Chaos Rings III is the fourth game in the Chaos Rings series. It is yet unclear if the game is similar to the universe in which Chaos Rings and Chaos Rings II took place, although there is a reference in-game that states that one of its locations was built based on the Ark Arena, which took place a long time ago. The game was released on 16th October 2014 in Japan, and on 29th May 2015 internationally.
Gameplay[]
The game's control and battle system is mostly the same as that of the previous games. However, there are many significant changes to the game as compared to the previous games in the series. Unlike the previous Chaos Rings, you can now have up to three members in the team to fight as you embark on your adventure at any point in the game. The game allows you to customize various options such as naming your team and your main character (aka the Protagonist). This causes the pair system to be removed, and instead the team can now perform combos, by utilizing elemental weaknesses or critical hits to perform a Final Strike. When the break gauge is at Max, your Final Strike will turn into an advanced variation known as Art Ascendant (AA).
There are two modes in the game: the Story Mode, and the Battle Mode. Whenever you start up the game and load the data, you will be given the choice to select either options. Alternately, you may access My Page to choose which mode do you wish. Both modes uses the same characters and genes that you have unlocked. Story mode allows you to explore the main quests of Chaos Rings 3, while Battle Mode is simply an additional feature which allows you to fight for rewards including rare equipment.
Exploration in Chaos Rings 3 is similar to the previous games. However, unlike the previous games, the central setting of the game is now on a planet called Marble Blue, which is similar to the real life Earth and is home to all kinds of monsters and abandoned architectures of an ancient unknown civilisation; and Theia, the man-made orbiting satellite which houses all mankind. Most of the continents on Marble Blue are similar to real Earth, except the North is a huge piece of fiery land called the Magma Ocean. You can either choose to do quests in a specific field, or simply use Explore to venture into the field without a specific objective. Upon reaching certain levels, you will unlock the next tier of levels for the monsters you encounter: such as 51-60, 61-70, etc. Meanwhile, exploring Theia uses a map similar to an elevator of which you can choose which place to go to, such as the Spaceport, or the Colosseum.
Leveling up in Chaos Rings 3 is no longer based on a character himself, but rather by the Gene he is equipped with. Similar to the Sopia and Genes in previous Chaos Rings games, the Genes are responsible for all active and passive skills and is now also responsible for the stats of a character. If no genes are equipped, the character will be, by default, at level 1 only. Although only three members are fighting at any point in time, the other two characters' genes will still gain exp after a battle, which makes it ideal for your top levels to "carry" low level genes to level up. Genes now also have a ranking/grading system, sorted by ranks of 1-5 stars, and by the various grades: N < R < SR. A "N" grade gene can only level up to 30, and two maxed "N" genes will be able to fuse into a "R" gene. A "R" gene is able to level up to 60, and two maxed R genes can turn into a "SR" gene. Lastly, a "SR" gene can level up to 100. Every gene will unlock a new skill at every 15 levels, and can retain up to 6 skills. If you have too many skills in the list, you will have to select a skill to forget.
There are various methods of obtaining a gene. The first that is introduced to you in the game is to use "gifts" to fuse into genes, where "gifts" are essentially empowered objects with certain extraordinary abilities. The second method is to use the Sp. Shop to purchase a Gene box with Ohnz Coins, taught in a tutorial mission. A last method of obtaining a gene is to fuse two different genes to obtain a new gene. This method allows the new gene to inherit some skills from both parent genes. Obtaining new genes allows you to level up your team which increases your MP capacity, but this has to be performed manually.
Similar to previous Chaos Rings games, equipping the Gene of a certain element will allow you to gain its Element. However, it does not automatically add the attribute into your physical attack, unless your gene carries the skill: Floodgate. The elements also use a different system now, in that it is no longer Gale>Ice>Fire>Gale. Instead, there are now 6 elements in total, of which 2 in the same category counters each other, but not against other categories, as follows: Ice <-> Fire ; Earth <-> Bolt (orange); Light (yellow) <-> Dark (purple). Some of the elements retain its old names in the series: Cocytus (Ice), Cremate (Fire), Doga (now Earth).
During the course of the game, characters will gain extra abilities from certain quests to cross obstacles and destroy barriers, and retain those abilities to use in anywhere else thereafter. It is also now possible to change the members of the party while during on a mission, by swiping the member's portrait in My Page to whichever position you wish. The first to third positions are always the combatants while the fourth and fifth will not participate in battle. Meanwhile, the first position will always be the leader, and that character's sprite will be controlled when venturing on the map.
The whole game is split into several episodes. Finishing to certain points will complete the episode and you will be asked to download the next episode in order to proceed.
Synopsis[]
The story begins with you as the Protagonist, whose goal is to follow your father's footsteps in becoming an Explorer and discovering Paradise. You were at first guided by a strange entity called Mariv who appeared to you in your dreams. Although your younger sister is initially doubtful and unsupportive of this, she eventually decides to come with you to help you settle down in the town called New Paleo. As you make your way to become a full-fledged Explorer, you will ally with Daisuke (a similarly aged boy who uses a gauntlet type weapon), Leary (a similarly aged girl who uses a mechanical gun ring to fight), Al (a senior Explorer who is a member of the Thousand Voyagers) and Elroux (a strange unknown girl who is supposedly the human daughter of Mariv). With your team's support, you will eventually make your way into the unknown and discover new places.
Locations[]
- Theia
- Sierra Island
- New Paleo
- Spaceport
- Sky Front
- Modern Colosseum
- Protagonist's House
- Daisuke's House
- District 14
- SI68 Main Cableway
- Geofront Elevator
- Council Chamber
- Theia's Nerve Center
- Marble Blue
- Sunken City
- Ruined Battleship
- City of Dreams
- World Tree
- Sheva's Airship
- Magma Ocean
- Lollypop Labyrinth
- Winterborough
- Winter Wonderland
- Forgotten Village
- Castle Abyss
- Mutant Isolation Facility
- Terraformer Ark
- Dreadnought Jatayu
- Phantom Airship
- Primordia
- Edge of the World
- Mariv's Garden
Characters[]
Your Team[]
Team Grazie[]
Shopkeepers[]
Supporting Characters[]
- Johannes (Also a controllable character on certain occasions)
- Mariv
- Patty
- Dorothy, also a member of the Thousand Voyagers
- Haruko
- Sweet Sally
- Honey Holly
- Cassie
- Captain Pigta
- Erik
- Geiser
Thousand Voyagers[]
- Lucienne
- Delacroix
- Chancellor Steiner
Antagonists[]
- Shyamalan, leader of Team Sheva
- Drei 6
- Volhelm, also a member of the Thousand Voyagers
- Auz, also a member of the Thousand Voyagers
- Dufti
- Child
- Entity
- Adam
Music[]
Sekai no Subete ga Teki da Toshitemo - Nitta Emi - Main Theme
(Even if the World is Against Us) (せかい の すべて が てき だ としても)
Trivia[]
- It is mentioned in-game that the Modern Colosseum is built based on an ancient location called the Ark Arena, the primary setting of the first two games.
- At the door to Marco in the Rye's shop, you will see two cut up figurines almost similar to that of Piu-Piu's shop in the previous games.
- In one of the earlier sequences, teleporting from Theia to Marble Blue is similar to how people "beam" to the surface in Star Trek. Similarly, you will need a microcommunicator to "beam up"/teleport back to Theia.
- When visiting the mysterious laboratory that is under Volhelm Industries, you will come across many capsules which contain specimens of mutated races. In the centre is a huge containment unit holding on to one such specimen. This whole room's concept and design looks almost the same as the Nibelheim's mako reactor with Jenova's cells in Final Fantasy VII, another game by Square Enix.
- The design of Sky Front, Spaceport and the concept of Theia and the Explorer's Guild are somewhat similar to Phantasy Star Universe's colony and the Guardians, though the functionality of teleporting from an orbiting, self-contained worldship to a savage planet below has more in common with the structure of Phantasy Star Online.
- The setting and subplot of the Terraformer Ark are similar to an optional dungeon in Phantasy Star: The End of the Millennium (released in the West as Phantasy Star IV) in that a dungeon is formed from a crashed worldship that didn't successfully escape.
- It is later mentioned when one's Gene capacity is over-stretched, he or she will begin to mutate, and a possible end result is to turn into an Incarnatus. (This bears some similarity to the plot element in Final Fantasy VIII that people who use Guardian Forces may experience memory loss. Final Fantasy VIII's Guardian Forces serve roughly the same function as the Genes in Chaos Rings III, and a few of their identities even overlap.) The transition into an Incarnatus and its final form resembles that of the Ophanim characters in Chaos Rings II.
- Mariv's Garden serves much the same purpose as the Persona series's Velvet Room, in that they are accessed through a door-shaped portal that (usually) only the protagonist can see, and that once inside, Mariv and Igor respectively use cards to combine and power up Genes and Personas respectively. There is also some identity overlap between the Genes of Chaos Rings III and the eponymous Personas.
- Many of the past Chaos Rings characters' names are mentioned as quest-givers for some side quests, such as Lessica, The Agent, Darwin, Orlando, etc. However, they do not appear anywhere in the game.
- The Terraformer Ark's architecture has some similarities to the halls of the The All-Seeing Eye in Chaos Rings II. However, the story behind the Ark's purpose is completely different.
- It is mentioned that the Ark, Theia and 998 others served as terraform ships, used to relocate mankind to other star systems and to provide a living quarters as needed, due to a major catastrophe hitting the planet. This is similar to many theories of the human race abandoning Earth to look for a suitable planet, such as the theory given by physicist, Stephen Hawking.
- The power of the planet as shown when accessing the Eldritch Bloom is similar to that of the Lifestream in Final Fantasy VII.
- A side quest known as Book of Last Days will require the player to find a Cracked Trumpet. The quest-giver later states that it is the Seventh Trumpet, which signals the end of the world when it sounds. This is the skill that the Herald in Chaos Rings II use to finish off Darwin and his partner, where the Seventh Trumpet will inflict 99,999 damage to all targets. The quest-giver also rewards the player the staff "Starving" (Elroux's Weapon), which he claims to be used by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who also appeared in Chaos Rings II.
- At the Battle Mode November 24- 30 event you will receive an armor called "Favorite Black Shirt" & "Altered Habit" upon winning the event which resembles Escher and Musiea's Clothing in Chaos Rings I.
Known Bugs[]
- There is an error for iPad users in which the game will crash immediately after the cutscene for the boss in an early chapter called "A Mocktopus' Treasure".
- Also there is a bug that shows items collected 0/17 when choosing the final dungeon "Theia's Nerve Center", even if it's item sheet completed.