Time Ring

Lore & Background

The game takes place on the island continent of Riberia, once divided into four kingdoms but later destroyed by the evil Zoa Empire and its devil-worshipping ruler. The Rīve Kingdom was one of the four, and the first protagonist, Runan, is prince of Razelia, a principality within that kingdom. After his father's principality fell, Runan escaped to a port-town, which also fell to the Empire. Along with Holmes, prince of another principality, they retreat to the newly created Uelt Kingdom with a small contingent of troops. With aid from the Uelt king, they begin a long journey to destroy the evil empire.

In Their Own Story

Runan's story follows a strict set of scenarios where he battles against an enemy empire. Holmes' scenario allows more freedom, letting the player ignore main scenarios to gather treasure and strengthen the army. The two armies travel separately for most of the game but cross paths at several points, allowing the player to switch allocations of fighters and items between the two groups.

Reader's Guide

Tear Ring Saga is a tactical RPG with gameplay very similar to Fire Emblem. The player moves characters in a turn-based fashion across a large grid from a top-down perspective. Objectives commonly involve fighting and defeating an entire opposing faction, or a particular member or leader of a faction. There are two protagonists, Runan and Holmes, each with their own army to command. Runan's story is linear, while Holmes' scenario offers more freedom for exploration and treasure gathering.

Did You Know?

• The game's original title was Emblem Saga, changed to Tear Ring Saga a month and a half before release due to legal pressure from Nintendo.
• Nintendo sought over 258.3 million yen in damages (roughly $2 million at the time) but the Tokyo District Court turned down their claims in November 2002.
• The game sold more than 345,000 copies by July 2001 in Japan.
• The sequel, Berwick Saga, sold only 84,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 2 on Japanese charts.
• The legal victory set a precedent for creators making spiritual sequels without original parent companies, cited by USGamer for Bungie's Destiny and Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9.