Released: 19990530 Publisher: Square Electronic Arts Developer: Dream Factory Genre: Fighting

Review by: Carlo

Every PlayStation fan remembers Square tried to revolutionize fighting
games with the release of Tobal #1 back in 1996, and later with Bushido Blade. As time passed,
more and more 3D fighting games were served, pushing the level of fun and quality
up a notch. Competition in 3D fighting has increased, but this didn't
stop Square from developing their latest 3D fighter, EHRGEIZ.

Ehrgeiz lives up to the name "3D fighting game" simply because it combines
martial arts/weapons action along with full 3D freedom of movement. This
game is "more 3D" than the Tobal games or any 3D fighter for that matter.
With full 3D movement, you can go around running and jumping, interacting
with the upper and lower levels of the 3D arena.

Ehrgeiz is a great looker, and basically a 95% copy of the arcade
version. The PSX is not capable of fully handling everything from the
arcade Ehrgeiz, but overall it comes out with great accuracy. Ehrgeiz on the
PSX lacks a bit of the graphical detail and smoothness of the
polygonal characters, with slightly degraded environments and animations (the
audience of the wrestling ring arena is not animated).
Despite these, the characters still look great
along with their backgrounds and fighting animation is very much
intact (checkout the spinning sword trick of Cloud). There's a bit of
slowdown here, though it happens rarely. The lighting effects here are very
much like the arcade version's.

What this version has that the arcade does not have are the many CG
cinematics for the intro and endings of the game. The cinemas are very well
animated and detailed, and they of course, tell a bit of story and what's
going on with the characters. At least half the number of fighters have their own CG
cinematics as endings. As a bonus, you can replay the cinemas after finishing them.

Ehrgeiz music is rather plain, simply because I don't find the music
enteraining during fights. The only tunes I enjoy are the ones taken from Final
Fantasy 7. The sound effects, on the other hand, are very lively and full of
impact, which gives you that feeling of excitement during bouts
(listen to those hard blows). Each character has their own voice-overs, and
at last I've finally heard what Tifa, Yoko, Cloud, and Sephiroth (among
others) sound like.

Ehrgeiz plays well for a full 3D fighter. The default player controls
are slightly awkward (you get to use
the D-pad for directions in full 3D, 3 attack buttons, 1 special
attack/projectile button, 2 jump buttons and 2 block buttons), but fortunately can
be adjusted using custom controls.

As stated, fights are in full 3D, which is unique and a breather
from all those other 3D fighting games who share the typical 3D engine. However,
because the play is 3D, the play is sometimes confusing, meaning you'll have to practice
in order to get those combos straight.

Each of the fighters are loaded with plenty of moves and combos.
As in Tekken 2, you release a new fighter each time you
finish the game with a "regular" character. Among the hidden ones are
Vincent and Yuffie of Final Fantasy 7 fame.

Among the things I don't like about Ehrgeiz's gameplay is the rather huge amount of
cheap moves. In play, I found myself down on the ground with Django
repeatedly firing rapid projectiles (while I was down). He kept it up until my lifebar expired! That's cheap! It's
uite disturbing, especially for those who're looking for real
strategy and a fair fight. Try to live with it I guess. However, the full 3D engine of this game
is a must play, especially if you're looking for something new!

Ehrgeiz has lots of features aside from the usual fighting game modes,
including other kinds of mini-games (like the beach events where you and an
opponent compete in sporting events), along with a Quest Mode (as in
in Tobal #1 and 2). Only problem with quest mode, for most, is the Japanese language.
Ehrgeiz also has Arcade Mode, VS. Mode, Practice Mode, etc. to keep you plenty busy.

Ehrgeiz is a pretty fun game overall, and I find it more enjoyable than
Dead or Alive, Kensei, Rival Schools, and all the Street Fighter games
combined. The cheap factor is the biggest flaw, but eventually you
overcome it as you become more experienced. Ehrgeiz is superb as a multiplayer title. The many
features here add multitudes to value, and I suggest that
you guys go tell Square EA or Namco (they're said to have taken part in
this game) to translate and bring this game to the American
PlayStation market. It's a excellent game to play, and it'd be disappointing
not to see this game hit the West.

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