Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard takes place just a year or so after the storyline in the first game. While the game does not introduce much new to the general structure formed in the first game, several elements were added that improved upon those found in the original game. FOEs now come in several varieties: including some that could pass through walls; a whole new array of mapping icons were introduced; better shop and equipment features; and last but not least, an engrossing storyline that encompassed the whole of the game.

The game not only managed to retain its challenging atmosphere, but increased it. No longer can players walk up to an item point and gain new items freely, but for every item point used the risk of an enemy encounter increased - and not just the average floor monsters, but monsters that were not seen for possibly another floor or more. Icy floors were also added to increase the floor difficulty as well as day and night events that could also possibly impede your quest.

Key Game Features:

• A temporary save function is enabled while traversing the dungeon. The game creates a temporary save that is deleted once the game is restarted so that players can turn off their DS's if necessary mid-game.
• New array of mapping icons, including three tile colors and arrows.
• FOEs now come in different varieties, some of which can now travel through walls - and even more frightening, some that do not appear on your map!
• Familiar classes return: Landsknecht, Medic, Dark Hunter, Survivalist, Alchemist, Protector, Troubador, Hexer, and Ronin.
• New classes include: War Magus, Beast, and Gunner.
• Level Cap still ends at Level 70, however retiring a recruit at Level 70 raises the cap by 1. This process can be repeated each time after maxing out the character's level.