The Ring Terror's Realm: Avalanche Reviews

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We all know that Resident Evil and Silent Hill are the cream of the survival horror crop, but what would happen if a movie tie in game took a shot at the genre? The Ring Terror's Realm is a continuation of the original Japanese horror movie's story and a very odd pothole in the road that is survival horror. Let's take a look!

[@danielthomas7193]

Pretty sure those sound effects were taken from a Taco Bell bathroom.

[@AvalancheReviews]

There's a solid chance that you're right. HAA

[@craigrivers82]

With taco bell , you'll get anything BUT solid!

[@jamesrussell2936]

@@craigrivers82 Taco Bell Liquid. "Do you know about... Taco Bell?"

[@this_connor_guy]

The real terror is that sound design. *SPLAT!* Now you gotta do Martian Gothic.

[@AvalancheReviews]

I definitely do. I played an hour or so of it, and it's crazy unique.

[@this_connor_guy]

@@AvalancheReviews It's the one horror game that I'm afraid to go back to. It gets so intense as you get further in the game.

[@HybridAngelZero]

Honestly, Dreamcast games have a really special and unique charm, sitting on the cusp of retro and modern games, they just have a one of a kind feel. I know this game isn't necessarily *good*, but if I ever find it at a second-hand store for under $5, you can bet it'll make it's way into my collection xD

[@AvalancheReviews]

Yeah, the dreamcast is really a special console. I'm planning on covering more DC games in the future. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you come across it for a good price.

[@HybridAngelZero]

@@AvalancheReviews More Dreamcast games, you say? Well I can't dis-Skies my excitement to see what you pull out your personal Arcade.. ia CoughSkiesOfArcadiaCough

[@AvalancheReviews]

Well played

[@seanwegner9925]

It really does ooze a ton of charm. I got this game for $30 on eBay and I’m more than content with this Dreamcast exclusive. I love old 3D games from the early 2000s that I never got to play as a kid. Never owned a DC growing up so I’m loving going back and revisiting stuff like this, Code Veronica, Sword of the Berserk, Alone in the Dark: New Nightmare, and House of the Dead II. Playing my Dreamcast like I’m a teenager in 2000 in 2020 lol

[@oldfan4049]

@@AvalancheReviews read the Ring original novels, those are pretty interesting and intriguing.

[@tigercastle2428]

“Like, hey man, what’s happening here?” - Ace Reporter, Jack Nickson

[@AvalancheReviews]

Only an expert could talk to the cops like that!

[@MemesToa]

When you started going over the plot of the game, it actually reminded me of the 3rd book in the series, _Loop,_ which has pretty much the exact same plotline, even down to the whole "People who watch Sadako's video actually die from a virus" thing, which they in-universe call the "Ring Virus." Something interesting to note, _Loop_ released in Japan in 1998, a full two years before _The Ring: Terror's Realm_ decided to pop into existence.

[@jamie_1678]

That is one awesome animated intro!

[@AvalancheReviews]

Thanks!

[@chaolihai-innit]

Ever heard of O.D.T. Escape or Die Trying? It's a survival horror RPG(kinda) for the PS1. I used to play it a lot as a kid even though it wasn't exactly a great game.

[@AvalancheReviews]

I have heard of it, but never played it for myself. Looks cool as hell though.

[@chrisossu2070]

"Are you okay?"

[@usamazahid3882]

This is a hilarious game. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@alexandercatz5214]

9:24 wtf did he throw an invisible pie in your face. These sound fx are something else. Love the new intro

[@GenerationX7]

Not even halway through this review and you haven't mentioned anything about that Dalad Jelly thing, or the jelly healing items.

[@liamwynne566]

I'm kinda surprised that modern indy developers haven't made many (or any?) old school, fixed camera and tank-controlled horror games. Surely it wouldn't be THAT expensive to make a 4-5 hour game in that style considering a lot of that time would be spent around the same locations saving on resources. I dunno, maybe I'm just showing my ignorance considering I know little about game development

[@AvalancheReviews]

You're absolutely right. I may have come across 2 of these types of games, on steam. You'd figure that would be one of the easiest genres to clone.

[@angelluna9599]

I think the same, I know First person horror games are kinda the norm these past years, but for that reason alone a 3rd person fixed camera game would be more unique, and even get that style of game coming back.

[@left4shred406]

Hey bud. You might have heard of it already, but since you wrote this comment a game called Tormented Souls has come out that fits the bill. Atm, I can't remember if the camera is fixed or that Silent Hill dynamic style, but it's worth checking out if you're into old school survival horror.

[@liamwynne566]

@@left4shred406 Cheers man, Jared actually covered that last month, looks really good!

[@pafoneto1275]

They haven't made any because that control s*CKS. Nobody want it on the first place an was the worst aspect of old horror games. That is why any game use it anymore.

[@seanwegner9925]

Playing this for the first time finally since buying a copy from eBay for $30 last October! Went to my local retro shop and the owner ended up resurfacing and cleaning my disc for free when I told him of my issue of the game blacking out 20 minutes into the game. He fixed it so I’ve been playing it and am 2 hours in and enjoying myself immensely. I’m a survival horror junkie and the more obscure the better in my opinion. Thanks to this review I discovered the game and bought a complete copy before it climbed in price and it’s reminding me of old school Silent Hill and Resident Evil and I can’t be more content with my purchase. Thanks to you I have one more classic tank controlled, static camera angles, item management, B-movie cutscenes and dialogue, and some legitimate scares when in the RING virtual reality game.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Glad to have spread the word!

[@koosjuh75]

Ever read Chris's Survival horror quest? Its a good blog, rarely updated anymore but some clever insights! I also struggle to have that itch scratched. Dead Space 1, 2, Siren Blood Curse, Project Zero series (Fatal Frame to you), Ju-On the Grudge on the wii(Some people didnt think it was scary but idk the Grudge just freaks me out...), Kuon(has its moments) are a few good games. I never really played The Ring Terror's Realm. Might check it out, looks weird enough to be cool!

[@MetaMetro3]

Wish it would update more frequently, but at least the two Dead Secret games he's made were pretty entertaining horror titles.

[@koosjuh75]

@@MetaMetro3 I really liked the old style blog where he gave them an actual rating and you could sort out all the games by score....

[@angelluna9599]

I loved that blog back in the day. Still waiting for his RE2 2019 review. I'm sure it will be up like in six months or next year haha

[@DrYomismo]

A pity he deleted the database and the forums, I found some real hidden gems there, when the genre was almost dead.

[@erickxhorror]

You aint alone homie...any image of a tall woman with long black hair like the Grudge, just freaks me out

[@ryansmith9104]

I just found your channel and I love it. I like seeing another person that has a passion for survival horror like I do. Great job bro!

[@hollywoodtre6098]

Almost at 100k bro. Can’t wait to see it! You deserve it! Love the reviews! Your resident evil clones brought me here. Super interested in this game as well as others I didn’t know exist. Nocturne I can’t play because it’s PC.

[@Sawn3k]

I remember watching a video about this game way back in 2007, and have since never seen anything on it. Great video as always!

[@AvalancheReviews]

thank you!

[@theunholyarcher9403]

I unironically think the music isn't terrible. It may be repetitive but it actually sounds decent in my opinion anyways. I'd be interested to hear what other people think

[@AvalancheReviews]

I liked it! Some songs can repeat too much, but they were super catchy tunes

[@L2Nuku]

It really wasn't bad, it's just the starting place music that gives it a bad rep i think

[@seanwegner9925]

Playing the game right now and I’m actually loving the music. My favorite track is the save menu music. Reminds me of the save room music from RE

[@Rorschach1195]

Wow, the hilarious menu select sound and the damage sound at 9:23 must be stock sound effects because they are the EXACT same sounds as found in Disney's PS1 Classic... A Bug's Life from 1998 (its used as some menu select sounds and the sound effect of the the throw-able berries splatting on the ground!).

[@KakkaRotSRL]

Dude, I really like your channel. It's been my bedtime nuhnight channel for like 3 weeks. Thank you for being yourself.

[@MilkshakeSkunkette]

totally love the new opening man, epic stuff :D

[@Charles-jj2su]

WOO! Was waiting for ya to cover this.

[@AvalancheReviews]

yeah, I knew I would eventually get around to it.

[@Charles-jj2su]

Avalanche Reviews my friend is scared of the music that plays in the office building. Gotta say, I like how off putting and loud it is :0

[@matthewedwards8996]

I love your intro animation!!! Its so amazing!!! Do Galerians!!!!

[@normalperson]

Subbed just for this obscure review! Keep it up dude ❤

[@Crazelord91]

Have you tried *Lost in Vivo* ? Seems right up your alley

[@AvalancheReviews]

I haven't played it, but it looks really interesting.

[@Crazelord91]

@@AvalancheReviews Give it a try. Strong Silent Hill vibes but in first person

[@bernardorodrigues8035]

I love survival horror too and mixing that with your reviews is just like finding a red+green herb mix when I'm in danger status XD

[@AvalancheReviews]

This is the best comment I'e seen all day!

[@bernardorodrigues8035]

@@AvalancheReviews thank you I'm glad you liked XD

[@thegreatklemba]

Awesome new intro !!!!!! Hats off to the animator.

[@angelluna9599]

Having read the books and based on that little bit of story you described, the game's story seems to be a sequel to "Loop" the third book in the series rather than a sequel to the film franchise (well maybe it works as a sequel to "Rasen" the forgotten sequel to "Ringu").

[@seanwegner9925]

Was looking for an interesting survival horror game after plowing through Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, and Clock Tower and I think I found my new fix. Thank you!

[@MichaelHeist]

Thanks for making this, actually had been looking for a good review on this game!

[@Quick-Silver206]

Dude, me too! Huge fan of old school survival horror. Overlooked gems include The Suffering, SIREN, and Extermination.

[@terriblecertainity]

have you ever tried Martian Gothic? could be interessting to you

[@joshualundquest4093]

Well fuck, I should delete my comment. But agreed

[@Fuuntag]

Good review, very well articulated in parts. 🙂

[@luismatus6743]

Great video, i loved this game back in the day. Have you tried Carrier? Also on the dreamcast or Deep Fear on the Saturn? I knda got my survavial horror fix, from those games.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

I love the Dreamcast look. Very late 90s/early 00s

[@matrix255]

Love the new intro.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Thanks!

[@silvarknite7]

I just love that meg looks kinda like Kusanagi from the 95 Ghost in the Shell movie XD Easily the best part of the game -^^

[@AvalancheReviews]

Yeah she kind of does!

[@squidattack8003]

Ever heard of blue stinger? It was a "survival horror" launch title for the dreamcast

[@SaladofStones]

Believe it or not the bit about the virus is closer to the original novel

[@Jubei672]

Talk about perfect timing, I've always seen this game, but never tried it and decided to look up a review today.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Nice! Glad to help the decision making process.

[@mattlandry]

Sweet video! I actually never heard of this game

[@AvalancheReviews]

Neither did I, until I saw it for cheap on ebay a few years ago. Pretty glad I checked it out.

[@benvanasdale6273]

Like you, I adore classic survival horror mechanics. I think I'd enjoy this one, once I got acclimated to the controls and design. I've played many of the low key survival horror games released across the previous generations, and found a few diamonds in the rough. Have you played the Obscure titles on PS2? I enjoyed those, and the local co-op was an interesting twist. I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. Fantastic channel, my man.

[@grizzlypug8520]

Any chance at illbleed, blue stinger, or carrier?

[@waynski1457]

The Dreamcast has an excellent horror library in general, and I hope you cover more eventually because I think you'll wind up finding some solid gems in there. My absolute favorite DC game (horror or not) is D2, and is and absolute must-play for horror game aficionados.

[@ethanacevedo2576]

I've heard that this game although tying into the movie, its actually based on the manga of the series which gets way weirder than the movies and jumps the shark.

[@The_RadicalOne]

Great review Jarred. This game is definitely a contender with some good survival horror games. Except maybe the voice acting.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Thanks man! yeah, the voice acting is probably the best/worst part of the game. HA

[@quiettimegaming3642]

So it's one part RE, one part Silent Hill, one part Stay Alive (remember that film), and one part Ring 3 (where the 'tap' went digital). I think I could get into it.

[@Steadysphere]

I'm in two minds after seeing your review, as it's sat in my backlog. Part of me wants to try it out as I enjoy RE-style survival horror. But it also looks kinda...messy. Awesome review as always. Have you played Carrier or Blue Stinger by chance?

[@JohnnyParrotJoe]

I had this one, and I still love it.

[@Snyperwolf91]

Awesome vid as always avalanche ! Your review remembers me about a game I still love to play . There is one survival horror game I still getting back to play it and thats the first obscure . This game had some cool ideas that need more realisation but is still awesome what it do . Maybe you can give it a shot . Or I missed your review about obscure . ^^`

[@AvalancheReviews]

Thank you!!! Yeah, I did review the first Obscure game, but I'm planning on covering the whole series in the future.

[@Snyperwolf91]

@@AvalancheReviews Awesome ! Cant wait for it because I didnt try the sequel/sequels .

[@daesplays8737]

Why does this look like a mix between Overblood and Clock Tower 2? Also, are those Hunter's footsteps sounds?

[@Reofenja]

*"You okay, lady?"*

[@natknutson1482]

love the new intro

[@AvalancheReviews]

Thank you!

[@CasperEgas]

I imported it from the States, but did not complete it. Have you played Carrier and Alone in the Dark 4 too? I like those better.

[@noelienoelie8425]

The story of this game is actually more akin to the original ringu book. In the book Sadako is just patient zero to a virus you can get through sight. As in you get the virus by looking at something with the virus (the tape) The virus causes pulmonary adima that's why the bodies have the screaming face. Heart attack. Interesting mishmash of both versions of the book. (edit) I think it's called "Rasen" "Spiral" There's a movie too, it's more of a medical thriller than horror.

[@joncarlson2492]

Good Lord please tell me you added that sploosh sound at 9:25

[@AvalancheReviews]

HA!!!!!!!!! No I didn't!

[@Kullen64]

YAY!!! Dreamcast! My favorite console ever :) Oh boy, I remember Spoony talking about this game long ago haha. You actually put a more positive spin on it though and as always I enjoyed hearing your take on things. I thought the story sounded cool as well which is refreshing to hear from you. Too often people shit on video game plots and I don’t understand the cynicism and delusion behind a statement like “Resident Evil 2’s plot is garbage.” You should check out the Dreamcast’s other survival horror games while you’re at it (given you haven’t already). Illbleed, Zombie Revenge, Blue Stinger and D2 especially. Gawd I’d love to hear you talk about that one lol. Great video as always!

[@AvalancheReviews]

Thank you! I will absolutely be dipping into dreamcast horror games again. I love this console!!

[@Kullen64]

Avalanche Reviews Glad to hear it! 😁

[@kavouromamouna2084]

I would love to see a Silent Hill retrospective

[@samsniper2000]

Can you fix the load issue with emulation?

[@pringerx1337]

Scariest part of this game was a tie between the regular world soundtrack and Meg’s inflatable clown punching bag shadow.

[@TastyBirds]

I've never heard of this game, thank you for shining a light on it

[@AvalancheReviews]

My pleasure!

[@DaybreakerRein]

Oddly enough I found out about this game not too long ago, after some gameplay of it showed up in my recommended feed. Can't say I was overly impressed upon first glance but to me this sounds like a game that might be a fun romp to experience with friends who would poke fun at it the whole time lol. Great review nonetheless, and some great footage! Didn't think the DC was capable of such a clean look. The more I hear you talk about your setup the more and more my interest peaks but that distant hole in my wallet that I know an investment into the world of retro upscaling would cost still burns bright lol I've never actually seen the original Japanese movie this is a pseudo-sequel to, only the American one (which at the time I was young and I remember it scaring me pretty well) but I do dig Japanese horror a lot more over American horror, so I might have to watch the original somewhere down the line. It is weird to me how games that are really not so great tend to start having increased price tags nowadays. Looking at it now, another game that came to mind during this review was Ju-on: The Grudge for the Wii, and that game still holds a $40 price tag even though I don't think any sane person plays that game with the intent of having a great experience worth that much lol

[@tsartomato]

what is key elements to survival horror you say? hunger + thirst sleep fragile limbs inventory (not necessary management, having too little to manage works as well. hm how am i gonna survive 3 days on a handfull of seeds and 1 bullet) the rest of meters depend on setting cold sanity illness infections morality etc basically i hold мор утопия (pathologic) as an epitome of survival horror with backtracking etc

[@adamrubino178]

The best reviewers seem to have some kind of PS1 reference, whether it be the sound or a picture/drawing of one in the intro.

[@saloz9483]

I played this game not knowing it was related to the ring movie since I didn't even know of its existence at the time.

[@seanwegner9925]

About to play this for the first time since I discovered this video and the existence of the game itself. Glad to have a new RE clone from the golden age of survival horror. Scored it for $30 complete on eBay since it got really expensive since this video came out.

[@craigrivers82]

I have this and countdown vampires....i don't know why, but i do.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Me too........me too

[@loganjorgensen]

Sure. The dithering is basically a colorspace stretching method to take High Color(16bpp) and approximate True Color(24-32bpp) but with a lot less bits and space needed. For the most part it worked better being a lot more low contrast than the previous generations of dither which were too high contrast before 9bpp(Sega Genesis/Amiga) colorspace or higher, like for example Classic Mac 1bpp B&W being maximum color contrast or the NES having fairly gritty dither examples. I know the PS1 version of it can't really be turned off outside of an emulator but was surprised to hear you found a DC exception but I guess that shows it was technically optional. Plenty of it in the Voodoo generation of 3D cards where it was mostly present but not always and eventually phased out of such PC hardware.

[@vicethane]

Spoony's review of this game is one of the funniest videos I've seen in my entire life .

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

loved this game so much, i honestly had a blast playing it, and the story was good, that twist was really nice but i honestly wish they ported it to other console or at least a steam releases.

[@bluevioletandlilac]

Sadako's curse is a kind of psychic virus in the original book by Koji Suzuki because she got infected by smallpox right before she was thrown in the well. The title "ring" refers to the appearance of the virus under a microscope, iirc. And because it's a virus that's why it wants the tape copied, because it desires reproduction.

[@crazyfool7685]

Was this game before Deadly premonition? I am getting that vibe!!

[@Kelzmokra]

Alot of the sci-fi elements of the story are based on what happens in the novels and not the movies. Wich is a coold thing that they got inspired more by it than the films. Cool video, imma try this one out someday!

[@thebiggeridiot]

the first thing i thought was ''oh fuck, i miss armake 21's vids!!!! '' i know he had several channels after but still, this made me so nostalgic for the past youtube

[@AvalancheReviews]

Well that brings back some memories!

[@RandomZombie412]

If you want a unique survival horror game, you should check out Martian Gothic: Unification, if atmosphere and puzzles are your bag, then this game is made for you.

[@Upsetkiller456]

to note, the whole ordeal of Sadako being what boils down to a virus is actually the from the books themselves, and even referred to in 'Ringu 2'

[@Zeroantagonist88]

i love these type if games too

[@frankrabbit2247]

Keep up the good work, Avalanche. Love your videos. Any chance you'll get around to Dead Space or Left 4 Dead?

[@arthurwild6563]

Hey Ave, you planning on doing a review for Galerians and Hard Edge for the PSX? Both RE clones as well and not too shabby either. And what about Chase the Express? Love when you review RE clones as I myself can't get enough of them. That said totally skipping that one.

[@Sebastian_Athea]

in context of graphics, dithering is used to sacrifice the resolution for perceived increase in color depth. It's used in everything from printed media where 2 bit printers (black and white) could generate illusion of gray scale if resolution of printed image is high enough (especially common in news papers), to computer graphics. Some computers had special mode to blend dithered image before outputting it to the monitor, but video game consoles relied on inherent blurriness of consumer CRTs to complete the dithering process. If you connected the DC to consumer CRT, dithering wouldn't be visible, and instead of dithering you would see the average sum of colors of pixels in dithered image, the best example of this is transparency water effect in sonic on Genesis. Here is an excellent video on the subject kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmHaln9rjamjhtU

[@Lord_Deimos]

How about forgotten games like Nocturne or Alone in the Dark New Nightmare?

[@AvalancheReviews]

I plan on covering both at some point

[@TheDeepOne85]

Nocturne was awesome. Also we're old lol

[@DioBrando-mr5xs]

Tie-in games can be pretty good. *Battleship: The Movie: The Game: For the Nintendo DS* is an ok Advance War-like.

[@ZetZatar]

I always expect some “jank” in horror games. It’s transition! ;)

[@AvalancheReviews]

Yeah, you have to know that it's coming, when you boot up a horror game from the early 2000's

[@RexVergstrong]

It seems KZbin keeps unringing that bell. I had no notification on this one.

[@wizardsdestroyedthem]

I'm sure you've gotten this a thousand times, but what's the music in the outro? It sounds like Sonic or DBZ!

[@RexVergstrong]

I noticed two things. The advancement in videogames has taken from us a type of game that was rampant in PS1 and PS2 eras. Games with western settings as imagined by japanese people. Since the PS3 era westerners have takes on those franchises and most of the time it just doesn't work for me. The second thing is 6:26 that's the Licker walking sound from OG RE2.

[@commissaryarrick6764]

Hey, if you have time, can you do a "Dino Crisis" review?

[@AvalancheReviews]

I/m planning on it. I want to cover all the Dino Crisis games.

[@commissaryarrick6764]

@@AvalancheReviews Thanks! I look forward to it.

[@112523]

man, theres this manga called "gants" and i think the concept used in said manga would be great for a survival horror game

[@AvalancheReviews]

Fuck! You're right! That would make for a killer survival horror game.

[@seanwegner9925]

Glad to see I’m not the only one who got Gantz vibes from the virtual reality parts of the game. Very cool and I wonder if they were inspired by Gantz or if it came out before the manga series?

[@Crushhigh123]

You should do a review on Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2!

[@donteo508]

Tbh, I don't think it's all that bad that Sadako's cursed is turned into a virus. It is a survival horror game after all, also the original came out on a vhs that had to be played to watch a story about...a cursed vhs tape. If you wanted to make the story more modern, it could even be about a difficult to remove computer virus that kills you.

[@L2Nuku]

Hey Jared, I'll start by saying that I'm not a big fan of RE in general, it's more the other games in the same genre that have the charm that i enjoy, like this game, for mostly the same points you made i enjoyed this game, then again i tend to enjoy flawed games a lot, music was catchy enough that i even searched for the ost.

[@Quick-Silver206]

Oh, speaking of games that could be as good as the heavy hitters; The Suffering. I went in expecting to like it, I came out loving it almost as much as a Silent Hill game.

[@joshualundquest4093]

I don't know if you've heard of this title. But if you're a classic survival horror fan I recommend trying "Martian Gothic" on PS1 if you get a chance. It's abstract and confusing at first but it's an intriguing puzzle to figure out.

[@pointblank0020]

Yo how come you've never made a video on Dino Crisis? You gotta do one

[@AquaFan1998]

The game was based on the books and not the film as sadiko didnr have a curse. It was mutated smallpox she had and which her curse was much more subtle

[@skazkatzroy3444]

I was curious about this game way back when I had a Dreamcast as a kid, sort of glad I got Carrier instead. Why are all the enemies skinless apes or monkeys?

[@ShamanEffect]

Loading into the CDC, only to be met with deafening piano slamming. The Dreamcast always seemed to have this thing with audio balance in a lot of games, I don't know what it was.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Hell they couldn't even balance the blaring sound of the console's fan. HAAAA

[@charliebarzilla4547]

What a wonderfully obscure game. The PS1 was my favorite console ever and I've never heard of this one. You should consider streaming it on your Twitch!

[@AvalancheReviews]

yeah, I love those odd/obscure games from the early 2000's. I might actually stream this. That would be fun.

[@charliebarzilla4547]

@@AvalancheReviews After you do Parasite Eve 2! Lol really enjoyed your PE1 stream.

[@subrussian]

Let's face it - RE only has Jill sandwich joke, when this game has... everything! Sound design, animations, soundtrack, cutscenes - it's all so bad that I loved it!

[@lancelindqvist8848]

Awesome

[@SabbyNeko]

Dalad Jelly?

[@SirArtanis7]

This game looks awsome to me, the story actually sounds like the kind of game I like to play too.