On: Etrian Odyssey

   Today, I take yet another venture into the Labyrinth. I’ve made many attempts to finish Etrian Odyssey, but I have a bad habit of picking up tedious games when I’m bored out of my mind. I bought this game on a whim, and though it takes up time when I have way too much to spare, I find myself fantasizing about the lives and personalities of the characters more than enjoying the game itself.

   So I begin the game anew. It tells a small story about an unending labyrinth that attracts adventurers of all kinds. I begin as a new adventurer, and have to create my party to delve into the dungeon. I name my guild Fay, as my creativity and caring are slight at the time. There are five slots. I am not ashamed to have my Zelda fan show through a tiny bit. My team consists of the survivalist, Link, complete with bow and blonde hair. I admit that a sword wielding landsknecht would also be appropriate, but there were no blondes for the image. Zelda, the blonde alchemist. Sheik, a dark hunter. I figured I might as well give her a whip and a title that sounded shadowy. I made Ganondorf, AKA Ganon, a landsknecht. I might as well let him join in. And the medic is Navi, simply for the fact that other fairies tend to heal you. And I never claimed to be very original.

   So I’m given a map. A blank map. I’m told to map out the floor myself for money. Well then. Okay. I can do that. I go on in, and after talking to a surly guard, I come across a group of flies. They nearly kick my ass. I keep going, mapping my progress. I run into a few more groups of monsters, and by the time I get to the point I was trying to reach, which is a door back to the beginning of the floor, I’m dying. Everyone is half dead. I’m imagining Navi flitting around, unable to heal yet because she doesn’t have the skill or the supplies, Ganon relying on Link to help him walk, Zelda scowling and arguing with Sheik because they, twins, had a fairly bad relationship. The argument was about their equipment and funds. The only equipment they have is knives, and that is no help to Navi and Zelda. And here comes the Clawbug. This thing is tough. I remember that it was weak to fire, but Zelda doesn’t have the spell yet. So we run. But there are no successful escapes. Sheik, the only one left, trembling in fear, her little knife amounting to nothing. Then it runs away. She doesn’t see why, but she’s thankful, and so drags her companions back to town, hoping beyond hope that the apothecary can save them.

   They sleep at the Inn, delving back into the Labyrinth the next day. They gather supplies, they continue on. Ganon takes a rather large risk, eating some berries he finds. Luckily, they heal him rather than harm him. Navi notes this and scolds him for taking the risk. Navi then makes her first ever kill, in fact her first ever successful hit. They rejoice, Link pats her on the back proudly. And then comes the Clawbug. It seemed to have caught their scent on the wind. The red eyes haunted them through the night, and Link carefully moves Navi and Zelda behind him. Sheik distracts it while the others run. Ganon stays behind, trying to help her. But Sheik takes a fatal hit, and the Clawbug vanishes back into the shadows. Ganon carried the wounded girl back to town, protected by their comrades.

   Sheik didn’t make it through the night. Ganondorf sat by her bedside, held her hand while she took her last breaths. The Fay guild disbanded the next day. Link, Zelda, and Navi traveled the countryside, honing their skills and searching for new partners to take into the Labyrinth. Zelda had little care for her lost sister, merely continued on with her life. Ganondorf however, he vanished into the Labyrinth. Some say he was the only to ever find the bottom of the endless dungeon. They say that he was rewarded by a sublime entity, who granted him his one true wish. The return of his dear companion. No one really knows, however. Secretly, Navi vowed to find out.

   Essentially, what happened was that a Clawbug killed everyone except Sheik, and then ran away, and I barely made it back to the exit before another monster took out Sheik. Then, the next time I went down, a Clawbug killed Sheik then ran away. And then I closed the DS and realized that I didn’t care enough to play anymore. About an hour later I tried again and was killed by a pack of Poison Woodflies. Considering I forgot to save the new file… I’m done with that for the day.