Chaos Rings was a role playing game published by Square Enix in 2010 that received positive and fairly high reviews. After receiving feedback from fans on the game’s shortcomings, Square has brought back the game in the form of a prequel for the iPod touch, iPhone and the iPad known as Chaos Rings Omega.

The game takes place 10,000 years before the original with various couples being whisked away to an isolated tournament known as Ark Arena. They fight bravely and fearlessly through all of the dungeons until only a single couple remains to receive the gift of immortality. Much of the premise remains the same from the original with the timeline serving as the exception. Fans who played the original will immediately notice similarities with the story revolving around Vieg this time around in place of all the wandering couples.

Combat is turn-based for which you have the option to assign your two-member party to attack individually or as a pair, acting like a single unit to destroy your enemies. Attacking as one unit also means you will receive damage together, which is also known as a “double-edged sword,” lending a bit of a strategic element to the game. The elemental system is also handy against a select number of enemies as using them against your opponents’ weaknesses is done through trial and error.

Considering the game is on a touch-screen platform, the controls are smooth and intuitive, and are a refreshing change of pace from many App games on the iPod touch that often suffer from delay or interface issues.

Visually, the game looks polished with detailed character designs and background environments. The soundtrack has its moments, but it is still appropriate for a JRPG title that fans will enjoy throughout the game’s dungeon crawling and exploration moments.

Chaos Rings Omega doesn’t reinvent the wheel but instead takes the original and refines it into a better game. It is advised that newcomers check out the first game before investing time in Chaos Rings Omega. The game is more of the same as the original, but it’s still a solid and strong Square Enix game nonetheless.