@HM...it is a Poison Dragon (orange blob before you attack it) blocking a raft across molten lava. Damn thing just won't move.

Ohhh the poison dragon. That floor is a race. If you look closely, he moves to that spot and then stays there. You have to get there before he arrives there.

Hmm...I did notice that but didn't think of it as a race. I will try to beat him then. Thanks!

23 more days until I get to play Etrian Odyssey III, and each day is just getting more painful.

You'll enjoy it...it is a great game, frustrating at times for me...but a great game.

This is one weird series where it just keeps getting better with each game. With most games sometime the original is the only real good one. The first one while still good is almost unplayable after number 3.

@mickey... I think you will love this one man. I'm only on b5 and have enjoyed it immensely. Steam and new PS3 releases have slowed me down, but I'll be back at it before long.

I only stopped playing because I'm at a hurdle where I pretty much need to retire my party and that's a big commitment. I'll do it when I've gathered the determination to do it. Until then, other games await.

EDIT: Also agreed with Tech, the series gets better and better. I can't stand EO2 anymore. I'm really hoping there's an Etrian Odyssey IV for the 3DS. If they follow this trend, it'll be mind-bogglingly good!

I find that to be quite the contrary: It's rare that the first game really holds up. Final Fantasy 1 is still not the best in the series, Persona 1 sucks, Megami Tensei is barely playable, and Sonic 1 just feels like a Mario Clone. Street Fighter 1 is oft forgotten, Mega Man 1 is glitchy and has awkward controls, and Ninja Gaiden 1 is simply unforgiving. Sure, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and Phantasy Star all hold up better than their successors, at least IMO, but few others are so lucky. At least from what I've seen.

Even looking at short running series, I can't think of many where the first is the only good one.

I think atlus was on board with a 3ds version. Nothing confirmed yet but it one of the series they want to continue. Someone posted something about atlus's future plans a while back.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/109/1097918p1.html

I disagree slightly with Tech's stance. I wouldn't say "the original" so much as "the early games" in quite a few series are the best of them. Of course not every series is like this either. But the ones I've encountered:

Sonic 1, 2 and 3K are the best in the series IMO. Earthworm Jim 1 and 2 were better than any of the later titles. Same with Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. Depending on your tastes, Persona 1 and 2 may be better than 3 and 4. Command and Conquer's early titles are generally better-regarded than its later ones. I personally enjoyed MGS1 over the later games. Castlevania has lost some of its appeal in its recent iterations (Portrait and Ecclesia didn't interest me that much). The Mega Drive Ecco the Dolphin games are the best in the series. I like Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 better than any of the sequels. I like SimCity 2000 much more than the later entries. Fallout 1 and 2 are far superior to any of the later Fallout games. It's generally agreed upon that The Elder Scrolls: Arena and Daggerfall are far better than Morrowind or Oblivion.

Then we have series which peaked early in popularity and have declined since. Arcade and music games tend to be victims of this: Dance Dance Revolution, ParaParaParadise, Frequency, Guitar Hero. The King of Fighters peaked in popularity both in Japan and the west years ago, and the recent editions have not been nearly as well-received as the old ones were.

This is all personal opinion so meaningful argument is void. I'm not going to debate my stance. Disagree all you want.

Thanks mickeymack!! I do remember that article.

Well, if you're not gonna debate, what's the point in disagreeing?

I will agree that some games do peter out eventuall, especially those that struggled to maintain popularity after the first few games.

There's no point in disagreeing because the argument would amount to, "you're wrong! Earthworm Jim 3D was better than the first two!" (An extremely unlikely opinion, but nevertheless possible!)

Many games lose steam due to bandwagon-jumpers and innovative competition. Not being able to keep up with the pack can spell doom for a beloved old series. That's why old series like Mario continue to thrive - Miyamoto designed it to grow easily as times changed. No plot continuity, no complex backstories and a loose grip on realism helped them put Mario in space for the last two titles and see how well that turned out.

The evolution of gaming is a natural thing after all - developers will learn what is good and what isn't over time, from their own games and from their competitors'. Just like how the DS's touchscreen controls had a very shaky start (why, Dawn of Sorrow, why?!) and eventually got much better.

Oh hey, this is the Atlus thread. I've been playing SMT: Strange Journey recently. Still in Sector Carina, experimenting with demon fusions. I wasn't expecting to run into Doppelganger so early!

@HM...thanks for the tip. I am now past the FOE.

Argh, I really need to get back into Strange Journey. Maybe after Sands of Destruction?

Does Strange Journey have a similar feel to EO3?

@Mickeymac I hear Sands of Destruction is a bit of a let-down. You may not be playing it for too long. Alternatively: finish SJ first.

@MERG It's built using the same engine but the feel is totally different. Much darker, sci-fi/fantasy, demons, angels, military, human sin, etc. The story is much more involved. It's a little like Pokemon in that you collect demons you can summon and I'm pretty sure there are over a hundred of them. Great game, but it may not be up your alley if you don't like the occult stuff.

@HM...the content is up my alley. I was just wondering if the games played similarly.