Shadow Hearts
Shadow Heartsby Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.
Platform: PlayStation2
ESRB Rating: Mature
ASIN: B00005T7ZN
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Features:
• Gothic/fantasy RPG
• A hero with a mysterious past
• Unravel the mystery of a beautiful young girl
• Wide variety of magic and weapons
• Fantastic 3D environments
Amazon.com Product Description: A hero with a mysterious past. A young girl holding the key to world domination. A villain who will stop at nothing to unlock the path to unlimited power. Prepare to experience an RPG unlike any other. Welcome to the world of Shadow Hearts.
Customer Reviews:
The best but not THE best., November 21, 2002
Reviewer: Randy from Springfield, Ohio United States
Okay, let me start by saying that I really enjoyed this game. I spent the better part of 2 months trying to get the full run of it. However, it does lack on some things. I'll dispense the nasty stuff first. The big one is the judgement rings. They're EVERYWHERE! This game gives you very little for free, but lets face it. Searching a corner that you just happened to get lucky and decide to look into shouldn't have a "Spin 5" wheel just to pick up the item. I fully understand the designer's wish to make the game challenging, but come on! Most times I found that the item wasn't really worth the effort you'd put into getting it. And these wheels cut you NO slack! There's one "Spin 10" wheel in this game. I'll admit I was never able to get it until my girlfriend had gotten quite a bit into her cups one dark night and decided to try it on a lark. The graphics aren't all that great, either. They do look nice and smooth, but let's face it. This is stuff I expect to see on my PS1. For a PS2 format, they're very slight. Now, graphics are a moot issue, especially if the rest of the game makes up for the lack of them, but I just didn't feel this game was designed strong enough to cover itself. My personal feelings are that perhaps we could have taken up some of the programming space used for all the ring challenges and applied them to graphics. The final problem I had with the game was the opprotunities for experience building. Or, should I say, the very FEW opprotunites. This game just didn't have very many places where you could go 'Auto' and just build experience. For the most part, this game leads you by the nose.
Now, for the good part. My best compliment to this game is going to sound like a complaint; It's too short. Read it again if you missed it. I loved the FUSION techniques and the sequences of the battle moves were excellent. Although there is no way you can disable them (they do get tedious after awhile), when coupled with turn-based combat, you get plenty of time to get up and do things (bathroom-breaks, phone calls, etc) without having to pause the game or wait until you get to a save point. And this isn't really a problem as the save points are spread nicely even throughout the game. Another nice point is that gameplay is simple. Even without reading the instruction manual, you can still figure out the controls on your own, and a credit to this game is you're given ample opprotunity to do this. This is a wise move when you consider the problem with the judgement rings. I also liked being able to pick up the clues on how an item is used just by looking it up on the menu. For the most part, should you ever forget where you are, or what you should be doing, this game is good about showing you how to get back on track.
Overall, I'd say this game is a nice competitor to the Final Fantasy series. You'll hear a lot about the comparisons and rightly so. However, if you go into it thinking you're going to see a 1914 version of FF, you're in for a disappointment. This game just doesn't have the strength for it. But then, very little else does. You'd be better going into this game for the game itself. It is a very good storyline and is accurate enough to the time period it represents, although there are a few inaccuracies. One of these is the use of a cellphone, but I'll leave it to you to figure this one out. As the title on this review suggests, it's the best, but not THE best.
The best and dreariest RPG ever!, October 20, 2002
Reviewer: Matt from USA
This game is awesome from start to finish. The game starts off as a dude named Yuri punches an evil plotting gentleman's eye out and saves a lady named Alice by taking her and jumping off a train. That's pretty cool huh!? Anyway,I'm not going to ruin the game any more for the people who haven't played it yet, so I'll just ramble on about the graphics and the battling. The graphics are every bit as good as FFXs,except the settings are dark and gloomy. The battles are really cool. You use this thing called a judgement ring,which has a line spin around a circle and you have to hit the colored areas to perform an attack,fusion,special attack,etc. It's a little tricky at first, but its easy and makes the game fun once you get the hang of it. The fusion part is cool too. Once you have killed enough monsters of certain types like dark,fire,etc.,you go to this graveyard that you see in your nightmares and you fight a monster of the certain type. If you don't get killed and you beat him, then you can turn into him in the battles. So,if you like RPGs you should by this game. It is one of the best ones out to buy.
Gothicness Has Never Been The Same, October 11, 2002
Reviewer: sabin_figaro from Australia
Shadow Hearts: A great game that takes a completely different path from the everday average RPG. The game is based on a mysterious Hero and a girl that is desperetly sought after by the Japanese. It is set in the 1900s and has a real dark, gothic theme to it. Near every location you go there is something wrong and in most cases, exorcism is needed.
You play as Yuri, the mysterious hero who can't seem to get his mind out of the gutter. Most of his dialogue has sexual references to it when Alice or Magarette comes to mind.
Your purpose is to protect Alice at all costs, and find out the reason Alice is so dearly needed. Protect her at all costs!
The unique battle system uses the Judgement Ring to determine whether attacks are effective or not. It also is used in the casting of spells to determine their potency, in getting discounts from shops, and also in acquiring Key Items.
Another feature of this game is the fact that Yuri can transform into different monsters, of the souls he has obtained in the Graveyard, to aid in battle. In order to do so you must detroy monsters and build up your element points. Once an element is full, the gravestone relating to that element begins to glow in the Graveyard, allowing one to go and fight the lost soul of a beast of that enemy and be able to morph into them upon their defeat.
The other GRaveyard function is to go to the four masks and rid yourslef of the Malice of the enemies you have defeated. If you leave it too late, Yuri's father will come randomly into battle to fight a character one-on-one. It can get very tedious and most often results in that character dying. The only resolution is to make sure your Malice level remains low, by fighting a spirit the masks present to you. You also recieve an item after the spirit is defeated which balances everything out.
Thus this is a great game I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a game that is different and unique!
ONE OF THE BEST RPG GAMES EVER!, September 29, 2002
Reviewer: Fuujin a.k.a. Katy from USA
In my own opinion, I think Shadow Hearts is one of the best RPG games there is. I love the battle system and the storyline. The FMVs will take your breath away. Shadow Hearts is definately my favorite PS2 game. I suggest that you give it a whirl. It's worth the money. I have never seen a better game like this, and if there is I would like to try out that game. It's better than FFX even though FFX's graphics are better. So uh... buy this game and you won't regret that you did!
The Best Game Ever?, September 21, 2002
Reviewer: Jessica Lee from Bayside, New York United States
Most people haven't heard about this game, but I'm trying to tell as many people as I can. It's good enough to be a rival to Final Fantasy is all I can say. I discovered Shadow Hearts before FFX and, well, I can say that Shadow Haerts is definatly better, in most ways. I like FF too, but who can walk by this great RPG game just to play a popular craze?
A Cool Game.........;-), August 27, 2002
Reviewer: Maxine L Clark from Clarkston, Washington
If your a gamer or a RPGamer, your going to like it. The frist time I played it, I never put it down until it was finished . I just couldn't seem to stop. All I can say is "try it you'll like it". I am a Final Fantasy fan.......it was a change. But very good
A refreshing change, July 18, 2002
Reviewer: pukahead from Honolulu, Hawaii United States
I felt this was a nice change from your typical RPG. The story line, I felt was interesting and BGM was also nice. Although I felt more FMV could have been added to compliment the story, The game was pretty cool. I'd recommend it to anyone who want refreshing change of scenery from the typical Final Fantasy type of RPG.
Most excellent!, July 10, 2002
Reviewer: Lady Dee from Merced, CA USA
I really loved this game. I'm a big fan of RPGs and this reminded me forcefully of a RPG (Not computer/game console based) I used to play with a number of college friends. The dark fantasy story line appealed to me greatly, and there was even a romance sub-plot (better & better). I liked the Judgement Ring, which helped pull you into the game, since you actually had to concentrate on the controls in order to get it right; in the beginning, it's just as if you're learning the skill along with the characters, and the level of difficulty in making the hits can get harder (but not impossible). Lots of monsters and villians for you to kill, too. Characters are good, and I'm glad they finally added Sanity Point system to a dark fantasy RPG. My only peeves: 1. The main female protagonist has a very low pointage (on almost all counts except magic) in the beginning, but if you're patient enough to level her up, she has a final spell that will knock just about everyone's socks off. 2: Some of the secrets are very hard to find out about; even though I've beaten the game a couple of times, I still haven't gotten through all the side-quests (Hee, hee). But still and all, this a great game. Check it out if you want something just a little bit different.
Wicked fun and fantasy.., July 8, 2002
Reviewer: Lyssa Jaraba from Riverside, CA USA
I got this game along with Final Fantasy X. I'd never heard of Shadow Hearts and had been anxiously awaiting FFX to redeem Square from the FF9 disaster, but Shadow Hearts wound up being played multiple times before I even bothered to finish FFX, this sleeper of an RPG is that good. It may not match FFX for glitz and glitter, but we're talking good solid graphics, decent sound, and most of all, one of the most wonderful twisted plots in gaming history teamed with a diverse and engaging cast of characters. Dark and gothic is seamlessly paired with mature humor to bring to life what is one of the most original RPGs I have ever played. The turn-based play is augmented with a judgement ring system to give a hint of arcade need to pay attention during battles, but the system is so easy you can learn and master it by your second battle. The online help is extensive and just as entertaining as the game itself. If you buy one RPG for PS2 in your life, Shadow Hearts is the one.
A Great RPG That's Been Overlooked!!!, July 1, 2002
Reviewer: ethanallen95 from Beaufort, SC United States
I really can't say enough about this game, I mean it was a pleasant surprise to play an rpg that was...well unconventional. Not as unconventional as say Silent Hill2 but along the lines of Persona2:Eternal Punishment. I got the same vibe playing this game though without the superhard bosses and absurd puzzles though I must say the puzzles in ShadowHearts are far too easy, that's my only complaint if any...the story gets a little creepy almost Lovecraftian especially at the fishing village when Sea Mother tells the story of the local ghost girl...it goes into an eerie cinematic scene...I had to turn the lights on then.
This game is for anyone interested in a unique storyline and you may not like the graphics...I frankly have seen better on the PSX and MarioRPG for the SNES but...the game is fun and there are moments in the game in which it fully takes advantage of the PSX2 engine. Great game...BUY IT!!
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