Third entry in the Nintendo DS-exclusive Etrian Odyssey RPG series, The Drowned City sends adventurers on an epic journey across the sea and beneath the waves, in search of the technological secrets and legendary treasures of a sunken metropolis. Similar to its predecessors, Etrian Odyssey III plays with the sophistication of a tabletop role-playing game. The character-class development trees offer abundant branches of specialization, players create their own maps as they explore, and the secrets of a lost civilization await those willing to follow clues and quests to their convoluted conclusions. Players adventure from a 3D, first-person perspective in the top screen, moving one grid square at a time in the touch-screen map below. With an affirmed "old-school RPG" style, the game rewards patience and perseverance with depth and detail. The Drowned City features a new set of ten main character classes, including diverse choices such as Hoplite, Ninja, and Farmer. Acting as a guild master, players recruit new characters, decide who will go on which Adventures, and assign skill development points as they are obtained. Combat is turn-based, allowing players to formulate strategies and execute tactics that maximize the team-based attacks and defenses of their five-character parties. As in earlier Etrian Odyssey adventures, the game world is a sprawling labyrinth, full of danger and almost completely uncharted at the beginning of the game. By keeping a detailed map in the touch screen, players gradually create an invaluable tool for finding new conquests, as well as for finding the way back to the safety of town to recuperate (and save the game!) after a big fight.