Ehrgeiz

"God bless this ring ineed."

Okay, stop me if you've heard this one: what do you get when you cross Square Soft and Dream Factory with Namco? Give up? You get Ehrgeiz! Its easy to see where each company's influence is found in the game's design, but for all intents and purposes Ehrgeiz is what Tobal 3 would be if Namco weren't involved.

Ehrgeiz's story goes something like this: An ancient sword is uncovered in some ruins with a mystical materia stone set into its hilt. The sword is named Ehrgeiz and becomes the symbol of the ultimate tournament. Various fighters enter this tournament for all the typical fighting game reasons, but Ehrgeiz is anything but your typical fighter.

The graphics is where it would seem Square had the most influence. There is a lot of flash and flare to the battle and the animations are excellent. The backgrounds also seem to be vintage Square, with some stages that very closely resemble scenes from Final Fantasy VII.

Sound effects are adequate, but the music is where the sound department shines. Although the music is rather simple, it has quite a bit of distinct sound to it, and you will more than once hear a familiar theme from a rather popular Square RPG.

Controls remind me of Bushido Blade (with its free 3D roaming) and Tobal (because it also has complicated grapples and flamboyant jumps thrown into the mix). It's obvious that Dream Factory once again designed Square's fighting engine. However, I should note that a lot of the moves in this game may seem all too familiar to Tekken fans.

The design of the game falls somewhere in between Square and Namco, as if each company had a go at making characters and decided to pick a little from column 'A' and a little from column 'B'. Some of the characters are really cool and unique, while others are borish and are soon forgotten.

The nice thing about this game is the ability to jump onto various levels of the play field, somewhat like Bushido Blade. There is also a new Quest Mode (Tobal anyone?) and a few mini games. There are now five Final Fantasy VII characters found in Ehrgeiz over the arcades original three.

This is a good game if you like Tobal and/or Bushido Blade. If you're a die-hard Tekken fan however, this game might not be for you. I do recommend you at least give it a try, it's a solid, if somewhat flashy, fighter with a good cast of characters. Kudos to Square and Namco.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/09

Game Release: Ehrgeiz (US, 04/30/99)