10 Toughest RPGs That Are Incredibly Rewarding

4. Etrian Odyssey V

etrian odyssey V
Atlus

Unlike most dungeon crawlers, Etrian Odyssey V tasks the player with drawing their own dungeon map as they progress using the Nintendo DS’s second screen and stylus. Whilst the mechanic and chibi-like cover art would make most people think of this as a soft and slightly childish RPG, the real experience is anything but.

Combat in Etrian Odyssey is more akin to a puzzle than your conventional RPGs, with fully customisable characters encouraging you to form a balanced party with specific skills to contend with oncoming threats, instead of the plot lumbered heroes an RPG would normally put in your command. Encounters are not ‘random’, but are signposted in a way to give the player agency over their tactics when the enemy strikes. Character classes can change and party formation is just as important as character skills, making this one of the most customisable RPGs around.

Boasting a challenging grind up the stalk of Yggdrassil and plenty of mini-bosses to test the party, Etrian Odyssey V can be tough map to draw, but a unique and personal one all the same.

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Hampshire based Writer who spends his time rewatching Deep Space Nine, trying to be an actor and voraciously consuming every Metal album he can find. Final Fantasy IX is the greatest game of all time and this is the hill I will die on.