettable take on two already saturated genres of gaming?

Lancarse isn't a name known to many, but they have worked on a few RPGs in their time.  Notably, they contributed to the first two Etrian Odyssey games, which were very much old-school dungeon crawlers in the vein of Might and Magic or Wizardry.  Later they worked on Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, another first person dungeon crawler that brought the series back to its origins while mixing in enough original elements to keep things fresh (and, as per series tradition, being monstrously difficult).

Zanki Zero is another game in that vein, primarily taking place in a first-person dungeon crawling perspective, though the Chunsoft influence is evident in the game as well.  Sharing many developers with the Danganronpa franchise,  Zanki Zero revels in its bizarre concept and atmosphere, following the exploits of eight survivors in a destroyed world as they attempt to revive humanity and discover the truth behind the cataclysmic event that destroyed the world.  Each of the eight chapters in the game follows one of the eight characters' stories (embodying the seven deadly sins and "original sin"), and each is quite a personality in their own right.  From the "bondage artist" Ryu Mikajime to Sachika Hirasaka, the upbeat inventor girl with prosthetic limbs, their stories are fun to watch unfold.

Many of the game's key mechanics, as well as its story beats, are told via "Extend TV", a show which appears frequently on television sets throughout.  Hosted by Mirai and Sho Terashima (a sheep and a rather perverted boy, respectively), they explain the player's missions as well as the journeys of the eight playable characters and their stories, as well as providing a lot of dark humor (with Mirai frequently being decapitated and Sho making off-color remarks at almost everything).  They're almost always fun to watch, though they do tend to get repetitive, particularly in the early stages as it's about 2-3 hours of introduction before any proper gameplay starts.

Zanki Zero is a dungeon crawler at its core, with the player in a first-person perspective controlling four characters at a time and making their way through a dungeon populated with enemies and puzzles to solve.  It is a strange one, though, in that it's not really "turn based" in the traditional way.  One can double-tap the movement key to dash through areas and traverse them quicker or throw objects from one's inventory with the Square button (which can activate switches or damage enemies from a safe distance).  While enemies do move and attack on predictable cycles, the player does not, allowing them to do things like step out of range of enemy attacks to avoid damage entirely (necessary for many of the bosses, who do insanely high damage even with armor).  Attacks are slightly more limited, though, with each operating on a cooldown timer that varies between weapon types and character builds.  Basically, it's more of a game of timing, knowing when to approach and attack and when to retreat to evade damage, than it is a traditional turn-based RPG with a static combat system.

Zanki Zero also totes itself as something of a survival game, and like most in that genre, it's centered around a crafting and base-building system.  Each of the dungeons has randomly-spawning resources, which can be taken back to base and used to upgrade facilities there, or turned into equipment and items for your characters to utilize.  Even basic cooked food (like jerky) will give a greater stamina recovery effect than raw meat, for example, though obviously those requiring higher skill levels and more ingredients will grant better effects.  There is a catch to this, though - characters have food allergies that can kill them if they eat a food with that particular ingredient (the first time; they will suffer heavy damage every subsequent time).  Upgrading bedrooms allows you to rest and recover HP (and two characters can share a room to build bonds and get benefits while in the same group), and... well, Zanki Zero may be the only RPG I've seen where building and using a toilet is a key part of gameplay.  Tying into that, each character has a "bladder" stat that steadily increases (greatly boosting the player's Stress and inflicting Stench status if it hits 100), and using the toilet will reset it to 0.  As one completes dungeons they will unlock upgrades to the Extend Machine, which allows them to earn new bonuses as they revive their characters.

Character development in Zanki Zero has some odd twists of its own.  One of the central mechanics of the game comes from the fact that, being clones, your eight characters rapidly age, going through stages of their lives over the course of days.  A freshly revived character begins as a Child, then after a few days becomes an Adult, then Middle-Aged, and Senior before expiring after the thirteenth day ends.  A "day" passes each time you reach a new floor in a dungeon or rest (either in your base or a dungeon).  Each stage of life has its own benefits and drawbacks; Child characters can regenerate HP over time but have relatively low stats, while Middle-Aged characters get a defense bonus.  Adults deal more damage with their attacks and have relatively high stats overall, and Seniors have weaker stats in every category except for attack, but have less cooldown on their attacks and regain Stamina over time.  For all of these reasons, balancing one's party between the various life stages, and carefully managing one's time, become key elements of the game's strategy.  Death is an inevitable part of this experience too, but each character also gets "Shigabane" - permanent benefits - each time they die.  For instance, dying of old age will permanently give a a boost to several stats, while being killed by enemies in each life stage will boost their lifespan by an extra day.  Basically, the more your characters die (and the more ways they die), the stronger they will become in the long run.

All of these things contribute to an experience that is both twisted and unique, but perhaps a bit too much so for western audiences; Zanki Zero had some content changed or removed when being localized to meet Sony and Valve's content standards.  Several scenes with risque imagery or dialog, particularly those involving characters in their Child forms, were rewritten or removed entirely.  Some artwork was also redrawn or cropped to avoid such scenes, and the box art was apparently altered as well.  To make up for this, though, the gameplay has been tweaked and balanced in numerous ways to make for a smoother experience, some UI improvements were introduced, and the swimsuit DLC from the Japanese version was included with the base game for free.

Zanki Zero is a unique but shallow spin on the dungeon-crawler format, mixing unique mechanics in with survival and puzzle-solving elements to create a challenging, if monotonous experience.  If you don't mind that, its bizarre setting, compelling characters and a twisted sense of humor will help to keep things engaging, and the traditional dungeon crawler elements keep it grounded enough to be intuitive to long-time RPG fans.  Plus, it's just nice to see a post-apocalyptic game with bright, colorful island visuals instead of a dreary-burnt out landscape, so it gets some points for that in my book too.  If you're a die-hard fan of old school dungeon crawlers, Zanki Zero might be worth a try.

Developer: Lancarse
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft
Platform: Playstation 4, PC, Vita
Released: 2018, 2019
Recommended version: All versions of the game seem to be pretty much identical, but the Vita version is not going to be localized into English, so western players who can't read Japanese are out of luck with that one.