History VideoGame / Ehrgeiz

''Ehrgeiz'' was later ported to the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation and increased the guest characters to include Sephiroth, Vincent, Yuffie, and Zack. The PSX version included mini-games, as well as a brand-new Quest Mode, which was a sort of RPG-Lite (as shown in [=DreamFactory=]'s previous ''VideoGame/{{Tobal}} 2'') starring two side characters and invoking many ''Final Fantasy VII'' mainstays including materia. Many of the RPG section's game mechanics were later re-used in ''VideoGame/VagrantStory''.

''Ehrgeiz'' is noted for playing off of the astounding success of the then-recently-released ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' by having a slough of {{cameo}} characters from that game. The original arcade release had Cloud and Tifa as secret characters named "Guardian" and "Summoner" which could be fought by beating the first X characters in a certain amount of time. They were playable after one or two months of real time. In addition, the final boss, Django, bears a striking resemblance to Red XIII.

''Ehrgeiz'' was later ported to the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation and increased the cameo characters to include Sephiroth, Vincent, Yuffie, and Zack. The PSX version included mini-games, as well as a brand-new Quest Mode, which was a sort of RPG-Lite (as shown in [=DreamFactory=]'s previous ''VideoGame/{{Tobal}} 2'') starring two side characters and invoking many ''Final Fantasy VII'' mainstays including materia. Many of the RPG section's game mechanics were later re-used in ''VideoGame/VagrantStory''.

* TangledFamilyTree: Godhand is a Mishima (Ken Mishima, to be precise), meaning the game has a very weak connection with the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series. This was a semi-cameo due to Namco distributing the arcade version of the game, and Godhand himself has moves taken from Tekken characters.

* ShaggyDogStory: All endings to Quest Mode are ultimately this. [[spoiler:Either the survivor revives their fallen partner with the Phoenix Down, thus losing the secret to immortality forever and rendering the whole point behind the adventure moot, or they keep it but fail to actually learn or accomplish anything with it, rendering the whole adventure moot and getting someone killed in the process.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: To the ''VideoGame/{{Tobal}}'' games.

* FingerlessGloves: Godhand wears a pair. Notable because they are the same sort of gloves worn by ''Tekken'' main characters Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama (see TangledFamilyTree below for more info on this), having a set of metal studs that form an inverted triangle over the top of the hand.

* NintendoHard: The Quest Mode is ruthlessly unforgiving. Aside from fending off dozens of difficult enemies and needing to grind experience for two characters separately, you also have to constantly eat to stay alive. Leveling up specific stats requires you to consume a greater amount of nutrients associated with that stat, but due to the randomly-generated loot, you really have no control over what kind of food will drop, and by extension, what kind of build you'll have. Inventory is severely limited, and to top it all off, saving the game costs money, which isn't always in abundant supply, and it gets progressively more expensive the higher your characters' levels are.

* GuestFighter: ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' 's Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart appear in the game. They are joined in the console version by Vincent Valentine, Yuffie Kisaragi, Sephiroth, and Zack Fair.

* MovesetClone: the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' characters are generally clones of existing ones; Yuffie for Sasuke, Vincent for Godhand, and Zack for Cloud.

* {{NINJA}}: Sasuke and Yuffie.
** HighlyVisibleNinja, at that.

* OverlyLongFightingAnimation -- Koji has a charged grapple that is hard to connect with, but if it does he'll spend about ten solid seconds breaking every bone in your body.

* [[RandomlyGeneratedLevels Randomly Generated]] DungeonCrawler : The Forsaken Dungeon.

* PressStartToGameOver: The bottom of the well in town is one of the first entrances to the game's dungeon and is in more immediate access than Level 1. It's also the home of a brutal high level Kraken, and if you enter its lair at the very start of the game, you're
basically as good as dead.

''Ehrgeiz'' was later ported to the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation and increased the cameo characters to include Sephiroth, Vincent, Yuffie, and Zack. The PSX version included mini-games, as well as a brand-new Quest Mode, which was a sort of RPG-Lite (as shown in [=DreamFactory=]'s previous ''VideoGame/{{Tobal}} 2'') starring two side characters and invoking many ''Final Fantasy VII'' mainstays including materia. Many of the RPG section's game mechanics were later re-used in ''VagrantStory''.

''Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring'' is a FightingGame developed by [=DreamFactory=] and published by [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] and Creator/{{Square|Enix}} in 1998, the title being [[GratuitousGerman German]] for "ambition". Unlike most {{Fighting Game}}s, especially at that time, ''Ehrgeiz'' allowed full 3D movement around an arena which often had several levels and/or obstacles - in fact, it used the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' technique a year before the latter existed.

''Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring'' is a FightingGame developed by [=DreamFactory=] and published by Creator/{{Namco|Bandai}} and Creator/{{Square|Enix}} in 1998, the title being [[GratuitousGerman German]] for "ambition". Unlike most {{Fighting Game}}s, especially at that time, ''Ehrgeiz'' allowed full 3D movement around an arena which often had several levels and/or obstacles - in fact, it used the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' technique a year before the latter existed.

''Ehrgeiz'' was later ported to the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation and increased the cameo characters to include Sephiroth, Vincent, Yuffie, and Zack. The PSX version also included a brand-new Quest Mode, which was a sort of RPG-Lite (as shown in [=DreamFactory=]'s previous ''VideoGame/{{Tobal}} 2'') starring two side characters and invoking many ''Final Fantasy VII'' mainstays, including materia. The latter almost attempts to have a decent plot. Although it fails spectacularly in this attempt, many of the RPG section's game mechanics were later [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap re-used]] in ''VagrantStory'', to ''much'' better effect.

The ''Final Fantasy VII'' characters are actually quite detailed, including some heavy five-years-ago flashback spoilers (if you know where to look) and a lot of moves from the actual game. Overall, it's a halfway solid FightingGame. The real fun, though, ''probably'' lies in getting Sephiroth to lie face down in the sand waving a little flag above his head for winning a shirtless beach race.

Not to be confused with the 1997 anime series of the same same.