Well, I had to get the origins collection since it was the only way to play the 3rd game that I don't have. And I had to import it from Play Asia since otherwise I couldn't get a physical copy, need to save on the memory space, especially since I don't want to fork out on a 2 TB micro sd card so close to Switch 2. So, this is a HD remaster... remake... port (?) of the original DS game. Basically the same game as Etrian Odyssey Untold which I played earlier (only took me 8 years to get through) and this I did in 3 days and less than 30 hours. Believe I shaved most of the game time by letting the game fill in the borders for me automatically. That and I played on Picnic mode through most of the game since I just finished the game.
So what's different? Well, there is no Gunner or Highlander, which I feel is a bit sad. There is no story mode so there is no Ricky, Simon, Arthur or Raquna. It gives both advantages and disadvantages. A terrible disadvantage is that I liked the interaction between the characters in untold. There reactions to the story made it feel important and "real" so to speak. The whole separate area is gone as well so no M.I.K.E. as well so one more character gone. On the other hand, had I played this version first the twist of the final area would really have been something. Also, the Ronin and hexer you bump into during the whole game feels more important here since they are pretty much the only one you interact with (could also be due to forgetting them during the aforementioned 8 year playthrough while I played Untold). They also gave you there classes which was interesting. Gotta say, the genocide angle of the forest folk the chieftain tasks you with is interesting since I didn't get that vibe in Untold, but that could just be me.
I reached level 70, restarted the characters and got them to around level 50 before beating the game. Checking Untold I could have set it to fill in for me as well, so that's good to know when I start IV or later games after finishing this one. Things I miss from that version was the pub people you could speak to which told you hints for different quest or just information of the world. A free store was nice instead for paying 100 to store a single item. And also, while playing the game on a TV is awesome, the controls works really well for mapping the game as well after you get used to it and the HD pictures of the monsters is really clear, I actually like the Untold 3D monsters better, mostly since it allow them to have the FOE-monsters visible which is a bit more scary than a yellow, red or black orb hovering in front of you. Also noticed that the maps on certain floors was different. Neat.
I had a Landsknecht, Protector, Survivalist, Alchemist and Medic since it is a decent setup to tackle the problems, and the closest to what I could feel the original team was like. Also had a Ronin and Hexer to finish up some of the quests. I was gonna do it all, but one quest where you had to get petrified I never got to work, and the clean-up after finishing the main game ended in disaster. I got the knowledge about the Ice Dragon so I begin exploring the floors to find him. Had to go back, and recalled, the Fire Dragon was easier to get to so I just walked up to him. Got obliterated, didn't save and instantly realised that all the progress of the map I had done was gone. So that was that.
Overall, I gotta say that I think Untold actually is better in quality. The story, the extra area, and the fact that you have the bestiary and item codex with you instead of stuck in the Radha makes it a bit more convenient. Also, all the soundbites of every character makes it also more immersive since everyone had a voice. Of course, I won't be playing this game again for a long time since I got 5 more of these games in the backlog. Well, better back to it.
