FromSoftware has come a long way in the past two decades. When Demon’s Souls released for the PS3 in 2009 it began a chain reaction of blockbuster releases that put the once niche Japanese studio on the map. It was now a global powerhouse, with each new title bearing an unbearable weight of expectations it would somehow live up to time and time again.

But before Hidetaka Miyazaki rocked up and decided to change the medium forever, FromSoftware was a different beast. It still indulged in gothic fantasy and subtle horror, yet also loved to express its admiration of mechs with Armored Core, a series that has become a cult classic in its own right. There’s also Lost Kingdoms, Ninja Blade, Metal Wolf Chaos, Otogi, Kuon, and so many more that are remembered fondly.

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Its library is a vast collection of mid-tier bangers that never set the world on fire, but were popular enough to keep it afloat in order to explore bold new ideas. But before the unparalleled success of Elden Ring came an obscure RPG that shared both its namesake and cryptic philosophy, throwing the player into a sprawling fantasy world and asking them to fend for themselves with little expanation. You’ve got a sword, now get moving!

Eternal Ring

Following in the footsteps of King’s Field, Eternal Ring was a PS2 launch title in Japan and North America that was essentially the first RPG ever to grace Sony’s console. Given it would soon be home to countless classics in the genre, it helped cement a reputation that would be built upon by Final Fantasy, Disgaea, Persona, Xenogears, and so many other names that I’d be stuck here for hours listing them all. But we’re here to talk about Eternal Ring, a game that in retrospect is kinda awful, but represents a sincere approach to the potential future of game design that’s easy to admire and a joy to dissect.

I first played Eternal Ring as a child, with my parents bringing it home from Tesco after finding it in a bargain bin for £8. They had no idea who FromSoftware were, either that or my dad was a super secret King’s Field fan and never thought to tell me. This game was thrown in my lap and like everything back then I booted it up and tried to lose myself. It immediately kicked my ass, its systems being obtuse enough and its world providing such a profound lack of clues that I immediately found myself lost. Ya girl didn’t last long.

Eternal Ring

Fast forward 15 or so years and Eternal Ring is now available on the PlayStation Store. I wouldn’t blame you for having never heard of it before, FromSoftware produced so many games before the explosion of Demon’s Souls that much of its repertoire has been reduced down to a single mass of unintuitive classics. But Eternal Ring was the first foray into a new generation, a declaration of intention by FromSoftware that feels equally attached to the past and looking toward the future. Like many of its previous games, this is a first-person dungeon crawler that encourages freeform exploration and quickly pits you against a series of challenging enemies. You’re on your own from the off, and that’s brilliant.

You play as Cain Morgan, a monotonous asshole who is sent to the ‘Island of No Return’ to search for the elusive Eternal Ring. The opening is laughably stilted by modern standards, with character models moving like androids and delivering lines with the enthusiasm of a sloth being held at gunpoint. It’s very, very, very early PS2 vibes, but there’s a charm to its execution that keeps me entranced. Upon being dropped off at the island’s shore our boat captain is murdered by a dragon as we transition into the game’s first-person view.

Eternal Ring

Abrasive music cues up, an endless loop of zany tunes that makes the game feel like it's on the verge of a panic attack. Get used to it, because the next few dungeons just reuse the same rendition at different pitches and frequencies. I soon figure out the attack buttons, while learning how to move, dodge, and navigate the labyrinthine environments before me. Keep in mind that this is a first-person game on console after GoldenEye but before the release of Halo: Combat Evolved, so a lot of fundamentals we take for granted nowadays are nowhere to be seen. Knowing this, it actually controls pretty well.

Sword attacks must be executed with a consideration for your own position in relation to the enemy, otherwise you’ll just end up stabbing the air. Magic attacks are similar, with orbs of fire and ice burst forth from your magical ring carving a distinct path through the air. Beyond that is it very rudimentary. Keep stabbing the thing until it dies and drops some loot. There’s no health bar or stamina system here, just a determination to survive and stop weird lizards and bugs from beating your ass into a pulp. It’s fine, but archaic to a fault much of the time.

That, and this game is unforgiving as fuck. In the first cave I accidentally fell into an ankle-deep pool of water and was immediately punted back to the title screen. I must have drowned or gotten my socks really wet, and because this is an RPG launched in 2000 it meant there were no checkpoints or respect for my time. Back to the title screen to start a new game my dude, it’s not our fault you didn’t see the weird save point tucked away at the cave entrance. Eternal Ring is filled with beautiful bullshit like this, bitter reminders of how much the medium has evolved and why they don’t make them like they used to.

I soon made it into the first town, which is filled with laughably square houses that hint towards FromSoftware’s current unfamiliarity with the hardware. That, and half of the NPCs talk to me like they’re half asleep. I’m asked to give in my sword for some reason before being given a voucher to get a shitter sword at the local merchant. Then after this I can choose to buy back my old sword which has a higher damage output. Okay?! I decide to stop asking questions after taking a tour of the town and learning that some underwater ruins await behind a nearby gate. After sweet talking the local guard I reveal the entrance and jump right in. Now I can talk about the level design, which feels like a sequence of generic corridors unlike my comprehensive school. Every door takes an age to open, most rooms are filled with the same enemies and loot, and there is no map to speak of so you either need to bust out a notepad or get used to backtracking in search of unknown objectives.

It is laughably obtuse, coming from an era before objective markers and more direct gameplay instructions were a common factor in the games we play. While Elden Ring doesn’t hold your hand, is it well-designed enough that players always know what possibilities are before them and how exactly they can interact with its myriad systems. Eternal Ring just kicks you in the shin, laughs in your face, and tucks a cheesestring in your pocket to munch on incase you get lost. Which you will, because this game is a nightmare.

‘The Island of No Return’ is a fitting namesake for Eternal Ring’s setting because there is a mystical permanence to its atmosphere. It is clear that something is wrong with this place, an effect that is constantly emphasized by its bizarre music, sleepy characters, and obtuse mechanics. I think nearly all of these things can be attributed to it being a PS2 launch title, but it's an accidental side effect that aged this game far better than anyone could have expected. FromSoftware has maintained its love of bleakness and melancholy all these years later, and even though Eternal Ring launched long before Miyazaki’s arrival, many of the tenets he would subsequently build upon are present and accounted for.

I can’t recommend this game because it kinda sucks, but if you’re overly curious about FromSoftware’s history and the infantile days of the PS2, there is a strange allure here well worth seeking out. Just prepare yourself for a mountain of nonsensical bullshit.

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