Aaaaaaaand again.....

I keep breaking these blogs up because i'm constantly being evicted from various rooms, currently i'm in the library but it's a dodgy rope that i walk and i may get removed from here at any moment as well. We'll see how it goes.

Now then, i hope you're sitting comfortably? Then i'll begin.



Number 3, and the final in my trilogy, is ShadowHearts. This series was massively overlooked at the time it was released for two main reasons. Firstly, it was a huuuge marketing f*ck up on the part of Midway who chose to release it in the UK mere weeks away from Square (at that time) releasing Final Fantasy 10. Obviously the Final Fantasy series is massive and so people simply overlooked Shadow Hearts and sought to wait for their Final Fantasy fix instead to sate their RPG thirst.


The cover art did little to sell Shadow Hearts and the fact that the game itself was pretty damn weird didn't help much either.

The second reason that Shadow Hearts failed to fly off the shelves was that it was just too weird. RPG fans had grown accustomed to typical J-RPG storylines and values and so when this title came along it rightly confused a few players. The main character Yuri is a Harmonixer who can transform into various different beasts or demons that are locked within his psyche and he embarks on a quest to save a girl called Alice who wears not much, is an Exorcist and can use healing magic.
Initially the game begins with Yuri being a selfish wanderer but eventually he finds solace in Alices demure and caring nature and eventually his love for her is what keeps the demons inside him in check.
Granted, it all sounds very prosaic and predictable but Sacnoth, the developers, make sure that just the right amount of elements go into the mix from heart break to off the wall comedy. I was genuinely addicted to Shadow Hearts from the second i started it and i think i empathised and grew attached to the charcters more in this game than any other.


Japanese fan art of Yuri and Alice. Screw you Tidus and Yuna. Screw you.

Aiding Yuri in his quest for salvation is ZhuZhen:a Yin Yang master, Margarette:a spy who uses a mobile phone to call in attacks, Keith:a centuries old vampire who joins you because he's bored and finally Halley:an orphan boy who uses ESP to control things.

The various locations, situations and enemies they come up against are very surreal and almost LoveCraftian at times - alot of the time you are in Yuri's mind, fighting for his sanity and trying to unlock different abilities by coming to terms with his past.

The combat, too, was a departure from normal RPG's as it employed something the developers dubbed the Judgement Ring. While battles are still turn based the amount of damage you do or the success of your combo's is reflected on how skillful you are in hitting the key parts of the Judgement Ring as the pendulum swings around. Oddly, anyone who has played most golf sims will be right at home here.

Rarely does a sequel outshine the original but in the case of Shadow Hearts: Covenant it most certainly did with developers Nautilus at the reigns. Yuri returns again after slightly depressing circumstances at the end of the first game (i won't ruin it) and meets up with Karen. In this version she's the hot one who wears nothing and isn't shy of flashing her pants during a fight.
This game sees an even more bizzare roster assemble to save the world. This time Yuri is joined by a doll maker, a wolf, a pro-wrestling vampire, an extrememly well endowed fortune teller, a Russian photographer and a samurai who can demon-morph.


Lucia from Shadow Hearts Covenant. In the game it's pretty much implied that she has tourettes.

This game brought attention to the world of Shadow Hearts and was met with much more popularity, especially in the US which is good as often Europe swiftly follows suit.
Offering much more character development this time, and coming on 2 discs, Covenant promised a more involving and lengthy experience and delivered in spades. In my opinion this is easily the best of the three Shadow Hearts games.

Finally, unfortunately, is Shadow Hearts: From the New World. I remember this being delayed quite alot and heard speculation that no-one would distribute it in this country which just goes to show the tragic nature of the gaming industry - but that's another post.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing this version of the game but found that without Yuri anymore it was lacking something as he was such a great main character. The story was captivating enough but not quite as dark as the previous two and it was that aspect which pulled me in the most. Overall, the weaker of the 3 titles, it kind of felt a little forced and was instantly relegated to the budget domain although this all may have something to do with the dwindling interest in the PS2 at the time as the next gens had just started hitting the shelves.



In short, if you want quality, DIFFERENT (not FF) and emotive RPG's look no further than Shadow Hearts. They're a criminally ignored and under-rated series that many would love if they simply gave them a chance. Awesome.