Etrian Odyssey Sequel Announced

Artwork from the original Etrian Odyssey's official site.

Atlus is giving its Etrian Odyssey series a sequel. Famitsu has first details this week on Etrian Odyssey 3, or as it's fully known here, Sekaijyu no Meikyu 3: Hoshiumi no Raihousha.

The subtitle can be translated to "Visitors to the Sea of Stars." There is an ocean theme to the game, which is set in the island city of Amroad. Amroad was once a high point of civilization, but much of it sunk beneath the sea following an earthquake hundreds of years back. People have gathered in mass seeking out clues to the missing city and its lost technology by exploring the labrynths that have appeared in the surrounding waters. You are among them.

The sea-based setting is used for more than just story purposes. Outside of dungeon exploration, you'll spend much of your time exploring the seas surrounding Amroad. You'll have to map out the seas on your own, placing icons for terrain on a gridded map of the water. The icons also include such things as arrows, exclamation points, and skull and cross bones. Your adventurer's guild will also give you "Oceanic Quests," quests that are set on the sea.

Joining the new setting are a new cast of character classes. Famitsu introduces five: Prince, Phalanx, Monk, Shinobi, and, of course, Pirate. It looks like we'll see other classes as well; these are shown in the magazine only as artwork. All character artwork has been redone for the sequel.

A bit more mysteriously, the game promises some sort of multiplayer component via wireless play. The game has a "Sea Quest" mode which is compatible with five player multiplay -- that's right, five instead of four! Details will be shared in a future update.

Key staffers are making a return for the sequel. The staff list includes Shigeo Komori as director, Yuzo Koshiro as sound composer, Shin Nagasawa as monster designer, and Yuji Himukai as character designer. These four shared a few comments with the magazine.

The magazine asked Komori why they went with a sea-based setting for part 3. One of the reasons, explained the director, was just for visual effect. The first two Etrian Odysseys had, respectively, forest and cold/sky visual themes. When considering what should come next, they decided upon the warm south seas.

Koshiro said to expect BGM that will sound powerful even when listened through the system's built-in speaker. Players can expect a greater number of tracks over past entries. The image for the boss music in particular, he said, has changed considerably.

Etrian Odyssey 3 hits the DS on March 4, at ¥6,279.