The sequel to Etrian Odyssey, and while Kazuya Niino had no involvement (opting instead to work on the first entry of the competing series 7th Dragon), it follows the same basic format - building a party, traversing a grid-based dungeon and constructing your own maps on the touch screen. In addition to all the classes from the first game returning, three new ones are introduced - the Gunner serves as a strong ranged attacker, the War Magus as something of a "Red Mage" with healing, fighting and support abilities, and the Beast as a party-protecting animal companion. Skill sets were tweaked seemingly as an attempt to address the awkward balance of the first game, but they severely overcorrected in this regard - the underpowered classes from the first Etrian Odyssey are now ridiculously strong while all the returning ones are nerfed, becoming average at best. Case in point, the Ronin and Dark Hunter are now absurdly powerful damage dealers, while the lowly Hexer becomes the single most broken class in the entire series. Inversely, the Landsknecht, Survivalist, Protector, and Medic have their skills and damage potential severely nerfed while the Troubadour and Alchemist are now almost entirely useless. It puts the player in a strange place - the party they used in the first game is now almost entirely obsolete while all the classes they probably ignored now get the spotlight. Some other questionable tweaks are made too; gathering skills are nerfed, topping off at level 5 and only allowing one use per skill per day, and when gathering you have a chance to randomly be attacked by a powerful monster, making it a risky enterprise. FOEs no longer give experience, which eliminates your primary means of quick re-leveling from the first game. The Boost mechanic, rather than adding five extra levels to whatever skill you use that turn, is now more of a "limit break" that varies by class - usually a powerful attack or a temporary party buff. Another interesting, if underutilized addition, is that you can import your guild from the previous game, which changes a few story events and allows you to import the Town Medal or Town Crown if you earned it there (albeit with a major nerf to its stats so it's only really useful in the early game). Etrian Odyssey II is a pretty standard sequel, though its lackluster balancing and minimal story earn it the unenviable reputation of being the black sheep of the series. If you got it on the HD collection you'll probably give it a playthrough regardless, but it's definitely eclipsed by every later game in the series, especially its remake (considered one of the franchise's best!).
