 Review By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Aruze |
| Publisher: | XSEED Games | |
| Genre: | RPG | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Memory Card | |
| Buy Now: |   |
Shadow Hearts: Covenant took me surprise when it was released in late 2004. Although I had heard that the original was unique, I honestly had no intention of ever playing Covenant. However, somehow I eventually found my way to it (or it found me) and the result was in my opinion the best RPG of 2004. Thus Shadow Hearts: From the New World, from newcomer XSEED Games (who's first published title was Wild Arms 4), has a lot to live up to in my eyes. For the most part, it does so spectacularly.
Although some hardcore fans don't consider this entry a true sequel, it's most definitely a Shadow Hearts title in every way. Set in the Americas in 1929, the game's world is an extremely loose interpretation of how things actually were at the time. Although the game's plot has the player running around from real-life landmark to landmark (Grand Canyon, Times Square, Roswell, etc.) and bumping into several historical figures (including Al Capone and Elliot Ness), the developers weren't exactly concerned about staying true to historical fact. Nevertheless, it still serves as a fun setting for the game as long as you aren't a stickler for history.
Speaking of plot, when you get right down to it this game's story is surprisingly average by RPG standards. The main character is Johnny Garland, a 16 year-old detective in New York City. Having lost his family (and part of his memory) in an accident, young Johnny decides to forge his own path rather than take over his father's business. One day he receives a fairly standard case from a creepy professor named Gilbert, and it's then that he meets Garvoy Indian princess Shania (who can fuse with various spirits, much like Yuri in Covenant) and her attendant Natan. Bad things happen, and they quickly begin hunting for Gilbert and some answers. From there the plot takes off, eventually finding our heroes fighting to save the world. Shocking, I know...although I must admit that one or two twists did genuinely catch me by surprise.
The plot's weakness is that it's formulaic, but it is pulled off well in typical Shadow Hearts style. The game definitely has a Lovecraftian atmosphere (there's even a Professor Lovecraft at the Arkham University later in the game), with some very dark powers at work and lots of bizarre creatures and events. Yet at the same time, the game also has an excellent sense of humor to keep from getting too bogged down in it.
Those three are fairly normal, but along the way they'll meet up with several other playable characters. Here's where the game really continues the series tradition of having a wacky cast. There's goofy South American ninja Frank, who's already running his own investigation into Gilbert's activities. Frank, much like Joachim in Covenant, will pick up various unusual items throughout the game world to use as weapons (the most hilarious being a legendary sword…without first pulling it from its stone block). There's also Mao, a human-sized feline that just happens to be a high-ranking member of Al Capone's mob and a master of drunken fist kung-fu. Ricardo, a mariachi that functions somewhat like a traditional bard by playing various songs (except he also has guns hidden inside his guitar). Finally, there's the vampiric Hilde that can suck calories out of enemies and morph into one of three different forms (fat and doll-like, skinny, or bat) each having its own strengths and weaknesses. Each of these characters has their own special talents of course, most obtained in one of the many sub-events scattered throughout the world.
Like Covenant before it, the Judgment Ring controls almost every aspect of gameplay. Every action taken in battle, be it attacking, casting spells, or using an item, requires a spin of the Judgment Ring. Press the X button at all of the right times (as dictated by different-colored areas), and the action will be executed. How many areas need to be hit depend on the complexity of the action; using an item often involves only pressing it in one large area, whereas some high-level spells can require four or five presses in much smaller areas. The Judgment Ring is highly customizable, as players can choose from one of several different types including both automatic and "all or nothing" type rings. There are also various items that can be equipped to the ring, including status effects, increasing the number of attacks on the ring (with smaller hit areas of course), and increasing the size of each hit area. The end result is a system that falls somewhere between the action-heavy GameCube gem Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and most standard RPGs.
Combat itself is turn-based, with the traditional Japanese RPG options to choose from (attack, defend, etc.). This game introduces a new Stock gauge to the series, which replaces the basic combo system (where you simply moved characters beside each other) from the last game. As long as a character has at least one Stock gauge full, he or she can perform a combination attack with another character. If all four characters have it and the last character used in the four person chain has two full Stock gauges, then powerful Combo Magic can be unleashed to annihilate your enemies. This is all assuming of course that the player is nimble enough to hit all areas on the Judgment Ring for each character's turn - one miss breaks the entire chain.
Magic is controlled by Stellar Charts, which every character (except Shania) can equip. Each Stellar Chart has various nodes of different types and levels where Stellars can be equipped. These Stellars have one of three different attributes (Heal, Support, or Offensive), with offensive magic falling into one of the six different stereotypical elements found in all RPGs (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Dark) or non-elemental. Since each node can only be used for one type of Stellar and Stellars come in four different levels, the player eventually needs to begin upgrading and altering nodes by visiting Engraver Buigen.
Posted: 2006-04-20 19:55:07 PST