Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring

Template:Infobox CVG Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring is a 3D fighting game released as an arcade game in 1998 and later ported for the PlayStation in 1999. It was developed by Seiichi Ishii for Dream Factory and published by Squaresoft.

For the PlayStation, it received the subtitle God Bless the Ring. The word "Ehrgeiz" means "ambition" in German, and also happens to be the name of Zell's most powerful weapon in Final Fantasy VIII.

Ehrgeiz met with mixed reviews in the United States and was never released as a Greatest Hits game, thus defining it as a rarity to some.

Gameplay

Cloud and Sephiroth in Ehrgeiz.

Ehrgeiz differs from the traditional 3D fighting game because it allows the players to roam freely in the battle arenas. This means that characters do not always have to be facing each other during a match. This restricts the camera to a more or less fixed position, zooming in and out with the action, but not tracking around the arena as would be common in most other 2D and 3D fighting games. The fast-paced battle system features arenas with platforms to jump on and backgrounds to interact with. Underneath the health bar, there is a red stamina bar that can be used up to utilize an alternative fighting style, which is usually signified by the character glowing red along with drawing out a weapon. However, with some characters, the bar can help them exert more power and in one or two cases, achieve a transformation.

The PlayStation version features some minigames based on track and field events and one based on the board game Othello. It also features a quest mode in which the player fights through dungeons finding items such as armor, weapons, and spells.

Characters

Original Characters

• Ken "Godhand" Mishima-A barehanded brawler nicknamed 'Godhand' for his incredible strength and his arm gun that can shoot blasts from its opponent. He is once a mercenary worked with the mysterious Red Scorpion organization until becomes the head of the Mishima Construction Corp to get the Ehrgeiz sword to gain the power he needs.
• Han Daehan-A Taekwondo practioner and a movie star actor who possesses a prosthetic leg concealing a homing missile. His prosthetic leg was artificial and his mission to find his lost leg.
• Prince Doza-A 'prince'from a unknown country who is a master of Muay Thai.
• Yoko "Yoyo Yoko" Kishibojin-A high school student and a police officer from ICPO often called 'Yoyo Yoko' for bringing a yoyo to her job. She is also the estranged daughter from the protagonist of Forsaken Dungeon, Koji Masuda and an unnamed woman who is a practitioner of Kishinbojin-Ryu Ju-Jutsu.
• Lee Shuwen-A kung-fu master from China who exerts his chi to such a high degree that he can reverse his aging.
• Sasuke-A masked ninja who has a mysterious connection to the lost sword Ehrgeiz.
• DASHER Inoba-A professional wrestler whose hulking body hides a tactical grappler. He is also a disciple to Karl Schneider the founder of the Ehrgeiz Championship Tournament.
• "Wolf Girl" Jo-A runaway girl who has the uncanny ability to transform into a wolf.
• Koji Masuda (PlayStation version only)-A main protagonist of the Forsaken Dungeon story along with Clair Andrews, an archaeologist who is searching for the Ehrgeiz sword. He is also the three time reigning Ehrgeiz champion and the estranged father of Yoko "Yoyo Yoko" Kishibojin.
• Clair Andrews (PlayStation version only)-A main protagonist of the Forsaken Dungeon story along with Koji Masuda, and archaeology student under Koji Masuda who is searching for the Ehrgeiz sword. In the near end of the game, she was killed in the deadly explosion after defeating the red and black dragon. Causing her teacher Koji to find a way to revive her by defeating the Phoenix the final boss of Forsaken Dungeon which it drops the Phoenix Down to revive her.
• Django/Red Scorpion-A grey wolf who can somehow fight on par with the other characters in the game, all of which are human.

Final Fantasy VII characters

• "Guardian" Cloud Strife
• "Summoner" Tifa Lockhart
• Sephiroth (PlayStation version only)
• Vincent Valentine (PlayStation version only)
• Yuffie Kisaragi (PlayStation version only)
• Zack Fair (PlayStation version only)

Connections to the Final Fantasy series

Ehrgeiz's main tie to the Final Fantasy series is the ability to play as a number of characters from Final Fantasy VII. All of them have a Limit Break ability, where they turn red and their power increases. Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth are playable immediately, while it is necessary to unlock the rest by beating the game with different characters. The Buster Sword and Masamune can be drawn and wielded in combos, and Yuffie and Vincent have their trademark ranged weapons, but the game relies more on brawling in hand-to-hand (punches and kicks) combat.

Though Red XIII is not in the game, the boss character Django bears resemblance to him in his alternate coloration, while his default coloration resembles Seto's stone form. Django's moveset also references Titan, Hades, Leviathan, Chocobo, Bahamut, Ifrit, Shiva, Phoenix, Bahamut ZERO, Mega Flare, Giga Flare, Knights of the Round, Seto and Nanaki. Ehrgeiz also features music from Final Fantasy VII (arranged by Takayuki Nakamura, composer of all other music in the game). The titular sword Ehrgeiz is said to contain Materia, as well.

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]Ehrgeiz means "ambition" in German.

External links

• Wikipedia's entry on Ehrgeiz
• IGN: Ehrgeiz
• Ehrgeiz @ Squareunion.com

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