History VideoGame / EtrianOdyssey

* TruerToTheText: The ''Origins Collection'' remasters of the first three games are based on the DS originals rather than the 3DS remakes, and as such lack Story Mode and classes from later games, and much more of the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness was kept, such as enemies having sprites instead of animated models, [=FOEs=] being represented as glowing balls rather than using the monsters' models while exploring, ''[=EO1=]'' Medic's Immunize protecting against all damage types rather than just elemental, and renaming characters costing a fee. However, these remakes do retain some quality-of-life changes like being able to review the Monstrous Codex mid-battle, multiple DifficultyLevels, and the skill point allotment interface being presented as a visual TechTree.

** The HD remakes of the first three games introduce Picnic (EasierThanEasy), Basic (a few modifiers in the player's favor) and Exper (traditional DS difficulty). This game's Picnic difficulty skews the numbers ''massively'' in the player's favor and even has an experience bonus, which can be used to ease re-grinding levels lost from a SkillPointReset.

* TruerToTheText: The ''Origins Collection'' remasters of the first three games are based on the DS originals rather than the 3DS remakes, and as such lack Story Mode and classes from later games, and much more of the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness was kept (such as [=FOEs=] being represented as glowing balls rather than using the monsters' models while exploring, ''[=EO1=]'' Medic's Immunize protecting against all damage types rather than just elemental, and renaming characters costing a fee), although they do retain some quality-of-life changes like being able to review the Monstrous Codex mid-battle and the skill point allotment inteface being presented as a visual TechTree.

* TruerToTheText: The ''Origins Collection'' remasters of the first three games are based on the DS originals rather than the 3DS remakes, and as such lack Story Mode and classes from later games, and much more of the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness was kept (such as [=FOEs=] being represented as glowing balls rather than using the monsters' models while exploring, '[=EO1=]'' Medic's Immunize protecting against all damage types rather than just elemental, and renaming characters costing a fee), although they do retain some quality-of-life changes like being able to review the Monstrous Codex mid-battle and the skill point allotment inteface being presented as a visual TechTree.

* TruerToTheText: The ''Origins Collection'' remasters of the first three games are based on the DS originals rather than the 3DS remakes, and as such lack Story Mode and classes from later games, and much more of the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness was kept (such as Medic's Immunize protecting against all damage types rather than just elemental and renaming characters costing a fee), although they do retain some quality-of-life changes like being able to review the Monstrous Codex mid-battle and the skill point allotment inteface being presented as a visual TechTree.

* TruerToTheText: The ''Origins Collection'' remasters of the first three games are based on the DS originals rather than the 3DS remakes, and as such lack Story Mode and classes from later games, and much more of the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness was kept (such as Medic's Immunize protecting against all damage types rather than just elemental, or renaming characters costing a fee), although they do retain some quality-of-life changes like being able to review the Monstrous Codex mid-battle and the skill point allotment inteface being presented as a visual TechTree.

** Missy, the barkeep of the Butterfly Bistro in ''The Drowned City'', is a dead-ringer for [[Franchise/Touhou Yuyuko Saigyouji]].

** It can happen that you're wedged next to a non-chasing F.O.E. and unable to move to a vacant space, or the only possible move would put you in the space that it will step into at the same time. If you are not engaged in combat with another enemy already, the only way to make time advance in the labyrinth is to move; the game does not give you the option to simply wait in place and let the F.O.E. pass safely.[[note]]TabletopGame/{{Chess}} has a similar potential scenario, known as a ''zugzwang''.[[/note]] This means you'll have no choice but to fight it and quite likely die (unless you are powerful enough to actually defeat it), or waste TP on an escape skill or use a similar item.

** It can happen that you're wedged next to a non-chasing F.O.E. and unable to move to a vacant space, or the only possible move would put you in the space that it will step into at the same time. If you are not engaged in combat with an enemy, the only way to make time advance in the labyrinth is to move; the game does not give you the option to simply wait in place and let the F.O.E. pass safely.[[note]]TabletopGame/{{Chess}} has a similar potential scenario, known as a ''zugzwang''.[[/note]] This means you'll have no choice but to fight it and quite likely die (unless you are powerful enough to actually defeat it), or waste TP on an escape skill or use a similar item.

** It can happen that you're wedged next to a non-chasing F.O.E. and unable to move to a vacant space, or the only possible move would put you in the space that it will step into at the same time. If you are not engaged in combat with an enemy, the only way to make time advance in the labyrinth is to move; you can't just wait and let the F.O.E. pass.[[note]]TabletopGame/{{Chess}} has a similar potential scenario, known as a ''zugzwang''.[[/note]] This means you'll have no choice but to fight it and quite likely die (unless you are powerful enough to actually defeat it), or waste TP on an escape skill or use a similar item.

** It can happen that you're wedged next to a non-chasing F.O.E. and unable to move to a vacant space, or the only possible move would put you in the space that it will step into at the same time. If you are not engaged in combat with an enemy, the only way to make time advance in the labyrinth is to move; you can't just wait and let the F.O.E. pass. This means you'll have no choice but to fight it and quite likely die (unless you are powerful enough to actually defeat it), or waste TP on an escape skill or use a similar item.

* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: In the fourth Maze in ''Legends of the Titan'', one kind of F.O.E. doesn't move at all unless you trigger an alert from a different F.O.E. The former completely lacks weaknesses and resists most attacks. If an alert is activated, it's capable of moving much faster than the party can. Naturally, there's an occasion where it's acting as a roadblock, and you have to activate it in order to advance in the dungeon. Fortunately, after you've progressed, you can open up shortcuts that skip these puzzles on return trips.

** Most skills have points where the effect dramatically increases (such as significantly improved power or expanded AreaOfEffect), usually level 5 and level 10. ''However'', these major-upgrade steps on TP-using skills also come with dramatic rises in TP cost, meaning that it may be ideal for the user to keep a particular skill at level 4 or 9 for a while. Fortunately, passive skills, which don't use TP, aren't affected by this.

** Once a combatant is inflicted with a bind or ailment, they enjoy a temporary increase in resistance to that bind or ailment after it wears off (for about 8 turns or so) to prevent them from getting shut down in a similar manner. This applies for both enemies and player characters, though on the player's end, ''Legends of the Titan'' and ''Nexus'' grant them Releasal Spell to erase this temporary resistance from enemies.

** The names of many weapons as well, katanas in particular.

** TP restoration skills will almost always cost way more to cast than the amount they can heal.

** In the first two games, the [[EscapeRope dungeon escape items]] are called Warp Wires. In all subsequent games, including the ''Untold'' and ''HD'' remakes of the first two games, they are called Ariadne Threads.

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: After spending most of the game exploring the surrounding landmasses of Lemuria, the final mission of ''Nexus'' sends you to journey into the Yggdrasil Labyrinth itself. The Japanese version even combines this with a series-scale TitleDrop.

* VoiceGrunting: Present in ''The Millennium Girl'', ''The Fafnir Knight'', and ''Beyond the Myth''.

* WorldTree: Each game's labyrinth is centered around Yggdrasil, or rather ''a'' Yggdrasil. The ones in ''I'', ''II'', and ''IV'' are [[spoiler:actually man-made constructs designed to cleanse the Earth of pollution, but they go ''horribly'' wrong after absorbing enough of it]]. The one in ''V'' [[spoiler:was planted by BenevolentPrecursors and restored the planet's ability to sustain life, and they've done this for other planets as well]].

* YouNoTakeCandle: The bartender in ''The Drowned City'' speaks with a little of this.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/etrianodyssey2.jpg]]

* EarlyGameHell: EO is especially difficult when your party is low level. In ''Beyond the Myth'', a single attack from an enemy in the very first area can take half or all of a character's HP. The difficulty curve flattens out as your battle options expand. ''Nexus'' is particularly bad at this, throwing you into a large and maze-like one-floor dungeon with annoying enemies the very first thing you do with largely very limited resources including no access to Ariadne Threads.

** The mapping function has been constantly developed the series progresses. The first game's mapping system was very limited, giving you all of 10 icons and the basic map-drawing tools; there wasn't even a shortcut icon. The second game dramatically improves on this with additional tile colors and 21 icons, and every subsequent game keeps expanding on it.
** The DS games show your character's learnable skills in a linear list, while the 3DS games use a visual TechTree.
** The first game has a fixed level cap of 70. The second game gives the player the ability to raise it through the Retire function, but it ends up being more tedious than it looks.
** The third game instead raises the level cap by beating each member of a trio of {{Optional Boss}}es, and this becomes the main feature of every subsequent game, including remakes.
** The third game introduces some side characters in sidequests to slay the three dragons. However, none of them are [[GuestStarPartyMember Guest Star Party Members]] during the fight with the dragons (Wealh gets herself killed, Furube & Hiiragi are too coward to join the battle, and Lindwurm just stays in Armoroad until you are done). It wouldn't be until the fourth game that the designated side characters of the dragons' sidequests would actually help you out to kill them.

** Some skills in the early games. For instance, the Boost Up skill from the first game only increases Boost's effect with every odd skill point (which makes this especially bad is that it's a 10 point level - the last point does nothing). Arm Heal is even worse, since it's also a 10 point skill, but only three of those ten levels do anything (and the later two levels just reduce the already-miniscule TP cost). This is corrected in ''Legends of the Titan'' and ''The Millennium Girl'' -- every skill level will either improve the strength of the ability, reduce its cost, or improve the success rate of the ability. Some levels of abilities will increase in cost, but those are accompanied by larger increases in strength, success rate, and/or duration. However, [[PowerupLetdown the improvement in strength and/or success rate isn't always worth the cost or skill point investment]].

* FantasticNuke: [[spoiler:Gungnir]] in ''The Millennium Girl''.

** The first game has a fixed level cap of 70. The second game gives the player the ability to raise it through the Retire function, but it ends up being more tedious than it looks. The third game instead raises the level cap by beating each member of a trio of {{Optional Boss}}es, and this becomes the main feature of every subsequent game, including remakes.

* {{Pun}}: [=B27F=] of ''Etrian Odyssey'' is subtitled "All that live shall succumb". Which becomes apparent to mean "If you can still get up and walk, you can still walk right into one of those invisible pits we're strewn all over the entire floor." And fall into the floor appropriately named "Explorers' Abattoir". [=B29F=] is titled "Half-Mad from Self Doubt", and essentially translates to "This teleporter maze will drive you insane because there is no internal logic to where the warps go."

* LeakedExperience: ''Etrian Mystery Dungeon'' has this, which is justified by the characters training at the Explorer's Guild while not on duty. A skill in the third game also could offer non-combatants a share of the experience. The Yggdrasil Clover Tea in ''The Fafnir Knight'' does the same alongside its primary effect of increased experience gain. This also works on quest EXP. The Memory Conch in ''Beyond the Myth'' and ''Nexus'' offers this to inactive guild members for combat EXP as long as an active party member is holding it.

* WhamShot:
** The fifth stratum of ''Beyond the Myth'' is introduced with a cutscene longer than the rest. [[spoiler:It first shows the party taking an elevator that rises high into the skies, and once you examine the stratum's environment you realize it's a giant biodome in Arcania's stratosphere.]]
** In ''Beyond the Myth'', the last shot of the game after clearing the sixth stratum reveals [[spoiler:the next planet Arken is traveling to is '''our''' Earth, with the first game's title theme playing over the scene.]]

* AscendedGlitch: While the ''Origins Collection'' does include quality-of-life improvements from the 3DS titles and fixes some detrimentally-coded skills and features, it retains some of the "bugs" that are beneficial to the player -- for instance, the infamously strong Immunize in the first game or the RNG manipulation in the third game goes unchanged in the HD version!

** The DS games have a fee for renaming your characters. The 3DS games remove this.

** In the DS games, it costs 1,000 en to rename a character. The 3DS games remove this fee.