The Ring: Terror's Realm

The Ring: Terror's Realm (known simply as Ring (リング Ringu) in Japan) is a survival horror video game developed and published by Asmik Ace Entertainment in Japan[1] and published by Infogrames in North America. It was released for Dreamcast on February 24, 2000 in Japan[1] and August 22, 2000 in North America.[1] It is based on the Ring series of novels by Japanese author Koji Suzuki, which also inspired the Japanese film Ring (1998) and its American remake, The Ring (2002).

The Ring: Terror's Realm
North American Dreamcast cover art
Developer(s)Asmik Ace Entertainment[1]
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Dreamcast
Release
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

Meg Rainman is a newly-hired researcher at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States. Her boyfriend Robert is among four workers at the CDC who have died mysteriously on the same day, and the only thing that connects them is a program found in their computers, called "RING." When the CDC is put under lockdown, Meg finds herself imprisoned in the center with her co-workers, and inside the CDC Meg must find out the truth behind Robert's death and the "RING."

Characters

Meg Rainman

The game's protagonist and main character, takes Robert's position at the CDC after he dies at the start of the game.

Robert

Researcher at the CDC, was working on the Ring virus before he and three other colleagues die on the same day.

Jack Nikson

Works as a reporter, neighbour and friend of Meg and Robert.

John Brad

Boss at the CDC

Chris

Co-worker at the CDC, works on the ground floor.

Kathy

Co-worker at the CDC, has a striking resemblance to Tina Turner, likes to cause trouble and is the girlfriend of Lukino.

Timothy

An old doctor working at the CDC.

Lukino

The CDC's security chief, has six piercings, two on both ears and one on the nose and left eye, and is the boyfriend of Kathy.

Reception

The game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[2]

In a review submitted to "the ringworld", a fansite dedicated to Ring, contributors C. Gavlas and K. Gavlas called it "a crude, clumsy Resident Evil-style survival horror video game" and "a pretty depressing homage to Ring."[9] Those unfamiliar with Suzuki's works were equally unimpressed. Jeremy Dunham of IGN said, "The lowest rung on the ladder of Dreamcast survival horror games, The Ring: Terror's Realm is just an average jaunt into the dark side,"[7] while a contributor to the PlanetDreamcast website (a part of GameSpy) declared it "hands-down the worst thing I've ever experienced on the Dreamcast."[6] Greg Wilcox of GameTour.com described it as "one of those games that will make you wonder what sort of legal or illegal substances the developers were taking while they were making this one. The game is a combination of bad and weird, mostly leaning toward the bad". Wilcox also noted that he "managed to track down one of the videos from the series, and it's a hell of a lot scarier than what's here."[10] GameSpot concluded that "Die-hard survival-horror fans might possibly get a quick fix from this game, but even that's questionable. You'd really be better off playing through Code Veronica again.[5] Jim Preston of NextGen said of the game, "If it were a hamster, we would bury it in a shoebox in the backyard."[8]

References
  1. Release data, GameFAQs.com.
  2. "The Ring: Terror's Realm for Dreamcast". GameRankings. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  3. Simpson, Chris. "The Ring: Terror's Realm - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  4. "The Ring: Terror's Realm". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis. August 2000.
  5. Shoemaker, Brad (July 12, 2000). "The Ring: Terror's Realm Review". GameSpot. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  6. Mad Carl (October 24, 2000). "The Ring: Terror's Realm". PlanetDreamcast. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  7. Dunham, Jeremy (August 22, 2000). "The Ring: Terror's Realm". IGN. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  8. Preston, Jim (September 2000). "The Ring [Terror's Realm]". NextGen. No. 69. Imagine Media. p. 103. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  9. C. Gavlas; K. Gavlas (August 4, 2004). "The Ring: Terror's Realm". The Ringworld. Archived from the original on August 14, 2004. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  10. Wilcox, Greg. "The Ring: Terror's Realm". Game Tour. Retrieved June 25, 2005.
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