Bay 12 Games Forum

Etrian Odyssey: Heroes of Lagaard

You may name the character as you see fit.

Cards
- N/A

Possessions
- Colt Peacemaker
--- 4/6 .357 bullets loaded in chamber.
- Notebook
--- Nothing in it.
- Western Wide-Brimmed Hat
- Investigator's attire
--- A full set of an experienced Investigator's articles of clothing, consisting of shoes, well-ironed pants, a dress shirt, a vest, and a long coat.

Gameplay:

Mixing bullet hell with RPG gameplay elements, the game features a strong gimmick where dodging attacks is literally done by dodging bullets. For better or for worse, the game is made unique in the way it presents its combat, particularly in the boss fights, where no single (main) boss operates on the same logic as another, excluding one particular exception whose attacks are massively harder compared to its inspiration. The game capitalizes on its 'choice' mechanic of killcounts, where kills may or may not determine the course of your fate later on in the game.

Outside of combat, you simply roam around the map in a linear fashion. I might even dare say the linearity of the actual map paths rivals FFXIII, prior to (finally!) reaching Gran Pulse in that game.

While the 'choice' mechanic of the game is not as wide-spanning as the three-game courser Mass Effect series, what it does with its unique flair of decision-making, it uses it to great effect.

Despite the first paragraph, the game isn't as fun as people may lead you to believe in its combat, as its either too simplistic or too difficult for non bullet-hell grazers. If you're not going to be invested in the characters, the choice mechanic and the story, you won't have fun with this game at all.

Rating: ***--

Audio:

What we can all agree on is that on its own, Undertale features some freakin' rad tracks. Partially inspired by 8-bit music, partially by Earthbound, and partially by Toby's own signature musical flair, these tracks are likely to stick in your memory, replaying for weeks to come.

In spite of that, however, it does have its shortcomings.

1. The OST is budgetary. Understandable, considering the game was made by one person... and a bunch of outsourced artists as needed, but various portions of the game is simply the same track being played at 20% to 200% to 666% faster speeds than its source material. And there are some tracks guilty of cheese, by which an entire track on the OST was simply reversed from its source track.

I, in fact, spent some time altering the OST to make them sound like their game versions, as approximately a fifth of the OST does not sound the same as they do in the game.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCivf6D2rZ9CbRs5u-astJKA

2. The OST is schizophrenic. The game is very obviously a homage to the old games of yore. Barring two or three tracks because they absolutely fit with the theme in which they occur in, the tracks do not feature a strong sense of consistence throughout. The intro and main menu music start out being 8-bit. The first world map is SNES-sounding, with a hyper-realistic piano soundfont. In the midgame, the 8-bit theme is eschewed, excluding a few battle themes here and there.

Compare it with Axiom Verge, in which the theme of oppressive otherworldly xenos drones and alien discoveries is maintained throughout the soundtrack.

It should be noted that I am not saying that Undertale's soundtrack is forgettable - it is in fact one of the most memorable soundtracks in 2015. What I'm saying is that, the game's soundtrack lacks thematic consistency.

3. Actual sound effects leave a lot to be desired. One of the more memorable sound effects involve the save point effects, almost all of the combat effects, the heart-shatter effect... and that's it.

A lot of stock sound effects are used for various comedic scenes, including a particular kettle whoop. Still leaves a lot to be desired.

Rating: ****-

Story:

This is where the game wins. There's a reason why there's a lot more story fanfics of Undertale than fangame derivatives (but there are also a lot, too), or a lot of quotes rehashed wherever like a mo'frakking dave_ebubbles account.

The characters are made to be non-one dimensional, and Toby does not capitalize too much on one particular quirk compared to most people who design characters to be absolutely, resolutely based on that one particular quirk (ahem, Tsundere, ahem). The monsters are not monsters who you want to kill - and Toby exploits that to great effect.

Your pacifism - or a lack of it, determines which events will follow next. Killing everyone will lead everyone to hate you; killing some will leave some to dislike you but allow them to rationalize that you do not want to be there, and so on and so forth.

Finally, it delivers its message of friendship very effectively, as these monsters do not want to hate you. There is also a message of letting things go, and not merely repeating it again, and again, and again and again.

Whether or not you like the story, we can all agree on that if you dislike all of the characters in earnest, you won't have much fun with this game.

Rating: *****