Etrian Odyssey IV slated for July in Japan

The Etrian Odyssey series is known for its hardcore role-playing gameplay tailor-made for the dual screens of the DS. Japanese magazine Famitsu (via Andriasang) recently announced a fourth game in the works by Atlus that will be released for the 3DS on July 5.

The sequel's full title is Etrian Odyssey IV: Densetsu no Kyojin (Myth of the Giant), and it introduces seven classes, such as the sniper, dancer, and medic. New to the series is the option to set the game's difficulty to cater towards newcomers interested in the genre. The difficulty can be adjusted at any point during the game.

There is currently no word on a North American or European release at this point. The most recent entry in the franchise is Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City, which was released on the DS in 2010. The game was praised for its challenge level and sea voyages that complement the dungeon-crawling segments, but it was criticized for its steep learning curve and bare-bones plot.