Should I start with Etrian Odyssey 1?

[Beach House]

I've always been interested in this franchise but I don't have a 3ds. Now that this hd version is coming out, should I start with the first game or you veteran fans suggest I skip to 2 or 3 instead?

[Adrian Alucard]

They are not really remasters, those are the "untold" versions for the 3DS, these are the DS versions

[Hyo]

You're better off playing the 3DS versions if you can.

[Beach House]

I already mentioned that I don't have a 3ds guys. I'm not sure if I'm willing to go get one considering how late I am to the party.

[Cervine]

I started off with EO2 Untold and loved it. EO1U wasn't -quite- as good imo (the last couple of floors were hell), but it still has great music and characters. The Untold versions are more story driven, but all 3 regular games are in different parts of the world and you won't feel like you missed any important plot if you skip one of them.
As for not having a 3DS, I can 100% assure you that if you can buy one, it's worth keeping around and modding. I still use mine constantly.

[Nepnep]

Originally posted by Beach House:

I already mentioned that I don't have a 3ds guys. I'm not sure if I'm willing to go get one considering how late I am to the party.

Yaaarrr. If ye be decent then maybe buy this here first?

(Price is kinda high especially to those that played this before but if you never played it and don't have a legit copy anywhere than maybe its... alright?)

(P.S. lowkey suggesting something)

(P.S.S. If you are starting with untold story mode then it is alright. If you are starting with the original mostly unbalanced EO 1 itself then no. I have no idea how balanced/unbalanced is this HD remake)

[Crayon-Sha]

The games aren't that different. I've only played the DS versions though. Each successor is generally an improvement over the one before it, but the quality between each game isn't so significant that you'd somehow like the third despite hating the first, etc. I'd start with the first one... like you would with just about any other series.
I've heard people say that the original games are unbalanced, but it's been so long since I played them, before the 3Ds even came out, and all I remember is that I beat them and had a good time doing so.

Originally posted by Beach House:

I already mentioned that I don't have a 3ds guys. I'm not sure if I'm willing to go get one considering how late I am to the party.

EMULATION. You're not actually thinking of buying these overpriced rip-offs, are you? I played them over a decade ago; I think they're great games, a lot of fun to play and all, but they aren't worth the ridiculous price tag. If you want a blobber go play Wizardry 8, man. That's a much better game that you can get for about a dollar. I was really excited for these as well.

[Thalq]

Imo, the best starting point is EO4/5 on 3DS, then in any order you want, as each EO brings something very different to the table. Just make sure you play Nexus last.
From what I can see, these remasters aren't worth playing over Untold 1&2.

[internisus]

The main problem with playing one of the Untold remakes first is that their story-heavy presentation is completely different from the experience of the core series. It will give you the wrong expectations for other games, and many series veterans feel that the games lose some of their magic with this style (less is more). Untold 1 and 2 are also very different from original EO1 and EO2 in other respects and should not be seen as replacements for them.

A lot of people list EO3 as their favorite, and I've seen many people say that EO4 is the best entry point for newcomers.

I still love EO1 and think it's a great starting point in many ways, but it also has significant issues; most importantly, some skills are poorly balanced or do not do what they say they do, and the cost to respec is punishing. For a modern player, it can be a bit rocky, but at the same time those problems don't really become apparent for dozens of hours, after which time a player is probably fully committed. I want to recommend the original EO1 as a starting point, but it's probably not responsible... unless this remaster makes changes that resolve its flaws. We do know that it will have substantial playability and quality-of-life improvements, but I think we'll have to wait to find out if there is any rebalancing or skill tuning.

The connections between EO games are for the most part extremely tenuous, so the only danger in playing them out of order is that it can be difficult to go back to earlier entries with less quality-of-life refinement, fewer dungeon events, and more rigid class construction if you establish a later title as your baseline. But as I said I love the very first game in particular and am loath to see it passed over. It's just difficult to make an actual recommendation until we know how improved this remaster of it is.

Edit: Best I can do for concrete advice is to say, if you're picking up the collection, see what people think about whether EO1 is improved and more accessible after its release. If some of its blemishes have been paved over, start there; if not, start with EO3.