Shadow Hearts
SCORE: 68
Shadow Hearts: From the New World is the third installment in the Shadow Hearts series. Although the company that produces the game is American (XSEED Games), the feel of the game is the same as the Japanese RPGs that have practically made the genre. The first thing one notices about Shadow Hearts is the diverse roster of characters. They range from the normal main character Johnny to Mao (a fighting cat). Each character has a back story that in some way brings them into Johnny’s life. Johnny’s mission? Only to save the world from impending doom. Not too shabby for a 16 year old kid. Due to tragic circumstances Johnny heads his own detective agency. From this humble starting point in 1929 he stumbles across a mystery that could threaten the whole world. The story is interesting and accompanies nicely the quirky combat system. Speaking of which, if you were expecting the traditional, “press a button, watch the animation, await attack, repeat”, then you are going to be a little disappointed. This is where Shadow Hearts brings the judgment ring into effect.
The judgment ring resembles a large pie graph slices into colored pieces with a needle on it. When you select an attack, the judgment ring appears. The needle makes its way around the ring and for the attack to go through, one must hit all the colored areas of the ring. The judgment ring brings a great deal of depth to the game. Now, picking the best attacks won’t get you the victory. You have to have quick enough reflexes to make the attack go through. As for combos, one has to first complete the judgment ring, then the ring spins with the image of one of the face buttons (X, circle, square, or triangle) on it. Hit that face button and a combo is performed, which helps a great deal in battle.
The cut scenes that deliver the intense storyline of Shadow Hearts are top quality. They seem to push the system’s graphical capabilities to the max. Every detail is top of the line and makes getting into the story very easy. The menu layout is bland and a little too complex for just an average gamer to approach, but if you are a hardcore gamer, or one with enough patience to learn all the options, then the game can get pretty in depth. You should have plenty of time to learn the ropes because it takes between 25-30 hours to complete. Not surprisingly there are not many unlockables, but the game length more then makes up for that. The only moral issues posed with this game are the very rare appearance of curse words, the skimpy outfits that Shania wears (notably in the opening scenes and in transformations), and the two flamboyant homosexual characters. One particular comment early on in the game was particularly disturbing. One of the homosexual characters gives you an item and tells you to “keep it on you at all times, just pretend that its me.” This is disturbing both because they are both males, and because Johnny is only 16 years old, while the man is much older. This is all part of Shadow Hearts crude humor which pokes fun at some issues in today’s world.
The game is rated Teen for crude humor, mild language, suggestive
themes, use of alcohol, tobacco, occult, and violence. In conclusion,
Shadow Hearts is a worthy purchase in this reviewers opinion for anyone
who thoroughly enjoys the turn based genre, and can handle all of the
adult content.
- Stoeckley
Graphics: 70%
Sound: 69%
Replay/Extras: 73%
Gameplay: 74%
Family Friendly Factor: 55%
System: Playstation 2
Publisher: XSeed Games
Rating: 'T' for Teen
{Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and
Tobacco, Violence}
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