Ehrgeiz
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| Ehrgeiz | |
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| Developer(s) | Dream Factory |
| Publisher(s) | Namco, Squaresoft (PlayStation) |
| Designer(s) | Seiichi Ishii |
| Release date(s) | 1998 (Arcade) May 4, 1999 (US, PlayStation) |
| Genre(s) | Versus fighting |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation |
| Input | 8-way Joystick, 6 Buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | Namco System 12 |
| Arcade display | Raster, 640 x 480 pixels (Horizontal), 65536 colors, 19 inch monitor |
Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring (German for ambition) is a fighting game developed by Dream Factory and released by Namco in 1998 for the arcade platform. It was ported to the PlayStation by Squaresoft in 1999.
Ehrgeiz differs from most 3D fighting games by drawing heavily from the concepts of wrestling games and Dream Factory's own Tobal series, which allow for full 360-degree movement and do not require fighters to be facing each other at all times. 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 fighting allows for characters to move freely in a 3-dimensional stage which is filled with many interactive objects and changes in elevation, allowing characters to leap on top of crates or use them as weapons, for example.
Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the game is the inclusion of characters from Final Fantasy VII. Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Sephiroth, Yuffie Kisaragi, Vincent Valentine and Zack are playable fighters, although the last three must be unlocked by various means. In fact, Ehrgeiz is sometimes affectionately known as "The Final Fantasy Fighter" by its fans due to the appearance of these characters. Ehrgeiz is highly sought after by Final Fantasy game collectors, due to it not making the Greatest Hits list and not being re-released.
The PlayStation version includes a Dungeon mode similar to Tobal 1 and 2's Quest Mode where players fought monsters much like Diablo, and could equip different weapons and items. There are also several smaller minigames, such as a race mode, where players run laps around a course, engaging in combat to slow down their opponent, and a board game similar to Reversi.
Also starring in the game is Ken "Godhand" Mishima. Other characters include Han Daehan (a taekwondo fighter) and Prince Naseem (a Muay Thai kickboxer).
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Original Characters
- Ken "Godhand" Mishima
- Han Daehan
- Prince Naseem
- Yoyo Yoko
- Lee Shuwen
- Sasuke
- Inoba Dasher
- "Wolf Maiden" Jo
- Koji Masuda
- Clair Andrews
- Django
[edit] Final Fantasy VII Characters
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Quest Mode
Quest mode is a "Hack and Slash" Action-RPG styled mode of gameplay in Ehrgeiz. You begin in a dungeon in a parallel universe, to later awake in an Inn close to the dungeon you were nearby. You can explore the town and enter a the dungeon which contains seemingly random generated maps. Somewhere on each floor of the dungeon will be a stairway to the next level downward in the dungeon. Since the main characters are archaeologists, the goal revolves around going as deep in the dungeon as possible in the hopes of finding great artifacts.
[edit] Battle System
The character development system revolves mainly around a 5-point chart representing which statistics will be increased in the character upon raising his/her level. Raising Protein, Vitamins, Minerals, Carbohydrates, or Lipids on the chart will in turn increase Attack, Magic Attack, Dexterity, Defense, or Speed, respectively. The diagram points and stretches towards each of these points. As you focus towards one point, the diagram will contract on the other points of the diagram. Thus, increasing how much one stat will raise but lowering how much your other stats will raise.
[edit] Wine Trade
There are several recipe books hidden throughout the Quest portion of the game's dungeon. Wine trading is available after getting the second recipe book and talking to a man in a restaurant in the town. You can buy and trade wine here much like a stock market, where the value of your stock (aliased by the wine) will go up and down periodically. You can then trade back the wine (sell your stock) to gain either loss or profit.
[edit] Trivia
- Ehrgeiz is also the name of Zell Dincht's most powerful weapon in Final Fantasy VIII.
- Ehrgeiz was scored by Takayuki Nakamura, and features arranged music by Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for the Final Fantasy series.
- Most of the seiyu who voiced the FFVII characters here are not their current seiyu.
- Han Daehan bears a resemblance to Hwoarang from Tekken.
- Prince Naseem has some resemblance to Adon from Street Fighter.
- It has been speculated by fans that Ken "Godhand" Mishima is a member of the Mishima family from Tekken, since not only does he share the same family name, his gloves are also very similar to those of Kazuya Mishima and he has a similar hairstyle to Jin Kazama, Kazuya's son.
- Sasuke's katana appears in Final Fantasy IV Advance as one of Edge's most powerful weapon, obtained in the new Lunar Ruins.
- Ehrgeiz means "ambition" in the German language.
