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Chaos Rings (2010)
A great foundation for the series
Chaos Rings is the saga of the Ark Arena, a mysterious coliseum where four pairs of heroes thrown together (sometimes against their will) must fight for their lives if they hope to escape. Each pair of heroes has their own story and banter, which actually gives Chaos Rings a considerable amount of replay. I am loathe to ruin any of the story here because even though the writing suffers from serious melodrama, it is very good. The characters -- some of which you will not like, such as the insufferable Escher -- are fleshed out better than almost any iPhone hero I've encountered thus far. So, if you are a big fan of Square's brand of character and scenario development, you will enjoy the yarns spun here.
Though Chaos Rings is surely an RPG, the emphasis is squarely on action. Because you are in an arena, you are constantly fighting monsters to stay alive. The combat system in Chaos Rings is very smart. I love the ability to either choose solo attacks that do less damage or a paired-up move that devastates. The difference is that pair attacks leave both heroes on the team vulnerable to an enemy attack while a solo attack is only answered by a single enemy strike. As you can imagine, this adds an element of strategy to attacking. But there's a second system that makes this even better. A break meter monitors the flow of the battle and shows which side (heroes versus enemies) has the initiative. If the monsters have the initiative, they usually attack first. However, when you land a blow, the battle tilts a bit toward you. Now, if you are struggling, a big pair attack can swing the break meter in your favor so you have the initiative. But there is risk involved here. If your attack fails, not only are you still without the initiative, but you are now open to an attack on each hero. This really does keep each battle thrilling, especially when you are squaring off against some real brutes.
Chaos Rings is not an amazing adventure game for the iPhone. It is an amazing adventure game - period. This battle-heavy RPG is loaded with dozens of hours of play across four sets of heroes. The narrative is excellent, as is the character development. It is easy to control in both exploration and battle scenes thanks to clean, smart virtual controls. There is real depth to the battle system, too, as you weigh the risks of solo or pair attacks versus exposure to enemy blows, and how this can affect the flow of the fight. My big complaint is the out-of-place series of puzzle rooms that just slow things down. Otherwise, this is a wonderful RPG that any Square fan or adventure gamer would be crazy to miss.
Chaos Rings II (2012)
A retro perspective review
There's a common sentiment that Japanese RPGs are stuck in the past, but nowhere is this truer than on the Android market. While 16-bit homages and remakes abound, including some very excellent efforts in the Final Fantasy series, there have been precious few that dare tread on the near side of the '90s. The first Chaos Rings was a real relief. It looked, in many ways, like a glorified 32-bit game, with low-res 2D backgrounds, and blocky, unfiltered textures, but those PlayStation-era sensibilities still put it leagues ahead of the competition. After an unadventurous prequel, Chaos Rings Omega, Square Enix has returned with a full blown sequel to bring their series up to par with modern phone games.
Although the semi-realistic character design resembles recent Final Fantasy games, the Chaos Rings series is far darker than what you'd normally expect, and almost feels like the sort of thing we'd expect from Atlus. You control Darwin, a young soldier who, along with his adoptive brother Orlando, finds himself suddenly transported to a strange place suspended in time and space. Orlando manifests as a giant beast, and Darwin is forced to kill him.
Darwin emerges in a mansion suspended in time and space with four other individuals, who have all witnessed the "murder." He's told that time has been frozen and the world is facing immanent destruction, and the only way to avert it is for Darwin to sacrifice the others. It isn't immediately clear how these people are connected, but it's obvious there is much they don't know. The story unravels like a mystery novel. Rather than unfolding through big events on-screen, it's revealed gradually through a lot of expository dialog. Much of this is voiced, albeit in Japanese, but the whole affair is decidedly un-cinematic in a refreshing way.
While it may not push any technical boundaries, Chaos Rings II is absolutely beautiful to look at. The hand-drawn backgrounds are lavishly detailed, and very atmospheric. Their static nature is used for effect in the various stages, all frozen in time. Crashing waves dramatically stand still, and pink petals from cherry blossoms hover in mid-air. Each one of the stages offers dramatically different scenery, and all of it is gorgeous. The 3D characters have been gussied up quite a bit, and fully 3D sets are used for battles and key cut scenes, but it's really the 2D artwork that steals the show.
Square Enix has balanced out the game's lavish production values by keeping the scope fairly small. Your hub for the entire game is a small section of the mysterious mansion, and you are teleported to the various other locales, much like Japanese Dungeon-RPGs like Grandia Xtreme. These diverse, frozen slices are left to suggest a larger world that we never get to see. You can go back to previous areas, and even scale the level of the enemies (and rewards), which makes the ever-present level grinding less of a bore, but there isn't much in the way of real exploration.
Compared to the first game, stages are small, linear, and have relatively simple layouts. The notorious "puzzle rooms" are gone, replaced with a very simple system of character-specific abilities that won't really tax your brain. Although I actually enjoyed these brain-teasers in the first, they were out of place, and their removal makes for a more even game.
As in the earlier games, you'll be fully healed between every battle, which leads to some interesting pacing. Normally RPG battles are all insignificant until you get to a boss, because you have to survive dozens of them, but in Chaos Rings normal enemies can get your health seriously low, since it'll all be restored after the battle.
The turn-based combat system, while fairly typical of the genre, proves to be more interesting than it initially appears, thanks to a variety of small hooks that each prove to be useful. There's the usual rock-paper-scissors elemental skills, plus the ability to team up to perform attacks, use items, and take damage collectively. It takes a while to understand where all the different abilities are useful, but after banging your head over a couple boss fights, you'll realize it's not as braindead as the typical Dragon Quest clone.
It's not hard for a game like Chaos Rings II to stand out; it really doesn't have a lot of competition. Its own prequels and Gameloft's awful imitation-JRPG Eternal Legacy are really the only things that come close. Luckily, Square hasn't taken this opening as a chance to slack off. This is a well-made, polished title that, while small in scope compared to console games, would be still be a blast on any platform.
Chaos Rings Omega (2011)
A fine frequel to the series
The game begins with a solar eclipse that whisks away five couples to a mysterious place called the Ark Arena. A monstrous, robotic "agent" character gives them clear instructions: They are to fight to the death, only within the arena, and a refusal to fight is grounds for immediate disqualification (also, death). The winning couple receives immortality and eternal youth.
A few of the captives decide to test the house rules, and five couples quickly become four. The game essentially becomes a combination of the Japanese action movie Battle Royale and the NCAA Final Four championship brackets.
You can take control of either of the game's two primary couples at first, though the other two couples are also unlockable. Before you can fight the other couples, you must train by exploring lush environments that are accessible through the Ark Arena. As you explore, you run into random battles with monsters, come upon treasure chests to raid, and find a handful of puzzles to solve.
Anyone who has played a recent Final Fantasy game will be familiar with the RPG character progression and basic controls in Chaos Rings. You move through the world with a virtual analog stick that appears onscreen wherever you press with your thumb, and in combat, the turn-by-turn action is all menu based. In battle, you can opt to perform a standard attack, use items, or cast spells (called genes) either with a single character or as a pair.
Chaos Rings' complex gameplay has a lot of depth. As you beat enemies, you gain access to their genes--abilities that include spells and passive attributes. You can equip three of these genes at a time, and part of the fun is figuring out which genes you'll need for the battles ahead. For example, a crocodile gene can give you tough skin and the ability to cast water-based attacks.
There are three magical elements: fire, wind, and water. These are strong or weak against each other in a rock-paper-scissors system. And, as you earn money, you can buy new equipment from a freakishly funny creature in the Ark Arena named Piu-Piu.
A single play-through of the game takes about five hours, and you can replay it to see the story from the perspective of the other main couple on the ship. The story is dark and engrossing, and it offers plenty of surprising twists. You battle huge monsters and expert warriors, which gives you lots of chances to develop a preferred strategy, and you can increase the difficulty between stages by selecting higher-level enemies.
Chaos Rings handily manages many of the trickier aspects of a hardcore Japanese RPG. You quickly gain the ability to turn off random encounters, for example, so you can opt to fight only when you actually want to level up. A meter in the corner of every battle tells you which side has the advantage, so you know when to run and when to attack.
Chaos Rings III (2014)
A Console Game in a Mobile Phone
The story is keep me playing through entire process. The gameplay it self has a unique combat and so enganging. I dont know why square enix does not updating this game. The game itself is so refreshing and sweet gameplay. Its like a Kingdom heart mobile version without disney character.
Final Fantasy Awakening (2018)
Worth Playing
Its a fun game where we can explore more about ff type 0 lore. The gameplay is dope and the mechanics is pretty good. Good story and good music. The game have microtransaction but its up to wether you wanna be a competitive player.