Ring of Red

"A very flawed but good SRPG"

For some reason I had always wanted Ring of Red so when I saw it for $5 and it being complete I had to grab it. Finally got around to playing and it I kind of regret getting it but it isn't that bad of a game I guess...

After World War II Japan has split itself into North and South and are fighting each other. A new mech has been created but is stolen by the other army. Now you must hunt down that mech and get it back at any cost. Oddly, the story is rather in depth and the character development is actually good. But the plot and many other things fall into one problem in this game and that it's just slow. The plot just slowly takes form and just never gripped me. heck, by the end I still didn't really care.

This is a first generation Playstation 2 game. The graphics today are still rather nicely done. The overworld map with your tiny mechs on it looks kind of bland and uninteresting. However, once a battle start it looks rather nice. Unique mech designs (one even bends over and a gun pops out of it's butt and shoots....) and the mechs are very nicely detailed. More damage to them the more the fire spreads over their bodies ect. Nicely done and the sets for the fights are nice.

Sound wise I found the game lacking. Music was decent but was very forgettable. Sounds effects are good and fits everything well. Game has zero voice acting. Gets kind at the start of each new mission with the slow text that scrolls against live action clips.

Control in the game is very simple. Move with the d-pad and hit x to do commands. Nothing else you really need to know. It's very simple to get the hang of and I never had to turn to the manual for help.

Ring of Red is a SRPG but it's different than the rest. The game has 17 missions. Most are just kill everything or capture a base which means get to it and just stand on it. Very easy. The problem I had with the kill everything goals was that right when you're almost done 3-6 more enemies appear. Sure, it works kind of like real war but it's very annoying.

Now, you can land on bases and towns and what not and it captures it for your team, allowing you to heal ect. Also, most of the time you receive new team mates. You cna fit three team mates per mech and they have different skills and stuff to use in battle. The thing is only one can be selected for the fight. Very simple to do and after awhile you'll just be sticking to one group of characters but you do this for all of the characters.

Now, battles are where things get weird. First of all each mission has a day limit and a time on that day that the mission must be won by. I hate time limits, they just drive me insane. Now, when you get up to an enemy you can select to attack, they can also attack you if they get near you. A battle starts and right away you will see something odd. First, you will notice a 90 second timer. This is how long this turn will go on for. Now, you can move forward or backwards or just stand still. Further back is good for sniping ect. You get the idea there but the mech moves as slowly as a real mech would. Now you're waiting for your gun to load. Once it's loaded you can attack by hitting X. This enter a first person mode and a % appears on the screen. Wait for around 70% and you can then fire and it will most likely hit. The closer you are the higher the % will start ect. Very simple but oh boy is it tedious. Everything you do is tedious in this game but I cna see how some will like that realistic feel but I want to have fun when playing and this didn't come off as fun to me.

The game is rather long. 15 hours or so but once I beat it there was nothing... No harder difficulty, no special missions. Heck, I never saw a mission except the main 17. No multiplayer. The game really doesn't have any extras to speak of.

So, the game does play well. It was just way too tedious for me. I'd say pass on this unless you're a big mech fan. But it is a decent game and if you see it for cheap then just get it because I had trouble finding it and I doubt most places aren't renting it right now.

Story - 8/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay Value - 0/10

Final Score - 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/08/06