Ehrgeiz

Ehrgeiz (エアガイツ, Eagaitsu, German:

The game includes characters from Final Fantasy VII. Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart are playable in the arcade and the PlayStation versions; in addition, Sephiroth, Yuffie Kisaragi, Vincent Valentine, and Zack Fair were added to the PlayStation version's roster.

Gameplay

Battle system

Ehrgeiz differs from most 3D fighting games by drawing heavily from the concepts of wrestling games and DreamFactory's own Tobal series, which allows for full 360-degree movement and does not require fighters to be facing one another 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. Characters can 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.^[4] There are four action buttons: guard, high attack, low attack, and special, which is a weapons-based attack that is different for each character.^[5]

Quest Mode

The PlayStation version includes a Quest Mode, similar to Tobal No. 1 and

• Ken "Godhand" Mishima – Once a mercenary for Red Scorpion, Godhand decided to leave the organization and take with him the knowledge of the ancient ruin. Resigning from the organization meant cutting off one's right hand. As painful as it was, Ken did the deed and then betrayed Red Scorpion by selling the information to a large wealthy syndicate group. Together, they formed an excavation company to seize control of the ancient ruin in the Middle East. As part of his deal, he was given a new prosthetic right arm, plus was told the theory that the Ehrgeiz stone was the key to the door. He now believes he must become the champion and bear the sword. He bears a strong resemblance to Namco's
  Tekken character Jin Kazama
  . Vincent Valentine (FFVII) uses Godhand's moveset. His moveset contains moves from Kazuya Mishima, Jin Kazama, Heihachi Mishima, Baek Doo San, and Paul Phoenix from the Tekken series. His costume also bears resemblance to that of Bryan Fury's costumes in addition to Godhand's right hand being cybernetic.
• Han Daehan – A master of taekwondo and a young action star without the need for a stuntman, Han is a popular lad amongst the public. What the public does not know is that his right leg is actually artificial. During a movie shoot a year ago in the Middle East, a mysterious cloud of black smoke engulfed Han's leg. Peculiarly, although his leg has disappeared, he continues to retain a sensation of its existence. As he continues to seek an explanation for this particular phenomenon, he stumbles upon information that similar incidents have occurred every few decades in the area containing the ancient ruins. Han is another who becomes drawn to the mysterious surroundings of the ancient ruins. He bears a strong resemblance to Tekken's Hwoarang.
• Prince Doza – His motto is, "I’ll destroy anyone who stands in my path!" Each day, Doza seeks a more powerful opponent. However, in the world of kickboxing, he is already without equal. Able to defeat his opponents with his bare fists, Doza has become bored and is in need of a challenge. In the midst of his unrest, he receives word of the Ehrgeiz tournament, where weapons, psychic powers, and projectile weapons are permitted. Thrilled, he is determined to test his skills. Although he has no interest in the secret that Ehrgeiz holds, his fighting spirit is fueled by the appearance of opponents that are more powerful than he has ever imagined. In order to not be outmatched by distance weapons, Doza enters the fray with a glove weapon that shoots fireballs, not unlike the
  Bruce Irvin and Street Fighter's Adon. He seems to also be inspired by the boxer Naseem Hamed
  .
• "Yoyo" Yoko Kishibojin – Yoko's father is an explorer who teaches archaeology, and her mother is an expert in Kishiboujin Ryu jujutsu. At age 10, her parents divorced, leaving her to be raised solely by her mother. Although still in high school, her talents in jujutsu have been acknowledged by the ICPO which enables her to participate in their hand-to-hand combat research team. One day, she received a letter from her estranged father, entrusting her to carry out the duties necessary to acquire Ehrgeiz. In addition to this, she has been ordered by the ICPO to enter the tournament to investigate suspicious activities surrounding Ehrgeiz.
• Lee Shuwen – Known as the master of lethal
  Lei Wulong. He is also based upon the real martial artist of the same name, Li Shuwen
  .
• Sasuke – Although it is evident by his appearance that he is a ninja, Sasuke's true identity remains unknown. Presently, he works as an agent for Red Scorpion, but since he has a mild case of amnesia, he cannot remember his true name. However, during a mission in which he was to assassinate the adventurer, Koji Masuda, he notices a mysterious stone embedded within a broken sword held by Masuda. Believing that this precious stone will enable him to recover his long-lost memories, Sasuke aims to acquire the legendary weapon, Ehrgeiz. Yuffie Kisaragi (FFVII) uses Sasuke's moveset. He resembles
  Dead or Alive
  .
• Dasher Inoba – Inoba is a prominent wrestler and a disciple of Karl Schneider, the founder of the Ehrgeiz Tournament. He is also a member of the Ehrgeiz supervising committee. With the recent death of his master, Inoba discovers a note left behind by the late Schneider which suggests that he had been investigating the connection between the stone embedded within the Ehrgeiz and the ancient ruins. Ever since laying eyes upon the mystical stone, Inoba has been fascinated by its presence. Compounded by his urge to obtain the stone and uncover the mystery behind his master's investigation, he is determined to get his hands on the legendary weapon. As evidenced by the character's name, appearance, fighting style, vocal grunts, and committee status, Inoba is heavily inspired by the Japanese professional wrestler, Antonio Inoki.
• "Wolf Girl" Jo – As an infant, Jo survived an airplane crash in the Amazon while sustaining only minor injuries to her head. Raised by wolves, she gained physical strength that exceeds and surpasses normal human capabilities by as much as three times. Following the death of her "wolf" mother, Jo became known as the "Man-eating wolf girl", and was eventually captured and imprisoned. There, she exhibited uncontrollable hostility towards her supervising officers. Having heard about this girl through various rumors, Red Scorpion scouts her and gives her the name, Jo. She is given direct orders by Red Scorpion to seek the Ehrgeiz without knowing or understanding the reason why. She uses the dance-like Brazilian fighting style capoeira.
• Koji Masuda – Father of Yoko Kishibojin and third-time consecutive reigning champion of the Ehrgeiz Championship Tournament. He is also an archaeologist seeking to uncover the truth behind the mysteries surrounding the ancient ruin.
• Clair Andrews – A child prodigy who entered the university at the age of sixteen, Clair is one of Koji Masuda's archaeology students. Although she is relatively independent, she is still considered naïve. When Koji begins his journey, Clair impulsively joins him as his assistant. Her fighting style is
  Fei Long
  's Dragon Flame Kick from Street Fighter.
• Django / Red Scorpion – Django is a wolf-like character that plays the role of the sub-final boss. He can be unlocked as a playable character by meeting certain conditions in the game. His first costume features gray fur; however, his red-furred alternate costume resembles Final Fantasy VII's
  Red XIII
  . His attack names reference Red XIII, Red's father Seto, and Final Fantasy summons. Red Scorpion is Django's second form, which serves as the final boss.

Final Fantasy VII characters

• Cloud Strife (available at start in the PlayStation version)
• Tifa Lockhart (available at start in the PlayStation version)
• Sephiroth (available at start; PlayStation version only)
• Vincent Valentine (hidden character; must be unlocked; PlayStation version only)
• Yuffie Kisaragi (hidden character; must be unlocked; PlayStation version only)
• Zack Fair (hidden character; must be unlocked; PlayStation version only)

In the arcade version, Cloud, Tifa, and Django were revealed after thirty, sixty, and ninety days, respectively, after the initial install and boot of the game.

Development

Ehrgeiz was developed by

Ehrgeiz Original Soundtrack contains sixty-one musical tracks from the game. It was composed by Takayuki Nakamura, who previously composed the DreamFactory and Square collaboration Tobal 2. It was released on November 21, 1998 by DigiCube.^[10]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Ehrgeiz on their April 15, 1998 issue as being the sixth most-successful arcade game of the month.^[16]

Ehrgeiz sold over 222,000 copies in Japan by the end of 1998, and sold 340,937 copies in Japan by December 2004.

Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Technologically speaking, Ehrgeiz is an impressive fighter, but it does have balance problems, especially the one-button gameplay of the one-player game. Still, it's good to see developers straying from the accepted formula with new fighting designs that truly work."^[14]

See also

• Power Stone
• Tobal No. 1
• Destrega
• The Bouncer (video game)

References