Eternal Ring

"Cory's Eternal Ring Review"

Eternal Ring is a first person RPG that is made by Agetec who has made the unfavorable EverGrace series and the more popular Armored Core series. In the game you will battle enormous dragons, develop your character and craft your own rings with immense power.

Gameplay 8/10
In Eternal Ring you will take the role of Cain in a first person RPG. You will walk around with the directional pad, examine things with the X button, use magic with the square button, attack with the triangle, change your magic spell with the circle button, and strafe with the L1 and R1 buttons. One flaw I thought this had was that to look up and down you had to use the L2 and R2 buttons to do so. This makes it difficult to attack a flying monster and then attack a monster that is low to the ground. I thought it would have been better if you could have been able to use the analog sticks but the game does support the vibration function and the pressure sensitive buttons so you aren’t at a complete loss. These controls are a little sluggish and it feels like there is a delay on most of them but this is easy to get accustomed to. Throughout the game you will gather an average assortment of weapons, nothing too special. The part where I think the game is great is the amount of rings you can craft and collect. You will craft rings at an alter that you can get to at save points and use gems that you find from monsters to craft them into rings that you find. Each ring will allow you to cast one unique magic spell that is good in its own way. You will need certain spells to open doors, light torches, and kill certain monsters. In addition to the rings you will be able to gain levels to make your character stronger. An interesting part of the game is that it will have day and night. The NPCs will react to this by going to bed, getting sleepy or going to work.

Story 7/10
Cain Morgan is magician that works for the King of Heingaria, Ian Martin. The elders of this kingdom are very aggressive and have lots of military power so they can overrule Ian at anytime. Worried, Ian has sent Cain to investigate on a group that was sent out by the elders to the Island of No Return. Cain is unsure of this mission and consults his father on the matter. Gillian Morgan is Cain’s foster father and tells Cain that he was found on the Island of No Return and that he should take the mission so he can find out about the group of people for Ian and possibly reveal some of his past. There is a legend about the island that tells of a ring that holds immense power called the Eternal Ring. Cain figures this is what the elders are after and the Ian at the same time wants Cain to bring him the ring. Cain sets out on a small boat owned by a fisherman to the island and the adventure begins. Throughout the game the story isn’t that strong. The game is mostly driven on uncovering more of the story, developing your character, gaining new weapons and items, and crafting your own rings that will do destructive power.

Graphics 8/10
In Eternal Ring the scenery and characters have lots of detail and a done very well but it looks like the textures were stretched in many places. Honestly the water in the game is some of the worst I have seen but thankfully there are only a few areas where you notice the water. All in all the game is pretty good looking with some average lighting effects. One thing you will notice is that all the characters walk like stiffs.

Sound 7/10
In Eternal Ring the sounds are pretty pathetic. When you swing your weapon in doesn’t really make a good sound, when you hit an enemy it doesn’t make a good sound, when you get hit by an enemy is doesn’t make a good sound and when you walk it doesn’t make a good sound. The good things about the sound are the environmental sounds such as waterfalls, birds, wind, and the blowing of grass. When you use magic the spell will sound like it should but it doesn’t have anything spectacular sounding spells. There is voice acting in the game that I thought was pretty good but the words and the timing of when the person talks doesn’t match up with the moving of their mouth. All in all it is just average sound.

Music 7/10
In Eternal Ring the music suits the game but it is nothing special that will give you an epic feeling. Sometimes there isn’t any music to give the game more atmosphere and sometimes if you’re in a area leveling for a while you might even get annoyed by it.

Play Time/Replayability 7/10
The time it will take an average player to complete Eternal Ring could vary a lot. Some of the puzzles are very difficult and some players may want to level up to make the game easier and run smoother. Some players will want to just go right through the game and others will want to collect all the rings so it could take anywhere between ten to forty hours to complete depending on the player. Once you play through the game and collect all the rings I fell that few people would pick the game up for a long time.

Final Recommendation
I would recommend this game to anyone who is looking for a different type of RPG that is more open ended than on a track. Like all games, if you are unsure that you want it then a rental would be a safe bet so you don’t waste you money on it. On the back of the case it says “Who said fantasies had to be final?” I don’t know if they were using this to make the game sound better than a Final Fantasy or if it was just some sort of publicity stunt but I think you can be the judge of that.

I Wish
I wish this game didn’t look like the textures were stretched all the time, I wish there were more weapons like there was magical spells, and I wish that you could use the analog sticks to make looking around easier.

Average Score 7.3/10
Cory's Score 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/18/03, Updated 02/18/03