Back in the year 2000 a 3D fighting game was released on the PlayStation by SquareSoft. What made this particular 3D fighting game stand out was the addition of characters from one of the most popular and talked about JRPGs of all time: Final Fantasy VII. To attract fans, myself included, the main character Cloud Strife, was displayed on the front cover along with some of the game’s own original fighters. I had never heard of the game but this was all it took for me to buy it once I saw it in a shop.

Cloud, Sephiroth, Vincent, Yuffie, Tifa and Zack from Final Fantasy were all included as playable characters. Some of their moves resembled the limit breaks from their own game, such as Cloud’s meteorain. Considering how they all looked like bubble people in the RPG, Ehrgeiz showed these characters in far better graphics than you were used to seeing them in. There were nodes to fans too such as Vincent’s second outfit being his Turk’s uniform.

Final Fantasy additions aside, Ehrgeiz was a decent enough fighting game. The fighting area allowed you to run around fully, instead of just left or right. There were ledges to climb on and items on screen such as crates which could be used and broken in the fight. The music was nothing spectacular; it was sound effects that stood out more. Some of those menu sounds were LOUD. Graphics were good for the time and each character had their own cinematic opening and ending, this was a SquareSoft game after all and they don’t disappoint when it comes to visuals. Some of the new characters looked a bit too like Tekken knock offs but each had their own style and back story. Like every fighting game, there is some obscure reason as to why they all decide to meet up and knock each other out.

Outside of the ring there was fun to be had with some bizarre mini games. Would you like to treat the characters like pawns in a board game or do you want to race Sephiroth the main villain of Final Fantasy, topless on the beach? Well then Ehrgeiz won’t disappoint!
There was also a larger quest mode, focusing on the original characters of Ehrgeiz. Players had to explore a dungeon to find artifacts. Personally I didn’t enjoy this side to the game but then I was only playing it for the Final Fantasy aspect.

Ehrgeiz was released on the PlayStation Network in 2008 in Japan. Sadly it wasn’t released on the PSN in Europe or America and there is currently no word on this happening.