History NightmareFuel / EtrianOdyssey

** If the FOE steps into your space in the middle of a battle, [[JumpScare the screen will flash abruptly and the FOE will let out a roar]]. And of course the standard battle theme changes to the much more urgent FOE fight theme.

** The three "terrible stuff is happening themes" that often accompany these events -- "Red and Black" from ''I'' and ''II'', "Unknown Menace" from ''III'' and ''V'', and "Imminent Calamity" from ''IV'' -- are all designed to make the player crap their pants.

** What makes the [[spoiler:Star Devourer]] worse is that it's not some diabolical megalomaniac entity; [[spoiler: [[CosmicHorrorStory It's a natural being that existed since the universe's inception.]] Oh, and its [[PlanetEater world-eating tendencies?]] That's just how it naturally sustains itself. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would've happened if your Guild hadn't stepped in and destroyed the entity...]]]]

* Any time a battle theme is preceded by a {{Sting}} and a red leaves transition, you ''know'' you are about to see your party likely get ripped apart, with some grayed out 0-HP status boxes or even the GameOver screen if you're unlucky.

* M.I.K.E. falling prey to AIIsACrapshoot and trying to activate Gungnir, not caring that, one, an incompletely charged Gungnir [[SenselessSacrifice won't even scratch the Yggdrasil Core]], two, ''[[OhCrap Gladsheim]]'' is within the blast radius, or three, ''[[ApocalypseHow Etria and enormous amounts of areas will be pointlessly vaporized into oblivion]]''.

* M.I.K.E. falling prey to AIIsACrapshoot and trying to activate Gungnir, not caring that, one, an incompletely charged Gungnir [[SenselessSacrifice won't even scratch the Yggdrasil Core]], two, ''[[OhCrap Gladsheim]]'' is within the blast radius, or three, ''[[InferredHolocaust Etria and enormous amounts of areas will be pointlessly vaporized into oblivion]]''.

* M.I.K.E. falling prey to AIIsACrapshoot and trying to activate Gungnir, not caring that, one, an incompletely charged Gungnir won't even scratch the Yggdrasil Core, two, ''Gladsheim'' is within the blast radius, or three, ''Etria and enormous amounts of areas will be pointlessly vaporized into oblivion''.

** And that's not even taking into account the [[HellIsThatNoise BING]] of an FOE noticing you and deciding to hunt you down. What makes it worse is that in some of the games the [=FOE's=] marker on the mini-map turns crimson when it starts the chase.

* The remake of the game begins to play with visual expectations of the player. An FOE can be anywhere and ''everywhere''. That [[spoiler:treasure chest]]? It's a [[spoiler:Mimic in disguise]], waiting to devour you whole if you drop your guard. That empty patch of flowers? A Petaloid is hiding in it. Stepped a little too close to an otherwise empty corner? You've not only alerted an otherwise invisible FOE, but also about ''three others that were also hiding in the same room''.

* The [[BonusDungeon 6th Stratum]] of this game might just be the most [[NauseaFuel nauseous]] of the series : [[spoiler:It's a ''Tentacle Forest'' with [[EyesDoNotBelongHere eyes EVERYWHERE]]!]] If future games ever want to play the "Nausea Card" further, they're gonna have to do something either so gross it risks raising up the rating up to M or incredibly [[EldritchLocation eldritch]] to top this freaky place.

* Speaking of the 6th Stratum, once you and Arken reach the final floor, things get intense. [[spoiler: She quickly finds out that her'''ENTIRE FLEET AND HOMEWORLD''' [[KillEmAll was eradicated]] by a god-like being known as the [[BonusBoss Star Devourer]]]].

** [[spoiler:[[BonusBoss The Star Devourer]]]] cements itself as '''THE''' most terrifying entity in the whole series. Despite its relatively short introduction, you immediately find out what this thing is capable of: [[spoiler: If you haven't guessed by the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast name]], this monstrosity has been known to [[PlanetEater take out countless planets in the past]]. And that's including Arken's homeworld! And because this thing is the game's superboss, not only is it obscenely strong capable of [[TotalPartyKill wiping out your entire party]] [[UpToEleven (As early as Turn 1, keep in mind)]], its [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxS7vGoB8-U boss music]] is pure concentrated NightmareFuel.]]

** [[spoiler:[[BonusBoss The Star Devourer]]]] cements itself as '''THE''' most terrifying entity in the whole series. Despite its relatively short introduction, you immediately find out what this thing is capable of: [[spoiler: If you haven't guessed by the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast name]], this monstrosity has been known to [[PlanetEater take out multiple planets in the past]]. And that's including Arken's homeworld! And because this thing is the game's superboss, not only is it obscenely strong capable of [[TotalPartyKill wiping out your entire party]] [[UpToEleven (As soon as the '''FIRST''' '''TURN''' keep in mind)]], its [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxS7vGoB8-U boss music]] is pure concentrated NightmareFuel.]]
** What makes the [[spoiler:Star Devourer]] worse is that it's not some diabolical megalomaniac entity; [[spoiler: [[CosmicHorrorStory It's a natural being that existed since the universe's inception.]] Oh, and its [[PlanetEater world-eating tendencies?]] That's just how it feeds. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would've happened if your Guild hadn't stepped in and destroyed the entity...]]]]

** [[spoiler:[[BonusBoss The Star Devourer]]]] cements itself as '''THE''' most terrifying entity in the whole series. Despite its relatively short introduction, you immediately find out what this thing is capable of: [[spoiler: If you haven't guessed by the [[NamesToRunAwayReallyFast name]], this monstrosity has been known to [[PlanetEater take out multiple planets in the past]]. And that's including Arken's homeworld! And because this thing is the game's superboss, not only is it obscenely strong capable of [[TotalPartyKill wiping out your entire party]] [[UpToEleven (As soon as the '''FIRST TURN''' keep in mind)]], its [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxS7vGoB8-U boss music]] is pure concentrated NightmareFuel, as if the apocalypse just came and is here to collect its payment.]]

* This game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgQbr1OUnY arrangement]] of "The End of Raging Waves" starts with a very intimidating choir chant. It's used as the music for those massive 3x3 [=FOEs=] that you see starting in the second stratum in place of the usual FOE theme, basically meaning that unless you're at endgame levels, you really need to run away ''right now.''

* The first time one encounters a Mounting Horror -- the first FOE in the sixth stratum -- it's distant enough that one can barely see its silhouette, and it looks hideous enough to dissuade the player from approaching. [[spoiler:Then they take a step, and it demonstrates its unique gimmick: it ''duplicates itself'', and that one can pursue.]]

* The third stratum, the Fetid Necropolis. The entire place is fairly dark (you can still see, but the place is notably muted in lighting, even during the day) and littered with bones and graves, several field events involve spooking out your party members (for example, you find an oddly-cold spot and when you try to examine it, a slug falls onto the person checking and they proceed to have a FreakOut), and some of the [=FOEs=] include undead skeletons that suddenly pop out if you approach their resting spots (indicated by a seemingly-innocent arrangement of bones) and wraiths that can ''go through walls''. Oh, and said wraiths go off the radar whenever they're in walls, meaning that [[ParanoiaFuel it's possible to be blindsided by one of them if you're walking next to a wall]].

* The third stratum, the Fetid Necropolis. The entire place is fairly dark (you can still see, but the place is notably muted in lighting, even during the day) and littered with bones and graves, several field events involve spooking out your party members (for example, you find an oddly-cold spot and when you try to examine it, a slug falls onto the person checking and they proceed to have a FreakOut), and some of the [=FOEs=] include undead skeletons that suddenly pop out if you approach their resting spots (indicated by a seemingly-innocent arrangement of bones) and wraiths that can ''go through walls''.

* The third stratum, the Fetid Necropolis. The entire place is dark and littered with bones and graves, several field events involve spooking out your party members (for example, you find an oddly-cold spot and when you try to examine it, a slug falls onto the person checking and they proceed to have a FreakOut), and some of the [=FOEs=] include undead skeletons that suddenly pop out if you approach their resting spots (indicated by a seemingly-innocent arrangement of bones) and wraiths that can ''go through walls''.

* Look closely at the Eerie Chokers in the third stratum. They don't have claws like the Ropers [[UndergroundMonkey that they resemble]], they have ''[[UncannyValley human hands]]''.

* Look closely at the Eerie Chokers in the third stratum. They don't have claws, they have ''[[UncannyValley human hands]]''.

* This game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgQbr1OUnY arrangement]] of "The End of Raging Waves" starts with a very intimidating choir chant. It's used as the music for those massive 3x3 [=FOEs=] that you see starting in the second stratum in place of the usual FOE theme, basically meaning that unless you're at endgame levels, you really need to run away ''right now.''

* This game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgQbr1OUnY arrangement]] of "The End of Raging Waves" starts with a very intimidating choir chant. It's used as the music for those massive 3x3 [=FOEs=] that you see starting in the second stratum in place of the usual FOE theme, basically meaning that unless you're at endgame levels, you need to run away ''right now.''

* During your quest to open the entrance gate of [[spoiler:the Forgotten Capital]], you have to go through the previously-unexplored portions of the earlier Mazes. At first, aside from the high difficulty of the enemies present and the need to solve some tricky puzzles (which apply the main gimmicks of each Maze), the trip seems to be a non-issue. You might even feel nostalgic as you explore familiar settings and grounds. But during your return to Misty Ravine, you can walk to the very northeast of the last basement's map area and each a dead-end. The game notes that you've found a Vessel there, and you're given the option to talk to them. Regardless of whether you're pleasantly surprised to find a NPC during the long trip through uncharted territory, or cautious about the intentions of the character, it doesn't seem like anything you haven't dealt with by that late point in the game, so you simply proceed to try to talk to them and see what happens. But then the game's music becomes more tense as you discover that [[spoiler:the Vessel is dead, and you're ambushed by a group of monsters that were ''using the corpse as bait'' to lure careless explorers into a savage death. Who knows what this poor Vessel would have had to offer to your Guild had them been alive. It leads to FridgeHorror when you wonder how they even got there, since the uncharted portion of the Misty Ravine, like that of the other Mazes, can only be accessed from an external passage, and can only be connected to the mainland of the Maze by opening the lectern of the Stone Table from behind]].

* The [[BonusDungeon 6th Stratum]] of this game might just be the most [[NauseaFuel nauseous]] of the series : [[spoiler:It's a ''Tentacle Forest'' with [[EyesDoNotBelongHere eyes EVERYWHERE]]!]] If future games ever want to play the "Nausea Card" further, they're gonna have to do something either so gross it risk raising up the rating up to M or incredibly [[EldritchLocation eldritch]] to top this freaky place.

* A meta example exists in fanart - the games in general do ''not'' shy away from revealing the gory fates of failed adventurers, and there are a number of fanartists who do ''not'' back down from that. If you go trawling for fanart, don't be surprised to find art depicting {{Total Party Kill}}s and the adorable characters mauled in various ways. And it's not even {{Gorn}} or anything, because ''it's just matching the descriptions you can read quoted below''.