Chaos Rings is a role-playing video game series released primarily on mobile platforms. It is developed by Media.Vision and published by Square Enix. The eponymous first game in the series was released for iOS in 2010, then later ported to other mobile and portable platforms including Android and PlayStation Vita. There are currently four games in the Chaos Rings series, and each uses the same gameplay base. Effective May 31, 2016, Square Enix ended distribution of the first three games in the series on Google Play and Apple's App Store, leaving Chaos Rings III as the only title still available for download or purchase on those markets. Currently, all titles in the series, except Chaos Rings III, are still available for purchase and download on Amazon's App Store.
The series was created by Takehiro Ando as a traditional role-playing game created within the restrictions of a mobile environment. Subsequent games adopted slightly different styles: Omega was an expansion on Chaos Rings story using the original engine, while the subsequent two games used rebuilt engines. Chaos Rings III saw the biggest shift for the series, with gameplay more similar to conventional role-playing games and a lighter tone to its story. The series has met with positive reception, and as of 2015 the series has received one million downloads worldwide.
Titles
The series extends across four titles, all released on iOS and Android. Other platforms include Windows Phone, PlayStation Mobile and PlayStation Vita. A multiplayer social game, Chaos Rings Sigma, was originally in development for mobile platforms. First announced in July 2013, its scenario was written by the first game's writer Yukinori Kitajima, and featured all the series' core characters along with characters exclusive to Sigma. It was cancelled in 2015 for unspecified reasons.
Chaos Rings, the first entry in the series, was released exclusively for iOS in April 2010, then later ported to Android, Windows Phone and PlayStation mobile. A PlayStation Vita port was first released as part of Chaos Rings III: Prequel Trilogy in 2014, then as a standalone title in 2015. The game was later released for the Vita in May 2015. Chaos Rings follows five couples through a tournament in the Ark Arena where the prize is immortality. Voice acting was added to the game in 2011. Chaos Rings was adapted into a manga by Kitajima. The manga was released in two volumes in 2012. Chaos Rings Omega is a prequel to the original game, released originally for iOS in April 2011, it was later released for Android in November 2012. A Vita port was first released as part of Chaos Rings III: Prequel Trilogy in 2014, then as a standalone title in 2015. Set 10,000 years prior to the first game, it focuses on four different couples pitted against each other in the Ark Arena. Chaos Rings II, the second entry in the series, was released on iOS in March 2012. A release for Android followed in March the following year. A Vita port was first released as part of Chaos Rings III: Prequel Trilogy in 2014, then as a standalone title in 2015. It was released for the Vita in May 2015. The story follows mercenary Darwin as he is chosen by the Creator to be the Nominator, a figure who must choose people to die so the world can be preserved. Chaos Rings III, the third entry in the series, released for both iOS and Android in October 2014. The English version released in May 2015. It was released for the Vita in 2014 under the title Chaos Rings III: Prequel Trilogy: alongside the game, download codes for Vita versions of the past three Chaos Rings titles were included. A standalone version for Vita was released in 2015. The story follows Nasca, who is drawn into a quest to reach the fabled planet Marble Blue, home to a mystical place known as Paradisos. When updated in the West in September, the game held a bug which crashed the game when a certain boss event was triggered. This was fixed with a patch issued in February 2016.