Playstation Festival 2000 impressions - Eternal Ring

[02.22.00] » Notes on From Software's PS2 RPG.

   Eternal Ring, one of the first PS2 RPGs, was on display at PlayStation Festival 2000, and J.T. Kauffman was on hand to check it out. Here are his impressions:

   From Software's Eternal Ring most definitely classifies as a "first RPG." Simply put, it's a decent game, but nothing to really rush out and buy. Upon booting it up, gamers are likely to notice the title's graphics. While the opening is done in prerendered full motion video (which in itself is only above average), the game itself uses rather lushly drawn locales with wonderful textures. Character and monster models are well done (although a bit higher polygon count on some monsters would be nice), as are the texture maps that cover them. From what was available in the Festival demo, spell effects have quite a bit of potential as well. While the game is quite beautiful at first, upon closer inspection graphical problems start to arise. First off is a sort of pop-up that was noticeable immediately after entering the second room. Like Turok's infamous fogging, Eternal Ring enjoys using the 'dark room' effect to hide its lack of polygons. Entire rooms will appears out of nowhere, making for a slightly disjarring gaming experience. Strangely enough, this only occurs in certain rooms, which seems to point more toward poor use of lighting than a lack of polygons.Further lack of graphical refinement is visable later in the same room. The main character enters the room, walking through a shallow pool of water. With the Playstation2's advanced materials effects, walking through water should be a graphical treat. Unfortunately, From decided not to use these effects, and it instead appears that the character is walking _on_ the water. Adding insult to injury, countless other times in the game you'll notice gaps in backgrounds, causing a brilliant blue sky to peer through a seemingly solid wall or rock. While seemingly small, these glitches detract quite a bit from the game's otherwise lovely graphics.

   While the graphics may be the first thing to be noticed upon booting the game, the play control will be noticed immediately after beginning to play the game. Being a first-person game, Eternal Ring adapts many of the controls used in first-person shooters such as strafing and looking up and down. However, it adapts these controls rather badly. Moving around is done slowly and awkwardly. The game's normal walking pace is more of a crawl, and while a 'run' button is included in the controls, this doesn't help your turning speed. Many times you'll be getting hit, but you won't be able to find the enemy because you simply can't turn as quickly as they can move. Once the enemy has been found, the L2 and R2 buttons must be used to move the camera up or down (respectively) to center the enemy on the screen so that it can be attacked with any success. With the DualShock2's twin analogue sticks, this problem could have been easily solved, but sadly, the game does not support analogue control in the least.

   Eternal Ring's in-game systems are good, although not outstanding. Fighting is done in real-time, as per the latest Zelda or the upcoming PS2 RPG Dark Cloud. However, unlike these titles, there is no targeting system, which drags battles out as well as adding confusion to the game. It is very possible to have an enemy practically centered on-screen, but still be swinging at only air. Luckily, the game's ATB-type bar does not affect physical attacks, only magic spells. This allows you to hack away at whatever you wish, with only the time of the animation slowing you down. Of course, the animation does have to play out fully, which means that you're not going to be attacking nearly as much as you might like...

   Luckily, swordplay isn't the main form of dealing damaging in Eternal Ring. The game features an extensive, well developed magic system. As rings are a prime subject in the game, it is only fitting that each magic spell is contained within a single ring. With the PS2's increased polygon abilities, it appears that characters actually get to have separate fingers to wear such rings on (unlike the solid blocks that Playstation characters tend to have). This allows you to have up to five spells at your disposal, one for each finger (you don't get ten, as the other hand is holding a sword). Of course, the unique concept/fashion statement aside, Eternal Ring's magic system actually does have some meat to it. As mentioned previously, each ring not only contains one spell, but also will alter your character's attributes. For instance, a ring containing a Water healing spell will greatly increase your Water ability, as well as upping your Light ability a bit and dropping your Fire attribute by a few points. Each attribute is directly tied into how quickly the charge bar will fill (ie. you can cast a spell), as well as how much it will affect its target. Wear four Water rings and one Fire ring will cause the Water spells will charge quickly, while the single Fire spell will take ages to reach casting point. Spells are cast using traditional Magic Points. Unlike other games, MP seems to be in abundance here, and actually is gained by a successful physical attack on an enemy. If the demo is any indication, Eternal Ring's magic system should prove to be fun, oft-used, and nicely complex (yet not impossibly so).

   As a brief, but happy, point for those considering importing the game, the story appears to be told all through cinema cutscenes rather than text. Aside from grunts and death rattles from enemies, this agent can't remember a spoken or written line of dialogue. Of course, this should result in a rather one-track plot: find the Eternal Ring.

   One more point is worth mentioning although it is not crucial to the way the game plays; Eternal Ring's packaging was one display at the Festival. In normal Japanese 'simple yet striking' fashion, the front illustration bears the Eternal Ring logo with a light field of clouds surrounding it. As per the norm with Playstation 2 software, the system's name is in white type over a black background in the upper left, with the PS logo in the upper right. Like all of the PS2 software packages on display, the game uses a slightly modified black DVD 'keepsake' hard-plastic case. Set up in a case with many of the other PS2 launch titles, Eternal Ring's packaging proved to be one of the nicer ones at the show.

   In the end, the game seems pretty solid, albeit a bit slow moving. The graphics and magic system are good, while the play control and overall feel of the game scream of a rushed development. And being as the Playstation Festival 2000 occured a mere 2 weeks before launch, it's unlikely that any of these problems will be fixed by the game's release. However, one can't argue with the speed that the game has had in hitting the shelves: it is the very first RPG launch title in history. That in itself makes the game worth a look, albeit a possibly brief one. We'll have more on Eternal Ring as the Japanese version is released on 12.3.4 (aka. March 4, 2000 on the Western calender).