Etrian Odyssey and Mystery Dungeon should be familiar or semi-familiar monikers to RPG fans. The Etrian Odyssey series of games are first-person dungeon crawlers in the vein of Wizardry, whose labyrinthine dungeons have fixed layouts. The Mystery Dungeon games are more like Rogue – third-person dungeon crawlers where dungeon layouts randomly change upon each entry. Both are unique flavors of classic RPG and are often geared to more "hardcore" gamers. Despite the wildly different natures of each beast, Etrian Mystery Dungeon attempts to prove that both can come together in a cohesive experience.

Those who have played a Mystery Dungeon game know the drill. Your party embarks from the town hub into a series of randomly-generated dungeons in search of fame and fortune. In most Roguelikes, dying in a dungeon means you're transported back to town with nothing but your skivvies and your levels reset back to 1. Not quite so here. Death here only strips you of items you found and the levels you gained while in the dungeon. For example, if you enter a dungeon at level 20 but die at level 25, you return back to town at level 20 with the equipment you carried into the dungeon. Etrian Mystery Dungeon also introduces the Fort system, wherein players can erect a fort on one dungeon floor to affix that floor's layout. Forts can also be staffed with members of your guild so they can gain levels more quickly and potentially rescue you when you fall without any loss of items. Search and rescue missions are manually done, so be sure to take good care of your backups.

I mentioned your guild, right? Like any Etrian Odyssey game, you start and recruit for your guild of adventurers. Classic Etrian character classes like the melee-oriented Landsknecht are present, but Mystery Dungeon also offers new character classes like the Hexer, who specializes in inflicting harmful status ailments on enemies. Choosing your four person party for each excursion is not a decision to be taken lightly, because dungeons are fraught with peril.

Battles are semi-turn-based in that for each movement you make, the enemy makes a movement. If you do nothing, it does nothing. Blows are traded by unmarked turns. Battles could best be described as "strategy-RPG lite," and the staredown is as important as the shootout. Enemies are generally sparse in dungeons, but some can debilitate you before your party even enters the room, so always proceed with caution. Corridors between rooms are very narrow, so if an enemy hits you before you enter the room, the character in the lead or tail end of your party may end up being a punching bag. Some particularly annoying enemies even give chase through the corridors. Rudimentary AI controls your party members with normal enemies, but boss battles are a different ballgame. During boss battles, you control everyone's actions, including battlefield placement, making them feel like fast paced SRPG battles. Boss battles have been the most fun and challenging part of the game so far and my personal incentive to keep playing through the game's grindy and repetitive nature.

The graphics are not the prettiest, but fans of this kind of game are quick to say that graphics aren't the most important thing. The palette is bright, but some color choices in the top-down dungeons clash and lead to eyestrain. Character models are super-deformed and look like blobs. The most detailed graphics are reserved for boss monsters and NPC portrait art. The anime-styled NPCs are colorful and detailed, though the style feels inconsistent. Some characters are drawn more wide-eyed and "chibi," while others have a more refined "adult" style.

The cluttered interface uses a control scheme consisting of awkward button combinations to access submenus and do sundry tasks. I'm finding it difficult to get used to and would have preferred a more intuitive, icon-driven interface that made judicious use of the touch screen. In fact, using the stylus for menu navigation is sluggish and it seems like the game turns its nose up at the touch screen in general.

My first impressions of the game are mixed thus far. Boss battles are fun, the different character classes encourage experimentation, and death penalties are not too discouraging. However, the interface takes a lot of getting used to, the graphics are not that great, the music is forgettable, and the game is grindy and repetitive. Games like this need time to grow on you, so here's hoping that the game does just that and shows me its full potential. Etrian Mystery Dungeon is slated for an April 7th release.